As the vaccination campaign continues across Europe, Member States are maintaining the restrictions and curfews in place. Travel restrictions have been extended in Italy until 25 February. In Germany, measures have been extended until 7 March and the border has been closed with the Czech Republic and Austrian Tyrol. The Foundation provides you with an overview of the health measures in place and travel conditions across Europe. An indispensable, regularly updated resource for you to be able to understand the situation better.

On 9 February, the Commission published the contract signed with the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-GSK on 18 September for the supply of a vaccine against Covid-19. At the request of the laboratory, whose vaccine is still under development, the document contains many redacted paragraphs and pages.

On 11 February MEPs adopted a revision of the rules on airport take-off and landing slots, making permanent the suspension of the rules decided in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Airlines will be able to use only 50% of their slots, compared to 80% under the previous rules, so that they can keep them for the next season. In future, the Commission will be able to adjust the minimum usage rate to between 30 and 70%. The text was formally adopted by the Council on 15 February.

Negotiators from the Council and Parliament reached an agreement on 8 February on the rules and budget for European civil protection in the framework of the multi-annual budget 2021-2027. The agreement provides for an envelope of €1.26 billion, three times the previous budget, and a ceiling of €2.06 billion as part of the response to the Covid-19 crisis. The text has yet to be formally adopted.

On 9 February, the Commission presented its Agenda for the Mediterranean, designed to guide the Union's Southern Neighbourhood Policy. The new partnership, with a budget of €7bn by 2027, involves nine countries in the Middle East and Maghreb and focuses on women and young people to build a "safer, more democratic, greener, prosperous and inclusive" neighbourhood.

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter interplanetary probe developed by the European Space Agency and placed in orbit around the planet Mars recently detected a new gas. This research is helping to find out whether the red planet has already been inhabited and whether human exploration is possible. The spacecraft has also provided new information about the changing seasons and how Mars loses its water.

The Catalan Socialist Party led by the Spanish Health Minister, Salvador Illa, came out on top in the regional elections in Catalonia on 14 February with 22.96% of the vote and 33 seats out of 135. The Independence Party of the Republican Left of Catalonia, with 21.35% of the vote, also won 33 seats. The pro-independence parties won a total of 74 seats, up from 70 in 2017, and retain their majority in the regional parliament. Turnout totalled 53.5%.

The Budapest court confirmed on 9 February a decision taken by the Media Council to revoke the broadcasting licence of Hungary's leading independent radio station, Klubradio, as of 14 February, which is now web-based. NMHH criticises Klubradio for having submitted administrative documents late twice in a year.

Mario Draghi was officially sworn in as Italy's head of government on 13 February during the inauguration ceremony before Italian President Sergio Mattarella, which was broadcast live on television. He has skilfully mixed technocrats and politicians, choosing personalities from all the parties that have offered him support, but without appealing to the leaders. Daniele Franco, No. 2 at the Bank of Italy, became Minister of the Economy. Mario Draghi announced the creation of a "super-ministry" of Ecological Transition to be headed by a renowned physicist, Roberto Cingolani. The government includes 8 women out of 24 members.

On 9 February, Latvia's National Council for Electronic Media (NEPLP) banned the broadcasting of 16 Russian channels in the country due to a lack of clear information on the identity of their new representatives and officials. The day before, another channel, "Rossija RTR", was also banned from broadcasting because its content was deemed illegal.

The presidents of the Visegrad Group countries met in Jurata, Poland, on 9 and 10 February to mark the 30th anniversary of their birth. Poland's Andrzej Duda, Slovakia's Zuzana Caputova, the Czech Republic's Andrej Babis and Hungary's Janos Ader discussed the Covid-19 crisis, energy security, climate protection and international and transatlantic relations.

The UK's GDP contracted by 9.9% in 2020, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office on 12 February. This is the steepest annual contraction ever recorded. Growth in the fourth quarter was 1%, compared with 16.1% in the previous quarter.

On 14 February, the opposition Vetevendosje party, led by Albin Kurti, won the early parliamentary elections in Kosovo with 47.88% of the vote. The pro-independence party PDK obtained 17.36% of the vote. The LDK (centre-right) received 13.06%. Vetevendosje is committed to fighting corruption, poverty and political instability in the country.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, has called on Russia to respect the freedom of assembly after many peaceful demonstrators were arbitrarily arrested during political rallies in different cities across the country. She is also concerned about freedom of the press after journalists were arrested without explanation.

On 15 February, the General Council of the World Trade Organization elected by consensus the new Director-General of the organization. Her name is Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, from Nigeria, the first woman and the first African woman to be chosen for the post. She will take office on 1 March for a renewable term that will expire on 31 August 2025.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on 9 February that Turkey had violated Article 10 of the Human Rights Convention when it banned a lawyer, imprisoned in 2016, from accessing websites such as the ECHR or the Turkish Constitutional Court to prepare his defence.

According to figures published by Eurostat on 15 February, in December 2020 the European Union recorded a surplus of €30.1 billion in its international trade in goods with the rest of the world and the euro zone, €29.2 billion. For the year 2020, the euro area recorded a surplus of €234.5 billion (221 in 2019) and the European Union a surplus of €217.3 billion (191.5 in 2019). Eurostat notes that China became the EU's biggest trading partner in 2020, ahead of the US.

According to a Eurobarometer survey for the Parliament published on 12 February, 66% of Europeans are optimistic about the future of the Union and 72% support the European recovery plan. But in the face of global challenges and the consequences of the pandemic, they are calling for a reform of the Parliament's political priorities and a review of the hierarchy of fundamental values.

A report published on 11 February by the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) demonstrates the increasingly important regional differences in population ageing and its link to economic activity. The report is part of the debate opened by the Commission on the issue of Europe's ageing population.

In 10 lessons for a post-Pandemic World, the American political scientist and essayist Fareed Zakaria outlines ways to tackle global challenges such as climate change, technological upheaval and the growing confrontation between China and the United States.

The Gagosian Gallery, at Le Bourget, is presenting Field of the Cloth of Gold, an exhibition of four large paintings by Anselm Kiefer, inspired by poetry, the Old and New Testaments, and the Kabbalah, by appointment until 28 March.