Bar and restaurant terraces reopened in the Czech Republic on 17 May and in France on 19 May. Since 19 May, cultural venues have reopened in France and the curfew has been extended to 9pm. In Italy, the curfew was changed to 11pm on 19 May, and all regions have been classed "low risk" since 24 May. In the Netherlands, indoor sports facilities, amusement parks and open-air museums or theatres reopened on 19 May and libraries on 20 May. In Austria, hotels and restaurants, shops, museums and cultural venues opened on 19 May. To follow the evolution of the situation, the Foundation offers you a complete map of the sanitary measures in place and the travel conditions across Europe. An essential, regularly updated resource for you to better understand the situation.

On 24 May, EU leaders decided to impose new sanctions on Belarus and to close EU airspace to Belarusian airlines in response to the hijacking of a Ryanair plane on 23 May and the arrest of a journalist and his girlfriend on board. These measures follow on from those taken by the Europeans since the rigged presidential election in August 2020, and the support given to the democratic movement in Belarus. To follow this crisis, the Foundation provides its readers with a chronology of events and links to European responses and initiatives.

Admiral (2S) Bernard Rogel, former Chief of Staff to the President of the Republic and Chief of Staff of the Navy, was the guest of a videoconference organised by the Foundation on 19 May, in partnership with the "Fondation de la Mer". The recording is available here.

Pascale Joannin was a guest at the Heart of Europe Citizens' Conference organised by Frédéric Petit, MP, on 18 May, to discuss Franco-German cooperation and the challenges facing the European Union. You can watch or watch the conference again.

The Commission presented a draft reform of corporate taxation on 18 May. It proposes to reduce administrative obstacles through a single body of legislation, and also wants to make it compulsory for companies to publish their effective tax rates and to step up the fight against shell companies.

The Commission signed on 20 May a third contract with Pfizer-BioNTech to reserve an additional 1.8 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine between the end of 2021 and 2023. The contract stipulates that the production site be established in the EU, that its essential components be sourced in the EU and that delivery to Member States be guaranteed from 2022.

In a report adopted on 20 May by 495 votes to 163 with 32 abstentions, MEPs say that legal migration channels would help reduce irregular migration flows and undermine smugglers and traffickers, attract the workers needed to make up for shortages in the European labour market and an ageing population, and promote integration

In a report voted on 19 May by 480 votes to 64 with 150 abstentions, MEPs called for the "formal suspension" of Turkey's EU accession negotiations if the current negative trend in the rule of law is not reversed in the country. MEPs expressed concern about the Turkish President's "hypercentralisation of power" and his confrontational foreign policy, which "clashes with EU priorities".

In a resolution adopted on 20 May, Parliament asked for relevant information on the implementation of the national recovery plans. MEPs asked the Commission to encourage Member States to engage with all national stakeholders on any future changes to the plans, or on any new plans, and to ensure that consultations take place.

Parliament and Council negotiators reached a preliminary agreement on 20 May on a digital certificate, which will be issued from 1 July to people who have been vaccinated, tested negative or recovered from the disease. The Commission will mobilise €100 million to make the tests affordable and accessible. The certificate will not be a travel document and will be in place for 12 months. Member States will not impose additional restrictions unless necessary. They will be obliged to accept certificates issued in other Member States for vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency and will be free to recognise other vaccines. The agreement was approved on 21 May and is expected to be voted on in the Parliament at the June plenary session.

The EU Chiefs of Staff (CHS), meeting on 19 May in Brussels, elected the Chairman of the Military Committee, Austrian General Robert Brieger, who will begin his mandate on 1 June 2022. They discussed with High Representative Josep Borrell the latest developments in the strategic compass and called on Member States to contribute more to missions by providing personnel, resources and logistics to respond to launched operations.

European Affairs Ministers met in Coimbra on 17 May to discuss the future of the Union and to launch the European Foresight Network at ministerial level, which is intended to strengthen the foresight analysis capacity of Member States and the Commission. The ministers also discussed the outermost regions with projects on sustainable tourism and renewable energy.

The Council decided on 20 May to relax the conditions of entry into the EU for travellers who have received a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency. Restrictions may also be lifted on travel from third countries where the number of cases of Covid-19 is between 25 and 75 per 100,000 population over the last 14 days. When the epidemiological situation in a third country worsens rapidly, Member States should adopt an emergency brake mechanism, temporarily restricting all travel to the EU. Member States are free to follow these recommendations or not.

On 20 May, health ministers discussed the Union's vaccination plans and the variants in circulation. They stressed the importance of having the different technologies available and second generation vaccines, and the characteristics of each vaccine, the production capacity and the need to encourage vaccination in the strategy to be put in place for 2022-2023.

On 20 May, the Trade Ministers discussed trade relations with the United States, and issues related to the tariffs on steel and aluminium and their suspension in the context of the Airbus-Boeing dispute. They discussed WTO reform and negotiations, trade policy review and in particular the International Procurement Instrument, which aims to discourage discrimination against EU companies in third country procurement. The Council held an informal exchange of views with WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

Euro area Finance Ministers meeting on 21 May discussed fiscal and macroeconomic developments in the euro area and adopted their work programme for the second half of the year. They discussed adjustment mechanisms in the euro area and the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. They exchanged views on the macroeconomic and budgetary situation with the Chair of the Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Irene Tinagli.

