The Latvians are being called to ballot on 4th October to renew the 100 MPs in the Saeima (parliament). 1,156 candidates from 13 parties are standing. Since 1998 MPs have been elected very four years in a proportional vote according to the Sainte-Lagüe method. A political party has to win at least 5% of the votes cast to be represented in Parliament. Five political parties are represented there at present: Harmony Centre (SC), the main left-wing opposition party, 31 seats; Unity (Vienotiba, V), of outgoing Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma, 20 seats; the Reform Party (R), an outgoing government member,16 seats; the National Alliance, an outgoing government, 14 seats; the Greens and Farmers' Union (ZZS), an outgoing government member, 13 seats. According to the most recent poll by Latvijas Fakti published on 5th September, Harmony Centre is due to win the election with 21.1% of the vote, followed by Unity with 17.3%, the Greens and Farmers' Union, 8.2% and the National Alliance 5.8%.

On 2nd September 2014 the Spanish Employment and Social Security Minister published unemployment figures that totalled 4,427,930 individuals on the registers. This implies 8,070 unemployed more than in July. Over the last decade official unemployment figures have increased by 49,025 people on average in August. However the result is positive since over the last twelve months unemployment has decreased by 270 853 people ie a reduction of 5,76 %. The Secretary of State for Employment, Engracia Hidalgo justified these results by the rise of permanent contracts in August with nearly 73,000 people finding work, ie 16.8% more than in August 2013. The construction and industrial sectors benefited form the improvement in economic activity. Engracia Hidalgo concluded by recalling that "the main goal is for economic growth to enable stable employment and provide opportunities for all of those who are searching actively for work."

On 3rd September 2014 the European Commission fined three smart card manufacturers for their participation in a cartel between 2003 and 2005, which is prohibited by the EU's antitrust rules. The fine totals 138 million euro. The German company Infineon was fined 82.8 million euro, the South Korean Samsung 35.1 million euro and the Dutch company Philips 20.1 million euro. As for Renesas (at the time it was a joint venture between Hitachi and Mitsubishi) it enjoyed full immunity because it was the first to reveal the existence of the agreement to the Commission. The three companies that were found guilty maintained bilateral contacts between 2003 and 2005 in view of deciding their respective answers to clients who wanted to achieve price reductions. The Vice-President of the Commission responsible for Competition Policy, Joaquin Almunia declared that "in this digital era it was vital for businesses which produce smart cards to focus their work on innovation and to provide the best products at the most attractive prices."

Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem spoke to the European Parliament's Economic Committee on 4th September. After the declarations made by the ECB President, Mario Draghi in Jackson Hole many MEPs seemed mistrustful of the economic future of the euro zone. J. Dijsselbloem reassured them explaining that the euro zone is in danger of experiencing a long period of extremely low inflation but that there was no threat of deflation.He said it was necessary to allow more time to assess the effects of the measures unveiled by the ECB in June. In his opinion fiscal measures should play a more important role in terms of countering the crisis but the flexibility of the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact is also necessary because the pact is the "anchor of confidence and it would be counter-productive to destroy it."

On 3rd September the Council adopted its position on the EU's budget in 2015. This decision follows the presentation of the draft budget by the Commission. In this adoption the Council granted 140 billion euro in payments i.e. an increase of 3.3% in comparison with the 2014 budget (135.50 billion euro) and the equivalent of 1% of the GNI. To this it has added 145.08 billion euro in commitments, an increase of 1.7% in comparison with 2014 (142.64 billion euro) which is equivalent to 1.04% of the EU's GNI. It has increased the budget by 2.8 billion euro, ie 24.5% in areas such as research, innovation and education. The Italian Secretary of State for Economic and Financial Affairs, Enrico Zanetti said he was satisfied with the work achieved with the Member States on this draft. He also recalled that the EU will provide an answer to the real concerns of Europe's citizens ie fighting unemployment, youth mobility, support to SMEs and the management of migration flows. " The European Parliament is due to express its opinion by the end of October.

On 4th September the European Court of Justice condemned France for not respecting the nitrates directive that dates back to 1991. This community text is supposed to protect the continent's water supplies. In France excess nitrates filter through agricultural soils into the rivers making it increasingly difficult to clean water sources. The Court of Justice believes that French legislation is too laxist regarding dates and the duration of manure spreading, together with other nitrogen-based fertilisers, which can lead to "the risk of pollution of water with nitrates". No financial sanction was decided against Paris but this means that it has to abide by the community rules or it will be condemned again and the next time financial penalties will be implemented.

