Building on decades of close ties between Greece and France, the French Institute of Greece is honouring the semester of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union, highlighting the cultural relations between the two countries through a programme unprecedented in terms of extent and quality, entitled “Hellas-France Alliance 2014”. Forty years after the restoration of democracy in Greece, the event’s title alludes to an historic slogan widely heard in Greece during the 1970s.

The Council today adopted a regulation on guidelines for the deployment and interoperability of telecommunications infrastructure projects of common interest in the field of trans-European telecommunications networks. Today's decision follows an agreement reached at first reading with the European Parliament which held its vote at the plenary session of 26 February 2014.

A rotating EU Presidency is hard work, tough negotiations and complex agreements, but it is also an opportunity to celebrate European unity as well as the individual nations that forge it. In collaboration with embassies around the world, Greece’s fifth Presidency is bringing Greek art, music, literature, cinema, and gastronomy all around the world with a programme that highlights the country’s distinct cultural identity and its global resonance. Here are just some of the events that took place in the first two months of the Presidency.