When it comes to taking a stand and acting on the international stage, Europeans remain divided. Ursula von der Leyen's speech on the state of the Union, which deals only modestly with the international aspect, is proof of this. Jean-Dominique Giuliani suggested remaining faithful to Robert Schuman's approach: we must not take away prerogatives from the Member States, but give them something more.

On 11 and 25 October, the Lithuanians are being called to the polls to renew the 141 elected members of the Seimas, the single house of parliament. 22 political parties are in the running for this election. According to the latest opinion poll carried out by the Spinter Tyrimai Institute, the Union of Patriotic Christian Democrats (TS-LKD), the main opposition party led by Gabrielius Landsbergis, would come out on top with 21.7% of the vote. It would be followed by the Farmers' and Greens Party, with 19.4% of the vote, the Social Democratic Party with 12.6% and the Labour Party with 8.6%, followed by the Freedom Party (Laisves), a social-liberal party led by Ausrinė Armonaite 6.8%, and the Liberal Movement (LRLS) of Eugenijus Gentvilas with 5.9%.

The 2020 edition of the "Schuman Report on Europe, the State of the Union", a reference work for European decision-makers, is available in hard copy in French, published by Marie B, and in electronic format in French and English. With contributions from leading personalities and experts, together with original maps and annotated statistics, it provides a comprehensive view of the European Union and analyses the challenges facing Europe. You can order it on our website.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a series of objectives in her first State of the Union address on 16 September. As part of the development of the Green Deal, she affirmed the willingness to increase the CO2 reduction targets from 40 to 55% by 2030. 30% of the funds of the NextGenerationEU recovery programme will be raised through green bonds. She proposed the creation of a secure European electronic identity and a European data backup domain. She called for a development of the Europe of health and wants the creation of a public agency for biomedical research. She called on Member States to move to qualified majority voting on human rights issues, and promised a revision of the Dublin Regulation.

MEPs adopted a proposal on the Union's own resources on 16 September. They want to increase the share of Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) resources earmarked for own resources to 30%, raise the ceiling on own resources to 1.5% of the annual GNP of the Member States and limit to 10% the share of customs duties that Member States retain after collecting them for the Union. They call for a €2 per kg tax on non-recycled plastic packaging from January 2021. They also call for the abolition of rebates to certain Member States on their contributions and the establishment of additional own resources by 2028.

Ministers of Culture met in Berlin on 14 September to discuss ways of countering the effects of the pandemic on the cultural sector. The main areas of discussion concerned aid for the development of the cultural sector, the mobilisation of the art and common cultural heritage of the Member States, as well as national experiences and strategies for the resumption of cultural activity.

Foreign Ministers met in Brussels on 21 September to discuss the situation in Belarus and Libya and the "post-Cotonou" negotiations with the African Union. They imposed restrictive measures against two individuals and three entities involved in the violation of the UN arms embargo in Libya. The High Representative of the Union Josep Borrell, who chaired the meeting, said he regretted Turkey's use of Cypriot waters and that negotiations on measures against Belarus would be continued by the European Council on 24 and 25 September.

On 15 September, the Court of Justice confirmed the EU regulation guaranteeing access to an open internet, in a dispute between the Hungarian Communications and Media Authority and the Hungarian company Telenor, which applied preferential conditions to certain applications while others suffered a traffic slowdown. It confirms that national regulatory authorities must sanction an access provider when it favours certain applications or services. This is the first time that the Court has had to interpret the 2015 regulation.

EU member states are struggling to target free carbon emission allowances effectively, says the Court of Auditors in a report published on 15 September. 40% of emission allowances are allocated mainly to the industrial and aviation sectors free of charge. This percentage slows down the progress of decarbonisation as required by the Paris Climate Agreement. The Court of Auditors urges the commission to optimise the targeting of allowances by giving priority to sectors that cannot pass on the cost of these emissions to consumers.

On 18 September, Christiane Lambert of France, Chairwoman of the main French farmers' union (FNSEA), was elected President of Copa Cogeca, the European farmers' organisation. She succeeds Joachim Rukwied from Germany for a 2-year term.

On 15 September, the German government announced that "1,553 persons belonging to 408 families, which Greece had already recognised as needing protection, will be received". This decision follows the fire that ravaged the Moria migrant camp in Greece during the night of 8-9 September, leaving 12,000 migrants homeless.

On 14 September, the Banque de France revised its forecasts for the decline in activity in 2020 to -8.7% instead of the expected -10.3% drop announced in June; the level of activity at the end of 2019 is expected to return at the beginning of 2022. The GDP should rise by 7.4% in 2021 and 3% in 2022.

On 16 September, the Irish government published the main guidelines of its 2021 budget, which is mainly based on the management of the global pandemic and Brexit for the duration of the pandemic, giving priority to the hypothesis of a disorderly Brexit.

On 14 September, the House of Commons passed first reading by 340 votes to 263 of the "Internal Market" Bill, which deals inter alia with the customs issue with Northern Ireland. The Union called on the British government to withdraw the text, which violates the withdrawal agreement signed last year. The text is due to be examined by the House of Lords on 21 and 22 September.

The European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey on 14 September for the arbitrary and irregular detention of writer Ragip Zarakolu. The Court ruled that the applicant's inability to have access to his file so that he could challenge the accusations made against him of belonging to a terrorist organisation constitutes a total restriction of his rights. Ragip Zarakolu was released in 2012 after 5 months imprisonment and is still awaiting trial.

On 17 September, NATO's Atlantic Command, the Alliance's new strategic command, was declared operational. Located at the Norfolk Naval Base in the United States, it aims to ensure the security of transatlantic maritime routes for the delivery of reinforcements and resupply between North America and Europe.

On 14 September, the OECD released growth figures for the second quarter of 2020 in the G20 countries. These figures provide a measure of the impact of the global pandemic on the economy. According to the OECD, "GDP fell by a record minus 6.9 per cent, significantly higher than the minus 1.6 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2009 at the height of the financial crisis". India and the United Kingdom are the two countries most affected by the crisis with GDP contraction of 25.2% and 20.4% respectively, while China is the country that is doing best with a growth rebound of 11.5%.

The EU recorded a trade surplus of €25.8bn and the eurozone €27.9bn in July, according to figures published by Eurostat on 16 September. Eurozone exports fell by 10.4% compared to July 2019, and imports by 14.3%.

In its annual report on Employment and Social Developments (ESDE), on social equity and solidarity, the Commission analyses the adverse effects of the Covid-19 epidemic and social trends in employment in Europe. The report explains the influence of minimum wages on social mobility, the impact of short-time working arrangements, social investment and gender disparities.

Until 10 January 2021, the sixth edition of the NOW exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art is dedicated to the work of the Scottish artist Katie Paterson, who is considered one of the most important artists of her generation, particularly for her reflection on the notions of time and the cosmos.