On 4th September 2014 the ECB Council of governors decided to reduce the bank's main rates to an historic low of 0.05%, 0.30% and -0.20%. During his press conference Mario Draghi said that the ECB was about to launch a programme to purchase private debt in support of the credit market and the euro zone economy. In particular the ECB was going to buy a large portfolio of asset backed securities" as well as "a wide portfolio of euro denominated covered bonds issued by the financial institutions of the euro zone" said the institution's president.

On 2nd September and for the fifth year running German Chancellor Angela Merkel brought the social partners and heads of German business together at the Meseberg Castle near Berlin to exchange views on the major economic and social challenges they face this autumn. The federal government wanted to highlight that public investments will not be enough to guarantee the economy's continued dynamism and called for private capital. Participants agreed on the strategic sector in which Germany should focus its efforts: the digital industry and the economy that goes with it.

On 3rd September 2014 American President Barack Obama travelled to Estonia where he spoke with his counterpart Toomas Hendrik Ilves. This visit, which came on the eve of the NATO summit organised on 4th September in Wales, aimed to reassure the Baltic countries in the face of the threat posed by Russia. The American President warned Vladimir Putin against "any bid to destabilise Eastern Europe." He recalled that Estonia "would never be alone" announcing that "further American air force exercises would take place in the Baltic countries." Moreover the American President was "cautious" following the ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine explaining that it was "too early to say anything about this agreement." Barack Obama then met the presidents of the three Baltic States guaranteeing them NATO's protection and also that of the USA in virtue of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty "on the collective defence of the members of NATO in the event external aggression."

In a decision delivered on 3rd September the Court of Justice annulled the Finnish law which included a positive discrimination mechanism in support of women in terms of accidents at work. The Luxembourg court deemed that the calculation of lump sum compensation in the event of an accident at work should not be made according to the gender of the worker, but only according to other factors, like age or average life expectancy in a particular sector.

On 4th September 2014 the European Court of Justice confirmed the illegality and the reimbursement of State aid received by the Société Nationale Corse Méditerranée (SNCM). During its privatisation in 2006 the maritime company received more than 200 million euro in subsidies paid out by France. This is another hard blow for SNCM after the European Commission obliged it to reimburse 440 million euros in illegal State aid received over the period 2007-2013.

During a press conference on 4th September in Athens Greek Merchant Navy Minister and Minister for the Aegean, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis warned the EU of the dramatic rise in the number of migrants on Greece's maritime borders in 2014. Between 2007 and 2015 alongside support from Frontex (the European Border Management Agency) Greece will already have received 71 million euro for the equipment of its port policeforce. However the Greek government stressed that in 2014 48 migrants had died at sea in comparison with 28 in 2013. Additional solidarity of 63 million euro has been requested by Athens from the European Union.

The head of the Italian government Matteo Renzi indicated that he was giving himself 1000 days as of September 1st to reform his country 'gradually'. "It is a major step - the count down has begun," maintained the President of the Italian Council as he presented a new internet site to the press which is designed to allow the Italians to check on the progress of the reforms being made.

Ewa Kopacz, the leader of the Polish chamber of deputies has been selected to take over from Prime Minister Donald Tusk who has been appointed President of the European Council, indicated the head of government in Warsaw on 4th September. "Ewa Kopacz enjoys the full support of the party as candidate for Prime Minister."

On 1st September British Prime Minister David Cameron announced strengthened measures that will aim to counter the jihadist threat in the UK thereby enabling the police to confiscate the passports and restrict the movements of suspects. The police force will have the power to confiscate temporarily the passports of suspicious travellers on the borders, announced Mr Cameron, who again stressed that some 500 Britons are believed to have joined the ranks of the Islamic fighters in Iraq and Syria.

