On 6th April the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (Labour Party), officially announced that the next general election in the United Kingdom will be held on 6th May 2010. Members of Parliament are elected for a period of no more than 5 years. For the 6th May vote, the UK is divided into 650 constituencies. To obtain absolute majority in Parliament (326 seats), the Tories need 5 more points than their Labour adversaries. The latest opinion poll undertaken by YouGov for the Sunday Times newspaper indicates that the Conservative lead, under David Cameron, over the Labour Party led by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown has fallen from 10 to 8 percentage points in just one week (40% compared to 32%, with the Liberal-Democrats on 18%).

On 14th April, the Robert Schuman Foundation is organising under the patronage and in the presence of Joseph Daul, president of the EPP group, a conference with Sali Berisha, Prime Minister of Albania, on the theme "Albania, towards the European Union, a merit-based approach", at the European Parliament in Brussels. Registration required.

Papers from the symposium at the conference organised by the Robert Schuman Foundation and the Senate on the theme "The Middle East in the nuclear age - What European policy for the Middle East?" have just been published. They are available from the Senate website in PDF format in both French and English.

The Robert Schuman Foundation has just brought out the 4th edition of "L'état de l'Union 2010, rapport Schuman sur l'Europe" (State of the Union 2010, Schuman report on Europe) published by Lignes de Repères. It proposes original analyses, such as the one by Jean François-Poncet, for example, on "What European Policy for the Middle East", with original maps and all the essential data needed to know all there is to know about Europe. This reference work is available from bookshops and on the Foundation's website. Order it.

The Young Democrats Alliance (Fidesz) led by the former Prime Minister (1998-2002), Viktor Orban, came top in the first round of general elections held on 11th April in Hungary. It obtained 52.73% of votes, ahead of the socialist party (MSZP), which has been in power for the past 8 years, led by Attila Mesterhazy, which won 19.31% of votes. The far right party, the Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) led by Gabor Vona, collected 16.67% of the vote. The Politics Can be Different ecology party (LMP) collected 7.44% of the vote and therefore enters Parliament. The Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) obtained 7.25% of the vote. On the other hand, the Democratic Forum (MDF), with 2.66%, failed to pass the obligatory 5% of the vote mark required to be represented in the Orszaggyules, the Hungarian Parliament's single chamber. Voter turnout, slightly lower than that seen during the 1st round of general elections held on 9th April 2006, (-3.54 points), was 64.29%.

According to forecasts by the Economic Research Institute (IFO) in Munich, in cooperation with INSEE in Paris and ISAE in Rome, published on 7th April, GDP growth in the euro area remains low. During the 4th quarter 2009, private investment fell by 1.3% and private consumption levels stagnated. Actual GDP should grow by 0.2% over the 1st quarter 2010 and then by 0.3% and 0.2% during the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

A spokesman for the European Central Bank (ECB) announced on 8th April that its main interest rate will remain unchanged at 1%. This rate, which acts as a real barometer for credit in the euro area, has been stagnating at this historic low level for the past 11 months.

The French government has reviewed downwards its public deficit forecast for 2010, to 8% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to the previous figure of 8.2%, said the Ministry of Finance on 8th April. The government has notified the European Commission of this new forecast, which results specifically from a public deficit (State, social and local authorities) that is lower that forecast last year. Whereas France had planned on a deficit of 7.9% of GDP at the end of 2009, it came out at 7.5%, which is an historic record. "In the 2009 budget, a certain amount of public income was slightly more dynamic that initially planned, particularly at the end of the year."

On 9th April the Bulgarian government reviewed its 2009 budgetary deficit upwards, to 3.7% of GDP, due to contracts signed by the former government and abandoned its plan to join the ERM-2 mechanism this year, the waiting room for entering the euro area. "We have just discovered 148 appendices to contracts (signed under the former government), in 13 different ministries. Specifically, these appendices will have an effect on 2009 budget results. We have informed the European Union, the European Central Bank and EU countries that we are currently reviewing the budgets for 2008 and 2009," declared Simeon Djankov, Minister of Finance, at a press conference. According to the minister these contracts represent a value of 2.14 billion lev (1.1 billion €) and the 2009 budgetary deficit is therefore no longer 1.9% of GDP but 3.7%.

