The European Union has described as unfounded the conviction on 6 September of opposition politician Maria Kalesnikova and lawyer Maxim Znak for plotting against the state. It continues to call for the release of political prisoners, an end to the repression and the opening of a political dialogue. In Berlin, the Belarusian journalist Kseniya Halubovich received the Franco-German Journalism Prize in the multimedia category on 9 September for her series of reports "Belarus: Chronicle of a Revolution" broadcast on Arte. To follow the crisis triggered by the rigged presidential election of August 2020, the Foundation offers you a chronology of events and links to European responses and initiatives.

This autumn, a new edition of the 'Permanent Atlas of the European Union' published by Marie B. is well worth reading. This book reflects the latest political and economic changes in the European Union and its Member States. With more than 50 maps, texts and thematic sheets, the Atlas summarises the essential history and political and statistical realities of the Union. It is available in French in bookshops and on our website, as well as in digital form.

From 13 September, unvaccinated employees in Greece in the public and private sectors must undergo one antigen test per week, and employees in contact with the public must undergo two tests per week. Denmark lifted the requirement to wear a mask and present a health pass in certain places on 10 September. In Spain, the alert level was lowered to "medium" after having been "high" for more than two months. In Belgium, the Brussels region will impose the health pass in bars and restaurants from 1 October. To follow the development of the situation and to understand the conditions of entry in the different EU Member States, the Foundation offers you a complete map of the measures in place. An indispensable, regularly updated resource.

In response to the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union has set up a €672.5 billion recovery fund, known as the Recovery and Resilience Facility, for Member States in the form of grants and loans. 20 plans have been adopted so far and 12 countries have already received the planned pre-financing, including Cyprus on 9 September and Latvia on 10 September. The Foundation provides an interactive map of the plans country by country, to see the amounts, timetables and priorities.

On 26 September, Germans will vote to elect their MPs and indirectly choose who will succeed Angela Merkel after 16 years in the Chancellery. To understand what is at stake in these decisive elections for Germany and the European Union, you can find in this dossier the Foundation's publications and the debates we are organising around this election, as well as our interventions in the media and resources on the programmes of the parties in the running.

On 14 September, the Foundation is organising an online debate concerning the federal elections of 26 September in Germany. Frank Baasner, director of the Franco-German Institute in Ludwigsburg, Joachim Bitterlich, former ambassador, and Hélène Kohl, journalist and correspondent in Berlin, will analyse the issues at stake in the elections and discuss the country's political future. The debate will be moderated by Pascale Joannin, Managing Director of the Foundation.

The Euro App Mobility association is organising the States General of Apprentice Mobility on 16 and 17 September at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. The Foundation, a partner of the event, will host a round table on the international opening of training organisations, and its President Jean-Dominique Giuliani will be one of the speakers at the opening session.

On 7 September, the Commission adopted the regulatory framework that will allow it to issue €250 billion of green bonds to finance Member States' recovery plans under the NextGenerationEU plan. The money raised will be used for energy efficiency, sustainable transport and clean energy projects.

New EU export control rules came into force on 9 September. They strengthen controls on trade in dual-use goods, i.e. civilian goods and technologies that can be used for military or security purposes, in particular in the field of cyber surveillance.

On 10 September, to coincide with Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union address in Strasbourg on 15 September, the Commission published a review of its activities since 2020. The main achievements include the implementation of the NextGenerationEU recovery plan, the Green Pact for Europe and several international agreements.

The Commission decided on 10 September that public aid of €900 million paid by the Italian State to the airline Alitalia in 2017 was contrary to European competition law. However, it considered that the new company ITA, which plans to take over some of Alitalia's activities, is not assimilated to Alitalia because of an economic discontinuity and is therefore not obliged to reimburse the Italian State.

The Ministers of Economy and Finance met on 10-11 September in Slovenia. They discussed the implementation of the recovery plans and the adherence to the international corporate taxation project within the framework of the OECD.

Eurozone Finance Ministers, meeting on 10 September, discussed the economic impact of the pandemic in their countries. They focused on the medium-term implications and the political action needed to avoid divergence within the euro area.

In the run-up to the German elections on 26 September, the two main candidates for the Chancellery were hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. On 6 September, the SPD candidate Olaf Scholz discussed the issue of European sovereignty. On 8 September, the CDU-CSU candidate Armin Laschet stressed the importance of Europe in the fight against terrorism.

The Commission published its annual strategic foresight report on 8 September. It identifies four major global trends that are affecting its capacity and freedom of action: climate change and other environmental challenges, digital hyperconnectivity and technological change, pressures on democracy and values, and changes in world order and demography. It recommends ten areas for action.

Until 22 May 2022 the Paul Klee Centre in Bern is hosting a new exhibition entitled "Paul Klee. Human beings among themselves". The paintings, watercolours and drawings on display reflect the sociological and political dimensions of his work.

Until 24 January 2022, the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris is exhibiting some forty works by Sandro Botticelli, seeking to explore his role as creator, entrepreneur and trainer, and his influence on Florentine artists of the Quattrocento.

French director Audrey Diwan was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival on 11 September for her film The Event. The Silver Lion-Grand Jury Prize went to The Hand of God by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, and the Silver Lion-Best Director Award went to New Zealand's Jane Campion for The Dog's Share. The Best Actress prize went to Spain's Penélope Cruz for her role in Pedro Almodovar's Madres Paralelas, and the Best Actor prize to Filipino John Arcilla for his role in Erik Matti's On the Job: The Missing 8.

The National Collection Museum in Dresden is celebrating the painter Johannes Vermeer and the golden age of Dutch painting in an exhibition that will run until 2 January 2022. The exhibition includes the newly restored "Girl with an Open Window".

The Clifden Community Arts Festival, Ireland's oldest community arts festival, is taking place from 15-23 September in Connemara. It brings together writers, poets, musicians and all kinds of performing artists to give concerts and public readings.

From 15 September to 30 November, the exhibition "Discovering the Cosmos" at the Nowa Praga Museum in Warsaw features real spacecraft components, astronaut equipment and other historical items provided by the US agency NASA, a first in Poland.

From 18 September to 3 October, the youthful dream of the Bulgarian artist Christo (who died in May 2020) and his wife Jeanne-Claude will be taking shape posthumously. In Paris, the 50-metre-high Arc de Triomphe is being completely transformed into a gigantic gift package, held together by 3,000 metres of red rope.

The Mobilier National is showing the exhibition "Palais disparus de Napoléon" at the Galerie des Gobelins, in Paris, until 16 January 2022. Through the reunion of numerous pieces of furniture and decorative elements from the Tuileries, Saint-Cloud and Meudon palaces, the exhibition resurrects the lost palaces and highlights the inventiveness of the creators of the first 19th century.