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, intended for Member States in the form of grants and loans. 25 plans have so far been adopted by the Council, including that of Poland on 17 June. 21 countries received the planned pre-financing and 5 countries received a first instalment after having fulfilled a series of objectives. The Commission has not yet approved Hungary's plan due to breaches of the rule of law. The Foundation offers you an interactive map of plans country by country, to find out the amounts, timetables and priorities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to the Czech Parliament and the Forum for Dialogue of Prespa of the Western Balkans and gave a press conference for the Danish media. He insisted on the need for arms for the Ukrainian army and on his country's membership of the EU and on the need to coordinate the national plan and European initiatives for reconstruction.

On 17 June, the Commission said it supported granting candidate country status to Ukraine and Moldova, stressing that both countries would need to make progress in certain areas such as institutional and economic reform. It also said that Georgia could be granted candidate status after a number of reforms had been completed. The decision will be taken by the European Council which meets on 23 and 24 June.

On June 16, the Commission announced the adoption of a new reinforced code of practice against disinformation signed by 34 companies and representatives of civil society and major platforms such as Meta, Google, Twitter and Microsoft. The code, which replaces the one signed in 2018, aims in particular to widen the participation of digital players, to remove financial incentives for the dissemination of disinformation, to extend the scope of application to new types of manipulative behaviour or to guarantee the transparency of political advertising. Users will also have better tools to report misinformation.

On 17 June, the Commission presented its assessment of the follow-up to the proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe. It intends to integrate participatory democracy into the design of new policies stemming from the proposals, will announce a first set of new proposals in the State of the Union speech in September and will organise a follow-up conference in the autumn.

Meeting on 14 June, Health Ministers discussed the proposal concerning the European Health Data Space (EHDS) and highlighted the challenges of data security and protection. They discussed the EU's global health strategy, the challenges of the vaccine strategy and new emerging health threats, including monkeypox.

Meeting on 13 June, the Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries discussed strengthening the coherence between the Green Deal, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the European Union's trade policy. They recalled that, thanks to the CAP, the European Union is self-sufficient in most basic agricultural products. They were briefed by the Commission on the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and discussed the impact of the UK's withdrawal and climate change on fisheries resources.

Meeting on 16 June, the eurozone's economic and finance ministers recommended that Croatia join the single currency on 1 January 2023. They confirmed the payment of a new tranche of €748 million to Greece to alleviate its debt repayment and approved the end of the country's financial surveillance programme. They adopted the Eurogroup's work programme for the second half of the year, as well as a declaration on the next steps for the Banking Union.

On 17 June, the Finance Ministers adopted the first legal step towards Croatia's entry into the euro area on 1 January 2023, as well as Poland's recovery plan, stressing that payments will depend in part on the implementation of reforms for the independence of the judiciary, as well as the country-by-country recommendations drawn up by the Commission in the framework of the European semester. They definitively adopted new legislation on reciprocity in access to international public contracts. The Ministers discussed the economic situation, projects to increase the European Union's own resources and company taxation. They approved the opening of negotiations with Norway on cooperation in the fight to prevent VAT fraud.

The European Union, the United States and 11 other countries launched the " Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway " on 17 June to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector with a view to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The States announced the release of $59 million to support the initiative launched within this framework.

Mongolia and the European Union held their annual joint committee on June 17 to strengthen their cooperation in the field of trade and in the fight against climate change. Both partners will continue to work to protect human rights and promote sustainable development. Mongolia is also one of the five priority countries with which the European Union is currently setting up a forestry partnership.

The European general regulation on the protection of personal data (GDPR) is "not sufficiently implemented" against tech giants, estimated the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Wojciech Wiewiorowski on June 17. During a conference in Brussels on "the future of data protection", he lamented that "too often the GDPR imposes constraints on small entities but spares the large ones".