On 5th September the pro-Russian separatists and the Kiev government announced a ceasefire agreement in the east of Ukraine. This agreement which resulted after negotiations in Minsk between Russia, Ukraine, the separatists in the east of the country and the OSCE is made up of 12 points. 1. immediate bilateral ceasefire; 2. monitoring and checking of the ceasefire by the OSCE; 3. decentralisation of power, allowing temporary local self-government in areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine under a "special status" law; 4. constant, active OSCE monitoring of the border between Ukraine and Russia and the creation of a security zone in the border areas; 5. immediate release of all hostages and illegally detained persons; 6. pass a law against the prosecution and punishment of people over certain events in Donetsk and Luhansk region; 7.continuation of inclusive national dialogue; 8. measures to improve the humanitarian situation in the Donbass (the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk); 9. ensure the holding of snap local elections in Donetsk and Luhansk; 10. withdrawal of illegal armed groups, military hardware, and all fighters and mercenaries from Ukrainian territory; 11. adoption of a programme to help the economic recovery of Donbass and the recovery of activity in the region; 12. guarantee of safe passage for people taking part in negotiations.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Norwegian, Thorbjoern Jagland, met Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko as well as his Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Kiev on 2nd September. Discussions focused on the military conflict and the downturn in the situation of the civilian population, which is a "source of particular concern" for the Council of Europe, which re-iterated its wish to "help Ukraine launch reform", to increase humanitarian aid, notably in the east of the country and to ensure the respect of human rights in the region. Mid-August Thorbjoern Jagland addressed a letter to all European Foreign Ministers encouraging the Member States to act in support of the civilian population by sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine. During his visit to Kiev the Secretary General also met with the Ukrainian human rights ombudsman, Valeria Lutkovska, who presented a detailed report on the military and humanitarian situation in the eastern and south regions of the country.

On 4th September 2014 Ms Marriët Schuurman, a Dutch diplomat, was appointed as special NATO representative for women, peace and security. She will take over from Ms Mari Skåre who occupies this post at the moment. The holder of the post - created in 2012 is responsible for raising awareness of NATO's activities notably regarding women, peace and security and also for ensuring their coordination with the UN and other relevant organisations. Ms Skåre's mandate comes to an end on 30th September 2014.

Over the second quarter 2014 the euro zone's GDP, adjusted to seasonal variations, remained stable and that of the EU grew by 0.2% in comparison with the previous quarter according to two estimates published by Eurostat on 5th September. In the first quarter of 2014 the GDP increased by 0.2% in the euro zone and by 0.3% in the EU. In comparison with the same quarter a year ago, the GDP, adjusted to seasonal variations, grew by 0.7% in the euro zone and by 1.2% in the EU in the second quarter, after +1% and 1.4% respectively in the previous quarter. Amongst the Member States Malta has had the highest GDP growth (+1,3%) whilst Germany and Italy find themselves in last place (-0.2% each).

A Eurobarometer survey on the interest held by Europeans in the environment was published on 8th September. A vast majority believe that the effective use of natural resources (79%) and the protection of the environment (74%) might be an engine for economic growth. Whilst 80% of those interviewed think that the economy influences their quality of life, 75% believe that environmental problems have a comparable effect and 7% are convinced that environmental problems have a direct effect on their daily lives. Air pollution (56%) and that of water (50%) as well as the generation of waste and the exhaustion of natural resources are issues which concern them the most.

On September 3rd 2014 the OECD published its annual report "Employment Outlook". This report highlights the "limited but welcome" decrease of unemployment with an average rate dropping from 8% at the end of 2012 to 7.4% in May 2014 in OECD member countries. The level is still 1.8 points more than before the crisis. Economic recovery is unequal (1.3% of growth on average) and has "remained too weak" to a great degree for it to lead to a net improvement in the employment situation," writes the OECD. The report "anticipates a continued reduction in unemployment to a limited extent," the level of which is due to reach 7.1% in the last quarter of 2015. Finally the organisation is concerned about the rise in long term unemployment. "In spite of a certain decline in overall unemployment, long term inactivity continues to increase," reads the report. The OECD believes that the most worrying situation is the one in Greece where 67.5% of those out of work had been unemployed long term in 2013. The observation is the same in Ireland, Italy and Portugal where the rate is close to 60%. To remedy this situation the report advocates a "more intensive, personalised approach for example with regular face to face interviews and the drafting of individual action plans."

Seven years after the start of the financial crisis, the "Ecole Nationale d'Administration" has published a book entitled "How can financial regulation bring Europe out of the crisis?" under the guidance of Christian de Boissieu, François-Gilles Le Theule and Paolo Bailo. Via eye-witness accounts given by various key players in the economic arena this book offers an analysis of the major progress made in terms of financial regulation and offers a critical, prospective view of the answers provided on a European level to the international financial system. This book is part of the current papers that comprise the creation of banking union.

For an experimental period of five years the French Centre for Contemporary Art Georges Pompidou will open a branch in the Andalusian town of Malaga - the home town of Pablo Picasso - starting in the spring of 2015. The Pompidou Centre will be hosted by a modern building, "El Cubo" - which is a transparent cube set up on the quay of the town's marina. The original building was finished in 2013 by the L35 architects and is now being made available to the French museum by the town council of Malaga. According to the chairman of the Parisian centre Alain Seban, this experimental project aims to turn "El Cubo" into an "interdisciplinary area" (video-dance, cinema, art).