Europe is proud of its founding values and promotes them across the world. With the Council of Europe, the vital institution for their defence, the Robert Schuman Foundation is organising a conference under the patronage of Jean-Claude Mignon, leader of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, on "Europe and its Values" on 23rd October 2013 from 2pm to 6pm at the HQ of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. On-line enrolment is obligatory.

On 30th September 2013 the Spanish government presented its draft law on the 2014 budget. The government maintained that the public debt was to reach 98.9% in 2014 and that at the end of 2013 it was due to total 94.2% of the GDP. According to data published by the Labour Ministry and the Spanish social security on 2nd October 2013 after six months of decline the number of unemployed increased by 25,572 in September 2013 to a total of 4.72 million people. On 30th September 2013 the troika (IMF, Commission and ECB) ended its mission in Spain. According to a report Spain was applying the necessary measures to reform its banking sector. However in order to strengthen banks' lending capacity and to support recovery Spain must introduce three measures rapidly: follow-up and increased supervision of the financial sector; upkeep of sufficient capital to avoid a downturn in lending conditions which are already difficult; strengthening of European policies to relieve financing costs.

In a communication published on 2nd October 2013 the European Commission explained in detail (area of action by area of action) how it intends to take new measures in view of simplifying or withdrawing EU legislation, to simplify the burden weighing on businesses and to facilitate their implementation. This communication follows a review of all EU legislation. The Commission also announced that it intended to publish a scoreboard in order to follow the progress achieved from a European and national point of view. This action is part of its programme for fitness and performance in terms of regulation (REFIT).

On October 1st 2013 Emily O'Reilly left her position as Ombudsman of the Republic of Ireland and took up her new post as European Ombudsman. She takes over from P. Nikiforos Diamandouros who is retiring after having occupied this office for more than ten years. The Ombudsman investigates cases of poor administration on the part of the EU's institutions and organisations. Any Union citizen, resident, business or association with its statutory seat in an EU member state can lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman. The latter offers rapid, flexible, free means to settle problems encountered with the EU's administration.

On 30th September 2013 the 28 European Affairs Ministers studied the progress in legislative measures concerning the cohesion policy 2014-2020 which aims to reduce the differences between the regions of the European Union. Moreover ministers gave advice to the presidency in order to finalise negotiations with the European Parliament over several pending issues. Finally they prepared the next European Council on 24th and 25th October.

The European Court of Justice confirmed the ban on trading in products using seal skin derivatives on 3rd October 2013 - the only exception being products that come from traditional hunting undertaken by Inuits for non-lucrative ends. The Court of Luxembourg rejected the appeal lodged by the main Canadian Inuit Organisation Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami asking for permission to trade seal products in Europe. However the dispute between the EU on the one hand and Canada and Norway on the other continues since Ottawa and Oslo deem that the ban does not affect EU members which use other slaughter methods. The WTO is to take a decision about this within the next few months.

The European Court of Auditors published a critical report on 1st October 2013 regarding the EU's support to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (RDC). Hans Gustav Wessberg, a member of the Court responsible for the report deemed that the "EU has to be more demanding vis-à-vis the Congolese authorities". The report indicates that less than half of the programmes studied will produce the results desired and it is difficult to suppose that their effects will be lasting. The Union is one of the RDC's main partners in terms of development and is promoting good governance and human rights, however its aid has to be more effective and realistic in terms of programme design and the goals targeted.

On 2nd October 2013 the European Central Bank (ECB) maintained its main interest rate at 0.5% and said that it would use all the tools at its disposal to help the euro zone on the path to recovery, which it deems "fragile". Its President Mario Draghi re-iterated that this accommodating monetary policy would be used as long as necessary. In the face of a "weak, unequal, fragile" recovery the euro zone's GDP rose by 0.3% in the second quarter after six successive quarters of contraction. "The ECB is ready to use all of the tools at its disposal," he said. "The ECB has a wide range of tools available including another LTRO if necessary" in other words a massive, long term, inexpensive credit line, designed for banks - "as opened by the institution at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012," said Mr Draghi before adding "we are ruling out no option."

The Nobel Medicine Prize was given to Americans, James Rothman, Randy Shekman and to German Thomas Südhof on 7th October 2013 "for their discoveries concerning vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells". The three prize winners have discovered the mechanism that enables the transport of molecules produced by the cells "to the right place" and the "right time". These discoveries have notably helped show how some illnesses can start when the condition of the vesicles (support to the transport of molecules made by the cells) deteriorates.

