New parliamentary elections are being held in Bulgaria on 11 July after the 4 April vote failed to produce a stable government majority. Boyko Borisov, Prime Minister since 2014, is not standing for re-election. According to the latest polls, his party, GERB, is expected to take the lead with 21.7% of the vote, ahead of the party There is Such a People, which is expected to win 20.2%. The Socialist Party is due to take third place with 16.1%.

The European certificate comes into force on 1 July. The wearing of masks has not been compulsory outside in Spain since 26 June, and since 28 June in Italy, where the curfew has been lifted in the last remaining region. Since 27 June, bars and restaurants in Belgium have been allowed to stay open until 1 a.m., and close contact is allowed for up to 8 people. Portugal, on the other hand, suspended the lifting of restrictions due to an increase in cases. Germany has imposed restrictions on arrivals from Portugal and Russia. To follow developments and to know the conditions of entry in the different EU Member States, the Foundation offers a complete map of the measures in place. An essential, regularly updated resource for you to understand the situation.

EU leaders meeting on 24-25 June discussed the management of the pandemic, migration policy, relations with Turkey and Russia. They expressed their concern about the respect of the rule of law in Turkey. They emphasised that the EU is open to a "selective dialogue" with Russia, but stressed the need for a coordinated response to Russian "destabilising" activities. They discussed cyber security, the recovery plan, the situation in Belarus, the Sahel and Ethiopia, as well as fundamental rights in Hungary. At the Euro Summit, they discussed the coordination of budgetary policies and underlined their support for the Capital Markets Union.

The Commission opened an investigation on 22 June to determine whether Google is engaging in anti-competitive behaviour in the online advertising technology sector by favouring its own ad serving technology services. The investigation will examine whether Google is limiting third party access to user data while retaining it for its own use, thereby distorting competition. The aim will be to ensure that Google respects and enforces competition law and data protection legislation.

On 24 June, in their assessment of the Commission's 2020 rule of law report, MEPs highlighted an erosion of the Union's values and the need to improve the situation. They call on the Council and the Commission to take decisive action to remedy this deterioration of the Union's values, which can be observed in several Member States, such as Hungary and Poland. It stresses the importance of making this report part of a permanent mechanism with specific recommendations.

On 22 June, the Council adopted conclusions on the role of the EU in strengthening its role as guarantor of maritime security in the world. The aim is to provide an urgent collective response to the growing implications of climate change for international stability, and to step up efforts to increase the resilience of maritime sectors to cyber attacks. The Council supports the implementation of the pilot project of the concept of coordinated maritime presences in the Gulf of Guinea, and welcomes the development of the common information sharing environment for maritime surveillance.

At a ministerial meeting on 22 June, EU and US representatives discussed transatlantic cooperation and information exchange in the fight against terrorism, extremism and hate speech, migration and asylum. They stressed the importance of exchanging passenger name record (PNR) data, combating illegal online content and cybercrime.

The Court of Auditors pointed out on 21 June that the EU's agricultural funding in the 2014-2020 period, averaging €100 billion, has not achieved the desired objectives such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, which have not decreased since 2010. The report highlights a problem with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which does not encourage the use of certain efficient climate-friendly practices.

On 22 June, the European Union signed a financial partnership framework agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch its new programme. The agreement represents an EU investment of almost €9 billion over the period 2021-2027 and defines the roles of the Commission, ESA and the EU Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) respectively. Commissioner Thierry Breton announced the official launch of the new European space programme with a budget of €13.2 billion for the period 2021-2027.

On 23 June, the Bundestag's Budget Committee approved funding for the next stage of development of the European Future Combat Aircraft (SCAF), a project led by France, Germany and Spain. This provides €1.3 billion to finance the construction of a flight demonstrator by 2027.

Nine Catalan pro-independence activists, convicted in 2019 for their involvement in the attempted secession of Catalonia in 2017, were released on 23 June. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had announced on 21 June that he was authorising their pardon by the King. The pardon does not lift the sentence of ineligibility to which they had been sentenced. It is also "conditional" on them not committing a "new serious offence".

At the 43rd Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, held in Paris from 14 to 24 June, the 54 States involved discussed research and international scientific cooperation in the Antarctic, as well as the exercise of inspection rights under the treaty. They adopted a declaration reiterating their commitment to the principles and objectives of the treaty, in particular with regard to environmental protection.

On 23 June, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Malta on its grey list of countries under watch for money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF has called on the Maltese authorities to increase the focus of financial intelligence on tax evasion and money laundering, to increase the transparency and accuracy of the register of beneficial owners and to ensure clearer roles for supervisory bodies.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced his resignation on 28 June, a week after losing a vote in Parliament. The Speaker of Parliament now has a mandate to initiate talks with party leaders to form a new government that can secure a parliamentary majority. If the talks fail, early elections will be held.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on 23 June. They discussed the health crisis and the deepening of their security cooperation. E. Macron expressed his support for the reforms undertaken by Kosovo to meet the economic, social and democratic criteria for EU membership and invited A. Kurti to do everything possible to normalise relations with Serbia.

At the 13th meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro, held on 22 June, the revised enlargement methodology aimed at reinvigorating the process was discussed. The meeting aimed to strengthen the dialogue with Montenegro to focus on the key reforms that should help it move forward in the accession process.

Jeffrey Donaldson, Member of the British Parliament, was elected leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the main unionist political force in Northern Ireland, on 22 June. He replaces Edwin Poots, who resigned on 17 June due to internal disputes.

The 12th meeting of the Accession Conference with Serbia took place on 22 June. This was the first meeting since the Council approved the revised enlargement methodology. The Union welcomed Serbia's ambition to open the negotiating chapters on competitiveness and growth, environment and sustainable connectivity.

The summer plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe took place from 21 to 24 June. Discussions focused on the situation in Belarus and Crimea, the issue of migration and media freedom. Members also organised an event on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Istanbul Convention.

Agnieszka Polska's latest work, "The Thousand Year Plan", will occupy the eleven-metre high exhibition hall of the Vistula Museum from 2 July to 19 September. The film, shown on two screens, takes an innovative look at the early post-war years. From the very beginning, electricity has inspired both fear and joy.

The Palais Fesch-Museum of Fine Arts in Ajaccio is presenting from 2 July to 4 October an exhibition devoted to the various Napoleonic legends: the one built by Napoleon during his lifetime, the popular legend that followed the Napoleonic epic and the romantic one that developed in 19th century literature.