The Member States of the European Union are continuing to ease the lockdown of their populations and the resumption of social and economic activities. The Robert Schuman Foundation offers you a summary of the measures taken and the timetable planned by each State. A vital resource for understanding the way out of the crisis and regaining a European "spirit".

The Foundation is organising an online debate on 10 June from 17:00 to 18:30, on European media and telecoms as they face Covid-19, with Roberto Viola, Director General of DG CONNECT at the European Commission, Gérard Pogorel and Augusto Preta, authors of a study on the subject published by the Foundation.

Italy reopened its borders on 1 June. Museums continue to reopen, while theatres and cinemas will be able to resume their activities from 15 June.

In France, the StopCovid tracking application is available and heritage sites reopen on June 11th. In Belgium, bars and restaurants will reopen on the 8th, sports, cultural and leisure activities will resume and gatherings will be limited to 10 people. Germany, France, Belgium and other countries plan to reopen their borders on 15 June. In Austria, border controls with 7 countries were lifted on 4 June. In Spain, the entire territory has been taken out of phase 1 of lockdown, but the state of alert has been extended until 21 June. In Poland, weddings can bring together 150 people and cinemas, theatres, ballets, swimming pools and amusement parks have reopened. In the United Kingdom, people entering the country must self-isolate for 14 days and places of worship reopened on 15 June. In Ireland, travel within a 20 km radius is allowed, small retail shops and libraries reopen and sports training resumes.

Transport ministers discussed the recovery of the sector on June 4. They exchanged views on the initiatives to be put in place to foster a sustainable recovery, and on the medium- and long-term tools to achieve these objectives. Ministers stressed the need for a coordinated approach and welcomed the measures already implemented.

In France, the government has presented a plan to support French tech to the tune of over €1 billion, and a further deferral of social security contributions has been announced. In Germany, the government coalition has agreed on a €130 billion recovery plan: VAT will be reduced from 19% to 16%, families will benefit from a one-off bonus of €300 for their children and the bonus for the purchase of an electric vehicle will be increased from €3,000 to €6,000. In Austria, companies that took on an apprentice during the health crisis will receive a bonus of €2 000. In Poland, loans granted to companies during the health crisis will not be taken into account for income tax purposes. In the United Kingdom, the government has granted £10 billion (€11.2 billion) in guarantees to insurance schemes for business-to-business transactions.

On 5 June, the Ministers of the Interior discussed the issue of internal border controls and the free movement of people. In view of the improved health situation in Europe, the majority of controls should be lifted by 15 June and by 30 June at the latest. They agreed that the remaining restrictions should be based on objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate epidemiological criteria. They discussed the opening of the Union's external borders and the gradual lifting of restrictions on non-essential travel, which is not expected to take place before 1 July.

France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands announced on June 5 the creation of a European alliance for the Covid-19 vaccine. The alliance is committed to supporting the most promising vaccine research, ensuring a fair price for the vaccine and rapid information sharing between countries. In addition, the Commission pledged on 4 June €300 million to the International Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) as part of the global response to the coronavirus.

On 2 June the Commission launched a public consultation on digital services legislation. The consultation aims to gather views, facts and figures from citizens, businesses, online platforms, academics, civil society and all interested parties to help the Commission define the future body of rules for digital services. The consultation, open until 8 September, covers topics such as online safety, freedom of expression and a level playing field in the digital economy.

On 2 June, the European Commission published an initial impact assessment and an open public consultation inviting stakeholders to comment on the need for a possible new competition tool to address structural competition problems in an effective and timely manner. Interested parties can submit their views on the initial impact assessment until 30 June 2020 and respond to the open public consultation until 8 September 2020.

On 3 June the Commission launched the second phase of consultation on the project for a fair minimum wage guaranteed for all workers in the European Union. It considers that the coronavirus crisis still makes such a mechanism necessary. The Commission has been considering effective collective bargaining, the regular updating of minimum wages, the abolition of existing exemptions and the setting up of monitoring mechanisms.

