On 4th July next the Poles will have to decide between the two candidates who took the lead on 20th June in the 1st round of the presidential election: Bronislaw Komorowski (Civic Platform, PO) won 41.2% of the vote and Jaroslav Kaczynski (Law and Justice, PiS) 36.7%. The leader of the main leftwing party (Democratic Left Alliance, SLD), Grzegrorz Napieralksi came third with 13.7% of the vote. All of the other candidates were below the 3% threshold. Turnout was greater than in the first round of the presidential election on 9th and 23rd October 2005 and rose to 52% ie+2.3 points.People are impatient for the 2nd round.

The Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani took part in a debate in Belgrade on 23rd June "European Wednesdays" organised by the Embassy of France in Serbia together with the Bureau for the European Integration of Serbia.

0n 16th June the governor of the Belgian Bank, Guy Quaden said that Belgium's economic growth was due to lie at 1.3% in 2010 and at 1.7% in 2011. In the hope of more vigorous recovery access to work must be "stimulated", notably with regard to those who are over 55 and to "maintain or enhance companies' competitiveness" by controlling the cost of labour and by enhancing the presence of Belgian companies in high growth countries. Given the measures that have already been decided upon by the Belgian government and the regions and approved by Parliament the deficit of public finances is due to reach 5% of the GDP in 2010 and 5.3% in 2011 said Mr Quaden. Public debt is due to fall below the 100% mark in 2011.

The motion of censorship presented on 15th June in the Romanian Parliament against the government led by Prime Minister Emil Boc was rejected since it failed to achieve the required majority of 236 votes. In spite of the wave of opposition that it is causing the austerity plan put forward by the Romanian govenment was adopted and is about to force Romania into a period of severe austerity. Mr Boc aware that the decision is not popular declared that this plan was the only solution to overcome the country's difficulties. Following the adoption of this project the IMF and the EU are to release rapidly new overall aid to a total of 20 billion euros originally granted in 2009.

On 16th June the Danish Parliament adopted by a narrow majority a vital part of the austerity plan put forward by the government; this is designed to bring the public deficit down to the minimum threshold of 3% of the GDP in 2013. This plan entitled "Recovery Measures Package" for the economy aims to save 24 billion crowns (3.2 billion euros) by 2013, then 31 billion in all to reach balance in 2015. These austerity measures focus on the reduction from four to two years the length of unemployment benefit payments, on a limitation of family allowance and on a delay in tax rebates until 2014. Other measures included in the plan will be approved on 2nd July.

MEPs examined the economic crisis. On 14th June they adopted new rules to put an end to a culture of risk taking by bankers; the directors of banks that have received help should not receive bonuses before having reimbursed public aid - bonuses must be capped at 50% of their total remuneration and paid only once profits have been made. MEPs also asked on 15th June for a stricter regulation of derivative products to reduce speculation. On 16th June they supported the need for enhanced economic governance which is based on the community method and on a "carrot and stick" approach; they demanded tighter goals for the EU2020 strategy for growth and employment. Finally on 17th June they asked for the enhancement of Eurostat's powers and to improve the quality of the data on budgetary deficits.

On 17th June the British government announced the cancellation of twelve projects in various areas (culture, healthcare, employment aid) to a total cost of £2 billion (2.4 billion euros). It also suspended twelve others to a total of £8.5 billion. This decision is part of the fight against the budgetary deficit undertaken by the new government.

Public debt in Italy, one of the biggest in the world, rose to 1,812,79 billion euros in April - a level that has never been reached before - indicated the Bank Italy on 14th June. The Italian debt has therefore risen by 0.8% in comparison with 1,797, 734 billion euros in March. The Bank of Italy does not indicate what this debt represents in % of the GDP.

On 14th June European Commission, Central European Bank and IMF experts spoke with the Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou during a visit that aimed to check on the State's accounts and the development of recovery nationally. This visit is part of a set of agreements concluded with Greece, the EU and the IMF that plan to grant a loan of 110 billion euros over three years in exchange notably of a return to a public deficit below 3% in 2014. This first assessment, before a more complete examination in July, was relatively positive with experts confirming that the reform engaged by Greece was on the right path.

