This February, France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as Germany’s Olaf Scholz. Italy’s Giorgina Meloni was not invited to the dinner and this has caused some tensions between European leaders. While a dinner may seem small, the challenges that the European Union faces are not.
Far-left Robert Fico and SMER-SSD win the Slovak national election. He is pro-Putin and is against assistance to Ukraine.
The European Union’s perspective on China has undergone a notable transformation in recent years. This change can be attributed to the escalating tensions between the United States and China, mounting concerns over human rights violations, and the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese stance. The EU must reassess its China strategy amid these shifting dynamics.
Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have taken it upon themselves to unilaterally ban grain and agricultural products from Ukraine. Ukraine has filed a complaint with the WTO and the EU may defend them while simultaneously start an infringement procedure against them.
The BRICS – a loose association of developing nations – have been the focus of global attention in recent weeks, for the 15th BRICS Leaders’ Summit. While the goal is to establish a more multipolar economic order, the existing geostrategic differences between India and China risk hampering the organisation’s ability to reach its full potential over the medium and long term.
Last year Ukraine and Moldova were recognized as official candidates of the EU. Georgia on the other hand only had its European perspective recognized but Hungary isn’t having it anymore. Hungary calls this decision political rather than based on merit and demands Georgia be given candidate status this fall.
Poland suffered hacking which impacted its trains. In July however it faced another hacking incident which affected sensitive information from NATO.
Poland is once again concerned about its border it shares with Belarus. Belarussian President Lukashenko has weaponized migration in the past as a result of sanctions the European Union has placed on Belarus. Poland is moving more military members to the border in order to ensure that migrants do not make it through.
Ukrainians who fled the war went to a large number of EU member states including Czechia. While many have found jobs others continue to struggle due to the language barrier and the national government continues to cut financial assistance for Ukrainians who temporarily relocated to Czechia.
When one country’s dependence on another in any respect becomes a risk, de-risk is no different from decoupling.
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