Croatia gave in to pressure on the part of the EU on 4th October 2013 as it cancelled the measures that limited the range of the European Arrest Warrant adopted just before it joined the EU on July 1st, thereby enabling the country to avoid the threat of sanctions on the part of Brussels. The Croatian parliament modified the law in question which will enter into force on January 1st 2014 by a wide majority as requested by the EU. The law in question limited the range of the European Arrest Warrant to affairs post August 2002. The text was adopted three days before Zagreb joined the EU on July 1st.

On 30th September 2013 France received the first A400M, a new generation military plane. The A400M "which France absolutely needs" is also "a European achievement" explained the French Defence Minister Mr Le Drian. Equipped with four turbo-drives it can transport up to 37 tonnes over 3,300 Km then land on unprepared ground, like sand for example, with armoured vehicles and helicopters on board. It has taken 10 years for this "technological gem" to be developed.

A new programme (ROMACT) aiming to promote the integration of Roma using a new approach combining housing, education and employment was launched in Hungary on 4th October 2013 in the presence of the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Laszlo Andor and the Hungarian Minister of State for Social Inclusion, Zoltan Kovacs. ROMACT will focus on enhancing the capabilities of local and regional authorities for a better integration of Roma in five countries: Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and Slovakia. ROMACT is a joint project with the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Alliance of towns and regions for Roma inclusion. The initial phase of the programme will benefit from a budget of 700,000 euro.

On 4th October 2013 the Irish voted by referendum against the abolition of the upper chamber of parliament which the government had put forward. The electorate voted for the "no" to the abolition of the Irish Senate (Seanad Eireann) by 51.73% (634, 437 votes) against (591.937) votes in support of the "yes" according to official results. Turnout totalled 39.17%.

On 2nd October 2013 the Letta government won the confidence of both chambers of Parliament. In the morning of 2nd October he easily won the confidence of the Senate with 235 votes out of 307. After a week-long internal discussion the "People of Freedom", Silvio Berlusconi's party, decided to approve the government. In the afternoon of 2nd October Prime Minister Enrico Letta went to the Chamber in which 435 MPs out of 630 voted in his support.

On October 4th October 2013 the European Parliament's envoys to Ukraine, former president of Poland, Aleksander Kwaskniewski and former president of the European Parliament Pat Cox, presented a request for the pardon of political opponent and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. "I met the representatives of the European Parliament's mission Cox and Kwasniewski. They have given me permission to announce to you today that during a meeting with Viktor Yanukovych they delivered a request for a pardon which they have signed themselves," declared Ms Tymoshenko's lawyer Serguey Vlassenko.

On October 1st 2013 Eurostat indicated an unemployment rate of 12% for the euro zone and 10.9% in the European Union in August 2013. This represents 26,595 million men and women in the Union, 19,178 million in the euro zone. In comparison with the previous month unemployment remained stable whilst in comparison with August 2012 the unemployment rate was up since it lay at 11.5% for the euro zone and 10.6% for the European Union. The most vulnerable countries are Spain and Greece with respectively 26.2% and 27.9%, where the most recent figures date back to June 2013. However the countries with the lowest unemployment rates are Austria (4.9%), Germany (5.2%) and Luxembourg (5.8%).

According to the IMF's report published on October 1st 2013, Ireland, Greece and Portugal, all three receiving financial aid from the IMF, have received 90% of the funds granted by the organisation in 2013 (financial year ending in April). All of the funds have been released as part of a bail-out plan set out with the European Commission and the ECB. According to the report Ireland has received 4 billion dollars, Portugal 3.6 billion and Greece 3.2 billion.

On 25th September 2013 Calmann-Lévy publishing released a book by Hervé Asquin entitled "La guerre la plus longue. L'Occident dans le piège afghan". This book reviews a long war that has been costly for the West. The author criticises the Afghan conflict, "an asymmetrical war", in which none of the disasters suffered by Afghanistan have been contained.

Until 2nd February 2014 the Venaria Royal Palace in Turin together with the Quirinal of Rome and the Palais Pitti Museum in Florence, is organising an exhibition on royal carriages used by Italian sovereigns between the 18th and 19th centuries. From the times of the Risorgimento to Italy's Unification and Rome's proclamation as the capital, the exhibition presents the carriages of the Bourbons of Naples, the Kings of Sardinia and the Grand Duke of Toscany. Amongst the carriages presented feature the Berlingot of 1789, one of the last symbols of the Old Regime which belonged to Victor Emmanual 1st.