For a better understanding of Europe in 2022, the Permanent Atlas of the European Union, published by Marie B Editions, is a unique work that offers a complete and easy-to-access view of the European Union, the euro zone and each of its 27 Member States, with numerous maps. It is available in English in digital format.

In response to the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU 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. 24 plans have so far been approved by the Commission, including Bulgaria on 7 April. 21 countries have received the planned pre-financing, and 3 countries have received a first tranche after meeting a series of targets, including Greece on 8 April for €3.6 billion. The Commission has not yet approved the Hungarian and Polish plans because of the infringement of the rule of law. The Foundation offers an interactive map of the plans country by country, so that readers can learn everything they need to know about the amounts, the timetables and the priorities involved.

Health measures continue to be relaxed in the EU. Since 10 April, a vaccination pass is no longer required in Malta and all unvaccinated travellers can enter the country on presentation of a negative test less than 72 hours old. In Germany, the Bundestag has rejected plans to make vaccination compulsory for people over 60. To follow developments and find out what measures are in place in the Member States, the Foundation offers you a complete map of the measures in place. An indispensable, regularly updated resource...

On 6 and 7 April, the Council and Parliament approved the payment of €3.5 billion to Member States that have undertaken to host Ukrainian refugees. A sum of €40 per week per refugee will provide for the basic needs of the arrivals. The measure also includes an increase in the pre-financing tranche of the REACT-EU programme from 11% to 15% for all Member States, and to 45% for EU countries where the influx of Ukrainian refugees exceeds 1% of the population.

In a resolution adopted on 7 April, MEPs called for a total embargo on imports of Russian oil, coal, nuclear fuel and gas. They want Russia to be excluded from international organisations, all Russian banks to be banned from the SWIFT system and all ships linked to Russia to be banned from entering EU waters. They also called for a special UN tribunal to be set up to investigate war crimes in Ukraine and for the same sanctions to be imposed on Belarus. In another resolution, MEPs called for safe passage and help for child victims of the war in Ukraine.

On 7 April, the G7 Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative condemned "in the strongest terms" the Russian "massacres" and "atrocities" in Bucha and the rest of Ukraine. They warned Russia about the use of chemical weapons and pledged to support countries bordering Ukraine that provide humanitarian assistance.

On 7 April, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution suspending Russia from the organisation's Human Rights Council. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the war in Ukraine has already caused the death of at least 1,563 civilians and forced more than 4.1 million Ukrainians to flee their country. The remaining civilian population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid and this need is likely to increase as more than half a million refugees have decided to cross the border back into their homes. The World Food Programme requires $570 million to carry out its three-month emergency plan on Ukrainian soil.

Meeting in Brussels on 6 and 7 April, NATO foreign ministers restated their support for Ukraine. Condemning Russian abuses in Bucha, they agreed to increase and sustain their assistance to Ukraine and other partners at risk of Russian aggression. They approved the Charter of the North Atlantic Defence Innovation Accelerator.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed the Greek, Cypriot, Spanish, Romanian and Irish parliaments. He urged Cyprus to close its ports to Russian yachts and to revoke passports issued to Russians. The President asked the Greek and Irish parliaments to put pressure on the European Union to ban Russian ships from European ports and to stop trading with Russian banks and the oil industry. He called on all Spanish and Romanian companies to stop their activities in Russia.

On 4 and 5 April, the Mayors' Forum organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) was held in Geneva. On this occasion, mayors affirmed their support for Ukrainian cities by condemning the military attack and the abuses perpetrated by Russia and by calling on international organisations to help Ukrainian municipalities rebuild and prosper. They also announced their readiness to welcome Ukrainian refugees to help the war-torn country.

On 4 April, Italy, Denmark, Slovenia, Estonia, Sweden and Spain expelled dozens of Russian diplomats following France and Germany, marking a further deterioration in relations with Moscow after the discovery of massacres attributed to Russian forces near Kiev. Lithuania expelled the Russian ambassador because of "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed in Ukraine by the Russian army. More than 200 Russian diplomats were expelled. On 5 April, 19 members of the Russian Permanent Mission to the European Union were declared personae non grata for activities contrary to their diplomatic status.

At the Global Donor Conference "Stand up for Ukraine" organised by Canada and the European Union on 9 April, €9.1 billion was raised for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. In total, €5 billion are loans and grants from European public financial institutions, and €4.1 billion are financial contributions from the private and public sectors for IDPs and refugees. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has announced an additional €1 billion loan to cover the needs of people displaced by the invasion.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, High Representative Josep Borrell and 30 MEPs visited Kyiv on 8 April in support of Ukraine. The EU handed President Volodymyr Zelensky a document to serve as a basis for discussions on his country's accession. They also went to Bucha and Irpin. On 9 April, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Volodymyr Zelensky and announced military assistance of 120 armoured vehicles and new missile systems. A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe visited Kyiv on 6 April. Its President, Tiny Kox, condemned the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine and promised to provide assistance in investigating war crimes.

On 8 April, at the request of some member states, the IMF approved the creation of an account for Ukraine, open to all states, agencies and intergovernmental organisations. Canada has already proposed that C$1 billion be distributed through this account. On 11 April, the World Bank reported that Ukraine's economy could contract by 45.1% in 2022 due to the Russian-led war, with GDP expected to collapse by 11.2%.

