On 29th June the European Commission put forward its proposal for the next multi-annual financial framework 2014-2020. In order to have a better understanding of the EU budget and what is at stake in the next one the Robert Schuman Foundation has created a special page bringing together all of the articles it has published on this subject.

On 6th July the German government adopted its draft budget 2012 as well as its finance plan in view of 2015. It also announced that the total additional debt in 2012 would rise to 27.2 billion euros against 31.5 billion forecast in March. Moreover the government re-iterated its intention to reduce taxes on low and middle incomes as of 1st January 2013. Moreover the DIW institute (Deutsches Institute für Wirtschaftsforschung) indicated on 6th July that it had reviewed its growth forecasts for 2011 upwards. It is now planning 3.2% growth for the German economy this year and 1.8% in 2012.

On 6th July the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy met Moldovan Prime Minister, Vladimir Filat, in Chisinau. They discussed political developments in Moldova, the relations between the EU and Moldova, the Eastern Partnership and Transnistria. According to Mr Van Rompuy the EU appreciates the work and reform undertaken by the Moldovan government and that the Union could provide it with real support. Moreover Herman Van Rompuy said that negotiations on the Association Agreement had been fruitful and stressed the importance of the Easternship Partnership.

On 6th July the European Commission put forward a new regulation in order to limit mobile phone bills abroad and to stimulate competition. If the regulation is adopted for the first time structural measures would be introduced to boost competition by allowing customers from 1st July 2014, if they so wish, to sign up for a cheaper mobile roaming contract, separate from their contract for national mobile services, whilst using the same phone number. The proposal would also give mobile operators (including so-called virtual mobile operators, who do not have their own network) the right to use other operators' networks in other Member States at regulated wholesale prices, and so encourage more operators to compete on the roaming market as of 1st July 2012. This proposal is part of the digital strategy for Europe that aims to eliminate all telecommunication tariff differences (both for roaming and national communications) by 2015 at the latest.

On 5th July MEPs approved, 607 votes in support, 48 against and 14 abstentions, the report by Carlos Coelho (EPP, PT) on the creation of a European agency for the operational management of information systems in the Schengen area. Based in Tallinn and operational in 2012 the agency will be responsible for the management of the SIS II system on visas (VIS) and the Eurodac system (data base containing asylum seekers' fingerprints). On 7th July MEPs expressed their opposition to the reintroduction of border controls in a bid to rise to the challenge of increased inflows of migrants and asylum seekers, whilst the Schengen regulations include the possibility of doing this "in the event of a serious threat to public order and internal security." MEPs criticised Member States which have reintroduced border controls and are calling on the Commission for the application of strict rules. They want a European mechanism to assess Schengen.

On 4th July the High Representative Catherine Ashton hosted Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci in Brussels. She congratulated him on the three agreements signed with Serbia on 2nd July with regard to free movement, civilian registers, and the acknowledgement of school and university diplomas. She stressed that these agreements are good for both parties and that they should lead to an improvement in cooperation and citizens' lives. She also re-iterated Kosovo's European future and encouraged Mr Thaci to continue vital reforms.

German President Christian Wulff travelled to Italy on 7th and 8th July where he met his Italian counterpart, Giorgio Napolitano on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification and on the 25th anniversary of the Italian-German Cultural Centre "Villa Vigoni". After their meeting the Italian President gave a press conference during which he said that "Italy and Germany might have the same influence as all European countries only if they acted together," and that we should not forget "the subsidiarity concept" in the EU.

An open letter signed by many personalities was addressed on 7th July to the Austrian authorities requesting the liberation of Jovan Divjak. The former General Commander of the 1st Armed Corps of the Bosniak army during the war in Bosnia, an emblematic figure of the defence of Sarajevo, is accused by Serbia, "without the slightest evidence", of being responsible for the massacre of the Dobrovoljacka street in 1992 and yet he had the courage and lucidity to leave the Yugoslavian People's Army as soon as it slipped onto the path of "ethnic cleansing". The signatories of the petition believe that his release is legitimate and hopes that Austria will refuse his extradition.

On 4th July Elio di Rupo presented his conclusions on the report entitled "a more effective federal State and more autonomous entities." The latter presents a series of measures such as the restriction on the time that unemployment benefit is received, the reform of the "Brussels Halle Vilvorde (BHV) district, and the modification of the composition of the Senate, as well as the writing of a stricter budgetary programme that will be a compromise enabling renewed negotiations on the formation of a government. Whilst most of the political parties want to negotiate on the basis of the paper, Bart de Wever, leader of the secessionist Flemish party (N-VA) rejected this on 7th July. Elio di Rupo therefore delivered his resignation to King Albert II, who expressed his concern about the "seriousness" of the political stalemate and exhorted the parties to "look for solutions", whilst further elections would probably increase the gap between the Flemish and the Walloons. The country has been led by a current affairs government for the last 393 days.

The Cypriot and Turkish leaders agreed on 7th July to enter into an "intensive period of negotiations" over the future of Cyprus as soon as they return to the island that has been divided since 1974 declared UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, thereby expressing the hope for significant progress by next October. He said that discussions between the Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and the Turkish leader of the northern part of the island, Dervis Eroglu, which took place in Geneva, had been "useful and productive". Ban Ki-moon believed that this progress would lead to bring the negotiations that started in September 2008 closer to "their conclusion" and to "a positive report to the Security Council" on this issue.

Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba left office on 8th July to devote himself to the socialist candidature in the general elections of March 2012. "I told the government that I wanted to resign and to do this immediately," declared Mr Rubalcaba. He was appointed on 9th July as the Spanish Socialist Party candidate in the March 2012 elections, giving a first speech that focused on the country's high unemployment rate; the election looks as though it will be extremely complicated for the party in office.

On 5th July the new Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Moroccan, Youssef Amrani, took office. This ceremony took place in the presence of the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Taieb Fassi Fihri, Frenchman Alain Juppé and Spaniard Trinidad Jimenez. This event was the first step in the re-initiation of the Union for the Mediterranean. In his investiture speech Mr Amrani stressed that he wanted to "take this opportunity to provide the UpM with a real policy to mobilise and for collective solidarity."

Andris Berzins, who was elected on 2nd June as head of the Latvian State, was sworn in on 8th July at the Parliament. He succeeds Valdis Zatlers for a four year mandate. In a speech delivered at his investiture Mr Berzins said that one of his priorities was to achieve the return home of thousands of economic emigrants who had left the country during the worst of the 2008-2009 crisis when they left to work in UK, Ireland and Sweden. He is due to ensure that the referendum over the dissolution of Parliament, called for by his predecessor, on 23rd July, takes place smoothly.

On 5th July the three "Weimar Triangle" countries, Germany, France and Poland signed a technical agreement for the creation of a Weimar "battlegroup". This tactical group will be available for use by the EU as of the first half of 2013. Poland will guarantee the role of "framework nation" providing half of the 2000 to 2500 men, Germany will ensure the logistic support and France medical support. At the same time on 5th July the Polish Presidency organised a seminar on European "battlegroups" which focused on greater flexibility in the deployment of technical groups, their redeployment to operation zones, funding and civilian-military strategy development.

On 8th July French Prime Minister François Fillon and Economy Minister François Baroin hosted the British Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg during a working lunch. They spoke of the Greek crisis and the European budget. Mr Clegg insisted on the role the UK had to play in the euro area crisis stressing that "it is possible that our currencies are different but are futures are linked together".

On 6th July Serb President Boris Tadic travelled to Sarajevo where he met the members of the tripartite Presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, the president in office, and also Bakir Izetbegovic and Zeljko Komsic. The heads of States stressed their determination to promote cooperation between the two countries; Mr Tadic spoke of "friendly relations" saying that Serbia respected "the territorial integrety of Bosnia". Mr Izetbegovic said that "regional cooperation was vital in making progress towards integrating the EU."

On 5th July Belarus condemned the Polish journalist from the "Gazeta Wyborcza", Andrzej Poczobut, to a three year suspended prison sentence. France and others are expressing the "their deep concern about the increasingly serious human rights situation in Belarus, particularly in terms of the freedom of expression," in view of the difficulties encountered by journalists working in this country.

On the occasion of the NATO-Russia Council meeting on 4th July the ambassadors of the Council's 29 member countries re-iterated their desire to continue cooperation in all areas of security which presented a common interest. The themes addressed focused on practical cooperation in terms of the fight against terrorism, Afghanistan, the reform of the defence sector, military cooperation, anti-missile defence as well as the situation in Libya. In a joint press conference Russian President Dimitri Medvedev and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen recalled their determination to continue cooperation in the area of anti-missile defence within the NATO-Russian Council and to maintain dialogue.

On 6th July Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan published the list of his new government after his party's victory in the general elections on 12th June. The government comprises 26 ministries, nine more than in the previous government and it only includes one woman, Fatma Sahin, Family and Social Affairs Minister.

On 4th July the European Court of Human Rights elected its new president, Briton, Nicolas Bratza, whose mandate will start on 4th November 2011. He will be taking over from Frenchman Jean-Paul Costa. Sir Bratza has been a judge at the court since 1998 and Vice-President since 2007.

On 5th July China was condemned by the WTO for its restrictions on raw materials' exports, deemed discriminatory by the EU, the USA and Mexico.

According to a Eurostat survey on 4th July the industrial producer price index declined by 0.2% in May 2011 in comparison with April 2011 in the euro area. This index also declined by 0.3% in the EU. Between May 2010 and May 2011 industrial producer prices increased by 6.2% in the euro area and by 7.1% in the EU.

According to a Eurobarometer survey on 7th July, which had been requested by the European Parliament and the Ombudsman, 48% of European citizens think that the most important right is to be able to move and stay freely within the EU. The second most important right is good governance on the part of the EU's institutions (33%), followed by the right to complain to the European Ombudsman (32%). Moreover 42% of European citizens are not satisfied with the level of transparency of the EU's adminstration.

The Institute for European Policy (IEP) has published a study by Katrin Böttger and Mariella Falkenheim entitled "The EU's Policy towards Azerbaijan : what role for civil society?". They offer readers a view of the implementation of the European neighbourhood policy taking on board the role and effect of players in civil society.

In its 42nd edition the Arles Photography Meeting is offering the public 47 exhibitions until 18th September. After 9th July in Arles, the European Meeting will be in Aix (13th) and in Avignon (26th) and will be offering a European view of art and culture.