Ukraine needs at least €720 billion to rebuild the country, head of government Denys Shmyhal said Monday at an international conference in Lugano. The EU agreed to cover much of the cost as well as coordinate international aid. Funding, however, remained unclear.
By Eric Bonse
NATO adopted its new strategic concept at the summit in Madrid. In it, the alliance clearly defines Russia as a threat and, for the first time, describes China as a challenge.
By Stephan Israel
Ahead of the summit in Madrid, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announces the biggest "general overhaul of the military alliance" since the end of the Cold War. The number of rapid response forces is to be drastically increased. The adoption of a new strategic concept is planned, in which China is to be mentioned for the first time.
By Stephan Israel
The EU grants candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, while Georgia has to settle for the "European perspective. There was great disappointment at the Balkan summit, where the hoped-for progress failed to materialize.
By Eric Bonse
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has left his party, the M5S. He wants to support Prime Minister Mario Draghi's policies in support of Kyiv, including arms deliveries. With Di Maio, another 60 like-minded people are leaving the party. Matteo Salvini's Lega is now the strongest force in the grand coalition government.
By Table.Briefings
The director of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, Mario Holzner, warns against further stalling the candidate countries in the Western Balkans. The EU must act to push back geopolitical rivals such as China and Russia, he said in an interview with Hans-Peter Siebenhaar. Therefore, the states should be given access to the single market ahead of accession.
By Table.Briefings
The EU summit starting today is supposed to produce results on a geopolitical level. However, a clear strategy is not yet emerging. Some member states warn against putting Ukraine on the fast track, while the Western Balkan countries remain in the slow lane.
By Eric Bonse
The Ukraine-China relationship has long been cold, but it holds a lot of potential. For a long time, the relationship was characterized by a simple trade exchange. Currently, however, China is emerging as a major trading partner of Ukraine. In the plans of China's New Silk Road initiative, Ukraine has played a minor role until now. In the wake of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Chinese government is behaving cautiously, but increasingly a slight distancing can be seen. Read the latest Ukraine-China news from the Table.editorial team. How has the Ukraine-China relationship developed? Even though Ukraine has repeatedly expressed interest in the Silk Road initiative, the state has made few moves on China. Due to Ukraine's difficult economic and political situation resulting from Russian aggression, China is distancing itself from Ukraine. Ukraine also focused its foreign policy on the West - the European Union and the United States to persuade Russia to make peace with economic and political sanctions. Given the complicated U.S.-China relationship, Ukraine had deliberately avoided rapprochement with China. Closer contact with Xi Jinping is emerging under Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, heralding a possible new phase in the Ukraine-China relationship.