The Commission presented proposals on 5 April to guide industries in the green transition and to stimulate innovation. It also proposed two new regulations to better control fluorinated greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances to make the EU climate neutral. It also presented how it will achieve climate neutrality in its own operations and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2030.

On 5 April, MEPs approved the reform of the Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E) regulation aimed at moving states away from fuel energy. They backed funding for projects related to the development of hydrogen and carbon capture. Projects based on natural gas will no longer be eligible for EU funding, but a temporary derogation is to be granted to Cyprus and Malta to ensure their connection to the EU grid. The text must now be definitively adopted by the Council.

On 6 April, MEPs adopted the Data Governance Act. Aimed at increasing the availability of data for businesses to stimulate innovation, the law provides for the establishment of common European data spaces in strategic sectors. The text now has to be formally adopted by the Council before it can enter into force.

The sixth plenary session of the Conference on the Future of Europe was held in Strasbourg on 8 and 9 April. Delegates discussed the proposals arising from the exchanges in the nine thematic working groups that had met the day before.

Ministers of Economy and Finance discussed on 5 April the implementation of sanctions against Russia and the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the economy. They adopted conclusions on the strategic autonomy of the European economic and financial sector, stressing the importance of strengthening the international role of the euro, completing banking union and protecting against the effects of the extraterritoriality of third country sanctions. They discussed the strengthening of the European financial architecture for development. Finally, the ministers adopted a directive to update the rules on value added tax rates and a strengthened mandate for the Fundamental Rights Agency.

Agriculture Ministers discussed on 7 April the effects on producers and consumers of the increased cost of energy, fertiliser and fuel due to the war in Ukraine. They supported the Commission's communication on food security calling on Member States to help producers and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. They endorsed the Commission's communication on how to encourage agricultural practices that reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, including through a carbon certification framework.

The Transport Ministers pledged on 8 April to respond in a coordinated manner in terms of logistics and mobility of refugees to deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the European transport system. They decided to strengthen their cooperation in protecting transport personnel, ensuring their safety, and strengthening the resilience of the European transport system.

In a ruling on 7 April, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided that passengers of a delayed flight can claim compensation from an air carrier established outside the European Union when it performs the entire flight on behalf of a carrier established in one of the Member States.

The European Patent Office (EPO) received a record number of patent applications in 2021, with 188 600 applications, an increase of 4% compared to 2020. The main areas of patent applications are digital communication (+9.4% compared to 2020), medical technology (+0.8%) and computer science (+9.7%). The top five countries of origin of applications are the US (25% of total applications), Germany (14%), Japan (11%), China (9%) and France (6%).

The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers published guidelines on 6 April aimed at ensuring transparency in online election communications and spending, equality for political parties and candidates, and avoiding manipulation of the electorate, including by giving them the choice of whether or not to be targeted by online political advertisements. The guidelines also recommend that states, online platforms and civil society work together to develop independent monitoring mechanisms and appropriate sanctions.

Until 10 July, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin is showing large-scale landscapes by David Hockney alongside paintings from Berlin's museums that inspired the British artist.

Until 1 May, Tallinn is hosting Jazzkaar, the largest jazz festival in the Baltic States. Since 1990, the world's best jazz musicians have been performing throughout the Estonian capital.

Until 31 July, the National Gallery in London is honouring Raphael with a new exhibition of some of his greatest works. Thanks to loans from other museums such as the Louvre and the Prado Museum, it is the first to present Raphael's entire career through all of his very diverse creations.

From 13 April to 9 May, six Ukrainian artists are presented in an exhibition entitled "HERE. NOW. Artists are present" in Bucharest. This exhibition is taking place at Rezidența BRD Scena9, it is free for all.

The Aqua Mater art installation is open to visitors until 22 September on the square in front of La Défense in Paris. A 1,000m2 bamboo pavilion designed by Colombian architect Simon Vélez houses photographs by Sebastião Salgado that raise awareness of environmental issues and, above all, of the threatened resource of water.

The Capodimonte Museum in Naples is presenting an exhibition that redefines the approach to Neapolitan art of the 17th and 18th centuries until 7 January 2023. The major influence of Caravaggio in Neapolitan art is challenged in favour of other artists such as José de Ribera.

The Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival will take place until 15 April in the Warsaw Philharmonic. While Beethoven's repertoire is the main focus of the concerts, works by artists such as Einojuhani Rautavaara, Claude Debussy and Robert Schumann are also on the programme.

From 16 April to 7 May, Deauville is hosting its 26th Easter Festival. Mozart, Schubert and Bruckner are on the programme of concerts that will take place in the Elie de Brignac-Arqana hall, normally used for horse auctions.

The organist of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, Samuel Kummer, will celebrate Easter on 17 April with a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's compositions in the famous reconstructed church.

Cultural events in support of Ukraine continue across Europe. In France, there will be a benefit concert on 17 April in Nice where the National Dance Company of Ukraine will perform at the Théâtre de Verdure. In Belgium, on 17 April, violinists Tatiana Koichurenko and Alexandra Raikhlina will play in Brussels. In Germany, the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra will visit the Berliner Phiharmoniker on 29 April. In Spain, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is offering a concert of Baroque music with Infermi d'Amore, a group of international musicians founded by Ukrainian violinist Vadym Makarenko. The National Gallery in London announced on 4 April that Edgar Degas' pastel "Russian Dancers" has been renamed "Ukrainian Dancers". The cultural channel ARTE offers music programmes in support of Ukraine in six languages.