The Social Democratic Party (PSD) easily won the general elections that took place on 5th June in Portugal. Led by Passos Coelho, the PSD won 38.63% of the vote and 105 seats (+ 24 in comparison with the previous election on 27th September 2009). The Socialist Party (PS), led by outgoing Prime Minister José Socrates came second winning 28.05% of the vote (73 seats, - 24). It came out ahead of the People's Party (PP) led by Paulo Portas which won 11.74% of the vote (24 seats). The left, which is against economic liberalism, suffered a severe defeat: the Communist-Green Coalition (CDU) led by Jeronimo de Sousa won 7.94% of the vote (16 seats, + 1) and the Left Bloc (BE) of Francisco Louca, won 5.19% of the vote (8 seats, - 8). Turnout, which is traditionally low in Portugal, totalled 58.32% ie slightly below that recorded in the election in September 2009 (- 1.36 points). Given the serious socio-economic crisis experienced by the country the Portuguese chose to change government. With its allies in the People's Party the PSD will enjoy the absolute majority in the Assembly of the Republic, the only chamber in Parliament.

On 12th June, 50,189,930 Turks will appoint the 550 members of the National Grand Assembly (Parliament) from the 7,492 candidate running in 85 constituencies. According to a poll by Konsensus for the daily Haberturk published on June 1st last the AKP led by outgoing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to win 48.6% of the vote. He is running ahead of the CHP which is due to win 28.3% of the vote and the MHP, 11.6%.

Andris Berzins (Union of Latvian Greens and Farmers' Party, ZZS) became the new President of the Republic of Latvia on 2nd June. The former chair of Latvijas Unibanka, won the votes of 53 of the 100 members of the Saeima, the only chamber in Parliament. His rival, outgoing President Valdis Zatlers, supported by the government led by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, Unity (V), won 41 votes. In the first round of voting Andris Berzins won 50 votes and outgoing President Valdis Zatlers 43.

On 30th May the Luxembourg statistics institute, Statec published the main developments in Luxembourg's foreign trade balance. The study revealed that in 2010 the Grand Duchy's current account displayed a surplus of 3.3 billion euros with the rest of the world which represents nearly 7.8% of the GDP. According to the study the explanation to the surplus is to be found its financial service exports, since the other partial balances in the current accounts (goods, wages, investment revenues and current transfers) were, for their part, in the negative.

On 31st May the Riksbank published its financial stability report in which it says that the national banks' resistance has improved over the last few months.

The national statistics and economic studies institute, INSEE announced on 1st June that there had been a decrease in unemployment down to 9.7% of the working population (including in the DOM). On mainland France unemployment lay at 9.2% ie 2.6 million people. There had been a slight decrease in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2010 (-0.1 points).

According to figures published by the Federal Employment Agency on 31st May, unemployment in Germany declined again over the month. The unemployment rate totalled 7% of the working population in May in comparison with 7.3% in April whilst the number of job seekers dropped by 118,000 in gross data to reach 2,960,000. "The labour market is benefiting from the continuous recovery of the Germany economy," explained the Agency.

The unemployment rate in Austria declined in May to 6.1% of the working population (-0.3%) according to provisional figures published on 1st June by the Labour Ministry. According to the latest statistics published by Eurostat the unemployment rate in Austria lay at 4.2% in April. The difference between these figures is due to different calculation methods.

The Employment and Immigration Ministry in Spain announced on 2nd June that unemployment continued to decline in May (-2%): it is the second consecutive month that it has decreased. The unemployment rate lay at 21.3% in the first quarter ie twice that of the European average. In Spain nearly half of the working population amongst the under 25's was unemployed.

On 31st May the national statistics institute Statistics Denmark announced that according to figures adjusted to seasonal variations and price rises Denmark's GDP had declined in the first quarter of 2011 by 0.5%. In the fourth quarter of 2010 the GDP contracted by 0.2% said Statistics Denmark in a press release. Hence the Danish economy has entered recession once more.

According to a press release published on 3rd June by the national statistics institute, Statistics Finland, the country's GDP rose in the first quarter of 2011 by 0.8% in comparison with the previous quarter. In comparison with the first quarter of 2010 the Finnish GDP was up by 5.5%.

