On 25th March 2013, the economic council of five "wise men" reduced its 2013 economic forecasts for Germany. "This reduction by 0.5 point compared to our November 2012 forecast (0.8 point) can be explained mainly by the clear reduction in GDP over the course of the fourth quarter (of 2012)" explain the experts in a press release. Forecasts of an unemployment rate of 6.9% for 2013, compared with 6.8% in 2012 are maintained, however. According to the council, growth for 2013 can come only from the country's domestic market, notably from private consumer spending. The council also forecasts a 3% increase in exports in 2013, compared with 3.7% in 2012. Imports should be up by 4%, compared with 1.8% in 2012.

According to the new economic forecasts of the Portuguese Central Bank, published on 26th March 2013, the country's GDP should contract by 2.3% in 20123, compared with the previous forecast of 1.9%. This fall is above all due to a "strong fall in domestic demand, within a context of a reduction in income prospects". Exports should increase by 2.2%, a positive although reduced increase. For 2014 however, the Portuguese Central Bank forecasts a 1.1% increase in GDP and a 4.3% increase in exports.

On 26th March 2013, the Spanish Central Bank published its new economic forecasts. According to these figures, GDP should fall by 1.5% this year with the unemployment rate reaching 27.1% compared with the current level of 26%. With regard to the budget deficit, GDP, which was 10% in 2012, should fall to 6% in 2013, a level at which it should remain in 2014. The objective set by Europe was 4.5% for 2013. For 2014, the Spanish Central Bank forecasts a "modest recovery", with 0.6% growth and an unemployment rate slightly down at 26.8%.

In a report published on 26th March 2013, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that the banking system in Italy has shown "remarkable signs" of resistance but that it is still under the threat of recession and an aggravation of the debt crisis. In the last three months of 2012, the euro zone's third largest economy saw its gross domestic product (GDP) contract for the sixth quarter in succession, at a time when the country is still deep in political uncertainty, since the parliamentary elections of 24th-25th February. "The recession is resulting in low profitability for the banks and a deterioration in the quality of loans" said the IMF, pointing out that the "prolonged weakness of the real economy and the link between financial sectors and [Italy's] debt are still the main risks".

An IMF advisor, Bostjan Jazbec, is set to replace at the head of the Slovenian Central Bank, current governor Marko Kranjec, whose mandate expires in mid-July. Bostjan Jazbec was put forward by the Head of State Borut Pahor and his candidacy is supported by most Parliamentary parties. It will be put to the vote during the first week of April. If it wants to avoid a European aid plan, Slovenia must find solutions to get its banking system out of crisis. The amount of bad debts held by Slovenian establishments represents 7 billion euros, i.e. 20% of GDP. Public deficit was reduced to 3.7% of Gross Domestic Product in 2012, announced the Statistics Office on 29th March. Slovenian public deficit was 6.4% of GDP in 2011.

On 2nd April 2013 the Cypriot authorities set up a commission of enquiry to identify responsibilities for the scandals linked to the financial turbulence that has rocked the country, and to establish any possible offences. That same day, Cyprus also announced an easing of capital movement controls. The Cypriot authorities have also decided, in agreement with the country's international financial backers, to unblock a quarter of the assets frozen on accounts held by the Bank of Cyprus with a balance of more than 100 000 euros. The Cyprus bailout agreement states that 37.5% of deposits of over 100 000 euros will be converted into shares in the bank and that an additional 22.5% may be converted, if necessary. The troika is also allowing Cyprus more time in which to achieve the deficit reduction objectives set for it. Cyprus now has until 2018 to achieve a primary budget surplus of 4%.

A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), published on 28th March 2013, confirms that the growth surge in the first half of 2013 is stronger than forecast in the United States (0.9%) and Japan (0.8%), whereas big countries in the euro zone, such as France and Italy, are either stagnating or actually in recession. The OECD has called on the euro zone to show proof of greater flexibility in deficit reduction and to avoid taking further budgetary restriction measures for the time being, even if this "means" "not meeting" the targets set. The OECD also strongly exhorts the European Central Bank (ECB) to compensate for the lack of budgetary margins for manoeuvre. "There is every reason to make monetary policy more flexible in view of weak demand and inflation that is well below the ECB objective", close to 2%, says the organisation.

