The Robert Schuman Foundation, together with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the CEDEM, are organising a conference in Montenegro on 29th and 30th September on the European integration of the Western Balkans. Jérôme Chartier MP, Jean-Dominique Giuliani, Chair of the Robert Schuman Foundation, as well as Gaëlle Pério, journalist and specialist in the Balkans will speak during the debates over the issues at stake in terms of this integration.

On 23rd October Bulgarians are being called to ballot to appoint the successor to Georgi Parvanov, who, at the end of his second term in office, cannot run again. The President of the Republic and his Vice-President (with whom he forms a ticket) are elected for a five year term in office which is renewable once only. Candidates for the supreme office can be presented either by political parties or by voters' committees. 18 people have registered as candidates for the supreme office, each in a ticket with a Vice-President. 12 are put forward by political parties and 6 by voters' committees. According to the most recent poll by Mediana, the ruling party's candidate Rossen Plevnelyev, is due to win 29.1% of the vote in the first round, ahead of Ivaylo Kalfine who is due to win 21.9% of the vote and Meglena Kuneva, who is due to win 14.1% of the vote. A second round will be organised if necessary on 30th October.

The IMF's forecasts decreased radically on 20th September in terms of short term world growth. In its six-monthly "Global Financial Stability Report" the institution is now forcasting a growth rate of 4% in 2011/2012, in comparison with 4.3% and 4.5% respectively in its most recent forecasts in June. The forcecasts were reduced signficantly for the USA (now at 1.5% in 2011 and 1.8% in 2012; in the euro area 1.6% in 2011, formerly 2%, and 1.1% in 2012 (against a previous 1.7%)). The IMF's economists describe activity as "astonishingly weak in the second quarter" and are not forecasting any improvement short term.

On 20th September the European Commission acknowledged that other European banks, apart from the institutions that failed the stress tests in July last, will probably need to recapitalise because of the debt crisis. This was announced by Joaquin Alumnia, the European Commissioner for Competition during a press conference in Brussels. The Commissioner also declared that the European Commission will allow Member States to intervene if necessary. The specific rules relative to State aid (temporary framework) in application since the start of the financial crisis at the end of 2008 may be applied after December 2011, the initial deadline.

On 22nd and 23rd September the Justice and Interior Ministers did not agree to open the Schengen area to Bulgaria and Romania. Indeed the Netherlands and Finland opposed this outright arguing the incompetence of the two candidates with regard to protecting their borders effectively and therefore of respecting the Schengen acquis. In the area of migrations, the States also studied the progress made in negotiations on the exchange of air passenger lists with third countries, as well as the visa information system with members of the European Free-Trade Association.

The EU has stepped up its sanctions against the Syrian regime. They entered into force on 24th September immediately after their publication in the European Official Journal. The additional sanctions notably ban any further investment in the oil sector and the provision of money - notes and coins - to the country. Moreover, other people and businesses have been added to the lists. The Council of the European Union intends to react to the continued brutality of the Syrian regime towards its own population. This was confirmed by the High Representative Catherine Ashton.

In a report published on 19th September the European Court,of Auditors said it believed that agricultural aid paid in the name of environmental protection, totalling 20 billion euros over the period 2007-2013, was not distributed adequately by the Member States. Indeed the projects funded generally corresponded to vague goals that are too general and the results are therefore difficult to measure. Moreover some aid supports measures that fall short of their goals or which were decided upon too many years ago. The report encourages the individualisation of aid according to the specific requirements of the recipients, such as for example soil quality.

From 22nd to 25th September Pope Benedict XVI undertook a journey to his homeland, Germany. On 22nd September, in front of the Bundestag, he lauded the desire for "fresh air" that the German ecological movement embodies, whilst some MPs boycotted his speech. The sovereign pontiff said he wanted "human ecology" to be respected. The Pope notably met German President Christian Wulff and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They discussed the financial markets and "the fact that politics had to be strong enough to act rather than submit".

The director of Cypriot Energy Services, Solon Kassinis, announced on 19th September the launch of drilling for gas off the Cypriot coast by the American company Noble Energy in spite of Turkey's opposition to this. The latter warned that it would respond immediately to this drilling by launching its own work, under military protection if necessary. The EU has called on Ankara for moderation advising it to "abstain from making any threats" that might affect its links with Cyprus.

The Senatorial election on 25th September (renewal of half of the seats) has taken the Senate over to the left. "For the first time the Senate has experienced political alternation," declared PS Senators' leader, Jean-Pierre Bel who might succeed Gérard Larcher on 1st October (UMP). The left now has 177 seats, ie 2 more than the absolute majority in the Senate.

The Slovenian government lost a confidence vote in Parliament on 20th September. 51 MPs voted against and 36 in support of the government led by Prime Minister Borut Pahor. The President of the Republic Danilo Turk, now has seven days to put forward a new Prime Minister to MPs. If no government is sworn in within the next 30 days, early general elections will be organised at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2012.

During a speech given on 21st September, Prime Minister David Cameron launched a campaign to promote the UK in order to attract tourists and investors on the occasion of the Olympic Games in London and in celebration of the 60 years of the reign of Elisabeth II in 2012. These festivities should enable the generation of 1 billion pounds sterling for the British economy.

On 24th September, on the occasion of their party congress, United Russia, Dmitir Medvedev, and Vladimir Putin split their roles in view of the presidential election in March 2012. The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that he wanted to return to the Kremlin, the present President Dmitri Medvedev, is called on to become head of government.

Štefan Füle, the Commissioner for Enlargement, declared that the political trials launched against opposition leaders may impede Ukraine's integration process. During a conference he confirmed Ukraine's European aspirations, whilst calling on the country's leaders to work towards greater independence on the part of the legal system. They should show they are earnest about democracy, the Rule of Law and the association agreement that is being negotiated at present with the Union. Recent developments in Ukraine will be on the agenda at the next Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw on 29th and 30th September.

On 21st September the German Economy Minister Wolgang Schäuble and his Swiss counterpart Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf signed a fiscal convention. This agreement means that as of 2013 Germans who have placed money illegally in the Confederation will benefit from certain advantages if they decide to bring their money back to Germany. Instead of the normal 42-45% that is taken from revenues of over 100,000 euros they will be taxed at a rate of 19-34% and will not be questioned from a legal point of view.

On 19th September during the 66th session of the UN's General Assembly a joint declaration was signed that included real recommendations with regard to the means to bring progress in terms of women's political partcipation. The declaration hopes to promote women's political participation which is vital for democracy and essential for the completion of sustainable development and for the upkeep of peace.

On 22nd September Eurostat published the new industrial order figures for July. These have declined by 2.1% in the euro area and by 0.8% across all 27 Member States in comparison with the month of June. However if naval, railway, and aerospace industry data are excluded - since they vary a great deal, orders have increased overall by 1.4% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the EU. In both zones orders increased respectively by 8.4% and 6.8% in comparison with last year.

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) published a study on 21st September on the Polish Presidency entitled "Pro-European Presidency: Poland on the way to the club of heavyweight EU members" The author Tiia Lehtonen, reviews the priorities of the Polish presidency and pays tribute to the pro-European attitude of the government and elites in Poland which will, in her opinion, have a positive impact on the success of this presidency.

The "Palazzo Strozzi" in Florence is hosting an exhibition until 22nd January bringing together more than 100 major Renaissance works on the theme of "Money and Beauty. The bankers, Botticelli and the purgatory of vanity". The exhibition rallies work by major Renaissance artists such as Sandro Botticelli and Marinus van Reymerswaele.