Just as the European campaign is starting in the Member States for the election on 23rd-26th May next, Jean-Dominique Giuliani recalls the EU's advantages which are greater in number than one might think.

Lithuanians are being called to ballot on 12th May next for the first round of the presidential election. The vote will appoint the successor to the outgoing President of the Republic, Dalia Grybauskaite, in office since 2009, who is completing her second and final term in office at head of Lithuania. She cannot run again since the Constitution bans running for more than two consecutive mandates. Nine people are standing. If none of the candidates wins more than half of the votes cast, a second round will taken place on 26th May, the day of the European elections.

In a month's time from 23rd to 26th May Europeans are being invited to elect their MEPs for the next five years. The Robert Schuman Foundation offers its readers a dedicated website providing a greater understanding of the election and the issues at stake - you can follow the campaign in the Member States with the lists of candidates running for office.

On 16th April the Commission announced that it was launching debate over the Union's social policy and the means to make decision making more efficient in this area. One of the planned changes is the increased use of the qualified majority vote for social policy to enable faster decision making. This might first involve the fight to counter discrimination and to extend this later to other social security areas and worker protection. For these changes to enter into force the European Council has to approve them unanimously, then the national parliaments and the European Parliament have to give their agreement.

MEPs confirmed on 16th April 571 votes in support, 60 against and 20 abstentions the ban on electric pulse fishing in the Union as of 1st July 2021 thereby leaving the possibility for Member States to anticipate the implementation of this in their territorial waters.

The political crisis in Venezuela led to a 50% increase in asylum requests from Venezuelans in Europe in February, with this nationality rising to take over Afghans in the leading trio, announced the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) on 15th April. Behind the Syrians, Venezuelans follow in terms of asylum request figures (nearly 4,000) in the countries of the Union, Switzerland and Norway said a press release by the organisation whose base is in Valletta, which also notes a rise in requests from Colombians and Nicaraguans.

Outgoing Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, of the Centre Party (KESK) won the confidence of the Riikigoku (Parliament) on 17th April by 55 votes out of 101. He formed a coalition which apart from his own party (25 seats), comprises the People's Conservative Party (far right), EKRE (19 seats) and the Conservative Party Isamaa (12 seats). He was asked on 16th April by President Kersti Kaljulaid to form the government after Kaja Kallas, of the Reform Party (ER) failed to win a majority in Parliament.

The European Union must strengthen its foundations, declared the Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš, on 17th April during the 20th and last debate regarding the future of Europe in the European Parliament. He suggested four areas in which the Union must act: completion of the single market, the control of the external borders, smart transition towards clean energy and an improvement in security.

On 17th April the Czech police recommended the prosecution of Prime Minister Andrej Babis for his involvement in a fraud involving European subsidies to a total of 2 million €. The prosecutor will need "several weeks, and even several months" to decide regarding the indictment. Andrej Babis was indicted in 20176 in an embezzlement scandal involving European funds in 2007-2008, which were also linked to a hotel complex developed by one of his businesses. He risks a prison sentence of 5 to 10 years.

The Justice Minister Tudorel Toader was dismissed from government on 17th April. He is accused of preventing the relaxation of the penal code which, according to the opposition, benefits the head of the Social Democratic Party in office, Liviu Dragnea, sentenced to prison for three and a half years for abuse of power and two years suspended sentence for electoral fraud. The amendments reduce the time limit and repeal the measure regarding the abuse of power. The European Commission deems that the reform would created "systemic impunity for high ranking political officials found guilty of corruption." On 15th April MEPs debate the state of the rule of law in Romania.

Actor Volodymyr Zelensky, 41, was elected President of Ukraine on 21st April with 73.1% of the vote in the second round of voting in the presidential election against outgoing President Petro Poroshenko.

On 21st April Macedonian voters went to ballot in the first round of the presidential election. The Social Democratic candidate, supported by the party in office, Stevo Pendarovski won 42.84% of the vote, followed closely by the opposition candidate, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, 42.24%. This election is marked by the lowest turnout rate (41.79%) since independence in 1991. The second round will take place on 5th May.

On 16th April the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Turkey for the detention, deemed illegal, of a high ranking magistrate, arrested after the failed putsch in 2016. This imprisonment is based on the suspicion of membership of a criminal organisation and for the Court was an infringement of the measures regarding the right to freedom and safety included in the European Convention of Human Rights. Turkey will have to pay 10,000€ to the magistrate for moral damages.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 17th April - annual inflation rate of the euro zone lay at 1.4% in March 2019, a figure down in comparison in February 2019 (1.5%). The annual inflation rate of the European Union lay at 1.6%. The lowest rates were noted in Portugal (0.8%) and in Greece (1.0%), whilst the highest were in Romania (4.2%), Hungary (3.8%) and the Netherlands (2.9%).

On 15th April the European Commission published a report on the work completed since 2014 to make European policy more open, more transparent. The report states that this work has been successful and recalls that the OECD ranked the EU's policy of being amongst the best in terms of regulation in 2018. The report notably reviews the organisation of public consultations, the use of impact analyses and initiatives towards administrative simplification. In 2015 the Commission adopted its better lawmaking regulation, the main aim of which was that the Commission would only intervene in areas where the EU provided added-value.

Until 30th June the Centquatre in Paris is hosting Circulation, the festival devoted to European youth photography. A true discovery the festival provides an opportunity for the public to meet 37 young European artists selected by a jury of professionals.