At the end of the 4th round of negotiations on the new partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom on 5 June, the chief European Union negotiator Michel Barnier announced that no major progress had been made in the areas of fisheries, economic reciprocity, governance and police and judicial cooperation. He felt that meetings should be stepped up to reach an agreement before the end of the year, and called on the UK government to respect the political declaration signed in 2019.

On 4 June, Justice Ministers discussed the Commission's proposal on the waiver of debts, the aim of which is to determine which national law is applicable in the event of a dispute involving creditors from several countries. They addressed the retroactive nature of the measure, the inclusion of priority criteria and the principle of universality. The ministers also discussed the extradition of European citizens to third countries and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on European judicial systems.

On 4 June, the Council adopted conclusions on the Union's space policy, which could play a role in managing climate change, ecosystem degradation, health crises, food security and migration. The Council has invited the Commission to strengthen its study of the "European new space" and emphasises the importance of developing innovation and research, but also of supporting Member States with less capacity in the space sector.

On 5 June, telecommunications ministers discussed the lessons to be learned from the pandemic, Europe's digital competitiveness and sovereignty, and priorities for investment in digital. They also took stock of negotiations on the proposal for a regulation on e-Privacy, on the creation of a European centre of competence for cybersecurity and on 5G network security. They launched the adoption by written procedure of conclusions on the digital future of the Union.

On 8 June, the agriculture ministers gave their support to the biodiversity strategies and the "farm to fork" principle defined by the Commission. They called for an ambitious multi-annual budget and stressed the importance of good communication, common food labels, taking account of national specificities and financial support for farmers for the Green Pact to be a success.

On 8 June, Development Ministers discussed measures to combat the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, totalling €36 billion. These resources allocated to partner countries will be used to support health systems, facilitate socio-economic recovery, allow the movement of goods and investment in vaccine research.

The Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published on 2 June conclusions on the implementation of its priority recommendations addressed to Denmark in 2017. The country has partially implemented the recommended comprehensive system of data collection on racist, homophobic and transphobic incidents related to hate speech and is working towards improving the ethnic mix in schools.

In its 2019 report, made public on 3 June, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body (GRECO) examines the anti-corruption measures taken in 2019 in Member States, affecting parliamentarians, judges, prosecutors and central governments. By the end of the year, 36% of the recommendations had been fully implemented - and only 27% of those concerning parliamentarians. 15 countries were placed under the GRECO 4th round non-compliance procedure (Armenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Northern Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Turkey).

On 2 June the Commission published a report on the implementation of the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD), a pillar of the external investment plan. The EFSD is designed to finance investment in particular in the Union's neighbouring countries and in Africa. €3.1 billion of mixed grants and guarantees have already been allocated under this heading, out of an estimated total of €4.6 billion. This is expected to raise €47 billion of investment. The report thus underlines the relevance of the EFSD, in particular through its mainstreaming of sustainable development objectives (SDOs), and its capacity to support innovation in the private sector.

Madrid's three major museums reopened their doors on June 6th. The Prado Museum focuses a selection of about 200 works on a third of its surface until September 13. At the Reina Sofia Art Centre, part of the collections and an exhibition by the Italian artist Mario Merz are accessible. In addition to its permanent collection, the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum offers an exhibition on Rembrandt and the portrait, and an exhibition by the American artist Joan Jonas.

The Royal Castle in Warsaw offers "The Extraordinary Gift of the King", an exhibition on the earthenware service offered by Stanislaus II to Sultan Abdülhamid, and "The Secrets of the Castle Gardens", an open-air tour to discover the history of the place brought to light by archaeological digs.

Still closed to the public, the British Museum offers 11 ways to enjoy its collections and activities online, including virtual galleries, podcasts, videos and audio tours.

The Louvre-Lens Museum has reopened its doors and is extending until January 25, 2021 the "Black Suns" exhibition, on the history of this colour in art, from the Egyptians to Pierre Soulages. Admission is free until June 30.