On 22 May, the Ministers of Economy and Finance discussed economic recovery, climate transition and the role of environmental taxes, the reopening of borders and tourism. They discussed the need to complete the national ratification processes of the Own Resources Decision, and stressed the importance of not withdrawing prematurely the aid put in place to support the sectors most affected by the crisis. They announced that a "Recovery Summit" will be held on 28 June in Lisbon, at which EU leaders will be invited to reflect on the future of European governance.

The Foreign Ministers discussed the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories on 18 May. High Representative Josep Borrell called for an immediate end to the violence with the implementation of a ceasefire. He said the high number of civilian deaths and injuries was unacceptable. He condemned the indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas and recalled that Israel's right to self-defence should be exercised in a proportionate manner. After 11 days of conflict, a ceasefire was signed on 21 May. The UN Security Council called on 23 May for "full respect" for the ceasefire in Gaza and recalled the importance of a comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution.

In an opinion delivered on 20 May, the Advocate General considers that the Polish system of delegating judges to higher courts does not provide sufficient protection to assure litigants that judges will not be subject to "external pressure". The opaque selection criteria and the possibility for the Minister of Justice to dismiss the delegated judge at any time are described as "very worrying". The Court will give its judgment on the matter at a later stage, in response to a request for a preliminary ruling from a Polish court

On 19 May, the General Court of the European Union annulled the Commission's decision approving €3.4 billion of financial aid from the Netherlands to the airline KLM in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also annulled a decision approving €1.2 billion in aid to the Portuguese airline TAP. However, it validated a third decision creating a €10 billion fund to support the solvency of strategic Spanish companies. The three rulings follow appeals by the airline Ryanair.

The first global health summit was held in Rome on 21 May, under the dual presidency of Italy as head of the G20 and the European Union, with the aim of keeping the Covid-19 pandemic under control, making vaccines available to everyone and everywhere, and preparing for future crises. The solemnly adopted "Rome Declaration" sets out the principles of this new global collaboration.

The European Commission published its annual report on taxation in the EU on 18 May. It commends Member States for their support to households and businesses during the crisis but notes that tax revenues will decline in the post-crisis period. The report stresses the importance of taxation as a tool for economic recovery to support digitisation, energy transition, employment and fight tax evasion.

The Hay-on-Wye Literature Festival in Wales is running online this year from 26 May to 6 June. There are video lectures on literature and nature, as well as workshops and book readings by authors for children.

Until 3 October, Palazzo Barberini in Rome is presenting the Time of Baroque, an exhibition of 40 works by the great protagonists of Baroque culture, from Pietro da Cortona to Nicolaus Poussino and from Bernini to Guido Reni. The main theme of the exhibition is time, a concept studied in all its forms and variations through masterpieces by Italian and foreign artists, most of whom lived in Rome in the 17th century.

Until 19 July, the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris, together with the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, is presenting the exhibition "Le surréalisme en plein soleil" (Surrealism in the sunlight), which brings together some sixty paintings and forty drawings confronting René Magritte with the works of Auguste Renoir which inspired him.

The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid is showcasing Swiss artist Claudia Comte's passion for the oceans in "After Nature", a contemporary art exhibition that runs until 22 August. The exhibition brings together a series of sculptures reflecting the fundamental role of coral reefs in the production of oxygen on Earth. It is complemented by a mural which, through its graphics, forms and materials, encourages the viewer to become immersed.

The Berggruen Museum in Berlin is presenting the exhibition Picasso & The Women of Algiers until 8 August. This exhibition, that had been scattered across the world, brings together most of Picasso's post 1954 oil paintings for the first time in Germany in 65 years. This series of paintings offers a new perspective on painting and is unique in Picasso's oeuvre in its artistic variation.

The Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), comprising experts in the fields of literature, publishing and bookselling from 41 participating countries, announced on 18 May the 13 winners for 2021.

On 23 May, Yeon-Min Park from South Korea won first place for piano in the George Enescu International Music Competition. The jury also awarded her the title of the best interpretation of an Enescu sonata. First place for violin went to Valentin Serban from Romania and first place for cello to Jaemin Han from South Korea, who at 15 years old is the youngest winner of the competition. The competition has been held periodically since 1958 in honour of the famous Romanian composer George Enescu.

On 22 May, a new contemporary art museum opened in Paris. Housed in the historic Bourse de Commerce building, businessman François Pinault's collection includes some 10,000 works by 350 different artists, representing creation in all its forms (sculptures, paintings, videos, photographs) from 1960 to the present day.

Until 6 September, the national museum of the Château de Malmaison, where Napoleon lived, is organising the exhibition "Napoleon with 1001 faces", which offers an opportunity for visitors to discover the face of the emperor, following the changes in his features throughout his life and in representations after his death.