Keeping you up to date on global affairs. Every weekend. In under a few minutes.
- Haiti is engulfed in a severe crisis, marked by violence, a faltering government, and the highest levels of food insecurity in the world - fueled by political instability, the biggest earthquake in 200 years, and the assassination of its president in 2021. The situation in Port-au-Prince, the chaotic capital, highlights the nation's struggle with governance as 80% of the terrify is claimed by gangs. 360,000 of its 11 million inhabitants have been displaced. Ariel Henry, the unpopular interim prime minister, long faced opposition and violence. On the - again unpopular - condition that a transitional government is brokered by other Caribbean nations, and the US - he has agreed to resign. The failure to hold elections due to violence and logistical issues has led to civil disobedience. Gangs have filled the power vacuum, engaging in kidnappings, killings, and other violent acts. Critics continue to debate the impact of foreign intervention in Haiti, arguing that historical instances of such interventions have frequently resulted in additional chaos and instability.
- Russia has gained an upper hand in the global grain market, leveraging its agricultural exports to exert influence and drive down crop prices, affecting European Union farmers and straining EU-Ukraine relations. Amid farmer protests across Europe against, among others, cheap Ukrainian produce, it's Russia's record farm output that is disrupting the global market. This questions to efficiency of Western sanctions. Orchestrated directly by President Vladimir Putin, this strategic move has shifted focus from Ukrainian imports, causing internal divisions within the EU and challenging its support for Ukraine. In return, the EU is said to introduce tariffs on (cheap) grain imports from Russia and Belarus - which the EU claims may destabilize the European market. According to Commission leader Von der Leyen, the proposed 50% tariff will prevent 1) Russian grain from flooding the market, 2) Russia from using these revenues and 3) Ensure that stolen grain does not enter the market. In reality, this reaction is merely symbolic because the volume of these imports is about 1%. Moscow's redirection of grain to Africa and Asia, offering free supplies and forging deals, has expanded its geopolitical influence, raising concerns over the reliance on Russian exports, and urging diversification.
- EU leaders are poised to endorse the start of formal accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, building on the European Commission's recommendation just a week ago. The step follows Bosnia applying for EU membership on 15 February 2016 and being granted candidate status in December 2022. The decision hinges on Bosnia meeting 14 specific reform criteria outlined in October 2022. These priorities are concentrated on improving democracy, state functionality, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and public administration. This week, Foreign Affairs ministers from Italy, Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia, as part of the Friends of the Western Balkans group, issued a letter urging the importance of "seizing the momentum and the current window of opportunity" to ensure that there's no "weakening the Union's role" across the region. In January already, Croatia's prime minister warned, "If we miss the opportunity [to begin EU accession negotiations] in March, the rest of the year is lost and will almost certainly end in January 2025."
- Emmanuel Macron's party, Renaissance, initiated the "New Europeans" association, seeking to consolidate liberal factions across the European Union. Last year already, Macron succeeded in creating a 44-nation European Political Community. The move comes as European liberals face fragmentation and a rising far-right threat ahead of June's elections. New Europeans, not a political party but an association established under French law, brings together Macron's Renaissance and like-minded intergovernmental parties from France, Romania, Slovenia, Poland, and Denmark, totalling 22 MEPs. Establishing a pan-European political party would also enable Renaissance to tap into millions of euros in funding from the European Parliament’s budget. New Europeans aims to encourage collaboration among liberals, who currently span various groups, including the Renew Europe faction in the EU Parliament (currently 102 out of the 705 seats). Despite potential resistance from more established or right-leaning liberal entities, such as the ALDE and EPD, New Europeans' three founders believe in the efficiency and strategic advantage of European unity. Little more is known about the association, including Macron's precise role. Nonetheless, the initiative underlines a significant effort to unify and strengthen Europe's liberal centre.
