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.

The new future of social media is the Metaverse. Social networks take it to a next level by introducing the Metaverse, a virtual environment where people can interact, learn and play using technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Smart Glasses. But the implementation of these features is problematic as they are susceptible to cyberattacks, fraud, sexual harassment, privacy concerns and an increase of social exclusion.

Salvador de Madariaga's (1886-1978) contributions to the Theory and History of the European Union are of outstanding importance, often ignored and must be claimed. Beyond the myth of the man – poet, man of letters, diplomat, statesman, university professor – the work of the Spaniard transcends for being the gaze of Spain in front of the European Union.

As the Russian military, after failing to swiftly occupy Ukraine, turns to its now traditional tactics of attacking the population in the occupied territories, a wave of anger towards Russians is following the wave of solidarity with Ukrainians. In a well-intentioned attempt to shield the Russians from discrimination, the West falls into a dangerous trap of substituting collective guilt with collective innocence. Both are a blessing for the propaganda machine built by the Kremlin over the years.

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.

While the situation in Ukraine escalates we have asked our members to share their thoughts on the international reactions to the crisis.