According to the latest interim economic evaluation made by OECD, the recovery in activity observed in G7 countries over the 4th quarter 2009 is set to fall during the 1st half of 2010. GDP should increase more quickly in the United States than in Japan and the three largest countries in the euro area, that is Germany, France and Italy, but it will remain fragile. The OECD'S short-term forecasting models show that the US GDP should increase this year by 2.4% during the 1st quarter and by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter of 2010. In Japan, the forecast increase is 2.3% in the 2nd quarter 2010 after 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Total GDP in the three largest countries in the euro area should increase by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, after 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Over the course of the 4th quarter 2009, GDP increased by 5.6% in the United States, by 3.8% in Japan and by 0.4% in the three largest countries in the euro area.

On 9th April the International Monetary Fund announced that it had reached an agreement with Iceland, which has been in enormous difficulty since the 2008 financial crisis, on conditions for the payment of 159 million $, which will be discussed by other member States on 16th April. This payment would be the third instalment of a 2.2 billion $ loan granted by the IMF in November 2008. Only half of this loan has so far been paid, in two instalments, the last of which was back in October.

According to a report by the Central Statistics Office published on 9th April, consumer prices in Ireland fell by 3.1% in one year (between March 2009 and March 2010) before seeing a new increase of 0.1% since the beginning of March.

On 8th April, during a Parliamentary debate, the Greek Finance Minister Georges Papaconstantinou announced that the Greek deficit was down over the 1st quarter 2010 "to 4.3 billion compared to 7.1 billion during the first quarter 2009". He underlined that this reduction, of around 40%, had been achieved even before the latest government austerity measures had been fully implemented. He sees this as a sign that the government "is on the right track" to achieving its aim of 8.7% of GDP in public deficit in 2010 and is successfully implementing its stability and growth programme.

The 16 Finance Ministers from the euro area agreed on 11th April on conditions for possible aid to Greece, involving loans amounting to at least 30 billion €, the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, has announced. "Euro area member states will provide", Greece with "funds through bilateral loans" he said at a press conference, specifying that "all euro area member states will participate". "The total amount covered by euro area member states for the first year will amount to 30 billion €, a figure that will be supplemented and co-financed by the IMF" he added.

On 9th April the Spanish government approved a plan of around thirty measures to combat the recession and re-start the economy, after reaching agreement with the country's other political parties. "These measures are intended to stimulate the re-start of the economy", declared the Economy Minister, Elena Salgado, at the end of the Council of Ministers. The measures concern "aid with renovation of existing housing stock", by means of a tax break, support for "the activity of businesses in the energy sector" and "stimulation of business activity and financial support for small and medium businesses and for independent workers", according to a government communiqué.

The President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, presented the results of the latest European Council to MEPs on 7th April. He was delighted to announce the agreement reached to help Greece. MEPs would have preferred to see more ambitious and European measures, but Mr Van Rompuy defended the idea of IMF participation because "(it) is financed to a significant degree by European money". A task force has been set up to look at improvements in budgetary discipline and the Union's ability to deal with any crises arising. Mr Van Rompuy also presented the agreement reached on objectives for EU 2020 strategy, whilst underlining different viewpoints and the need to translate these objectives at national level. Finally, he stated that commitments made by industrialised countries will not be enough to restrict global warming. The Union will meet its commitments but will not go any further without comparable reductions on the part of its partners.

On 9th April the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, gave an interview to four European newspapers in which he addressed the Greek question. "We will be willing to take action in Greece", he said, underlining the need put into operation the Eurogroup members' agreement of 25th March: "it will be credible only when it becomes operational".