On 14 June, the European Court of Human Rights issued an urgent decision after several legal challenges, to cancel a flight to deport migrants from the UK to Rwanda. The flight was part of the UK's court-approved plan to transfer 130 illegal asylum seekers to curb illegal crossings of the English Channel.

Drug use in Europe increased in 2021, according to the annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction published on 14 June. All drugs are concerned, except ecstasy. The director of the Observatory, Alexis Goosdeel, notes that "conventional drugs have never been more accessible and new high-dose substances continue to appear", with 52 new substances reported in 2021. The report also shows a growth in drug production in Europe, particularly of cocaine.

Until 3 July, the Montpellier Dance Festival is back for its 42nd edition. It presents performances by contemporary choreographers.

Until June 29, the Berlinale Open Air will provide an opportunity for audiences to see the best films from the Berlin International Film Festival again. The festival will be taking over 15 evenings in five open-air cinemas, where each film will be introduced by the directors of the Berlinale.

The Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid is hosting the exhibition "Nestor Sanmiguel Diest: the adventure of the automaton" until 19 September at the Palacio Velázquez, which explores the relationship established by the artist between image and text. His works illustrate the artist's "work of avoidance", which focuses on the notion of "periphery", both geographical and technical and material.

Until 18 September the Royal Palace of Warsaw is running an exhibition "Botticelli tells a story" presenting the key works of the grand masters of the Italian Renaissance.

On 21 June, Europe will be celebrating the 40th edition of the Fête de la Musique. In Paris, the Musée de l'armée is hosting the jazz band of the Orchestre de la Musique de l'Air. In Brussels, the Belgian National Orchestra is hosting the Dutch pianist Ralph van Raat. Madrid is hosting the European Music Day festival until 30 June, with concerts, conferences and audiovisual activities. In Berlin, the Neuköllner Blechblasensemble will perform on the Gusthof Britz open-air stage. In Szczecin, a platform with musicians will wander through the city before stopping in front of the Philharmonic. On 25 June, the Cork Midsummer Festival, in association with the French Embassy in Ireland, is offering concerts by French, Irish and Senegalese artists to mark the opening of the Irish Embassy in Dakar.

Exhibitions and concerts dedicated to supporting Ukraine are continuing. In France, Galerie ROD is organizing an exhibition with Ukrainian artists from Quebec. The funds collected will go to the COFFRET organization to help refugees. On June 23 in Berlin, a concert will bring together two Ukrainian jazz groups: "Maryna Sherstnova Quartett" and the "Danil Zverkhanovsky" trio. Until July 2, artist Paul Woods is exhibiting part of his new work in Dublin under the title "Special Military Operation", taking as its subject the invasion of Ukraine. In the face of the atrocity of war in Ukraine, the Neoplastic Hall of the Lodz Art Museum in Poland, originally designed to exhibit artists demonstrating their opposition to communist ideology, is dedicated to Ukraine from June 24 . From June to August in Spain, the Leones de Arte center is organizing an exhibition of photographs bearing witness to the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Until 28 June, the Vilnius Festival brings classical musicians from all over the world to the Lithuanian capital. The festival will feature numerous concerts in the city's Philharmonic.

Until 28 August, the National Gallery in Sofia is hosting two exhibitions on the Bulgarian painter Vladimir Dimitrov. The first traces the artist's life and influences through painted and sculpted portraits. The second explores his relationship with the informal indigenous art movement of the 1920s and 1930s.

The Brussels Art Fair (BRAFA) is being held until 26 June. Created in 1956 the fair this year is promoting 10,000 works by over 115 galleries from the world over. Conferences on art are also being organised.

From 25 to 30 June the TEFAF Art Fair in Maastricht is offering a journey via objects and works of art from the world over. More than 250 antique dealers and art traders are gathering on the occasion of this prestigious art and antiques fair that started in 1988.

The Chorégies d'Orange international opera festival will run until 6 August, mainly in the city's Théâtre Antique. The programme includes operas and various classical music performances.