The failures of certain merger projects of the Alstom/Siemens type call into question the inadequacy, or even obsolescence, of European competition law and its place in relation to other public policy objectives. Should a rebalancing not be carried out between competition policy and industrial policy so that the objectives of the latter can be deployed? Bruno Deffains, Olivier d'Ormesson and Thomas Perroud propose several avenues for reform.

On 29 January the Commission adopted its work programme for 2020, reflecting the six priorities of its President, Ursula von der Leyen. It will be proposing legislation for carbon neutrality by 2050, a new European strategy for digital data, artificial intelligence and industry. It will also propose a framework to guarantee a European minimum wage and develop new strategies for cooperation with Africa and the Western Balkans. There will be new deal on migration and asylum, as well as a strategy on security union. Finally, a Conference on the Future of Europe will be launched.

MEPs approved the agreement on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union on 29 January by 621 votes to 49 with 13 abstentions. The agreement was then formally adopted by the Council in a written procedure on 30 January. This was the last step before Brexit, which took place on 31 January at midnight Brussels time.

Ministers meeting on 28 January discussed the Commission's proposals for the organisation of the Conference on the Future of Europe to be launched this year and concluded in 2022. They stressed the importance of putting citizens and the issues affecting them at the heart of the work, while ensuring a balanced representation of the three European institutions and involving national parliaments. They recalled that the implementation of the Strategic Programme 2019-2024 should be a priority. In addition, the Croatian Presidency of the Council presented its priorities for the coming months.

The EU-Ukraine Association Council meeting on 28 January reviewed the implementation of the Association Agreement, reiterating the shared desire to strengthen political and economic cooperation and welcoming the positive impact of the visa-free regime for Ukrainians. Particular attention was paid to political reform and rule of law issues. In addition, the Council took stock of the situation in Eastern Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk Agreement, also discussing the non-recognition of Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

The Union's Court of Justice declared itself incompetent on 31 January to rule on the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia. The judges explain that the delimitation of the border between the two former States of the former Yugoslavia has already been the subject of international arbitration and that it is not an integral part of Union law. They call on both countries to work loyally towards a final legal solution. Croatia refuses to recognise the arbitration because of irregularities in the procedure.

Financing provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund increased by 13% in 2019 compared to 2018 to reach €72.22 billion. The number of financing operations was the highest ever in one year: 1,095, an increase of 28%. 31% of the financing was devoted to the climate, noted its Chairman Werner Hoyer during the submission of the annual report on 30 January.

The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced on 28 January that it had reached an agreement in principle with the US, UK and French authorities, which were conducting anti-corruption investigations against the company. In practice, these agreements with the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) in France, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the United Kingdom, and the Department of Justice (DoJ) in the United States put an end to the proceedings. Airbus disbursed €3.6 billion on 31 January to complete these three anti-corruption investigations.

Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 31 January. This is the country's highest distinction. He stressed that his monetary policy from 2012 to 2019 was based on "a deeply rooted respect for the law, the rules and his mandate".

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was hosted by his German counterpart Angela Merkel in Berlin on 3 February. Among other things, they discussed climate protection, the EU's next multiannual budget and a possible tax reform at European level.

On 1 February, French President Emmanuel Macron published a letter to "British friends", underlining his sadness at Brexit, as well as his hope to strengthen the friendship between France and the United Kingdom. The awarding of the Legion of Honour to the City of London was also announced for June, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of General de Gaulle's Appeal of 18 June.

According to two polls published on 2 and 3 February, less than a week before the snap election on 8 February, the Fine Gail of outgoing Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is due to come in third place with 20-21% of the vote. He is expected to be edged out by the Fianna Fail led by Michael Martin, with 23-24% of the vote, and by the left-wing Sinn Fein nationalists led by Mary Lou McDonald, with 24-25% of the vote.

On 1 February, Friends of Cohesion, an informal group of 17 Member States (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Romania) wishing to maintain the current shape of cohesion policy, met in Beja, Portugal. In particular, they discussed key issues concerning the Union's next multi-annual budget, including its size and each country's priorities.

As the United Kingdom exited the European Union on 31 January, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, published a "Letter for Europe" in 10 languages. She says that the Scots want to remain at the heart of Europe and that "the best option for Scotland is to be an independent country, within the Union". It calls on European citizens to remain in solidarity with the people of Scotland.

Albin Kurti, founder of the left-wing nationalist party Vetevendosje (Self-Determination), became Prime Minister of Kosovo on 3 February. He was sworn in as Prime Minister after a coalition agreement with the Democratic League of Kosovo, ending four months of negotiations following the October 2019 parliamentary elections.

A quarter of the applications currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights have been filed by Russians, the President of the ECHR, Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, announced in his annual report published on 29 January. Of the nearly 60,000 cases pending before the ECHR, 25% concern Russia, far ahead of Turkey (15.5%), Ukraine (14.8%) and Romania (13.2%). The ECHR can, however, be seized by some 820 million citizens of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

In a speech in Brussels on 28 January, the Director of the Public Finance Department of the International Monetary Fund, Vitor Gaspar, spoke about the future of fiscal rules in the euro area. He stressed the three fundamental priorities to be considered in the architecture of the euro area: the completion of the banking union, the single European integrated capital market and central fiscal capacity.

According to a Eurostat report published on 28 January, the EU's surplus in international trade in services, which had fallen between 2013 and 2016, is set to rise to more than €186 billion in 2018. This can be explained by a 3% increase in exports of services to the rest of the world between 2017 and 2018 and a 0.6% drop in imports over the same period. With exports to the United States worth €257.4 billion in 2018, the US remains the EU's main partner and accounts for 27% of total EU exports.

According to a Eurobarometer report published on 29 January, Europeans are more aware of cybercrime issues, with 52% of respondents feeling fairly or very well informed, compared to 46% in 2017. However, more and more Europeans no longer feel safe on the web and are concerned about the misuse of their personal data. In 2018, 59% considered that they could protect themselves from cybercrime, compared to 71% in 2017. More than 1/3 of respondents have received fraudulent emails or calls asking for their personal information in the last 3 years.

More than 850,000 students, apprentices, teachers and youth workers will have benefited from the Erasmus+ programme in 2018, according to the annual report on the exchange programme published by the Commission on 28 January. This brings the total since 1987 to more than 10 million people. While €14.7 billion is dedicated to Erasmus+ for the period 2014-2020, the Commission proposes to increase the funding to €30 billion to continue to make it more inclusive and international, in the framework of the next multi-annual budget (2021-2027).

The WIELS centre for contemporary art in Brussels is hosting the first monographic exhibition in Belgium of the German artist Wolfgang Tillmans until 24 May. Installed on two floors, the exhibition "Today Is the First Day" presents a selective overview of the artist's work over the past 30 years and reveals the latest developments in his practice through new photographs, video and sound works.