The Head of the Spanish government José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero promoted on 17th June the solvency of Spain's financial system. He said that the Spanish state presented financial and monitoring systems that were trustworthy. The budgetary stability plan for the period 2010-2013 approved by the Council of Ministers on 16th June should also bring the public deficit below the 3% threshold of the GDP by 2013. The State's non-financial spending is being limited in 2011 to 122,256 million euros. The Spanish banking system has been strengthened since the grouping of seven national savings banks into one central company, this includes the Caja de Madrid and Bancaja, two of Spain's biggest savings banks.

On 17th June the International Monetary Fund published its annual report on the economic situation in France. The IMF believes that French economic recovery is still "fragile" with an uncertain outlook because of the decline in national and European demand. The IMF fears an underestimation of the budgetary work that is necessary to emerge from the crisis on the part of the French authorities. According to the IMF the French economy must continue with policies to reduce the budget, for the sustainability of public finance and the reform of its social systems. French growth in 2010 is due to reach 1.5% and 1.8% in 2011 according to the IMF experts.

The Bulgarian parliament adopted on first reading on 17th June a revision of the 2010 budget forecasting a public deficit of 3.8% of the GDP according to calculation methods used by the European institution Eurostat. The total of this deficit equals 4.8% of the GDP according to the statistics method applied in Bulgaria whilst the parliament adopted a deficit of 0.8% in December for the 2010 budget. This first review of the Bulgarian budget in 14 years adopted 120 votes in favour, 51 against, is being followed closely by the European Commission.

On 16th June the chairman of the Luxembourg Central Bank in opposition to Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker criticised the automatic indexation of salaries in line with inflation in Luxembourg and said that the government's economic budgetary savings were inadequate. Deploring the "spectacular drift" of labour costs in the Grand Duchy in comparison with its main European partners and as he presentated the Bank's annual report Yves Mersch said that "Luxembourg's membership of a monetary union (...) makes it obligatory to show a great amount of responsibility with regard to competitiveness and public finances."

On 17th June the 27 Heads of State and Government supported the enhancement of economic governance in Europe, notably the monitoring of budgetary and macro-economic monitoring: enhancing of both preventive and corrective measures in the Stability and Growth Pacts, attaching greater importance to watching the development of debt, submitting national budgets to the Commission, guaranteeing the quality of statistical data and updating a control planel that enables an assessment of imbalance in terms of competitiveness with particular attention being paid to the euro area. They voted in support of a regulation of the financial markets, asking the Council and Parliament to adopt legilsative proposals as quickly as possible with regard to financial monitoring, alternative investment funds, ratings agencies and derivative markets. They invited the Member States to establish taxes on financial establishments to encourage them to restrict their risk taking.

The 27 Heads of State and Government of the Union decided on 17th Union to take sanctions against Iran with regard to the nuclear issue thereby going beyond those decided by the UN and notably targeting the sensitive area of oil refinement. They detailed a series of sectors in which the EU will take new measures to sanction the lack of cooperation on the part of Teheran with regard to its civilian nuclear programme, which the major powers suspect of having military ambitions. The EU wants to prohibit any new investments, transfers of technology, equipment and services in the sector of oil and gas particularly associated with refining techniques and the liquification of gas.

On 15th June the high level group on milk created in October last finalised its report which includes seven recommendations to the Commission. The Commission is invited to take real steps to promote the use of written contracts in the supply chain of milk products and to put forward proposals in view of enhancing the collective negotiating powers of milk producers.

On 15th June the European Commission published its assessment as requested by Parliament and the Council, of the use of security scanners in the Union's airports. In the wake of the terrorist attempt to use explosives on the Amsterdam–Detroit flight on 25th December 2009, security scanners are being increasingly used. At present security scanners are not part of European regulations in terms of air safety and are governed by different standards depending on the Member States. The Commission is in favour of an EU approach to ensure that, where Member States decide to use security scanners, their deployment and operation is based on common standards, requiring basic detection performance as well as ensuring a harmonised level of compliance with European fundamental rights and health provisions.

