The 19th Parliamentary Defence Days will take place on 26th February 2013 at Chemistry House. Jean-Dominique Giuliani, Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation will be speaking at a roundtable devoted to European Defence. It is obligatory but free of charge to enrol.

On 25th February 2013 the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po (CEVIPOF) is organising an event from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, entitled "Europe: crisis policy and political crisis". On this occasion Thierry Chopin, Studies Director at the Robert Schuman Foundation, Thomas Hanke, the correspondent of the German economic daily Handelsblatt in Paris and Pascal Perrineau, Director of CEVIPOF-Sciences Po will be debating the different issues at stake and perspectives which the economic and political model of the EU is facing. It is obligatory to enrol but entry is free of charge.

Just one week before the elections in Italy the leftwing opposition is forecast winner by all of the polls. The Tecne institute credits the coalition "Italy Common Good" led by Pier Luigi Bersani that rallies the Democratic Party (PD), Left, Ecology and Freedom (SEL), the South Tyrolean People's Party and the Socialist Party (PSI) with 33.1% of voting intentions; Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing (the People's Party of Freedom, PdL) with 29.4%; the Five Stars Movement (M5s) led by Beppe Grillo with 16.3% and the centre led by outgoing President of the Council Mario Monti, with 12.6%. Demoscopia is forecasting 33.6% for the left, 28.5% for the right, 18.2% for the M5s, and 13.6% for the centre. Piepolo forecasts 35.5% for the left and 30.5% for the right and is the only institute to place Mario Monti's centre party ahead of M5s with 16% against 14% for Beppe Grillo. A great number of voters remain undecided.

On 13th February 2013 the IMF published a document entitled "A Banking Union for the Euro zone". This paper maintains that the euro zone countries must finalise their project for banking union, notably "by creating a common depositor safety net, otherwise the economy as a whole will be endangered." The project also advocates the creation of an authority - a so-called "resolution" authority - which could manage the closure of defaulting banks and lighten the sovereign responsiblity of the States. The IMF's paper speaks in support of the unique supervision by the ECB for the "immediate" implementation of direct recapitalisation by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and for the creation of a common depositor safety net.

In its quarterly report on inflation published on 13th February 2013 the Bank of England deemed that inflation will not return to its target of 2% before 2016. The bank revised its inflation forecasts upwards with a 2.3% rate over the next two years, whilst in its November report it was anticipating 1.8% for the same period. The report also states that the British economy will "recover slowly but regularly" over the next three years, with the GDP not returning to its pre-crisis level before 2015.

The national statistics and economic studies institute (INSEE) announced on 14th February 2013 a GDP contraction in France in the fourth quarter of 2012 as well as zero growth for all of 2012. The GDP declined by 0.3% after growing by 0.1% in the third quarter. On a yearly average growth was zero in 2012 after +1.7% in 2011. The INSEE notes a decline in overall output, a further contraction in investments, a decline in foreign trade but consumption that is withstanding the storm in spite of a slight decline.

On 11th February 2013 the 17 euro zone Ministers debated the reform programme that could be implemented in Cyprus in order to bring the country back to budgetary balance. The Ministers called for an assessment of by private experts in order to identify the key points in this programme which have to be decided with the Troika and the Cypriot authorities by March at the latest. The question of the euro's parity was addressed but the G20 meeting "is more appropriate for that" deemed the new Eurogroup president, Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Due to a decline in exports Germany witnessed a contraction of 0.6% in its GDP in the fourth quarter of 2012 in comparison with the previous quarter, as indicated by Destatis on 14th February. It is the highest contraction in the German economy since mid-2009, when the world economy was severely affected by the financial crisis. For the whole of 2012, Germany's annual growth is set at 0.7%.

Euro zone growth will be lower than expected in 2013 and 2014 according to a monthly report published by the European Central Bank (ECB) on 14th February. Growth will be zero against +0.3% anticipated in November. In 2014 a rise in the GDP is forecast to total 1.1% against +1.3% anticipated to date. The main factor to explain this revision in 2013 is the slower development of economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2012 writes the ECB.

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho admitted on 15th February 2013 that he would be forced to review his economic forecasts downwards because of weaker external demand, whilst last year's recession was worse than anticipated. "We are ready to review our forecasts," declared the Portuguese head of government who is anticipating a 2.9% rise in exports and a GDP decline of 1%. The Bank of Portugal is already forecasting a recession of 1.9% in 2013. According to the figures published by the National Statistics Institute, the Portuguese economy contracted by 3.2% in 2012, notably due to a slowing in exports in the fourth quarter.

After the extraordinary meeting of agriculture ministers worried about the presence of unlabelled horsemeat in food products, the European Commission decided to step up the supervision of the processed food products' sector. Hence it is planned that stricter DNA analyses will be undertaken to detect the presence of veterinarian products in food chains. Moreover the Commission is planning to launch a month-long coordinated supervision plan in all Member States. This will lead to the analysis of all food products that indicate meat content in order to prevent all health risks. Moreover the Commission suggested new rules on 13th February 2013 that aim to improve the traceability of products.

