On 4th September 2013 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of Robert Schuman the General Council of Moselle will be showing the film "Robert Schuman: l'Europe en héritage" in Metz with Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in attendance. This 55 minute documentary-fiction covers Robert Schuman's life, his fight for Europe and his moments of tranquillity in Scy-Chazelles.

On 5th September 2013 the Robert Schuman Foundation is organising a conference with Yuriy Lutsenko former Ukrainian Interior Minister and one of the leaders of the present opposition movements. He will be speaking on the theme of "What kind of European policy for Ukraine?"

6.5 million Austrians will be renewing the 183 members of the National Council (Nationalrat), the lower chamber of Parliament on 29th September next. According to a most recent poll by Spectra, the SPÖ, led by Chancellor Werner Faymann is due to win the elections on 29th September next with 29% of the vote. It is due to pull ahead of the ÖVP which is due to win 27%. Together the two parties would have the absolute majority and might be able to continue their alliance as head of the State. The FPÖ would take third place with 20% followed by the Greens, 15% and the Team Stronach, 8%. The far right BZÖ is flirting with the 4% mark, vital to be represented in the National Council.

According to figures published on 29th August 2013 by the National Statistics Institute (Ine), the recession in which Spain has been plunged for the last two years, was more moderate in the second quarter. The GDP contracted by 0.1% in comparison with the first quarter. Spain recorded a contraction of 1.6% of its GDP in 2012, which was higher than the previously forecast 1.4% according to officially revised figures.

During the European Alpbach Forum on 29th August 2013 European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, spoke of three vital conditions to revive growth in Europe. Firstly Europe must be able to make real economic adjustments. Competitiveness must return and this will be achieved thanks to change and innovation. Then structural changes and vital economic activities for growth must be financed. This is why an integrated European market financed via banking union is important. Finally for sustainable growth public financing must be healthy. This includes sustainable social security and an improvement in public spending on education, innovation and infrastructures.

On 28th August 2013 MEPs of the Foreign Affairs commission criticised the Russian measures that are blocking Ukrainian confectionary imports due to the quality and safety of the products. Via these restrictions Moscow is putting pressure on Kyiv so that Ukraine will join the Customs Union which Russia has formed with Kazakhstan and Belarus. MEPs believe that it is an act of intimidation in order to discourage Ukraine from concluding the Association Agreement with the EU. Brussels has asked Kyiv to counter selective justice, to improve the electoral framework, and to launch the reforms concluded in the Association Agreement.

According to a press release published on 29th August 2013 the European Central Bank's board wants to double the number of women occupying management posts. By the end of 2019 35% of the intermediary management posts (heads of division, deputy heads of division, heads of section, senior advisers, advisers) and 28% of the executive positions (general managers, deputy general managers, directors and chief advisers) should be held by women. Right now the Governors' Council comprises 23 members - all of whom are men. The institution's general board has two women only out of 14 positions. To reach these goals the ECB is implementing an action plan in support of gender diversity.

On 30th August 2013 the European Court of Justice rejected the reprieve on the repay ruling applicable to the maritime company SNCM totalling 220 million euro in public subsidies which were paid out by the French government. On 2nd May 2013 the European Commission condemned France to be repaid by SNCM because it deemed that peak season services could not be included in service delegation.

The business climate improved in Germany in August thereby confirming the recovery of Europe's leading economy which started in the second quarter according to an index published on 26th August 2013 by the institute IFO. Its business indicator progressed to 107.5 points against 106.2 in July.

The Belgian government appointed new heads of five state businesses on September 1st 2013. As they did so they made radical cuts to their salaries which would not rise beyond 290,000€ gross per year. "This decision helps re-establish a kind of wage justice (...) We have to put an end to the indecency of some wages," maintained the Public Company Minister, Jean-Pascal Labille who was behind the reform. Nine months before the general elections in May 2014 the issue of appointing the major heads of the public sector and their remuneration had been poisoning the government led by Elio di Rupo for the last few weeks.

In a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic announced on 28th August that Croatia was going to relinquish a dispensation which it had granted itself in terms of the European Arrest Warrant. The bill challenged by Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Justice, was adopted just three days before the country joined the EU and enables the exclusion of the Communist era and that of the Serbo-Croatian conflict (1991-1995) from the scope covered by the warrant. Croatia at first raised the tone but then backed down. In the event of a standoff the Commission could have reduced Croatian access to European funds or submit it to a compliance test with European law. The European Commission is expecting Croatia to implement its political intentions.

