Just over 4 million Finns are being called to vote on 17th April next to renew the 200 members of Parliament. The economy and immigration are the main themes of the electoral campaign but the issue at the heart of the election undeniably concerns the result that the True Finns party might achieve. According to the most recent poll by Taloustutkimus and published by the TV channel Yle, the Conservative Assembly is due to win the elections with 20.9% of the vote ahead of the Centre Party 18.9% and the Social Democratic Party 17.5%. The three parties are however threatened by the True Finns credited by 16.9%. This result - if it becomes a reality - may enable the True Finns to take part in negotiations to form the next government.

The chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani has published an editorial on his site entitled "Europe, the UN and Libya". He explains why it was decided to act in Libya in the name of European and UN universal values.

On 15th March the OECD announced that the unemployment rate in the OECD area in January 2011 totalled 8.4%, which was 0.1% less than in December. The rate has declined for the second consecutive time after a period of stability of around 8.5% for most of the year 2010 and after having reached 8.6% in November.

On 16th March the French government unveiled its project that aims to include in the Constitution the principle of a return to balance of public accounts. The draft constitutional reform presented by Prime Minister François Fillon to the Council of Ministers establishes "framework laws for public finances" which prevail over the State budgets and Social Security. The Prime Minister confirmed his intention to "submit it to the vote of the National Assembly and if possible to that of the Senate before the summer." France has committed to bringing its public deficit, which is due to be beaten in 2010 with a record of around 7.6% of the GDP, to 6% this year and then 3%, the limit authorised by the European treaties in 2013.

The Icelandic Central Bank decided on 16th March to leave its main interest rate at 4.25% which is a first after 18 months of reductions. According to the bank the development of the economy, inflation and exchange rates provide contradictory signs with regard to the way monetary policy should be undertaken. Finally it also believes that caution is required before the referendum on the financial agreement Icesave on 9th April.

The ratings agency Moody's downgraded Portugal on 15th March from A1 to A3. This decision immediately renewed concern on the market and caused a sudden rise in the Portuguese borrowing rate. Moreover the economic austerity measures announced by the government are weakening it. There might now be a political crisis in addition to the economic one.

On 16th March the German government adopted its guidelines for the 2012 budget and financial planning mid-term. Budgetary guidelines 2012 provide for 303.8 billion euros in spending (0.7% less than in 2011) and 272.3 billion euros in revenues. The State's funding requirements are due to reach 31.5 billion euros in 2012. According to financial planning this figure is due to decline to lie at 13.3 billion in 2015.

The government which has been managing current affairs since 13th June 2010 approved the major budget guidelines 2011 on 17th March forecasting a public deficit of 3.6% of the GDP, a more ambitious target than the 4.1% planned in the European Stability Programme said Prime Minister Yves Leterme.

According to figures published on 16th March by the national statistics office the rise in unemployment continues in the UK; it now affects 8% of the working population (7.9% in December). With 2,530, 000 the number of job seekers reached their highest level in 17 years. Unemployment continues to rise amongst the 16-24 year olds; this age group revealed a rate of 20% - which had not been reached since the start of statistics collation in 1992.

On 14th March the IMF announced that it was releasing the fourth part of its loan to Greece to a total of 4.1 billion euros. The sums paid out now total 14.6 billion euros of a planned total of 30 billion euros. The IMF repeated that the Greek State could not just satisfy itself with expenditure reductions and that it had to find new revenue sources to reduce its deficit. In a report published on 16th March the IMF believed that the Greek economy would get worse over a longer period than previously forecast indicating that it was due to be at its worst in the second half of 2011. However the IMF did not change its forecast for the rest of the year: it is forecasting on a GDP decline of 3%. Moreover Greece's GDP contracted by 4.5% in 2010, thereby revealing a more serious recession than forecast in the budget (-4.2%) announced the Greek Statistics Authority (Ase) in its first official estimation on 14th March.

During the Eurogroup meeting on 14th March the 17 Finance Ministers of the euro area established the results of the area's economic situation and the developments seen in terms of financial stability. Although the Eurogroup chair Jean-Claude Juncker noted that "there was a positive trend in economic activity in the euro area," he did however express concern with regard to rises in inflation. Moreover the ministers continued their work in view of establishing an overall response to ensure the euro area's financial stability. The European Council on 24th and 25th March is due to decide operational characteristics of the European Stability Mechanism.

