Early parliamentary elections will be held in Portugal on 30 January, due to a crisis within the ruling coalition over the 2022 budget. With three weeks to go, Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialists remain in the lead in the polls, although their lead is narrowing as the weeks go by. They would get 38% of the vote, ahead of the centre-right Social Democratic Party, which would get 31%. Neither of the two main parties seems to be in a position to form a coalition that will ensure a stable majority.

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, called the Recovery and Resilience Facility, for Member States in the form of grants and loans. 22 plans have so far been approved by the Commission, and all 22 countries have received the pre-financing. On 27 December, Spain was the first country to receive a payment on the basis of met targets, amounting to €10 billion. The Commission has not yet approved the Hungarian and Polish plans due to breaches of the rule of law. The Foundation provides an interactive map of the plans country by country, to see the amounts, timetables and priorities.

Since 28 December, people who have not been vaccinated cannot enter Finland. The Italian government has decided to make the vaccine compulsory for people over 50 from 15 February. From 10 January, a vaccination pass, already required in cinemas, theatres, bars and restaurants, is required in transport, hotels, congresses and on restaurant terraces. In Germany, a negative test is required in addition to the health pass from 15 January to enter bars and restaurants, and the wearing of a FFP2 mask is "strongly recommended" in transport. In the Netherlands, non-essential shops, restaurants and bars, cinemas, theatres and museums are closed until 14 January but schools reopen on 10 January. In Spain, masks must be worn outdoors. In Austria and Romania, the FFP2 mask is mandatory in the street and public places. In France, teleworking is mandatory at least 3 days a week. To follow developments in the situation and find out what measures are in place in the EU Member States, the Foundation offers you a complete map of the measures in place. An indispensable, regularly updated resource.

On 5 January, Pascale Joannin took part in a round table on "How can France influence the Green Deal?", organised by the Senate Committee on Regional Planning and Sustainable Development on the occasion of the debate of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The recording of the debate is available on the Senate website.

On 12 January, the Académie de Marine is organising a debate on strategic maritime issues with Jean-Dominique Giuliani and Admiral (2S) Bernard Rogel.

On 11 January, from 4.15 pm, Pascale Joannin will be interviewed within the framework of the Senate's information mission on "The judicialization of public life: an opportunity for the rule of law? A challenge to representative democracy? What are the consequences on the way standards are produced and their hierarchy?

In the framework of the Defence Factory and in partnership with ECFR Berlin, the Foundation is organising an online event on 13 January on Franco-German cooperation in the field of the defence industry, at the centre of European ambitions for the construction of strategic autonomy.

The Commission started consultations with the Member States' expert group on sustainable finance on 31 December on the taxonomy covering certain activities in the gas and nuclear sectors for the transition to climate neutrality. The experts have until 12 January to make their contributions. The act will then be sent to the co-legislators for final adoption.

The President of the Parliament David Sassoli (IT, S&D) died on January 11 at the age of 65 in Aviano, where he was hospitalized. A former journalist, he had been an MEP since 2009 and had been elected to lead the Parliament in 2019. He was not a candidate for a new mandate in the election for the presidency of the assembly scheduled during the January session.

The unemployment rate in the EU stood at 6.5% in November (compared with 6.7% in October) and in the euro area at 7.2% in November (compared with 7.3% in October), according to data released by Eurostat on 10 January.

From 15 January to 17 April, the Espace Richaud in Versailles is devoting an exhibition to the life of Molière, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his birth, by following his literary, theatrical, cultural and political fortune step by step. Through more than 170 works, including manuscripts, sketches, photographs, sculptures and audiovisual projections, the exhibition looks at the making of and changes in the myth surrounding the playwright.

Until 27 February, the Prada Foundation in Milan is organising a retrospective of over 100 works by Domenico Gnoli from 1949 to 1969. The Italian artist's works are arranged in thematic series of everyday objects.

The Maria Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation in Madrid is hosting a selection of 117 paintings from its extensive collections of 19th century Spanish paintings, which include works by Goya, Madrazo, and Fortuny, until 31 July.

On the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821-1912), the Bavarian State Museum in Munich is devoting an exhibition to the gifts sent to him during his reign. The exhibition highlights the artistic techniques of the time and traces the cultural development of the period up to the emergence of Art Nouveau.

The Portuguese Centre of Photography in Porto is devoting an exhibition to the photographer Nicolas Muller until 20 February. Born in 1913 in Hungary, he travelled to Italy, France, Portugal and Morocco before settling permanently in Spain. The exhibition is made up of 126 photographs that bear witness to the history of the 20th century.

The M Museum in Leuven is presenting the exhibition "Imagining the universe" until 16 January. The exceptional pieces demonstrate man's fascination with the universe and the answers to questions about our origins from the Middle Ages to the modern era. Themes include religion, mythology, astrology and detailed observation of the firmament.

Until 27 February, the National Museum in Warsaw is devoting an exhibition to Lucas Cranach the Elder, one of the main artists of the German Renaissance, which shows the changes that took place in iconography in the 15th and early 16th centuries, particularly with regard to the ways of representing nature and the sacred.