After two consecutive mandates, the outgoing Cypriot head of state, Nicos Anastasiades, of the Democratic Rally (DISY), cannot stand for re-election in the first round of the presidential elections to be held on 5 February. Former foreign minister Nicos Christodoulides is leading the polls with 39.73% of the vote, ahead of DISY chairman Averof Neophytou and Andreas Mavroyiannis supported by the Progressive Party of Workers (AKEL). A second round will be held on 12 February if none of the 14 candidates achieves an absolute majority.

In response to the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union has set up a €672.5 billion recovery fund. At the end of December, Italy, Austria and Luxembourg submitted payment requests to the Commission after meeting a series of targets. The Foundation offers an interactive map of the plans country by country, to check the amounts and timetables.

In a speech to the US Congress on 22 December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United States for its support and asked it to intensify it. In his greetings on 31 December, he congratulated Ukrainians on their unity, tenacity and courage, and called on them to continue their struggle until victory was achieved.

1 January marked the 30th anniversary of the creation of the Single Market, which allows goods, services, people and capital to move freely within the European Union. According to the Commission, it brings together almost 450 million European consumers and accounts for 18% of global GDP.

The European Parliament announced on 2 January that it had launched an emergency procedure to lift the immunity of two Members of the European Parliament, following a request from the Belgian judicial authorities in the context of the corruption investigation involving Qatar. The two MEPs concerned are Andrea Cozzolino (IT, S&D) and Marc Tarabella (BE, S&D).

On 22 December, the Council formally adopted the temporary market correction mechanism to combat excessively high gas prices. It can be activated for at least 20 days if the gas price exceeds €180/MWh for three working days from 15 February 2023.

The Commission confirmed on 29 December that under the new US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), EU companies will be able to benefit from the clean vehicle credit programme without having to change their existing business models. It reiterated the request that European producers of clean vehicles should receive similar treatment.

The Management Board of Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, appointed Dutchman Hans Leijtens as its new Executive Director on 20 December. Previously commander of the Royal Netherlands Military Constabulary and governor of The Hague, Hans Laijtens has also served as director general of the Dutch tax and customs administration.

Croatia has been part of the Schengen area since 1 January 2023, following the Council's decision of 8 December 2022 to lift land and sea border controls between the country and the other signatories of the treaty. 1 January also marked the final adoption of the single currency by Croatia, which became the twentieth member of the euro area.

The Irish Data Protection Commission, acting on behalf of the 27 EU Member States, has fined the Meta Group €390 million for breaching the EU Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The fine concerns two Meta entities: Facebook (€210 million) and Instagram (€180 million). While the GDPR requires all online services to obtain the "free and informed" consent of Internet users before processing their data to offer them personalised advertising, Meta modified its rules of use by making access to its services conditional on the use of users' data for advertising purposes.

The new President of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar (independent), who won the presidential election on 13 November 2022, officially took office on 23 December, succeeding Borut Pahor. In her inaugural speech to Parliament, she stressed her commitment to the defence of "the rule of law, fundamental rights and the autonomy of sub-state systems", as well as to the European Union, which she defines as "a family".

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited French President Emmanuel Macron on 3 January. The two leaders exchanged views on the priorities of the Swedish Council Presidency and confirmed their support for Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron reiterated his wish for Sweden to join NATO "as soon as possible". Ulf Kristersson expressed his wish to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the nuclear, defence and space sectors.

Alain Berset is the President of the Swiss Confederation for the year 2023. He has been a Federal Councillor since 2012 and heads the Federal Department of Home Affairs.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, died on 31 December 2022 at the age of 95 in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery (Vatican). His funeral was celebrated on 5 January by Pope Francis. Benedict XVI succeeded John Paul II in 2005 and resigned in 2013.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on 28 December that 100 million migrants left their home countries in 2022, including people fleeing "conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution", an unprecedented figure. Protracted conflicts in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Syria and Myanmar are partly responsible for the 10 million increase over 2021.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 6 January, the annual inflation rate in the euro area was 9.2% in December, compared with 10.1% in November. The lowest rate was recorded in Spain at 5.6%, and the highest in Latvia at 20.7%. Energy was the largest component of inflation, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco, industrial goods excluding energy and services.

The Städel Museum in Frankfurt, in cooperation with the Prado Museum in Madrid, is devoting a new exhibition to the Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni (1575-1642) until 5 March. It includes more than 130 paintings, drawings and engravings by the artist, whose life was marked by faith and superstition.