The governor of Bulgaria's Central Bank (BNB) Ivan Iskrov announced on 11th July 2014 that the fourth bank of Bulgaria, the Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB) will close and its assets transferred to its subsidiary Crédit Agricole Bulgaria which itself will be nationalised. "The CCB's licence will be withdrawn and an insolvency procedure launched," declared Mr Iskrov. The solution has been "accepted" by the European Commission indicated Finance Minister Petar Chobanov to Parliament.

On 10th July 2014 the IMF again recommended that Spain complete its fiscal reform and ensure that these benefit employment and low wages whilst the country is struggling to emerge from recession. In an annual report on the euro zone's fourth most important economy the IMF maintains that Spain has "turned a corner" and that it has now emerged from the economic crisis that was worsened by the collapse of the real estate bubble in 2008. The IMF is forecasting growth of 1.2% in 2014 and 1.6% in 2015 but this is still too low according to some experts to reduce record levels of unemployment which are affecting one worker in four.

On 13th July 2014 major changes were announced at the Portuguese Banco Espirito Santo (BES). Whilst the bank is suffering doubts that are caused by its exposure to the Espirito Santo group, of the same name, a new managerial team has taken the place of three members of this Portuguese dynasty to head the bank. Economist Vitor Bento, a former employee of the Bank of Portugal will replace Ricardo Salgado, who headed the institution for the last 23 years. He will be aided by José Honorio, who will become Vice-Chair, and by Joao Moreira Rato, appointed as Financial Director. Moreover the Espirito Santo family will be reducing its shares in the bank's capital after the Espirito Santo Financial Group (ESFG), the lead shareholder announced on 14th July that it had sold 5% of its shares in order to be able to pay off its debts. The Crédit Agricole is still the second biggest shareholder with 14.6% of the capital. Pedro Passos Coelho's government rejected any government recapitalisation of the Banco Espirito Santo.

According to the conclusions of the latest IMF report on 14th July 2014 on the euro zone it is now recovering but decision makers have to remedy the deep causes of weak growth to guarantee sound, sustainable recovery. Moreover it will be necessary to support demand to remedy low inflation and to boost employment, revive balances and complete banking union. This will also be necessary to launch credit and reverse financial fragmentation, to implement structural reform to stimulate investment, employment and productivity and finally to correct external balances. The IMF has revised its growth forecasts for the euro zone downwards slightly stressing that recovery in the region was "neither strong nor strong enough." It is anticipating growth of 1% this year in the monetary union instead of a previous 1.1%. Its forecast for 2015 remains unchanged at 1.5%.

The most recent statistics on Erasmus published on 10th July 2014 by the Commission show that nearly 270,000 students (a new record) benefited from EU grants to study or following training in 2012-2013. Although studies in another university continue to be the most popular choice one student in five (55,000) opted for Erasmus internships. In 2012-2013 the three most popular destinations for the students were Spain, Germany and France. The countries which sent the most students on Erasmus grants in % of their graduate population were Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Finland, Latvia and Spain.

On 8th July 2014 the European Commission took a further step towards more effective and cost-efficient surveillance of Europe's seas. By pooling surveillance data from civil and military authorities like coast guards, navies, traffic monitoring, environmental and pollution monitoring, fisheries and border control, duplication of work can be avoided and savings of up to €400 million per year can be made. The European Commission and the Member States are working towards the introduction of the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE). This tool will integrate existing surveillance systems and networks and will enable all authorities involved to undertake their missions at sea.

On 8th July 2014 the European Commission awarded €1 billion in aid to 19 projects to counter climate change under the second call of the so-called "NER 300" funding programme. The funding for the projects comes from revenues resulting from the sale of emission allowances quotas in the EU Emissions Trading System. This makes the polluters the driving force behind developing new low-carbon initiatives.

On 9th July 2014 the European Commission announced that it was fining Servier and five generic medicines manufacturers a total 427.7 million euro - the manufacturers include Niche/Unichem, Matrix (which is part of Mylan), Teva, Krka and Lupin - for having impeded the entry onto the market of cheaper versions of cardio-vascular medicines. Thanks to the acquisition of technology and a series of friendly agreements on patents concluded between generic manufacturers Servier implemented a strategy that aimed to exclude its competitors and therefore delay the entry onto the market of cheaper generic medicines to the detriment of government budgets and patients and in infringement of the EU's competition rules.

Jean-Claude Juncker was elected by MEPs as the next president of the European Commission on 15th July 2014 by 422 votes in support, 250 against and 47 abstentions. In his speech delivered prior to the vote he spoke of the creation of the post of Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, saying that there would be no further accessions to the European Union over the next five years and of the introduction of a European minimum wage. Triggering the anger of some British representatives and far right parties he also re-iterated his support to the single currency that "protects Europe". Jean-Claude Juncker now has to form his college of commissioners in consultation with the governments of the Member States during the summer.

