As the country faces a political crisis preventing the formation of stable government coalitions, Bulgarians are being called to vote on 2 April for the fifth time in two years to elect 240 members of the National Assembly. According to the latest opinion poll, the coalition formed by Let's Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria is expected to narrowly beat GERB with 20.9% of the vote. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms, representing the Turkish-speaking minority, is forecast to get 13.3% of the vote, Revival, a nationalist and pro-Russian party, 11.8%, and the Socialist Party (BSP) 6.6%.

On 24 and 25 March, the Joseph Károlyi Foundation is organising a seminar, as part of the Francophonie month, on the political participation of citizens in Europe, in which the Foundation is taking part.

On 13 March, the Council extended for 6 months the sanctions against Russians responsible for violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. These include travel restrictions for individuals and asset freezes as well as bans on the allocation of economic resources for the 1 473 individuals and 205 entities targeted. These sanctions will apply until 15 September.

On 14 March, the Commission presented its plan to reform the electricity market to reduce the cost of renewable energy. It proposes, among other things, a long-term pricing option, the redirection of surplus revenue to consumers and an increased monitoring capacity for energy regulators.

MEPs have adopted the proposed revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. It aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption of buildings by 2030 and make them climate neutral by 2050. This adoption follows the agreement of 10 March between the Council and the Parliament on reducing the Union's final energy consumption.

On 13 March, euro area finance ministers discussed the fiscal policy guidelines for 2023 and 2024, global economic policy coordination and inflation developments in the euro area. They discussed the strategic policy objectives of a digital euro.

On 14 March, the Council raised the financial ceiling of the European Peace Facility to €7.979 billion until 2027, an increase of €2 billion compared to 2018. It also set the reference amount for the common costs of the EU's military crisis management exercise in 2023 (MILEX 23) at €5 million.

To combat inflation, the European Central Bank announced on 16 March a further increase in its key interest rates by 50 basis points from 22 March. It estimates that price rises will average 5.3% in 2023, 2.9% in 2024 and approach the 2% target in 2025. On 17 March, the ECB convened its banking supervisory body for an "exchange of views" on the banking sector after the turmoil of the last few days.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a working dinner on 13 March. They discussed the need for European countries to remain united in their support for Ukraine and the ratification of Finland and Sweden's membership of NATO. They also discussed issues of industrial policy and European competitiveness, in preparation for the European Council on 23-24 March.

The Dutch provincial elections took place on 15 March. According to the latest estimates, the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) leads with 19% of the vote. It is expected to win 15 out of 75 seats in the Senate. The Green Left is expected to win 8 seats and the Social Democrat PVDA 7. Prime Minister Mark Rutte's VVD Liberals are expected to drop from 12 to 10 seats, the Christian Democrats (CDA) from 9 to 5 and the D66 party from 7 to 6, the Christian Union from 4 to 3. The Forum for Democracy is expected to drop from 12 to 2 seats. The final results of the election will be published on 23 or 24 March.

The Spanish and Portuguese heads of government, Pedro Sanchez and Antonio Costa, met on 15 March in Lanzarote. With a view to the Spanish Presidency of the Council in the second half of 2023, they discussed the war in Ukraine, energy issues, as well as migration, asylum and European taxation. They also reiterated the links between the two countries and Latin America, with which they want the EU to develop its trade relations.

Montenegro's President Milo Djukanovic dissolved parliament on 16 March after the three-month deadline for Miodrag Lekic of the centre-right coalition (Democratic Front) to form a government expired. Since the 2020 parliamentary elections, neither the presidential party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), nor the other parties hold a majority in parliament. Early parliamentary elections will be held on 11 June.

In a speech to the national parliament on 17 March, Moldovan President Maia Sandu advocated her country's accession to the EU by 2030 to free it from the influence of oligarchs, preserve peace and improve the population's standard of living.

The Venice Commission, in two opinions published on 13 March on draft laws aimed at limiting excessive economic and political influence in public life, calls on the Georgian and Moldovan authorities to adopt systemic reforms with a view to achieving " de-oligarchisation ". According to the Commission, these reforms should target areas such as the media, the fight against monopolies, political parties, elections and the fight against corruption.

The IMF released a report on 16 March on the Swedish economy. It states that the economy had experienced a strong post-pandemic rebound but that a mild recession is expected in 2023 due to a slowdown in consumption, falling external demand and rising inflation, which is also expected to remain high. The report encourages the authorities to maintain a tight monetary policy and a prudent fiscal stance so as to stabilise prices and preserve Sweden's financial position.

The OECD released its forecast for the world economy on 17 March. Entitled "A Fragile Recovery", the report identifies several key trends. For example, the war in Ukraine has slowed global economic growth to 3.2% in 2022, one point lower than in 2021. A positive sign, however, is the relative decline in energy prices around the world, which improves the economic outlook in the short term. Inflation appears to be easing and the OECD projects it to be around 5.9% in the G20 countries in 2023.

On 15 March, the Commission published its general report on the activities of the European Union in 2022, divided into 6 parts: "1. Responding to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine", "2. Ensuring sustainable, secure and affordable energy", "3. Creating a greener, climate-neutral Europe", "4. A Europe fit for the digital age", "5. Protecting people and freedoms" and "6. Strengthening the economy".

Annual inflation in the euro area was 8.5% in February 2023, down from 8.6% in January, according to a Eurostat estimate published on 17 March. For the Union it was 9.9% in February, compared with 10% the previous month.

Until 16 July, the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris is devoting an exhibition to Léon Monet, brother of Claude Monet. The exhibition, which seeks to rehabilitate the figure of Léon Monet within the artistic career of his brother, presents a hundred works.