In its annual report on Belgium published on 27th March 20132, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling on the Belgian government to make budgetary efforts, in view of the persistent vulnerability of the financial sector and the country's loss of competitiveness compared to its neighbours. After two years of almost nil growth in Belgium "the economy's ability to bounce back and create jobs is hampered by structural rigidities and a loss of competitiveness", writes the institution. "The financial sector has been transformed and reduced following the financial crisis, but vulnerabilities persist. Combined with the fragile position of public finance, these vulnerabilities could (...) wear down macroeconomic stability", warns the IMF.

Increased "interference" by the Hungarian government in the country's economy by means of "frequent and unforeseeable changes of policy" has undermined investor confidence and affected growth that will remain weak, regretted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 29th March 2013. "The State has increased its interference in the economy by means of frequent and unforeseeable changes of policy. Combined with a weakening of national institutions, this has affected the investment climate", indicated the IMF in its annual report on Hungary.

On 27th March 2013, the European Commission presented a new instrument, intended to improve the efficiency of justice systems in the European Union. This "EU justice scoreboard" will provide objective, easily comparable data on the judicial systems in the 27 Member States. Its objective is to improve the quality, independence and efficiency of justice systems, in order to restart growth, investments and job creation. The scoreboard is part of the European Semester to inform the annual growth examination and recommendations by country. The Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for justice, Viviane Reding, believes that the attraction of a country for investors is "definitely increased when it has an independent and efficient justice system."

On 27th March 2013, the European Commissioner for internal affairs, Cecilia Malmström, presented a Commission proposal aimed at making Europol an essential centre for police cooperation and training. The new regulation provides notably that Member States should share their data more fully at European level. The European police college and Europol would also be merged in order to develop synergies. The new grouping would have its head office in The Hague, in the Netherlands. Finally, the text proposes an increased role for the European Parliament and national parliaments, which will be consulted on the setting up of Europol's strategic work programme.

On 27th March, the European Commission presented its projects in terms of carbon capture and storage in Europe, underlining that objectives are a long way from being achieved. The increasing share of fossil fuels in the energy mix goes against climate protection policy and solutions must therefore be found. The Commission believes that there is still a margin for manoeuvre for the implementation of these carbon capture and storage projects, and that the latter could have positive fallout in economic and environmental terms. The Commission has published its report on progress with renewable energies, in which it underlines the fact that the proportion of renewable energies has increased strongly in most Member States, although efforts must be continued, notably in terms of land-based wind energy production.

On 27th March 2013, the European Union Council published the main elements of its position on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). With regard to direct payments, it requested more flexible measures, whether in terms of the new system, convergence objectives, "greening" efforts or even the introduction or not of specific grants for small scale or young farmers. With the exception of several zones or products, the Council also declared its support for the Commission's proposal on rural development and the common market.

The leader of the democratic party, Pier Luigi Bersani, announced on 28th March 2013 that he had failed to form a government since he was unable to bring together a stable parliamentary majority to support him. "Discussions [with the other political parties] have not succeeded", Mr Bersani declared to the press, just after meeting Italian president Giorgio Napolitano. The latter gave up on forming a government on 30th March, preferring to create working groups in order to force the political parties to cooperate and unblock the political impasse. He decreed the establishment, on 2nd April, of "two small groups of political figures" who will have to make "specific proposals for a programme" that can be adopted by a majority of political forces. The first group will concentrate on political-institutional reforms (electoral law) and the second on economic-social measures. They will prepare a report to be handed either to Mr Napolitano between now and the end of his mandate on 15th May, or to his successor.