On 9th April the European Commission opened a website devoted to action to be taken to combat the loss of biodiversity in the European Union, after observing the ignorance of Europeans on this subject, according to a recent study by Eurobarometer. The "www.weareallinthistogether.eu" website has been designed for all ages. It can be consulted in every EU language and is open to the Facebook social network. "I hope that this campaign will create awareness amongst public opinion of the need for greater respect of the natural environment on which we depend", said Janez Potocnik, commissioner with responsibility for the Environment.

On 6th April the European Commission published a report on innovative financing, after a request made by the European Council in October 2009. Taxing risk-taking in the financial sector could increase income whilst improving market efficiency and stability. A tax on European banks to have them assume part of the cost of the financial crisis could "generate substantial income" of up to more than 50 billion € and would improve the stability of the system. A tax on financial transactions would bring in 20 billion € but would involve a certain amount of danger. On the other hand the Commission has showed itself to be sceptical as to compatibility of a carbon tax with WTO rules, its feasibility and the administrative costs involved.

On 7th April the Civil Liberties Commission discussed the new negotiation mandate adopted by the European Commission on 24th March for a new agreement on bank data sharing with the United States, with the aim of combating terrorism. The European Parliament rejected the previous agreement put forward on 11th February. Avoiding non-individualised data, if necessary processing it within the EU and guaranteeing the rights of recourse by European citizens against the American authorities, were MEPs' main concerns. The draft mandate, with restricted access but which MEPs were able to consult, will be examined by the Council on 23rd April to enable negotiations to be commenced with the United States. The European Commission wishes to see the signature of an agreement before the end of June. Such an agreement cannot come into force without agreement from Parliament.

On 7th April MEPs called for a modification to the Lisbon Treaty to enable the 18 new Members of Parliament to take their seats during the current parliament. The need to increase the number of members is due to the fact that the Lisbon Treaty came into force after the European Parliament elections that were held in June 2009, when the Nice Treaty was still in force. According to the old treaty there are 736 MEPs, whereas the Lisbon Treaty provides for 751 seats.

On 7th April the European Union officially launched its military mission to Somalia, which consists of training some 2,000 Somali soldiers, with the aim of helping the transitional government to control its territory. This mission (EUTM Somalia) will include up to 141 people in 13 countries. On 1st May military instructors from the European Union will begin training the first of the 2,000 Somali soldiers that they are to train for a year in Uganda. The 2,000 soldiers will be instructed in rotation, at the rate of 1,000 every six months, through until the expected end of the mission in May-June 2011. The training camp is located in Bihanga, 250 km west of Kampala, capital of Uganda, where the mission's HQ is located. There is also a liaison office in Nairobi and a support unit in Brussels.

The first weekly information letter in April on the EU joint security and defence policy has now been published.

José Luis Rodriguez, Prime Minister of Spain, announced on 6th April that his country wants to benefit from a fleet of 250,000 electric vehicles, for delivery between now and 2014, representing a public investment of 590 million €. To encourage private individuals and businesses to purchase electric cars, which are considerably more expensive than petrol engine vehicles, the government will allocate grants of 20% of the total price, up to a maximum of 6,000 €.

The President of the Italian Council of Ministers, Silvio Berlusconi, met with the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, on 9th April, for the 28th Franco-Italian summit. The two men discussed immigration, security and defence policy, dialogue with neighbouring countries and energy security. They signed agreements on defence (creation of a Franco-Italian Alpine brigade), waste management, the opening of railway markets and nuclear energy. An agreement had already been signed in February 2009 on this last theme. Companies from both countries took part in the dialogue, which resulted in the signature of numerous commercial agreements. The electricity companies, Enel and EDF, signed a partnership agreement with an Italian turbines manufacturer for the building of four nuclear reactors in Italy.

