Philip Hammond, the new British Finance Minister declared on 14th July that there would not be an emergency budget for the time being and that the government would wait for the autumn. He met the governor of the Bank of England who announced shortly afterwards that interest rates would remain at 0.5%.

Most Europeans believe that the influx of refugees onto the continent is increasing the risk of attacks and a high proportion are concerned about their jobs, said a survey published by Pew Research on 11th July.

On 14th July, on the occasion of the 14th round of discussions between the EU and the USA regarding their trade agreement, the Commission published a new set of documents on the ongoing negotiations

On 12th July the European Commission announced the official launch of a new legal framework to protect the personal data of European citizens that have been communicated to the American authorities - the Privacy Shield.

European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly demanded on 12th July a strengthening in the rules to manage the activity of former Commissioners. She believes that the case of José Manuel Barroso shows that at present they do not protect "the citizens' interests."

On 14th July the Commission put forward a proposal in support of investments in capital-risk and social projects, under the launch of Capital Markets Union.

The European Union and the Principality of Monaco signed an agreement on 12th July regarding tax transparency which will take effect as of 2018 and will lead to the automatic exchange of tax information.

During the Agriculture Council on 18th July the 28 Ministers discussed the potential impact of on-going trade negotiations with third countries on European agriculture. In terms of the agricultural market the Commission is putting forward a third package of support measures totalling 500 million € mainly in support of the dairy sector. The Slovakian Presidency also presented its working programme and its priorities in the areas of agriculture and fisheries.

On 16th July the Council launched an EU military training mission in Central African Republic. This involves the reform of the country's security sector.

On 18th July the 28 Foreign Affairs Ministers notably reasserted their determination in the fight to counter terrorism and condemned the attempted coup in Turkey; they adopted the EU's strategy regarding China for the next few years and held informal discussions with John Kerry, the USA's Secretary of State.

During the 11th Asia-Europe Summit on 15th and 16th July heads of State and government as well as European and Asian institutional representatives reviewed their relations on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of this summit and addressed the future challenges that they would have to rise to together.

The Permanent Arbitral Tribunal of The Hague deemed that there was no legal base to China's claim to historic rights in the South China Sea or "regarding resources in the maritime zones within the Nine-Dash-Line."

The terrorist attack of 14th July in Nice led to 84 deaths during Bastille Day celebrations. The French President reasserted his determination that France would counter the "terrorist plague" by stepping up its action in Syria and Iraq, as well as stepping up the number of military staff in his own country. At the same time the Presidents of the European institutions as well as many leaders in Europe and from around the world expressed their solidarity and compassion. A tribute was made to the victims on 18th July at midday.

Theresa May was officially appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth on 13th July. She unveiled her new cabinet and government which includes Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary and David Davis who will be responsible for the matters pertaining to leaving the European Union.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon travelled to London on 14th July to meet Fabian Picardo, her Gibraltan counterpart, to discuss maintaining their links with the European Union.

British Prime Minister Theresa May travelled to Scotland on 15th July to meet Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Theresa May declared that she would not trigger article 50 as long as Scotland's position in the negotiations with the EU had not been settled. Nicola Sturgeon repeated that she wanted to remain in the EU and had not given up the idea of holding a Scottish referendum.

According to a Eurostat press release on 15th July the EU recorded a trade surplus of 6.4 billion € in May as well as extra-EU exports of 142.7 billion €. The euro zone recorded a goods trade surplus of 24.6 billion € and extra-zone exports of 167.4 billion €.

The EU's annual inflation rate lay at 0% in June 2016 against -0.1% in May. That of the euro zone lay at 0.1% in June 2016 against -0.1% in May. One year ago it lay at 0.2%.

The 2016 results regarding innovation published on 14th July by the Commission indicate that the EU has improved its results on a world scale.

On 15th July the ECB published two studies on the role of price-competitiveness and cost-competitiveness in intra and extra euro zone trade, and on the way competitiveness shocks affect the macro-economic performances of countries in the zone.

Until 11th September the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is hosting a collection of objects on Modern Japan (kimonos, pictures and engravings) that are from the Elise Wessels Collection.

From 20th to 23rd July the FNAC Live Festival is putting on 31 free concerts in Paris.

From 5th to 14th August Brussels will be hosting the Brussels Summer Festival which will host dozens of artists.

From 10th to 17th August the Sziget Festival will be taking place bringing together numerous artists of all genres.

From 2nd to 7th August the rock, pop and electronic music festival, Arenal Sound is taking place in Burriana in Spain.

From 22nd July to 31st August the lyrical art festival of Salzburg will be taking place featuring concerts, theatre plays, as well as operas.

On 25th July the lyrical art festival of Bayreuth was inaugurated and will go on to 28th August.

The town of Marciac will be hosting the 38th Jazz Festival from 29th July to 15th August.

The holy music festival of Chaise-Dieu will be taking place from 16th to 28th August.