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The arguably most controversial sports event of this year is only a few days away: the 2022 football world cup will kick off on Sunday, the 20th of November in the Qatari city of al-Chaur at a stadium that didn’t exist before 2015. As it became clear that none of the 32 football associations considered boycotting the event, the big question was passed on to the public: to watch or not to watch.
Since Russia launched a full-scale military invasion into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, ongoing attacks have caused over three thousand civilian deaths and internally displaced over seven million people, according to UN statistics. Alongside this irreversible destruction comes the imminent threat to Ukraine’s rich cultural heritage. The conflict has destroyed sites such as a Gothic revival library in Chernihiv and the Kuindzhi Art Museum in Mariupol. Monuments, museums, art, and culture represent sources of collective memory as well as powerful identity.
Russia launched a military operation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and this operation turned into a war with devastating effects. Russia's intervention in Ukraine has led to extraordinary disasters in Ukraine, such as the killing of civilians, their abandonment of their country, and the destruction of cities. Besides, the Ukraine war affected the security environment of Europe. Sweden and Finland, which are not NATO members, began to be seriously worried about Russia's military actions and applied for NATO membership in order to ensure their security against a possible Russian threat.
As Finland and Sweden announced their bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) ranks, Turkey has warned to veto the membership of the Scandinavian allies unless they meet some diplomatic preconditions first. This is nothing new for NATO as new countries being admitted depends on the approval of all of its existing members. In this situation, Turkey is putting its foot down against its allies as a bid to counter terrorism.
The Conference on the Future of Europe is one of the most important events affecting the European Institutions. The Conference allowed European citizens and beyond to become involved in the debate on what Europe they want to see, setting priorities. By creating a space for debate it allowed citizens to discuss current topics such as climate change and environment, digital transformation and human rights. It also built an ideal bridge between Europe and third countries.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the issue of the EU’s dependencies on Russia. For this reason, an European Gas Policy will be introduced by next month. “REPOWER” represents a plan to make a more affordable, secure and sustainable energy in Europe, anticipating the future Gas Policy key points.
As NATO is bracing for the potential next round of escalation of the war conflict in the east of Ukraine, countries heavily reliant on Russian fossil fuels, like Germany, constantly seem to fail in prioritizing the integrity of NATO and the security of its allies first. If the Western democracies are to remain strong and independent, they have to realize that the danger posed by the collaborationists within is by no means smaller than that from the external opponents of the liberal order.
Citizens cast their ballot for their European representativesalmost three weeks ago, but the election night frenzy of exit polls and press conferences was followed by a peculiar calm after the storm. There hasn’t been much clarity on a way forward, let alone progress, when it comes to forming a new European leadership. Meanwhile, voters can easily feel disaffected or excluded from the process as unlike in most national contexts, media coverage, and therefore public pressure, is low and institutional arrangements to form a government are blurry at best. It is no wonder then that potential outcomes are plentiful, information scarce and decision-making inscrutable.
By late Monday evening, as around 400 firefighters battled against the raging flames in Paris’s famous Notre Dame Cathedral, the world had turned its eye on the terrible damage inflicted on French and, indeed, global cultural heritage. What followed was an astonishing frenzy of world leaders showing compassion and news outlets making the most of the video footage they could get their hands on. At the same time, Monday night also saw the mushrooming of countless conspiracy theories about the cause of the fire.
