In an editorial published on 21st March 2014 in the newspaper "Ouest France" the Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation, Jean-Dominique Giuliani reviews the Ukrainian crisis and the consequences of Crimea's annexation by Russia. In Jean-Dominique Giuliani's opinion Putin's action has "endangered peace in Europe and the world." In his opinion this is a "step backwards" marking the return to "a Europe of nationalities." The Foundation Chairman calls on Europeans to rearm to defend the law and their values including on the continent since in the international arena "only the power of strength makes diplomacy credible, especially when it implies a quest for peace."

In an editorial published on his site Jean-Dominique Giuliani assesses the first things we need to learn from the Russian attitude in Ukraine and notably in Crimea.

In its report entitled "Economic Study of the Czech Republic" published on 18th March 2014 the OECD indicated that the Czech economy is recovering but that work still remained. Stressing the need for the country to adopt a new economic model to achieve this the OECD suggests that the Czech government restructure the economy on three pillars: the creation of a more competitive environment, the more effective use of the labour market and the improvement of the transition from school to work.

The IMF observation mission in Hungary undertaken according to article IV of the organisation's statutes came to an end on 20th March 2014 and published its conclusions. It notably points to the fact that the country has succeeded in emerging from the 2012 recession with an annual growth rate of 1.1% in 2013. Moreover the country has succeeded in maintaining its public deficit within the 3% limit set by the EU. However the mission stresses that confidence in the Hungarian market was still not secured and that structural reform as well as a communication plan that aimed to establish long term investor confidence in the Hungarian market are necessary for the country to continue along the path of growth that started at the beginning of the year.

On 20th March 2014 the panel of experts - economists who advise the German government - revealed their forecast for GDP growth this year at 1.9%. Their most recent forecast dated back to the autumn and suggested growth of 1.6% this year. The new figures reflect "the positive development at the start of the year as well as the improvement in sentiment indicators," explained the panel in a press release.

The European Council which met on 20th and 21st March 2014 addressed issues linked to taxation, competitiveness, climate and energy. In terms of taxation the heads of State and government decided to step up their fight to counter tax evasion by adopting a text on taxing savings, which had been impeded to date by Austria and Luxembourg. This will enable the automatic exchange of tax information about payments made by trusts and foundations. Moreover they welcomed the agreement on the single supervisory mechanism which is an additional step forward towards banking union. The 28 also debated measures to take to strengthen Europe's industrial competitiveness from an internal and international point of view. They also set goals to be achieved in terms of the climate and energy so that they can speak as one during the International Climate Conference which will take place in Paris in 2015.

The European Commission announced on 19th March 2014 that it had fined European and Japanese car and lorry bearings manufacturers 953 million euro. They stand accused of having participated in a cartel on the car bearings markets used by car, lorry and spare parts manufacturers. Bearings are used in the car industry to reduce friction between mobile parts on the vehicle. Cartels like this are proscribed by European competition law and it is because of this that the European Commission decided to sanction these companies.

On 19th March 2014 the European Commission decided to respond positively to the first European citizens' initiative which fulfils all of the criteria set by European law. The initiative entitled "Right2Water" asked the European Commission to "ensure that all EU citizens could access water and sanitation, to ensure that water supplies and water resource management would not be subject to internal market rules and that they be excluded from liberalisation and to step up its effort to guarantee universal access to water and sanitation across the whole world." The Commission has committed to taking real measures in answer to this citizens initiative.

On 18th March 2014 the 287 General Affairs Ministers prepared the European Council of 20th and 21st March. They exchanged views with the President of the Council Herman van Rompuy. Apart from discussions devoted to Ukraine work focused mainly on the economy, including growth, competitiveness and employment. The issue of industrial competitiveness as well as climate and energy were also debated. Ministers set in place the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps. This initiative planned for in the Lisbon Treaty offers volunteers in depth training and places them within humanitarian organisations according to requirements. Finally ministers held their first discussion about the Commission's communication which aims to introduce a framework to enable response to systemic threats to the rule of law in the 28 Member States.