On 15th June the Commission proposed to guarantee that electric cars that enter the European market are safe and that consumers are protected against direct contact with car parts under voltage. These measures will speed up the introduction onto European roads of safe electric cars with a high potnetial to reduce CO2 emissions. The Commission also suggested a radical reduction in European legislation on car type approval thereby ending the duality between EC Directives and UNECE Regulations.

On 15th June MEPs defined their priorities in view of upcoming negotiations on the 2011 budget: the fight against the financial crisis, budgetary reform, external action; programmes targeting youth and the Europe 2020 strategy. They stressed that the Lisbon Treaty had increased their responsibilities as well as citizens' expectations and therefore the means had to be provided to rise to this. They said they were concerned with their restricted room to manoeuvre in terms of external action and competitiveness. The 2011 budget is the first to be negotiated after the Lisbon Treaty which means that Parliament can have its say with regard to the entire budget - but this has to remain within "financial perspectives" ie the long term budgetary framework. On 16th June MEPs decided to establish a committee which, as from July, will define Parliament's long term budgetary priorities and will put forward proposals on the means to finance these.

On 16th June MEPs adopted, 637 votes in favour, 21 against, new rules to guarantee that European citizens who are prosecuted in another Member State have access to translation and interpretation services in their own language. The aim is to enhance "the right to a fair judgement and equal procedural rights" as soon as the person is informed of being under suspicion of having committed a criminal offence and until the finalisation of the procedure.

On 17th June the European Parliament approved by 525 votes, 18 against and 54 abstentions a decision by the Council of the European Union indicating that Bulgaria and Romania satisfied the criteria for the protection of data necessary to joint the Schengen Information System database that enables the exchange of information to fight against crime and illegal immigration. This vote is the first stage in the lifting of border controls with Romania and Bulgaria.

In a resolution adopted on 17th June MEPs asked for the opening of the aviation market and the protection of passengers' private data. European and American aviation markets together represent 60% of the world's air traffic. At present the USA does not allow foreign investors to take major shares in their national airlines. MEPSs regret "that there has been no significant progress on the path to abolishing obsolete regulatory restrictions in the area of foreign investments" and says that "the present imbalance with regard to property restrictions and becoming majority shareholders by foreigners in the USA will continue."

In a resolution adopted on 16th June MEPs expressed their discontent with regard to the political situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. They deemed that progress made by the country was limited and subject to internal political division that was typified by secessionist, nationalist discourse. MEPs asked the authorities to come to an agreement on an efficient, strengthened central State in which the political authorities respect the Dayton Peace Agreements. Bosnia-Herzegovina's progress towards the EU also depends on the respect of Human Rights. The country has to step up its reform work; MEPs are still not planning to grant the country candidate country status. They did however express their support to the proposal on the part of the Commission with regard to the lifting of visa obligations.

On 16th June MEPs approved 559 votes in favour, 54 against the obligatory indication of the geographic origin of all kinds of meat and milk products as well as the nutritional values on the packaging of food products - they rejected however the proposal to include "traffic lights" warning consumers of products that hold high levels of sugar and fat. These rules that aim to help consumers have the necessary information to choose healthy products will not inlcude products that are not pre-packed and handcrafted products, so that over strict procedures are not imposed on small producers. Finally products will continue to have their "beneficial" nutritional values checked and confirmed by the European Foodstuffs Safety Agency (EFSA) before they can announce these on their packaging and in their advertising.

On 16th June the European Parliament approved the European Commission's project that aims to allow 14 EU countries to apply rules giving international couples the right to choose by joint agreement the legislation which would apply to their divorce. The new solution will apply to couples of different nationality, to those living separately in different countries and to those living together in a country other than their home country. It is the first time in the EU's history that its member countries have used the so-called "enhanced cooperation" mechanism. In order to understand how this works better the Robert Schuman Foundation has published in its "Notes" series a study b Pierre Fauchon and François Sicard on "Voluntary Cooperation and Europe or how to provide Europe with new impetus." This paper is available on the Foundation's site.