During the Conference of Ambassadors on 27th to 29th August 2013 the inaugural speech by French President François Hollande was dominated by the Syrian crisis. He stressed the importance of "European solidarity" in the settlement of the conflict. Speaking of the euro zone crisis he announced that in November there would be a second conference for European Youth Employment. He deemed it necessary to reorient the European project with "a stabilised presidency of the Eurogroup" and a "harmonisation of fiscal and social rules". He pleaded for an "energy community which can guarantee the interconnection of networks." He said he hoped that Europe would define its own rules to protect private data. Finally he defended "a differentiated Europe" hoping that France will go further "with the countries which decide to be the pioneers."

On 30th August 2013 Italian President Giorgio Napolitano appointed four life senators in line with article 59, paragraph two of the Constitution, Maestro Claudio Abbado, Professor Elena Cattaneo, architect Renzo Piano and Professor Carlio Rubbia. All four have worked for the country and have been rewarded for their exceptional achievements in the areas of science, art and education.

On 29th August 2013 the Portuguese Constitutional Court rejected part of the draft bill that aims to dismiss civil servants, thereby strike a blow to the government's austerity policy. The bill planned for those civil servants who have been laid off to follow a requalification procedure. They would then receive 63% of their salary for six months then 50% the following six months. If after one year they had not been repositioned they could then be dismissed. With this measure the government aimed to make budgetary savings of 894 million euro over three years 50 million of which in 2013. The Portuguese government will "rapidly put forward another alternative" to the austerity measure that has been draw up with its creditors, but rejected by the court because it is deemed contrary to the Constitution declared Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on September 1st.

On 28th August 2013 the Czech President Milos Zeman formally validated the dissolution of the lower chamber thereby confirming that general elections will be held on 25th and 26th October next. The next general election should end the political crisis caused by the collapse of the Petr Necas's government in office since July 2010 and the refusal by the Chamber to grant confidence to a government of experts which was appointed as a result.

On 26th August 2013 MEP Ramona Manescu was appointed Transport Minister of Romania in replacement of Relu Fenechiu, who was sentenced to five years in prison in a corruption scandal. The first successor to the Transport Minister put forward by the centre left government Ovidiu Silghai had to withdraw after the anti-corruption court launched proceedings against him.

On 29th August the British Parliament rejected a motion 285 against 272 votes put forward by Prime Minister David Cameron who was defending the principle of military intervention in Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons of which Damascus stands accused. This is a severe defeat for the Prime Minister. He promised to respect Parliament's vote and the British Secretary of Defence announced that the UK would not take part in any possible military action in Syria.

The Commissioner for Enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle spoke on 29th August 2013 with the members of the Ukrainian parliamentary opposition, Vitaly Klichko (UDAR), Oleh Tiahnybok (Svoboda) and Arseniy Yatsenyuk (Batkivshyna). This meeting took place to guarantee Ukraine's European ambitions. In order for Ukraine to fulfil Europe's conditions in the signature of the Association Agreement in November 2013 at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, the legislative work to be set in place demands the support of both the parties in office and the opposition. All agree to follow the European agenda. They will have to fight to counter selective justice, improve the electoral framework, reform the organisation of the general prosecutor's office and develop a better business environment.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 30th August 2013 unemployment in the euro zone, adjusted to seasonal variations, lay at 12.1% in July 2013, which was stable in comparison with June. In the EU the unemployment rate lay at 11%, which was also stable in comparison with the rate noted in June. Amongst the Member States the weakest unemployment rates were recorded in Austria (4.8%), Germany (5.3%) as well as in Luxembourg (5.7%) and the highest were in Greece (27.6% in May 2013) and in Spain (26.3%).

On 6th, 7th and 8th September the radio channel "France Culture" will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. Since it was launched in 1963 France Culture has placed creation, knowledge, current affairs and major international issues at the heart of its programmes, alternating and bringing together subjects like science, philosophy, economy, politics, history and religion. On this occasion France Culture has published a book "50 ans de France Culture, le livre anniversaire" by Anne-Marie Autissier and Emmanuel Laurentin. It is the story of an exceptional radio channel in the media world.