On July 9th 2014 the European Parliament published an article on the new members of European Parliament to highlight the differences with the former parliament in terms of gender balance and number of newcomers. On a European scale the figures are still almost the same. However, there are relevant differences between countries. From one legislature to the other one, the number of women in the European Parliament has continued to increase even if it is only slightly: from 35.05 % in 2009 to 36,88 % in 2014, whilst the proportion of re-elected MEPs decreased slightly from 49.4 % in 2014 in comparison with 49.59 % in 2009.

On 8th July the SNCF announced that a high speed train linking Brussels and Strasbourg would be operational in 2016. Barbara Dalibard, the SNCF's General Director said that the two towns would be linked "by two return links per day and the journey via Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and Lille would last 3 hours and 40 minutes." A train today takes five to five and a half hours passing via Luxembourg and Wallonia. At present commuters between the two cities complain a great deal when parliament sits in plenary session. The direct train link between Strasbourg and Brussels has already been tested. The European institutions exceptionally hire high speed trains to the Alsatian capital.

On 8th July 2014, the 28 European Finance Ministers declared support for the objectives of the Italian Presidency to stimulate growth and employment through a joint effort of reforms. These include the completion of the single market, strengthening structural reforms to increase the growth potential of the economy and the promotion of investment that has been hard hit during the crisis. They also adopted an amendment of EU tax rules that will prevent the double non-taxation of dividends distributed amongst corporate groups deriving from hybrid loan arrangements. Finally, they adopted country-specific recommendations regarding Member States' economic and fiscal policies, following endorsement by the European Council, thus concluding this year's European Semester process. A specific recommendation for the euro area as a whole was also issued.

On 11th July 2014 the EU added 11 more names to the list of people targeted by sanctions for their part in the Ukrainian crisis and in response to the "seriousness of the situation in the east." The eleven, whose names were published on 12th July, in the EU's Official Journal come in addition to the 61 Russian and pro-Russian Ukrainian leaders who are already under sanction by way of asset freezing and visa bans for the infringement of Ukraine's sovereignty. "Due to the seriousness of the situation in the East of Ukraine the Council has extended the list of people who are the target of sanctions for having committed acts that compromise the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," indicated the EU in a press release.

On 14th July 2014 the 28 European Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers assessed the work programme of the Italian presidency and its priorities regarding agriculture and fisheries including organic farming. During discussions the regulatory framework based on a political agreement dated 2008 on the end of the milk quota regime was confirmed. Following a document by the Commission on fishing opportunities in 2015 most Member States acknowledged the overall improvement in the state of fishing resources and the new plan that will enable a better sustainable management of resources and improved profitability for fishermen. Ministers discussed the ICAAN domain. The European Commission shared concerns expressed by the presidency and some delegations about the internet domains ".vin" and ".wine" regarding quality wine geographical indications.

On 14th July 2014 the Council adopted a regulation establishing a single resolution mechanism (SRM) for failing banks. The creation of a single resolution mechanism comprising a central decision making body and a single resolution fund - means that in all participating Member States resolution decisions are taken in a coordinated and effective manner in order to reduce the negative effects in financial stability to a minimum and to reduce banks' dependency on the quality of sovereign borrowers' credit. The aim is to guarantee the orderly resolution of failing bank without using taxpayers' money. The single resolution mechanism will comprise one of the fundamental elements of European banking union, alongside the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) which entered into force in November last.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced on 13th July 2014 that the Serval operation in Mali was coming to an end. Launched on 11th January 2013 to put a halt to the progress of armed Islamists and to support the Malian army, the mission has "now ended and has fulfilled its mission" according to the minister. It will now be replaced by the regional operation "Barkhane" against terrorism in the Sahel, which will be introduced over the next few days. The French Minister announced the signature of a Franco-British arms cooperation agreement on 15th July.

On 11th July the European Commission adopted the national Operational Programme for the implementation of the "Youth Employment Initiative" in Italy. This is the second programme to be adopted by the Commission. Thanks to this Italy will mobilise 1.5 billion euro that will come from various sources including 1.1 billion financed by the European budget to help young people find work. All beneficiaries will be offered a personal assessment of their case thanks to a wide range of tailor-made actions. Participants will have to sign an individual convention when they enrol on the cursus. The Italian regions are playing a vital role in the success of this programme.

