The Schuman Report 2018 on the State of the Union has just been published and is available in both French and English. This 12th edition analyses the challenges that Europe faces. With the contribution of the best experts, an exclusive interview with French President Emmanuel Macron, original maps and commented statistics, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the EU. It is available in bookshops, on our website and in digital version.

Provisional road safety statistics for 2017 highlight that 25,300 people were killed on the roads of Europe in 2017 ie 300 fewer than in 2016, (-2%) and 6,200 fewer than in 2010 (-20%). With an average of 49 victims per million inhabitants the roads of Europe remain by far the safest in the world in 2017. It will however be difficult to achieve the goal of reducing the number of killed by half by 2020.

On 12th April MEPs for the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee debated the situation in terms of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary in view of a possible triggering of article 7 of the Union's treaty. The committee will give its decision on the report in June.

On 12th April the European Affairs Ministers adopted conclusions on the future of the Union's Cohesion Policy after 2020.

On 10th April the OECD's statistics revealed that the EU and its Member States remained by far the biggest donors of development aid (57%) to a total of 75.7 billion € in 2017.

In a decision delivered on 11th April the judges of Europe believe that the Member States can ban transport services like UberPop. They stress that governments can legislate without having to refer to the European Commission first. This decision therefore confirms that Uber is a means of transport and not a service for the information society as it had previously maintained.

German ministers met on 10th and 11th April to define the government's priorities. The first concern focuses on employment with the Labour and Finance Ministers wanting to continue producing good economic results and maintain full employment. This notably means taking the digital economy more on board with support being given to training and education.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on a visit to Copenhagen on 9th April offered her Danish counterpart Lars Loekke Rasmussen mutual access to British fishing waters. The Danish Prime Minister also renewed his support to London regarding the chemical poison attack in Salisbury and the accusations brought by Ms May against Russia.

On 9th April the French President Emmanuel Macron met the Presidents of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia in Paris. Discussions focused on questions of security and democratic values.

In a report published on 9th April the OSCE criticised the intimidating, xenophobic rhetoric developed by Viktor Orban in a campaign that was financed in an obscure manner with the support of the media. According to observers this campaign prevented all in-depth debate and was funded by a certain amount of public money.

On 10th April 1998 the signature of the Good Friday Agreement brought a period of 30 years of conflict in Northern Ireland to an end. The architects of the agreement warned against the introduction of a "hard" border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland because of Brexit. A border like this could potentially undermine 20 years of peace.

The Vice-President of the Commission Frans Timmermans travelled to Warsaw on 9th April on the invitation of the Foreign Affairs Minister Jacek Czaputowicz. The Commission is concerned about the most recent reforms made to the legal system in Poland, but says that it is open to dialogue. An amendment was filed on 12th April in the Diet.

On 10th April during a visit to London, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa spoke with his British counterpart Theresa May. They first addressed several issues including bilateral relations post-Brexit, British tourism in Portugal and scientific cooperation.

On 12th April the committee for the preparation of Romania to join the euro area met for the first time under the presidency of Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă. It includes the governor of the Central Bank, members of the administration and also civil society. The aim is to present a "National Plan for the Euro" before the end of this year.

Milo Djukanovic won the presidential election on 15th April in Montenegro in the first round, two years after leaving his post as Prime Minister. He won 53.95% of the vote ahead of Mladen Bojanic (33.41%). The new President welcomed "victory for Montenegro's European future."

On 10th April during a visit by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Germany, Chancellor Merkel insisted on the fact that the Nord Stream project would not be possible without "clarifying" the role of Ukraine in the transit of gas.

The Group of States against Corruption at the Council of Europe (GRECO) said on 11th April that it was concerned about three laws adopted in December last in Romania. These laws which reform the legal system have to go hand in hand with more safeguards, notably in the context of procedures introduced by the anti-corruption court. This was already a focus of a formal request made by the Council of Europe.

On 11th April the High Commissioner for Refugees at the UN published statistics showing a decline in the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe in 2017. The report notes encouraging progress in terms of resettlements in Europe last year with an increase of 54% in comparison with 2016.

In 2016 the EU's Member States granted citizenship to around 995,000 people, a figure that is up in comparison with 2015 (841,000) and with 2014 (889,000). The main beneficiaries of this process come from Morocco, Albania and India.

Until 24th June the Palazzo Reale in Milan is offering visitors an exhibition of the works of German artist Albrech Dürer entitled "Dürer and the Renaissance, between Germany and Italy."