During the 14th EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council on 15th June the European Union welcomed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's commitment to bring his country closer to the Union and maintained its support to the Economic Reform Programme put forward by the Ukrainian authorities on 3rd June. The Cooperation Council said it was happy with the progress in negotiations on the liberalisation of the visa system and on the new EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, pointing to the political and economic benefits that this will bring to both parties. The Union announced a certain number of recommendations that aim to enhance democracy and the rule of law in Ukraine. On the same day after a meeting between a Ukrainian government delegation and the leader of the European Investment Bank (EIB), a "foundation agreement" was signed that governs the presence and activities undertaken by the EIB in the country and facilitates its cooperation with local institutions and partners.

On 15th June during a EU-Moldova Cooperation Council the Union welcomed the European aspirations on the part of Moldova and its determination to progress towards political and economic integration. It also expressed its support to the constitutional and political reform process in Moldova, notably in terms of the fight against corruption and the country's commitment to progressing in negotiations on an Association Agreement. During the Council dialogue on the liberalisation of the visa system was officially launched.

The 27 European Foreign Ministers discussed the situation in Kyrgyzstan on 14th June and called for a return to public order and for the establishment of democratic institutions; they also offered emergency humanitarian aid. They asked for the launch of an inquiry into the operation undertaken by Israel against the pro-Palestinian activist flotilla and asked for the end of the blockade against Gaza; they also called on the Hamas to put an end to violence and for them not to block work done by NGO's. Ministers debated the issue of piracy in Somalia; the Atalanta mission was extended by 2 years and is scope was broadened. They welcomed the new sanctions against the nuclear programme in Iran. Finally in response to progress made by Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina they said they were prepared to lift the visa obligation as soon as the Commission had given its opinion. Serbia and Albania are the focus of specific recommendations. Serbia is being encouraged to work closely with the ICTY and Albania is being asked to find a solution to guarantee the stability of its political regime.

The 27 Foreign Ministers came to an agreement on 17th June with regard to the launch of two new innovations included in the Lisbon Treaty: the Common External Action Service (CEAS) and the citizens' initiative which enables 1 million citizens to ask the Commission to put forward a proposal on a subject that lies within its competence. The signatories have to represent at least 1/3 of the Member States with a specfic ratio for each country. The Commission will decide whether an initiative is valid as soon as it has collated 100,000 signatures. They also adopted conclusions on economic and social cohesion, outermost regions, consular assistance and maritime policy; they approved the signature of an agreement that modifies the partnership agreement between African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the EU.

Several indicators show that the German economy seems to be emerging from the crisis. Industrial orders and production are being pulled along by exports. The perspective of an explosion in unemployment figures finally seems to be diminishing. According to official figures in May 2010 unemployment was at its lowest level since 1992 for this period of the year (3,242 million unemployed). However the ZEW index that measures investor expectations has just dropped from 45.8 points to 28.7 points. Whilst remaining positive the ZEW institute is expecting that the present rise will slow down.

On 17th June King Albert II asked the Flemish independence leader, Bart de Wever, who does not want to become Prime Minister, to undertake preliminary discussions in view of forming a government coalition.

On 16th June the French government presented its project to reform retirement pensions, which is justified by the probability that the deficit will constantly increase to reach 45 billion euros by 2020. The reform plans for a gradual delay of the retirement age to 62 and a convergence of the public and private regimes. In addition to this and according to the government document there would be a freezing of the State's financial investment thereby aiming to balance the pension regimes of civil servants.

On the occasion of a visit to Saint-Petersburg French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on 19th June Europe and Russia to step up their cooperation. In a speech that ended the Economic Forum in Saint-Petersburg Mr Sarkozy said that Europe and Russia should work together on financial regulation and the reform of world governance. "I believe that Europe and Russia must work together strategically, closely and in confidence," he declared. "The Cold War is over. The Wall (of Berlin) is no longer. Russia is a major power - we are neighbours, we are destined to be friends and we should draw closer," he added.