The Farnborough Air Show is taking place from 14th to 20th July 2014. It is devoted to the civilian and military air industry and has taken place very two years since 1948. It is one of the biggest air shows in the world alongside the Bourget in France. It is also a venue to encourage business. The last event hosted 1500 exhibitors and led to 72 billion dollars worth of firm and promised orders.

British Foreign Minister, William Hague announced on 14th July 2014 that he would resign from his post as Foreign Minister (in office since 2010). This announcement was made whilst Prime Minister David Cameron announced a reshuffle on 15th July. William Hague will now be the leader of the Commons. He is to be replaced by Philip Hammond, himself replaced by Michael Fallon as Defence Minister. Two women will now enter government. Nicky Morgan has been appointed Education and Women's Rights' Minister. Liz Truss has been appointed Minister the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

On 8th July 2014 Ukraine's international donors called on Kiev to implement in-depth reform, notably in the areas of the economy and the legal system in exchange for an aid plan. The meeting is designed to prepare an international donor conference at the end of the year. In addition to the EU's plan the IMF has agreed to a rescue plan of 17 billion dollars (12.3 billion euro). Present at the meeting in Brussels Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman, said that his country was determined to "use every euro of aid effectively and transparently" and to "counter corruption". "We don't just need funds but also aid to launch projects," he added.

Whilst on 13th July the Ukrainian army took control of Luhansk airport - one of the large towns in the east that is still in the hands of the rebels - on 14th July the separatist rebels shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane. Fighting continued to affect the villages of Metalist (in the north), Olexandrivka (in the wet), Georguiivka and Raskoshna (south west) as well as the airport (south). In a telephone conversation on the same day Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and German Chancellor Angela Merkel "spoke of the organisation of a tripartite meeting of the contact group via a video-conference and said they were sure that this would take place (on 15th July)." Finally Mr Poroshenko and Ms Merkel also spoke of the participation of the OSCE in monitoring the Russian/Ukrainian border.

According to Eurostat figures published on July 10th 2014, on January 1st 2014, the population of the European Union was estimated at 507.4 million, compared with 505.7 million on January 1st 2013. The population increase is due to a natural increase of 80,000 and a net migration of 700,000, while the remainder is due to statistical adjustments. As a long-term trend, the populations of the countries making up the European Union have increased by around 100 million since 1960 (from 407 million to 507 million).

The European Court of Auditors published a special report on 8th July 2014 which seeks to determine whether the two main sources of financing amongst the EU's spending programmes in support of promoting renewable energies ie the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Cohesion Fund (funds pertaining to the cohesion policy) have produced satisfactory results. The Court stresses that improvements are necessary if we want to maximise the EU's financial contributions to the achievement of the 2020 goal as far as renewable energies are concerned.

The Salzburg Festival will take place on 18th July to 31st August 2014. The Austrian classical music, opera and theatre festival was created in 1920 by Max Reinhardt and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Every year more than 240,000 visitors travel there, two-thirds of whom are foreign. On the programme this year are some major works of opera by Mozart, Strauss, Verdi, Rossini and also concerts and plays by Hugo von Hoffmannsthal, Karl Kraus, Peter Englund ...

The Latitude Festival will take place from 17th to 20th July in Henham Park, Suffolk. It is an annual festival that was launched in 2006. On the 2014 programme many artists are on the bill: Damon Albarn, Black Keys, Mogwai, Kelis, Crystal Fighters, Bombay Bicycle Club, First Aid Kit... But this festival is not just oriented towards music. Theatre plays will also take place together with films, poetry and literary presentations.

The Städel Museum of Frankfurt is running a major exhibition on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the invention of photography. Entitled "Lichtbilder. Photography at the Städel Museum from the Beginnings to 1960", it will run until 5th October 2014. This exhibition is all the more interesting since the Städel Museum was the first art museum to show photographs as of 1845. In addition to pioneers like Nadar, Gustave Le Gray, Roger Fenton and Julia Margaret Cameron the exhibition includes the big names in 20th century photography like August Sander, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Man Ray, Dora Maar or Otto Steiner as well as some who have been forgotten.

The "Rencontres d'Arles" are running until 21st September 2014. This is an annual international summer photography festival founded in 1970 by Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, author Michel Tournier and historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette. In 2013 the festival was host to 96,000 visitors. More than 60 exhibitions are running in various venues in the town. Some, like the 12th century chapels or the 19th century industrial buildings, are open to the public during the festival. Many events focusing on photography are being organised: evening shows, exhibition visits, debates, seminars, book signings etc ..;

The 2014 Glyndebourne Festival will be taking place until 24th August at Glyndebourne House, Sussex. This opera festival is particularly reputed for its Mozart productions and also for its gastronomy. Indeed people go to the English countryside not just for the quality of the opera but also for the famous picnic in evening dress.