After a long round of negotiations the European Parliament and the Council came to an agreement on banking union on 20th March 2014. This political agreement focuses on the orderly liquidation of banks in the euro zone and aims to make the banking sector responsible for the financial burden and not the taxpayer. This is the second pillar of European banking union after the single supervisory mechanism of euro zone banks, which will be implemented at the end of this year by the European Central Bank. This agreement that was found after bitter disagreement represents "real protection against bank default."

The tripartite social summit met on 20th March 2014 before the European Council and with the representatives of European employers and workers, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy as well as the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in attendance. They notably agreed on the need to work more together for the benefit of long term economic growth, whilst guaranteeing social cohesion and quality of employment. They highlighted the urgent need to restore confidence in European integration.

On 24th March 2014 the 28 European Fisheries Ministers adopted a series of measures with Belize, Cambodia and Guinea that affect the trade in fishing products and also other activities linked to fishing undertaken by these countries in order to put an end to profits made from illegal fishing. The 28 Agricultural Ministers looked into the means to promote agricultural products and reached a compromise that will be brought before parliament. Regarding organic agriculture ministers highlighted that legislation in this area was outdated and not clear. Finally debates led to the tracing of the origin of meat in processed products which illustrated that there were still many differences between the Member States.

The leaders of the German delegations (CDU, CSU, Greens, FDP and Die Linke) at the European Parliament published an open letter on 13th March 2014 addressed to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, in which they ask him to suspend his function during the electoral campaign for the European elections. Martin Schulz was elected on 1st March 2014 as the candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission by the European socialists. According to the authors of the letter the impartial function of the President of the European Parliament is incompatible with the campaign he is now undertaking as the leader of the European socialists.

In around 20 professions German businesses are struggling to recruit qualified workers and the situation will grow worse due to an ageing population. In this context the German government intends to foster women's employment more than ever before. According to a report by the German government women's employment rate totalled 72.7% in the third quarter of 2013. Germany has nearly fulfilled the 2020 European goal of 73%. However nearly half of these women (45%) work part time and one woman in five would like to stop working. On average women earn 22% less than men in Germany according to statistics published on 18th March. Women were paid 15.56€ gross per hour in 2013 on average, men were paid 19.84€, according to figures published by the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis).

On 17th March 2014 the president of the Italian Council Matteo Renzi met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and presented his reform programme. The Chancellor said she was impressed by the projects of the new Italian government who promised "a radical and immediate change". Amongst the reforms there notably feature a reduction in income taxes for the poorest households, estimated at 10 billion euro. Mr Renzi maintained that Italy would respect all of the criteria and said that the deficit would be below the 3% threshold. At the end of their discussion Mr Renzi explained that Germany was Italy's "leading partner" and also a reference in terms labour market reform.

British trade statistics published on 18th March 2014 on UK trade with the rest of the EU show that the country imports more than its exports to its European partners - a trend that is up over the month of January 2014. Over that month the value of imports rose by £17.9 billion whilst exports only rose by £12.2 billion. The UK's trade imbalance with the rest of the Union has grown slightly whilst the volumes traded have increased.

On 20th March 2014 during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon highlighted the need to reduce tension between Russia and Ukraine in order to re-establish good relations between the two countries. He expressed his concern at the recent incidents in which Ukrainian bases and barracks had been invaded. "The world is watching and history will show that we have succeeded in assuming our responsibilities in acting in line with the UN Charter," declared the Secretary General indicating that UN observers are now being sent to Ukraine including into the country's east to ensure the respect of human rights. Ban Ki-moon met Ukrainian interim President Oleksandr Turchnyov and Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk.

