Petr Pavel, former chief of staff of the Czech army and independent candidate, was elected President of the Republic with 58.32% of the votes in the second round of the presidential election on 27-28 January. He beat former Prime Minister Andrej Babis.

To tackle rising energy prices, the Spanish Parliament voted on 24 January for a new package of anti-inflation measures, including free travel on suburban and regional trains for the year 2023. On 25 January, the Austrian Parliament decided to extend the electricity price cap mechanism, in force since the beginning of December, to households with more than three people. The Foundation provides you with a regularly updated map of the measures in place.

On 25 January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany will soon deliver 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine, and that it will issue transfer permits to European states wishing to supply Ukraine with the same tanks they have. Training of Ukrainian crews and logistical support are planned. Poland has announced the delivery of 14 Leopard tanks, as well as Polish tanks. Denmark and Sweden could also give up some of their Leopard 2A6s to Ukraine. Finally, the United Kingdom and the United States have pledged to deliver 14 Challenger 2 tanks and 31 Abrams tanks respectively to Ukraine, which should arrive at the end of March.

On 24 January, the Commission presented a pact to combat the decline of pollinating insects in Europe and reverse it by 2030. The aim is to improve the conservation of pollinators, i.e. to protect species and habitats, to improve knowledge of this decline and to put in place national strategies by including civil society and citizens.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke in parliament on 26 January to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He called on MEPs to act to eradicate anti-Semitism in Europe. He called for a stronger partnership between the EU and Israel, which "are linked by an unbreakable bond".

The Council confirmed on 25 January the agreement reached with the Parliament on cross-border access to electronic evidence, which will allow national judicial authorities to obtain electronic evidence in criminal proceedings. Regardless of the location of the data, Member States will have an obligation to produce, within 10 days, and preserve electronic evidence.

Present at the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit on 24 January, European Council President Charles Michel reiterated the European Union's commitment to strengthening cooperation between the two parties, particularly in the area of digital and climate transformation in the region. The next EU-CELAC summit is scheduled for 17-18 July.

The Court of Justice ruled on 25 January that access to documents drawn up by Council working groups in the context of a legislative procedure, in this case, does not seriously undermine the Council's decision-making process and does not prejudice the cooperation of Member States in good faith. However, he stressed that European law does not provide for an unconditional right of access to legislative documents and that the institutions may refuse access if duly justified.

On 24 January the ECB published new statistical indicators to analyse climate-related risks in the financial sector. The first data show that the volume of euro area debt securities labelled as green or sustainable has doubled in the last two years.

Bulgarian President Ruman Radev announced on 24 January that early parliamentary elections would be held on 2 April. As the last elections did not produce a governing majority, Rumen Radev will dissolve parliament on 3 February. This will be the fifth such election in two years.

According to a poll conducted from 20 to 26 January, the independent candidate and member of the Democratic Rally, Nikos Christodoulides, leads the voting intentions for the first round of the Cypriot presidential elections to be held on 5 February, with 26.5%, ahead of the president of the Democratic Rally Averof Neophytou (21.4%) and the independent candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis (19.8%).

On 25 January, the Slovak Parliament approved an amendment to the Constitution that empowers it to vote for early parliamentary elections to be held on 30 September. This decision comes after the coalition government led by Eduard Heger lost a vote of confidence in December.

On 24 January, the Slovenian Parliament approved the new government headed by Robert Golob. The portfolios of six ministers were reshuffled and three new ministries were created.

The Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) published on 25 January an evaluation and monitoring report on Romania's anti-corruption measures. It noted several improvements and considered that Romania's level of compliance was no longer "globally insufficient". However, further measures will have to be introduced to prevent the risk of conflicts of interest. These will be assessed by December 2023.

On 20 January, the International Monetary Fund released a report on the Czech economy. The post-pandemic economic recovery phase has been hampered by the war in Ukraine. Economic growth is expected to fall from 2.5% in 2022 to -0.5% in 2023. The report states that growth is expected to rebound by 2024 and that the pressure on the labour market is expected to ease, particularly as a result of the integration of Ukrainian refugees.

The MAC VAL, the Val-de-Marne museum of contemporary art, is presenting the group exhibition "Histoires vraies" from 4 February to 17 February. Through their work, some forty artists question our relationship with reality and fiction.