On 16th March the European Commission proposed a common system for calculating the tax base of businesses operating in the EU. The aim of this proposal is to reduce significantly the administrative burden, compliance costs and legal uncertainties that businesses in the EU currently face in having to comply with up to 27 different national systems for determining their taxable profits. The proposed Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), would mean that companies would benefit from a "one-stop-shop" system for filing their tax returns and would be able to consolidate all the profits and losses they incur across the EU.

On 17th March the European Commission adopted a proposal that aims to reform the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in the hope of enhancing its means, its effectiveness and its capabilities. One of the main elements of the Commission's proposals aims to improve judicial follow-up to OLAF inquiries by the Member States by stepping up cooperation with national authorities. In order to improve OLAF's effectiveness the Commission suggests that the Office inform the surveillance committee if an inquiry is not completed within 12 months and to justify this delay. Moreover the Commission is planning for the establishment of a flexible, closer cooperation procedures and the regular exchange of information between OLAF and the EU's institutions by guaranteeing their independence.

On the occasion of the conference of the European Wind Energy Association on 14th March and after the recent events in Japan the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard said, " We can say that if we do not want nuclear, we should have even more cheap fossil fuels to replace it, or we could say: 'Why not use this opportunity to address the necessity of moving towards a low-carbon emissions society?'". "I think we should do that," she added. These declarations came after the decision of European Energy Commissioner Günther Ottinger to convene an emergency meeting between the ministers of the 27 Member States to debate the launch of "resistance security tests" on European nuclear power stations. The European Commission will launch a road map on energy for 2050 in the autumn of 2011.

On 18th March 2011 on the occasion of the event entitled "Does the Lisbon Treaty meet citizens' expectations?" European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros presented the results of a survey that focused on citizens' rights. According to estimates 72% of European citizens believe they are not well informed about the Charter of Fundamental Rights and 13% say they have never even heard of it.

On 15th March the European Parliament's Budgets Committee adopted a report on the major budgetary guidelines 2012 prepared by the budget 2012 rapporteur Francesca Balzani (S&D, IT). The document links the 2012 to European economic governance reform, the European Semester and the Europe 2020 Strategy for employment and growth. The report notably confirms that some budgetary lines are not funded adequately in comparison with the EU's declared priorities, notably with regard to growth and employment citizenship and foreign policy. The report also suggests that a definition of "negative priorities" should be made since they are said to receive less funding.

The upcoming reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was the focus of discussions of the 27 Agriculture Ministers on 17th March. They noted the conclusions of the Hungarian Presidency on the European Commission's communication of November 2010 defining the future of the Common Agricultural Policy until 2020. Although they all said they wanted to make the CAP more ecological debates were lively with regard to GMOs and changes to bring to the redistribution of direct revenue aid. They did not come to an agreement on the proposals to allow the use of three types of genetically modified organisms in the foodstuffs sector.

The 27 Economy and Finance Ministers agreed on 15th March on a project that aims to strengthen budgetary discipline notably planning for a new type of fine for the "bad boys" in terms of debt deficit. This historic progress is "a vital contribution to discussions of Heads of State and government with regard to the overall European response to the crisis," which will be finalised during the European Council on 24th and 25th March.

In a joint declaration on 18th March the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the High Representative Catherine Ashton supported the 1973 resolution of the UN Security Council which gave the green light to taking "all necessary measures" to protect civilians against the troops of Colonol Mouammar Kadhafi. After the announcement of a cease-fire on the part of the Libyan regime on 18th March Catherine Ashton organised an exceptional press meeting during which she focused on economic sanctions and humanitarian support the EU might be able to provide. She also met the President of the French Republic Nicolas Sarkozy, Amr Moussa of the Arab League and Jean Ping of the African Union in Paris in the evening of 18th March.

The European Court partly invalidated the early closure of the blue fin tuna fishing season decided upon by the Commission in 2008 with regard to French, Italian, Maltese, Greek and Cypriot purse seiners (use of a net.) The European Court of Justice did not challenge the ban on blue fin tuna fishing in itself which is designed to protect the species as a resource, but it did believe that there had been discrimination in favour of Spanish fishermen who explicitly enjoyed some days more fishing than their European competitors.

The Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) believed that the presence of a cross on a classroom wall in which most of the pupils were Christian was not contrary to the Constitution, in a decision delivered on 16th March. The VfGH said that the presence of a Christian symbol "did not mean a State preference for a particular religion or relgious belief" in the context of the separation of the Church and the State in applicaiton in the country. The judges stressed that the law explicitly sets the goal of teaching children the tolerance of all religions.

In application of resolution 1973 adopted on 17th March by the UN an international coalition led by France, the UK and the USA started a military operation on 19th March against Colonel Kadhafi's regime to prevent it from undertaking military action against the civilian population, notably in the opposition's bastion of Benghazi.

30,000 people took part in another demonstration in Budapest on 15th March in support of the freedom of the press in Hungary, in spite of the amendments made to the controversial media law. The mobilisation which was organised by internet has gathered strength in comparison with the previous demonstration which rallied around 10,000 people. Hungarian actor Janos Kulka, one of the events organisers believed, that it was "the biggest civilian demonstration since the fall of communism. The organisers have asked the government to repeal the law.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is looking into the dispute that has been ongoing between Macedonia and Greece for the last two decades over the name of the former Yugoslav republic. The hearing will last six days. The decision will be deliberated.

In a study published on 16th March Eurostat recorded a rise over one year of 2.4% in the inflation rate in the euro area for February 2011 against 2.3% in January. The annual inflation rate for the EU remained unchanged at 2.8% between January and February 2011. In the same month the lowest annual inflation rates were seen in Ireland (0.9%), Sweden (1.2%), France (1.8%) and the highest were in Romania (7.6%), Estonia (5.5%) and in Bulgaria (4.6%).

The Centre for Applied Policy Research of the University of Munich (CAP) has published an analysis by Sebastian Schäffer and Florian Baumann on the Single Market Act entitled "Single Market Act - Single Act for the Internal Market or Revitalisation for the Whole Project?" in which the authors look into the European Commission's strategy to boost the single market as part of the Europe 2020 strategy.

According to figures on the transfer of international arms published on 14th March by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) the average volume of arms transfers in the world over the period 2006-2010 increased by 24% in comparison with the period 2001-2005. Asia-Australasia was still the first import area over the period 2006-2010, with 43% of total imports followed by Europe (21%), Middle East (17%), the American continent (12%) and Africa (7%). India imported 9% of the volume international arms transfers over the period 2006-2010; the USA is still the world's leading exporter of military equipment.

The Centre for European Policy Studies has published a study entitled "Restoring Financial Stability in the Euro Area) by Christian Kopf, Director of economic research and investment strategy of the British group Spinnaker Capital. The author assesses and criticises four proposals: joint European bonds, temporary assistance to liquidity with multilateral funds, the purchase of debt by multilateral funds and the restructuring of debt.

Until 31st July the Maillol Museum in Paris is paying tribute to the sculptures of Catalan artist Joan Miro (1893-1983) better known for his paintings. As part of this exhibition entitled "Miro Sculpteur" the museum has brought together 99 sculptures, 22 ceramic works and 20 drawings by Joan Miro.

The Royal Academy of Arts in London is devoting an exhibition to the drawings of Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). It is showing more than 80 drawings by the French artist and studies the development and mastery of his drawing techniques. The exhibition "Watteau: the Drawings" will end on 5th June.

The Alte Pinakothek in Munich is organising an exhibition devoted to Vermeer "Vermeer in Munich. King Maximilien 1st of Bavaria, collector of the Ancient Masters" until 19th June, in which work form the private collection of the first king of Bavaria Max I Joseph (1756-1825) is on show. He was a grand amateur of paintings by the Dutch Masters of the 17th century. This collection was sold by auction in 1826. Exhibition visitors can see the master pieces of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, "The Woman Holding a Balance" (1664) as well as pictures by Jacob van Ruisdael, Willem van de Velde the Younger and Philips Wouwerman amongst others.

The 6th edition of the independent and art film festival "Europe beyond Europe" is presenting both contemporary films and films from the 1960's, films that form the bedrock of the national cinemas of Southern, Central and Eastern Europe as well as Western Europe - Heros and Anti-Heros.