Experts of the Council of Europe's Venice Committee deemed that the referendum held on 16th March in Crimea was illegal, in an opinion published on 21st March 2014. "The Constitution of Ukraine like other Constitutions of the Member States of the Council of Europe stipulates that the country cannot be divided and does not allow the organisation of a local referendum on secession from Ukraine," stressed the Venice Committee experts. Moreover a delegation comprising leaders of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), chaired by the President of the Assembly travelled to Kiev, Donetsk and Lviv during a three day mission to Ukraine from 22nd to 24th March 2014.

The 57 members of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced on 21st March that it would be sending an observation mission to Ukraine, since Russia has accepted to lift its objections. Around 100 civilian observers will comprise the team called to be deployed across the entire country, except for in secessionist Crimea. Moscow has been criticised since the beginning of the week for its reticence in the dispatch of this mission demanded by Ukraine and the West.

The euro zone registered a slight trade surplus of 900 million euro in January after a surplus of 13.8 billion in December according to initial estimates published on 18th March 2014 by Eurostat. In data adjusted to seasonal variations exports increased by 0.6% in January over one year and imports by 2.2% said Eurostat.

On the occasion of World Happiness Day on 20th March 2014 the EU's statistics office, Eurostat, has published life quality indicators in order to measure living standards in the EU. By correlating GDP and life expectancy we note three blocks: the central and eastern EU States have relatively low life expectancy and GDP per capita; those in the south of the EU have a higher life expectancy and GDP whilst those in the north and west have the highest GDP per capita but life expectancy is almost the same. There is no correlation between the GDP and the number of people who leave the education system early.

According to Eurostat data published on 24th March 2014 the USA remained the EU's main trade partner in 2013 both in terms of goods trade and services. However a constant reduction in the USA's share in the EU's global international goods trade has been noted over the last decade. Whilst in 2002 the US represented 28% of total exports and 20% of the EU's imports these shares fell in 2013 to respectively 17% and 12%.

On 17th March the European Commission published its second justice scoreboard which aims to promote quality, independence and efficacy of legal systems in the EU. This scoreboard is an information tool which aims to present objective, reliable and comparable data on Member States' legal systems. Following the first edition published in 2013 this 2014 version continues to provide Member States and the EU a tool to foster the effectiveness of legal systems and economic growth in the Union. It will notably contribute to the European Semester - the annual economic cycle of economic policy coordination which aims to improve economic performance and competitiveness by means of recommendations per country.

The Maillol Museum in Paris is hosting an exhibition from 19th March to 20th July "The Treasure of Naples: the gem of San Gennaro," is on show for the first time outside of Italy. It is one of the biggest collections of jewellery in the world, comparable to the crown jewels of France or England, however it does not belong to any former ruling dynasty nor to the State but to the people of Naples themselves. The most important pieces of work from the Treasure of San Gennaro, made and accumulated over the centuries are on show; amongst them is the San Gennaro necklace, the Mitre of San Gennaro and 15 very large busts.

The European Commission and Europa Nostra unveiled the names of the prize winners of the EU's cultural heritage/Europa Nostra prize on 20th March 2014. The 27 winners selected amongst the 160 projects from 30 countries were chosen for their achievements in four categories: conservation, research, exceptional contributions and education, training and awareness raising. Prizes will be awarded by Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Culture and Placido Domingo, the Chairman of Europa Nostra. Six prize winners will receive a "grand prize" each to a total value of 10,000 euro and one of the prize winners will receive the public's prize after an on-line vote organised by Europa Nostra.

The Suona Francese Festival will be taking place on 20th March until 30th June 2014. For the seventh year running the festival will be presenting a programme devoted to the airing of French music in 20 Italian towns.

The Exhibition Centre in Rome is running an exhibition until 31st August on Frida Kahlo, the symbol of the avant-garde and of the artistic exuberance of 20th century Mexican culture. The famous "Self-portrait with a thorn necklace and Hummingbird" dated 1940, is on show for the first time in Italy. The exhibition is being organised with the Palazzo Ducale of Genoa which will be hosting the exhibition devoted to Kahlo (and Diego Rivera) from 20th September 2014 until 15th February 2015.