The Greek Prime Minister, Georges Papandréou, asked his Ministers, during a council meeting held on 7th April, to accelerate the rate of reforms in order to ensure that the country regains its credibility, and not to worry about "rumours" as to the state of Greece's economy. "We have before us a very difficult task ,(...), we have already gained in credibility, as a new government that is determined to proceed with the necessary reforms, but our credibility within the EU and on the markets will, in the end, be judged on our actions and the changes that we are going to make", declared Mr Papandréou during a Ministerial meeting.

At a meeting organised on 7th and 8th April in Turkey, 5 new measures were adopted by the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers. These are measures that aim to reinforce the climate of trust between the two countries, more specifically between military authorities. They aim to set up a joint training programme within the context of the NATO partnership for peace project, and the establishment of joint scientific activities between the military academies of the Turkish and Greek armed forces.

On 7th April in Bratislava, on the second day of his visit to Slovakia, the Russian president Dmitri Medvedev issued an appeal for the removal of visas between Russia and the European Union. "I would like to express my hope that this request will be met in the very near future", he declared during a press interview following a meeting with his Slovakian counterpart, Ivan Gasparovic.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 7th April, the industrial production prices index increased by 0.1% in the euro area and the EU in February, compared to the previous month. The highest increases were recorded in Lithuania +1.7%), Finland (+1.6%) and Sweden (+1.4%), with the biggest falls in Slovakia (-1.7%) and the Czech Republic (-0.3%). Annually, prices have fallen by 0.5% in the euro area, but increased by 0.4% in the EU as a whole.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 8th April, retail sales volumes fell by 0.6% in the Euro area and remained stable in the European Union in February, compared to January. In January retail trade fell respectively by 0.2% and 0.4%. The largest falls were seen in Portugal (-3.4%), Estonia (-2.3%) and in Slovenia (-1.7%), and the largest increases were in the United Kingdom (+2.2%), Malta (+0.9%) and France (+0.6%). In February, compared to February 2009, the sales index dropped by 1.1% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the European Union.

On 9th April the Commission published two documents underlining the need for the European Union to go still further in the field of microbic resistance. The first is a Eurobarometer study revealing various worrying trends in relations between the general public and antibiotics. Results show that citizens need more information as to the correct use of antibiotics, even though 37% of those answering remember having read warnings as to the overuse of these medicines over the past twelve months. The second, dated 9th April, is a report on the application of a 2001 Council recommendation relating to the prudent use of anti-microbial agents in human medicine. This shows that satisfactory progress has been made in several fields.

Notre Europe has published a report by Sami Andoura, Leigh Hancher and Marc van der Woude entitled "Towards a European Energy Community: A Proposal". This report looks at European level polices and studies the feasibility of a "European Energy Community". The preface is by Jacques Delors.

The British defence group, BAE Systems, is now the world's largest arms manufacturer, a title given for the first time to a non-American group, according to a report published on 12th April. In 2008, the British firm took the top place from the American company, Boeing, according to world ranking (excluding China) of the top 100 arms manufacturers drawn up by the International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). "The main reason why BAE became the world's top arms manufacturer in 2008 is the increase in its sales to the United States, which compensated for previous reductions, particularly in the UK", said SIPRI.

The Universitätsmuseum Marburg (Marburg University Museum) is presenting a new exhibition entitled "Wertpapier" on show until 27th June. It presents around sixty of the 5,000 drawings, watercolours and prints collected by the museum, created amongst others by Cézanne, Kokoschka, Beckmann, Nolde, Ubbelohde and Bantzer. The exhibition includes Art Nouveau, impressionism, expressionism, constructivism and informal art.

The 2010 Printemps de Bourges festival will run from 13th to 18th April. This 34th event will host well-known talent such as Iggy Pop and his Stooges, -M- and Diam's, Tété and Nada Surf, alongside newcomers Health, Revolver, Pony Pony Run Run... The new feminine scene will also be represented with Emilie Simon, Carmen Maria Vega, Cœur de Pirate and Izia, winner of the Victoire de la Musique 2010.