On 12th February 2013 the 27 Development Ministers decided to take up development aid progressively with Mali again. It has been suspended since the coup d'état in March 2012. This move comes in response to urgent requirements of the Malian population. An envelope of around 250 million euros will be released to this effect.

On 15th February 2013 the 27 Education, Youth and Culture Ministers of the European Union adopted their conclusions on investment in education and training in response to the annual growth survey and the conclusions of the European Council. According to the Ministers, the Member States should create closer links between their education systems and the labour market, improve professional training, identify young people who are at risk and improve access to adult training and also promote life-long education. Ministers reviewed the state of progress regarding the regulation establishing "Erasmus for all" and made a number of changes to the Commission's proposal. This programme should be budgeted at 19 billion euros.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared on 16th February 2013 in a weekly video message that she intended to defend "tougher" regulation of the financial markets in the months to come. "We are going to defend a tougher regulation of the financial markets worldwide on the occasion of the G20 this weekend (in Moscow) and I shall do this same at the G20 in September," declared Ms Merkel. The Chancellor welcomed the proposal announced on 14th February 2013 in Brussels for a tax on financial transactions which 11 European countries would like to implement.

Germany will recover growth in the first quarter of 2013 after a contraction of 0.6% of the GDP in the fourth quarter of 2012 deemed the country's central bank, the Bundesbank, in its monthly report, published on 18th February. This opinion is widely shared by economists and if this forecast is correct Germany will escape technical recession, which is defined after two successive quarters of GDP contraction. "A gradual recovery is emerging for the rest of the year, without us being able to count on an extremely strong revival in external demand," continues the Bundesbank. In 2013 the German government is counting on another slowing in GDP growth at 0.4% against 0.7% in 2012 before recovery of 1.6% in 2014.

In its annual report published on 12th February 2013 the Auditors Court turns its critical eye to the way that the French government put its 2013 budget together. The goal of returning to a 3% public deficit in France "has little chance of succeeding" in 2013 declared the head of the Auditors Court, Didier Migaud. Although the report welcomes the "major structural effort achieved in 2012" totalling 1.4% of the GDP, it criticises the government for not having cut spending enough and of having counted on tax increases too much. "Three quarters of the effort made has focused on obligatory levies and a quarter on slowing expenditure. It must be re-balanced," he said, calling for "greater spending cuts". On 13th February 2013 the Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that "growth in France will not total 3% in 2013."

On 12th February 2013 the Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius travelled to Warsaw where he met his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk. They discussed the joint energy project LitPol Link, as well as economic cooperation between the two countries which has never been as extensive. They also discussed the preparation of the Lithuanian Presidency of the European Council that will begin on 1st July and of the situation of the Polish minority in Lithuania. The Lithuanian Prime Minister then spoke with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.

Estimates by the European Union's Statistics Office, Eurostat, published on 14th February 2013 reveal that growth in the euro zone contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012. The GDP dropped by 0.6% in the euro zone and by 0.5% in the EU in comparison with the previous quarter. Over 2012 as a whole the euro zone's GDP contracted by 0.5% and that of the EU by 0.3%.

The Pompidou Centre is devoting an exhibition to Irish artist Eileen Gray from 20th February to 20th May 2013 with a unique retrospective. 70 modern creations illustrate the image of an avant-garde, cosmopolitan woman. The furniture, photos, and models enable the discovery of a woman who paid great attention to art and to the development of trends. Eileen Gray continues to inspire designers and young creators both because of her poetry and her revolutionary idea of space and her vision of furniture-objects.

From 21st February to 27th May 2013 the exhibition "Lichtenstein: a retrospective" turns its attention to the work of one of the most important artists in American pop art: Roy Lichtenstein. This exhibition is the first major retrospective in 20 years. In all, 125 pictures and sculptures will be on show in the Tate Modern in London.

The Courtauld Gallery in London is hosting an exhibition entitled "Becoming Picasso: Paris 19001" until 26th May 2013. This exhibition brings together a vast collection of Picasso's work dating from 1901, which helps towards understanding the painter's artistic development at a time when he was forging his reputation in Paris. This event includes paintings from various public and private collections like the "Leaning Harlequin", "Self-portrait Yo-Picasso" or the "Child-with-Pigeon". The work "Evocation, the Burial of Casagemas" is the central work of this exhibition.

Swede, Paul Hansen won the 56th edition of the World Press Photo Award, on 15th February 2013 - this is one of the most prestigious prizes in photo-journalism. His photograph taken in Gaza on 20th November 2012 of the funeral of two children killed in their house by an Israeli missile was elected photograph of the year 2012.