On 31st May the Italian statistics institute published unemployment figures for April. The number of unemployed in Italy decreased by 2.9% in comparison with March and by 7.6% in comparison with April 2010. Unemployment totalled 8.1% in April ie a decrease of 0.2 points in comparison with March and a decrease of 0.6 points in comparison with the previous year.

The Greek government is facing the challenge of keeping up with the austerity commitments given to its creditors, the euro area and the IMF, whilst the social and political atmosphere is declining sharply across the country. Greece was granted further financial aid on 3rd June from its creditors in order to prevent bankruptcy and its forced exit from the Monetary Union; this aid comes in addition to the 110 billion euros already granted one year ago. In exchange the government, led by George Papandreou, promised to step up the austerity plan to reduce public deficit and to accelerate privatisation to settle the debt of 340 billion euros.

On June 1st the OECD published growth figures for the first quarter of 2011. The GDP in the OECD area increased by 0.5% in spite of slow growth in the US and Japan. Growth accelerated in most major European countries and Canada.

As he received the Charlemagne Prize for his contribution to European unification on 2nd June in Aachen the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet suggested, in an interview in a German daily the "Frankfurther Allgemeine Zeitung", two levels of sanction for European countries that do not succeed in managing their budget. One would comprise financial aid together with strict conditions and would grant the right of control and monitoring to the countries providing the aid. The second "should be fundamentally different from the present supervision, recommendation and sanction system," explains the ECB President who suggests the creation of a European Finance Minister "who would have a right to review the budgetary policy and competitiveness and a right to direct management of the economic policies of heavily indebted countries." Jean-Claude Trichet said he supported the establishment of the position of European Finance Minister

On 3rd June the International Monetary Fund announced the release of 155 million euros in support of Iceland as part of a loan granted in November 2008. The IMF stressed that the Icelandic economy was still recovering from the crisis and that growth was forecast to be positive in 2011.

On 3rd June the British government published the results of the structural reform plans in May for each ministerial department. The Structural Reform Plans are the key tool of the Coalition Government for ensuring that departments are accountable for the implementation of the reforms set out in the Coalition Agreement.

On 3rd June the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy travelled to Slovenia to meet the Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor. They discussed the Euro Plus Pact, the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area and accession negotiations with Croatia. During a press conference Mr Van Rompuy recalled the interest of the Euro Plus Pact for the coordination of vital reform of the social protection systems and public finances - vital reforms to avoid excessive debt. Mr Van Rompuy notably congratulated Slovenia on the progress it has made over the last 20 years, qualifying it as a "model" amongst the new members. With regard to Croatia Mr Van Rompuy said "he was prudently optimistic that the conclusion of negotiations is now close to hand."

On June 1st the European Commission proposed a series of legislative and non-legislative measures to develop more and faster standards. Standards are sets of voluntary technical and quality criteria for products, services and production processes. They help both businesses and consumers. •The Commission will enhance its cooperation with the leading standardisation organisations in Europe so that their standards will be available more rapidly. It will also establish an annual Work Programme, which will identify priorities for European standardisation. It notably wants to develop standards in services and information and communication technologies. The Commission also intends to update the Directive on overall product safety to cut down time taken to adopt standards. Finally the Commission wants to promote European standards and international convergence.

On 31st May the European Commission published a scoreboard showing what the EU and its Member States have achieved in terms of their digital strategy one year after implementation. The progress achieved over the first year is generally satisfying especially in terms of internet use (65% of the EU population). But in certain areas they are somewhat disappointing particularly in terms of the deployment of new ultra-rapid broadband networks (one of the key goals in the digital strategy) even though progress has been made in view of modernising cable networks.

On June 1st the European Commission presented two proposals to amend the directives in view of moving forwards in setting up a common European asylum system planned for 2012. The first, relative to asylum procedures, aims to improve the effectiveness of the processing of asylum requests in order to finalise cases within six months. The second concerns reception conditions and aims to guarantee a decent standard of living for asylum seekers, notably thanks to access to the labour market. However the debate over this common asylum system is proving difficult. The main impediment being the creation of a common rule for the management of migrant arrivals and the processing of their requests. France and Germany want to maintain their own criteria. The Commission has planned to put forward these two proposals to the "Justice and Internal Affairs" Council on 9th June in order to come to an agreement.

