French gastronomy is recognised the world over for its finesse and this competition follows the French taste for a distinct "art of living". The Georges Baptiste Cup provides young candidates with a chance to show their know-how in terms of hosting, serving and preparing gourmet meals. The European final in which 12 European States participate will be taking place between 8th and 10th April 2015. The Robert Schuman Foundation is associated with this event.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published growth figures for the last quarter of 2014 on 31st March. Official data shows that the UK's economy grew by 2.8% in 2014, more than initially expected and one of the highest rates since 2006, notably due to buoyant exports. The GDP also increased by 0.6% between the third and fourth quarter of 2014 and these figures will be promoted by the government in office in view of the upcoming general elections.

Two new chapters were opened on 30th March in the negotiation process with Montenegro for accession to the EU. Chapters 16 and 30 which focus on external relations have been added to the 16 chapters opened previously out of the 35 that are to be opened for negotiation. Regarding chapter 16 Montenegro will have to bring its legislation in line with that of the EU in areas like VAT and direct taxation. Chapter 30 invites the country to present the Commission with an action plan for its remaining preparations in terms of legislative alignment. With this the country has to show that it has the administrative capability to introduce the community acquis. A membership conference bringing the EU's ministers together is planned for June 2015.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the European Parliament on 30th March. He took part in a debate with MEPs of the Foreign Affairs Committee together with the sub-committee for security and defence and the Parliament's delegation for relations with the parliamentary assembly of NATO. Debate focused on the situation in Ukraine and relations with Russia, but also on security in the Mediterranean and on relations between the EU and NATO. Jens Stoltenberg recalled that "he was a fervent supporter of close cooperation between the EU and NATO," two organisations which although they did not share the same prerogatives nor the same responsibilities, were facing the "same challenges and the same threats."

On 31st March the Council decided to lend up to 1.8 billion € to Ukraine over a two and a half year period. These loans will be disbursed in three instalments and will have a maximum maturity of 15 years. These funds should enable Ukraine to continue the stabilisation of its national economy and will be mobilised after the signature of a memorandum of agreement between the European Commission and Ukraine. The latter will also define the economic policies and financial conditions under which the funds will be used.

During the third international donors' conference to Syria that took place on 21st March in Kuwait the EU announced a significant increase in its financial support to Syria. The Commission and the Member States decided to double their pledge of donations thereby taking the total to 1.1 billion euro, 500 million of which will be devoted to humanitarian aid, to the rapid recovery of the country's situation and to long term stabilisation. A special fund for Syria was also set up: the "Madad Fund" will support humanitarian work in Syria and also in neighbouring countries which are hosting most of the refugees.

The European Central Bank (ECB) again raised its ceiling on emergency funding (ELA - Emergency Liquidity Assistance) to Greek banks by 700 million euros on 1st April. This brings the ceiling to 71.8 billion euros. The ECB has been helping the Greek banks in this way since the beginning of February. The ECB also confirmed its "cautious confidence" in the euro zone's gradual economic recovery. The second report on the most recent ECB governors' council meeting on 5th March was published on 1st April and suggests an in depth discussion over the pertinence of euro zone economic forecasts mid-term.

The biggest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world restarted on 5th April after a two year pause thereby opening the way to the exploration of new areas of physics such as black matter and antimatter. The restart of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), on the Franco-Swiss border, which comprises a ring-shaped tunnel 27 km long is the focus of extreme interest in the scientific community. Buried 100 metres underground this particle accelerator, in its initial stages, led to the confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson for which two CERN scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2012.

The 17th Franco-German Council of Ministers took place on 31st March in Berlin together with Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande. A list of joint investment projects was presented which are mainly focused on areas like energy and the digital economy. These projects are due to support the investment plan put forward by the European Commission. "France and Germany want to contribute significantly towards taking the European Union towards greater economic integration by way of concrete initiatives and joint projects undertaken by Member States which share the same vision" maintained German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a joint declaration. Regarding the international arena France and Germany are continuing their work to reach a sustainable, peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis.

The estate of some 6,000 Bulgarian public figures will be examined in great detail under the new anti-corruption programme announced the Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva. A national anti-corruption policy council will be established to assess the tax return made by these personalities - ministers, MPs, heads of regional agencies and regional council heads - who sometimes have lifestyles that do not correspond to their official incomes. The investigations will be undertaken by a specialised unit of representatives from the prosecutor's office, the police and the national security agency.

