On 19 March, the Foundation is organising a seminar in Brussels on data sharing and the new industrial revolution, with an opening speech by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. The seminar will be held at the Permanent Representation of France to the Union. It is obligatory to enrol.

The Commission has announced an increase in the appropriations earmarked for research to combat Covid-19 (coronavirus), with a contribution of €37.5 million from the Horizon 2020 fund. These funds are intended to finance 17 projects led by 136 research teams working to develop diagnostic tests for Covid-19 as well as vaccines and treatments.

The Presidents of the Commission, Parliament and the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, David Sassoli and Charles Michel, as well as the Greek and Croatian Prime Ministers, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Andrej Plenkovic, visited the Greek-Turkish border on 3 March, where more than 13,000 migrants had arrived in the previous days. U. von der Leyen announced the dispatch of a rapid border intervention team, as well as 7 patrol boats, 2 helicopters and 1 plane, deployed by the Frontex agency. 100 additional guards will be sent on the spot and Greece will receive €700 million to manage migration and the necessary infrastructure, as well as medical assistance on request.

On 5 March the Commission presented its strategy for gender equality. The strategy sets out legal measures for the next five years, including the harmonisation of the criminalisation of violence against women and the adoption of binding measures on equal pay. In addition, the Commission has committed itself to achieving parity at all levels of its own hierarchy by the end of 2024 and to mainstreaming the gender dimension in all EU policies through a new Task Force.

On 4 March, the Commission presented its proposal for a climate law, which aims to make the climate neutrality target for the Union binding by 2050. The Commission would be responsible for monitoring Member States' progress on environmental issues and could make recommendations to them. By September, it would set a climate target for 2030 and then propose a trajectory for the period 2030-2050.

The Council decided on 5 March to extend by one year the freezing of assets of 10 individuals considered responsible for misappropriation of Ukrainian public funds. Measures against 2 other people were not renewed. The sanctions were introduced in 2014 and are renewed on an annual basis. These individual measures come in addition to other comprehensive restrictive measures (economic sanctions, diplomatic measures).

The requirements imposed by Budapest on foreign universities are discriminatory, breach European rules and must be condemned, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice said on 5 March. The Central European University (CEU) founded by Hungarian-born American financier George Soros had to move most of its activities from Budapest to Vienna in November 2019 because of new legislation requiring foreign universities in Hungary to have a campus and curricula in their home country.

According to a report by the European Court of Auditors published on 4 March, cities have not moved towards more sustainable modes of transport, despite the Commission's call for a radical change in 2014 and €16.5 billion of investment. In particular, the report notes that the use of private vehicles has not decreased and that air pollution still exceeds acceptable health thresholds. Moreover, EU-funded projects have faced many difficulties and have not been as effective as expected.

One in five Europeans is a victim of noise pollution, a nuisance that endangers their health, the European Environment Agency (EEA) warned on 5 March, pointing out that the target set for 2020 to reduce noise pollution will not be met. Noise pollution "is even expected to increase due to future urban growth and increased demand for mobility", the EEA noted.

14 Member States, more than 30 companies and two NGOs signed the Plastics Pact on 6 March, committing them to better manage single-use plastic packaging and products, with 448 million tonnes of plastic produced in 2015. The aim of this initiative launched by France and the Netherlands is to reduce the use of "virgin" plastic by increasing the share of recycled plastic. The pact also calls for a 25% increase in recycling capacity and for all single-use packaging and plastic to be recyclable by 2025.

On 4 March, the Commission recommended to the Council to open an excessive deficit procedure against Romania. It considers Romania's deficit to be too high, at 3.9% of GDP in 2019, and has requested the Romanian government to take measures to bring it below 3% by 2022.

On 4 March, Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova instructed Igor Matovic to form a government, with the Party of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OL'aNO) which came out ahead in the 29 February elections. Mr Matovic will discuss with the parties Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), For the People (Za L'udi) and We are a Family (Sme Rodina) to form a coalition which would have 95 seats out of 150 in Parliament.

The Slovenian Parliament appointed Janez Jansa as Prime Minister on 3 March by 52 votes to 31. His government coalition would comprise the Democratic Party (SDS), the Modern Centre Party (SMC), the Democratic Party of Pensioners (DeSUS) and New Slovenia (NSi). He must now present the composition of his government and seek parliamentary approval.

Denys Chmygal, hitherto Deputy Prime Minister, was sworn in as Prime Minister by the Ukrainian Parliament on 4 March by 291 votes. He succeeds Oleksiy Goncharuk, who resigned after six months in office. The head of diplomacy Vadym Prystaiko became Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Dmytro Kouleba was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The Council of Europe's anti-corruption body, GRECO, said on 5 March that the Czech Republic needs to accelerate ongoing reforms to combat high-level corruption, particularly among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors. In its follow-up report, GRECO notes that only one of the 14 recommendations has been fully implemented. The Czech authorities will have to report on their progress by the end of the year.

In a 3 March ruling, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned Turkey to compensate a former judge dismissed after the failed coup of 2016. The Turkish government was found guilty of unlawfully detaining the applicant, violating his right to liberty and security. The government accused the judge of belonging to Fethullah Gülen's movement, which it considered to be behind the coup.

While the Commission launched a campaign to promote declared work on 2 March, a Eurobarometer survey reveals that one in 10 Europeans say they have paid for a product or service that included undeclared work in the last 12 months. These purchases, in a third of the cases made from acquaintances, were mostly for home repair or renovation work and beauty care. In one out of two cases, the choice is based mainly on financial considerations.

According to the annual report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), published on 9 March, France became the world's third largest arms exporter over the period 2015-2019, behind the United States and Russia. While the arms trade increased by 5.5% over the period, notes Sipri, US exports increased by 23%. French exports increased by 72%, in particular through contracts with Egypt, Qatar and India. Exports from Germany, fourth in the ranking, increased by 17% at the same time.

From March 12 to September 6, the Tate Modern in London pays tribute to Andy Warhol. The exhibition will show many works, paintings, rarely seen before, created after 1970.