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Putin wins another classic Soviet election
Putin wins another classic Soviet election | Europe In :60

Putin wins another classic Soviet election

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from Stockholm.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, it's been announced that Vladimir Putin has won the presidential election with a record support and a record turnout. It was, by all standards, a Soviet election. With all of the restrictions that you could think of and the real result, well, it wasn't very much to choose between.

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Why Sweden and Finland joined NATO
TITLE PLACEHOLDER | Carl Bildt | Europe In :60

Why Sweden and Finland joined NATO

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from Hanoi, Vietnam.

Was the Swedish and Finnish decision to move into NATO, was that driven by fear of Russia attacking them?

Not really. I don't think either of our countries feel any immediate threat by Russian aggression. But what happened when Russia, Mr. Putin, to be precisely, attacked Ukraine was a fundamental upsetting of the entire European security order. And although Mr. Putin's priority at the moment, he’s very clear on that, is to get rid of Ukraine by invading and occupying all of it, you never know where he's going to stop. And this led Finland and Sweden to do the fundamental reassessment of their security policies. Giving up, in Swedish case, we've been outside of military alliances for the last 200 years or something like that.

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Ukraine is still standing two years after Russian invasion
Ukraine is still standing two years after Russian invasion | Europe In :60

Ukraine is still standing two years after Russian invasion

From Kyiv, Ukraine, Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Europe in 60 Seconds. This is Carl Bildt in Kyiv, Ukraine. At this time, there's only one question here. This is two years after Mr. Putin unleashed the entire might, military might of Russia against Ukraine, trying to get rid of Mr. Zelensky, effectively get rid of Ukraine. He failed. Ukraine is still standing. Life in Kyiv goes on. But, of course, there's a horrible, brutal attrition war going on in the east and the south part of the country.

And the question is, what will happen?

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Alexei Navalny's death: A deep tragedy for Russia
Alexei Navalny's death: A deep tragedy for Russia | Europe In :60

Alexei Navalny's death: A deep tragedy for Russia

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from the Munich Security Conference:

The big news of the day is, of course, the death of Alexei Navalny. It's a deep tragedy primarily of course for his family. But I would argue even deeper for Russia because Alexei Navalny, he did represent the hope of very many Russians that there was something beyond this repressive, backward looking, imperial, nostalgic, aggressive regime that is now dragging Russia down.

I met him a number of times over the years. I was impressed by his bravery, how thoughtful he was, how determined he was in spite of the difficulties and the resistance that he was well aware of to pursue his vision. And he was firmly convinced that at some point in time, there will be another Russia, rule of the law, parliamentary, non-imperialistic.

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US approves F-16s for Turkey, moving Sweden NATO membership closer
Turkey's ratification makes Sweden one step closer to NATO | Europe In :60

US approves F-16s for Turkey, moving Sweden NATO membership closer

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from Stockholm.

How are things proceeding with the ratification of the Swedish membership in NATO?

Well, it’s been some back and forth. But now Turkey has ratified and that is important. That has to do with also the agreement with the US on deliveries of F-16s and modification kits of F-16s and deliveries of F-35s to Greece. A major package has been negotiated, so that should be okay. Now, remaining with Hungary. Prime Minister Orban is a slightly unpredictable fellow, but I would guess that he can't hold off for very long. So I would hope, expect this process to be wrapped up within a couple of weeks.

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Ukraine pushes to stay top of mind at Davos 2024
Davos 2024: Ukraine remain top of mind at meetings | Europe In :60

Ukraine pushes to stay top of mind at Davos 2024

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics from the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

What are the big geopolitical issues here in Davos?

Well, it's still a lot of Ukraine. As a matter of fact, we had President Zelensky here. There's a large contingent also, even fighters from the front, sharing their experience. But then of course, a deep, deep concern with what's happening in the Middle East. We had both Jake Sullivan and Tony Blinken here yesterday, and there was no disguising the deep worries they have about where developments are heading.

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Will Macron’s moves regain him popularity in France?
Will Macron’s moves regain him popularity in France? | Europe In :60

Will Macron’s moves regain him popularity in France?

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics.

Will President Macron, with his new government, succeed in relaunching himself in terms of popularity? It remains to be seen, but I think the odds are there. He clearly faces an uphill battle against the more nationalist forces in Le Pen prior to the European Parliament elections in late May, early June. And that is critical for him. His opinion poll standing is fairly low right now. He really needs to do better in European Parliament elections. And I think, yep, he might do it, but it remains to be seen.
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Europe's big political stories to watch in 2024
EU leadership shuffle: What to expect in 2024 | Europe In :60

Europe's big political stories to watch in 2024

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics.

What are the big political stories in Europe 2024?

Well, obviously the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the possibility of supporting Ukraine in its fight for its independence, freedom of sovereignty, is going to be the dominant story.

But apart from that, the election to the European Parliament happening in early summer, that's going to be enormously important, both because it will show the respective strengths of the different political forces in Europe. I would expect the center-right EPP to remain as the dominant force in the European Parliament, but that remains to be seen. And that is of course the beginning of the process of appointing all of the new personalities that will dominate the European Union in the coming five years. President of the European Council, president of the Commission, high representative for foreign and security affairs, president of the European Parliament, all of the commissioners, all will be decided during the month immediately after the election, based on that particular result.

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