As part of her trip to Asia from 31st May to 2nd June German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited India and Singapore. During the first German-Indian meetings in New Delhi the two governments confirmed that they wanted to cooperate more closely in various areas, such as education, environment and technology. In Singapore she met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on June 1st. Ms Merkel stressed the close relations between Germany and Singapore. Moreover she pleaded in favour of transparency in the financial markets.

French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppé, travelled on 1st-3rd June to Israel and to the Palestinian Territory. Recalling that the USA was not succeeding alone in speeding up the peace process in the region he said that he hoped that all States could work towards the same goal. Stressing the urgency of dialogue between the parties he invited Israeli and Palestinian representatives to a conference in Paris at the end of June, beginning of July, to negotiate "on a specific basis" and stressed that "none of those he had been talking to had said "no" to this idea."

From 30th May to June 1st the Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess of Luxembourg went on a State visit to Norway. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker spoke with the leader of Parliament Dag Terje Andersen and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. During a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart he spoke of international and European news; Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn commended Norway's commitment to the defence of international law, the consolidation of peace and the promotion of Human Rights. In a meeting with his two counterparts Luxembourg Economy Minister Jeannot Krecké first addressed energy issues with the Oil and Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe and discussed developments in the industrial domain with Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Rikke Lind.

On 3rd June Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk travelled to Paris to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister François Fillon. The Polish government leader presented his country's goals for the ppresidency of the EU, starting on 1st July; he particularly focused on issues related to the EU's energy policy, enlargement as well as the budget. Together with the Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs Mikolaj Dowgielewicz he spoke with French representatives of a possible extension of the Schengen area and the future of the Neighbourhood Policy notably as far as the Eastern Partnership was concerned.

On June 1st NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced a 90-day extension of the "Unified Protector" mission. On 31st May in a meeting with the President of the Commission of the African Union Mr Ping, he stressed the importance of dialogue with the latter to facilitate the successful completion of the NATO mission in Libya. NATO announced on 4th June that it had used fighter helicopters in Libyafor the first time, striking military vehicles, equipment and the armed forces led by Colonel Mouammar Kadhafi.

According to economists inflation slowed slightly in May in the euro area but this will not be enough to calm the European Central Bank's concern and persuade it not to raise its main rates, probably in July. According to a first estimate on 31st May published by the European statistics office, Eurostat consumer prices increased by 2.7% over one year in May.

In April 2011 in comparison with March 2011 the industrial price index rose by 0.9% in the euro area and by 1% in the EU. In March prices increased respectively by 0.8% and 1.2%. In April 2011 compared with April 2010 industrial producer prices recorded an increase of 6.7% in the euro area and of 7.8% in the EU.

The European Trade Unions Institute (ETUI) has published a study by Stefan Clauwaert and Isabelle Schömann entitled "European Social Dialogue and Transnational Framework Agreements as a Response to the Crisis?" Analysing the reactions of social partners and the crisis as part of European social dialogue, the authors plead in favour of a greater role for social partners in European economic governance.

The Elcano Institute has published a paper entitled "Germany, the Schengen Crisis and Frontex: a Funny Kind of Pro-Europeanism". The author shows that Germany's present reticence towards extending the Schengen area is not a sign of euro-scepticism but rather a new kind of commitment and enthusiasm with regard to the EU.

On 31st May the European Environment Agency announced that in 2009 there had been a sharp decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in the 27 EU Member States in comparison with 2008. The decline recorded in the manufacturing, construction and electricity industries finds its explanation in the economic crisis and also in the increased use of renewable energies. However with the return of growth this trend reverted in 2010 since emissions have increased by 3% in comparison with 2009.

The new permanent exhibition at the House of History of the German Federal Republic in Bonn entitled "Our History. Germany since 1945" presents in an realistic, modern manner Germany's recent past, since the end of the Second World War to modern day. With more than 7000 objects on show this exhibition illustrates Germany's modern history in an international context.

The International Film Festival of Transylvania, one of the most important in the Balkans, is open until 12th June in Cluj-Napoca and from 15th to 19th June in Sibiu (Romania) for the 10th year running and is hosting 220 films from across the entire world.