At a ceremony in Paris on 28th March 2013, 5 women scientists from all 5 continents received the L'Oreal-UNESCO awards, as well as 100 000 dollars each, for their contribution to research into physical sciences. Selected by an independent, international jury, the women were congratulated by Professor Ahmed Zeweil, Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1999. "Their avant-garde research and their discoveries have changed our way of seeing and thinking in many fields of physical sciences and have pushed back the frontiers of science and technology" declared Irina Bokova, director general director of UNESCO.

Figures published on 2nd April 2013 by Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, show that the unemployment rate, after seasonal variation corrections, was 12% in February 2013 in the euro zone, stable compared to January. In the EU the unemployment rate was 10.9%, up compared to 10.8% the previous month. Both in the EU and the euro zone, rates have increased significantly compared to February 2012, when they were at 10.9% and 10.2% respectively.

The Foundation for International Relations and External Dialogue (FRIDE) has published a series of studies on the policies developed by certain European countries with regard to Central Asia, at a time when the European Union is consolidating its relations with this part of the world. The policies of the Baltic States, Romania, Belgium and Luxembourg are successively analyzed in the fields of trade and energy, security, assistance and the values to be promoted in Central Asian countries.

The German Foundation Bertelsmann has published the results of a comparative study of the state of social market economies in six European countries, the United States and Canada. Researchers compared these economies according to various different criteria, notably competitiveness, the opening up of the labour market and social mobility. The study's results show that Sweden comes top, followed by Germany (n°2) and the Netherlands (n°3). France comes seventh, ahead of Spain (n°8).

According to data published on 27th March 2013 by the German Federal Statistics Office, almost 16% of people in Germany were living below the poverty line in 2010. That is a higher figure than in France, where the proportion is 14% of the population, but less than the European average (16.9%). France is below the European average, at the same level as Sweden. The share of inhabitants living below the poverty line is lowest in the Czech Republic (9.8%), in the Netherlands (11%), Austria (12.6%), Denmark and Slovenia (13%). At the other end of the scale come Bulgaria (22.3%), Romania (22.2%), Spain (21.8%) and Greece (21.4%).

For an exhibition that will run until 25th August 2013, Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos will install about forty works, some never shown in Portugal before, at the National Ajuda Palace in Lisbon. The artist's sculptures dialogue with humour and outsize in these richly decorated royal chambers. Visitors will see "Marilyn", an enormous pair of shoes made from pans and pan lids and "the Independent Red Heart" an astonishing trompe-l'oeil creation made from plastic cutlery.

The European craft skills days will be held from 5th to 7th April 2013 in several European countries, notably France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the UK. A large number of free events will be organised with visits to workshops, skills demonstrations, conferences, exhibitions and open days at training centres.

Through until 1st July 2013, Vienna's Leopold Museum is presenting an exhibition entitled "Clouds, The fleeting world". The exhibition looks at representations of clouds, from the 19th century to today, presenting works by European and American painters and photographers such as Caspar David Friedrich, William Turner, Claude Monet, Ferdinand Hodler and Gustav Klimt. This exhibition is divided into twelve sections and addresses notably the themes of the "Creation of Clouds", the "Impressionists' Sky" or the "Beauty of the Macabre".

Parisian museum Jacquemart-André, the former private mansion of a wealthy family, is organising for the first time since 1899 a retrospective exhibition of the oils, pastels and watercolours of artist Eugène Boudin. He who Corot nicknamed "the king of skies" and Monet saw as his master, travelled throughout Europe in a constant search for light. From his native Normandy to Venice, passing through Antwerp, Dunkerque, Berck, Brittany, Bordeaux and the Côte d'Azur, the exhibition retraces the work of an artist considered to be one of the precursors of impressionism. The exhibition will run until 22nd July 2013.

Through until 29th September 2013, an exhibition will retrace the everyday life and the sudden death of the inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum at London's British Museum. For this exceptional exhibition, over 250 objects, most of which have never left Italy before, will enable the visitor to get close up to life in the Roman empire before the eruption of Vesuvius swallowed up the two cities in the Bay of Naples in 79 AD. Over 60 000 advance tickets for the exhibition have already been sold.