Several national parliaments adopted the Paris Declaration on 30th March on the European policy on the fight to counter terrorism announced the French Senate. The declaration indicates that "terrorism is a direct violation of fundamental values" and that "European citizens have the right to have high expectations regarding their security." Recalling that national security is still the responsibility of each Member State the declaration does however support priority action to be undertaken Europe wide such as the widening of the definition of terrorist acts, "foreign fighters", the strengthening of the coordination role played by FRONTEX, that is responsible for the Union's external borders and the improvement of identification measures like the Schengen Information System (SIS II).

The discussions started in Brussels between Greece and its international creditors broke off on 31st March. The EU and the IMF deemed that the list of reforms presented by the Greek government did not "contain any precise measures." Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared that he was looking for an "honest compromise" with the country's creditors, without being prepared to make every single concession. The President of the European Council Donald Tusk deemed that Greece's economic situation was "under control" but that no agreement would come before Easter, but that this would be possible before the end of April. The Financial Times published a list of reforms put forward by Athens to its European partners. There will not be any meetings between the euro zone ministers before the one planned on 23rd April in Riga, but "discussions are moving forward" maintains the European Commission.

French President François Hollande hosted his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella on 30th March. After their meeting the presidents delivered a joint declaration. Paris and Rome stressed their convergence on several themes: from a European growth policy to the fight to counter terrorism, not forgetting immigration policy. Mr Mattarella spoke of the "need to stimulate greater European integration."

The electoral campaign for the general elections on 7th May officially started on 30th March in the UK. According to tradition the present Prime Minister David Cameron went to Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth to ask her permission to dissolve Parliament and thereby end the government coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

On 31st March, six months after the elections Bosnia-Herzegovina finally managed to form a government mainly with nationalist parties, which did however promise to take the process forward for the country to draw closer to the EU. The government will be led by Denis Zvizdic (SDA). In a parliament of 42 MPs, 26 voted for and 7 against the new government, which will comprise 9 ministers. "We need serious change (...) Weariness and pessimism have lasted for too long and the new government must provide new impetus," declared the Serb member of the collegial presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mladen Ivanic.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto met his Polish counterpart Bronislaw Komorowski on 31st March during an official visit to Poland. This meeting aimed to review the Ukrainian conflict, the effects of this on security in the East of Europe and their respective relations with NATO. The two presidents agreed shared the same view of the conflict and the sanctions adopted regarding Russia since their geographical position, is "one of great political instability". They both condemned the annexation of Crimea and the infringement of the Minsk Agreements and called for greater cooperation between their two countries.

According to Eurostat report published on 30th March in 2014 hourly labour costs in the EU - agriculture and civil service apart - ranged between 3.80€ and 40.30€ per hour - ie a difference of one to 10 between Member States. The average lay at 24.60€ in the EU and 29.20€ in the euro zone. The lowest wages were recorded in Bulgaria (3.80€ per hour), Romania (4.60€), Lithuania (6.50€) and in Latvia (6.60€) and the highest were recorded in Denmark (40.30€), Belgium (39.10€), Sweden (37.40€) and Luxembourg (35.90€). Industrial sectors recorded the highest hourly labour costs followed by services and the building sector.

The book by Robert Menasse "Un messager pour l'Europe, plaidoyer contre les nationalismes" has been published in French by Buchet Castel. How can we bring confidence back to the EU whilst it is experiencing an unprecedented crisis and that politicians and citizens alike in the Member States are constantly challenging it? Robert Menasse, a true European, has decided to explore the Union's institutions as an ethnologist with an investigation in Brussels amongst those who work towards building the European project. He makes a plea for the Europe that was created after the 2nd World War with the aim of rising above nationalism, but especially so that its citizens do not lose sight of the long lasting peace and prosperity that these supranational institutions have given us.

From 8th to 19th April the 5th new French cinema festival will be taking place in several stages across Italy (Rome 8th-12th April; Bologna 5th-17th April; Naples 10th April; Palermo 10th-12th April, Turin 13th-19th April, Lecce 17th April). Launched by the Embassy of France the Rendez-Vous Festival 2015 is being organised by the Institut français, together with UniFrance Films and the Villa Medici (Academy of France in Rome). The festival is devoted entirely to the most recent works in French cinema with a programme of different genres, from the most popular to the most sophisticated, from blockbusters to independent films.