EU 2022: COVID waves, Russia & Ukraine, and French presidential elections

EU 2022: COVID, Russia & Ukraine, and French Presidential Elections | Europe In :60 | GZERO Media

Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Europe:

Another year of the pandemic has passed. We are in a new wave in Europe, and that is dominating quite a lot of the politics of different countries.

But as we are looking ahead towards the next year, what do we see there?

We hope the pandemic will gradually fade away, but that is by no means certain. We do face a lot of worries of what's happening in the east of Europe, the intention of Russia. Will Putin really launch a major invasion of Ukraine, or a minor military operation? Or it’s just sheer blackmail under military pressure? I think the first weeks, the first months of next year will be decisive in that particular respect.

And then, the French presidential elections and a lot of atmospherics associated with that, and the French have the presidency of the European Union to the first half of the year. You will hear a lot of that, and a lot of discussions of what to do with the economic policy. What I call the rescue from the rescue. Can we get out of all of these aid packages and subsidies and exemptions for the normal rules and get back to a more competitive Europe in a global economy that is changing very fast?

So, certainly, no absence of big issues as we are preparing to celebrate the new year in Europe.

More from GZERO Media

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference following a summit for the "coalition of the willing" at the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 27, 2025.

LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

A group demonstrators chant slogans together as they hold posters during the protest. The ongoing protests were sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Sopa Images via Reuters

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the then-nominee for US ambassador to the UN, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
Al Drago/Pool/Sipa USA

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar, pictured here addressing the press in 2020.

REUTERS/Samir Bol

Alarm bells are ringing ever more loudly in South Sudan, as Vice President Riek Machar — chief rival to Prime Minister Salva Kiir — was arrested late Wednesday in an operation involving 20 armored vehicles at his compound in Juba. He was placed under house arrest, a move that is fueling fears that the country will soon descend into civil war.

Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, pictured here at the anniversary event of the departure of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 28, 2022.

REUTERS/Ali Khara

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

The Canadian flag flies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canada’s foreign interference watchdog is warning that China, India, and Russia plan on meddling in the country’s federal election. The contest, which launched last weekend, has already been marked by a handful of stories about past covert foreign interventions and threats of new ones.

The BMW Foundation is dedicated to addressing concrete challenges that, when solved, create the greatest global impact. With the first challenge, “International Collaboration to Develop Energy Transition and Infrastructure Solutions,” the foundation aims to facilitate international collaboration that accelerates the net-zero transition. Access to reliable and affordable energy powers industries and businesses. Technology is one of the most important drivers for a successful transition, but it is international collaboration that will leapfrog societies across the globe. Find out how the BMW Foundation helps drive collaboration and solutions toward a clean and secure energy future here.