The acts committed by British soldiers on "Bloody Sunday" that led to the death of 14 Catholics in the repression of 30th January 1972 in a demonstration in Londonderry (Northern Ireland) was neither "justified nor justifiable" believed Prime Minister David Cameron on 15th June. "What happened on Bloody Sunday was not justified and it was not justifiable. It was bad," declared Mr Cameron to the House of Commons, the lower Chamber of Parliament, as he announced the conclusions of a public inquiry with regard to Bloody Sunday. The responsibility of the drama lies with the soldiers who lost control of themselves," explained Mr Cameron. "On behalf of the country,I am deeply sorry", declared the Head of Government.

The Swedish Parliament approved a government proposal on 17th June which enables the relaunch of nuclear power - they only just approved the replacement of the existing nuclear reactors at the end of their life span, in spite of criticism on the part of the opposition and the ecologists. The plan was approved 174 votes in favour, 172 against.

The Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen met Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on 18th June in Skopje. During this visit Mr Rasmussen called for the end of the conflict that opposes Macedonia and Greece over the acknowledgement of the name Macedonia by the Greek authorities. NATO is calling for "courageous decisions" from both sides so that Macedonian goals of joining NATO and the EU can become realities as fast as possible. The Secretary General said he was pleased with the country's capacity to guarantee security, notably thanks to its participation in the International Assistance and Security Force in Afghanistan.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 14th June industrial production rose by 0.8% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU in April in comparison with the previous month. Year on year industrial production has risen by 9.5% in the euro area and by 7.8% in the EU.

According to estimations published by Eurostat on 15th June the number of people employed in the euro area remained stable during the first quarter of 2010 in comparison with the previous quarter whilst the number of people in employment in the EU declined by 0.2% (455,000 people). In the 4th quarter of 2009 employed had declined by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively. Year on year employment had declined by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU in the first quarter of 2010. 220.5 million Europeans were in work in the EU of which 144.3 million in the euro area says Eurostat.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 15th June the euro area recorded an external trade surplus of 1.8 billion euros with the rest of the world in April, in comparison with 2.6 billion in April 2009. In comparison with the previous month exports decreased by 2.4% and imports by 3.5%. However the EU recorded an external trade deficit of 10.2 billion euro 2010, in comparison with 7.8 billion last year.

The Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) has just published a paper by Pierre Verluise entitled "The Union for the Mediterranean: an intermediary assessment"

In a report published on 15th June in the wake of the world economic recession "a two-speed recovery" may primarily be of benefit to the major emerging countries say the FAO and the OECD that are forecasting a rise in agricultural prices by 2019. "We can see a two-speed recovery, typified by weak, hesitant growth and a high rate of unemployment in many OECD countries and by more vigorous growth and faster recovery by the major developing countries," concludes the report by the two organisations with regard to the agricultural outlook up to 2019. Recovery "is gathering pace slowly in the rest of the developing countries and will enable growth in world revenue" continues the report by the OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The American search engine and the Austrian National Library (ÖNB)signed a 30 million euro contract for the digitisation of copyright-free works in the library totalling 400,000 volumes announced the ÖNB on 15th June. The project that would not have been possible without the library's own funds involves the ÖNB's collection from the 16th to 19th centuries, one of the biggest collections in the world, ie some 120 million pages indicated the ÖNB in a press release.

The "Turner and the Masters" exhibition established at the Prado Museum in Madrid from 22nd June to 19th September shows work that has not been presented before. It is the first major retrospective ever organised in Spain of the 19th century English painter - a symbol of British Romanticism none of whose major works feature in any Spanish museums.

The Medicis Villa is presenting an encounter between French painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) and the American abstract painter Ellsworth Kelly. It is not an intellectual encounter, but more of a mental confrontation that uses the eye as a means to look back: the memory of the painting lives on in the vision of the other," explains Eric de Chassey, Director of the Academy of France (Villa Médicis) and curator of the exhibition.