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Farmers Gather To Protest In Warsaw. Polish farmers hold a banner that reads Stop poisoned food from Ukraine in Polish shops in Warsaw, Poland, on February 27, 2024.

Ukraine accepts EU trade restrictions to appease Poland

In an attempt to ease tensions with their Polish neighbors, Kyiv says it is prepared to accept EU restrictions on Ukrainian agriculture exports.

The situation: Following Russia’s invasion two years ago, the EU showed solidarity to Kyiv by slashing agriculture tariffs on Ukraine, a leading grain exporter. As a result, Ukrainian grain flooded Poland and other neighboring markets, undercutting local prices.

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Admiral Rob Bauer, seen here in Tallinn, Estonia, in September 2022.

REUTERS/Janis Laizans

NATO bares its teeth

Almost two years after Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s existential battle continues. The static frontlines look a lot like a stalemate, and US public and political opinions toward further funding for Ukraine are in doubt, but fears of regional escalation remain. Just this week, for example, the Belarusian defense minister said he would put forward a new military doctrine allowing for the use of nuclear weapons.

In response to possible aggression falling into NATO territory, the alliance is hellbent on preparedness. Addressing fellow NATO leaders in Brussels on Wednesday, Admiral Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, warned of the need to prepare for an era “in which anything can happen at any time. An era in which we need to expect the unexpected.” Bauer and his colleagues are meeting to discuss attempts to do just that with Steadfast Defender, the largest military exercise in Europe since the Cold War.

Showing off friendly muscle. The NATO training exercises, to be held from February to June in Germany, Poland, and the Baltics, will involve more than 40,000 troops from across the 31-nation alliance (plus pending member Sweden). The work will test the troops’ ability to quickly mobilize in case of a Russian attack while showing off the alliance’s strength and unity.

Not to be outdone, Russia will also host military drills this year with “Ocean-2024,” bringing together all branches of the Russian Armed Forces and units of “foreign states,” according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Donald Tusk, the chairman of the Civic Platform (PO) party.

(Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto)

The showdown continues in Poland

You might’ve thought that Donald Tusk and his pro-EU party’s victory in Poland’s election last October had resolved the issue of who will control Poland’s policy direction in the near term. But longtime rival Jarosław Kaczyński, now leader of Poland’s populist opposition, has organized large street protests against the Tusk government.
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Zelensky's US trip likely to secure aid for Ukraine
Ukraine aid: Zelensky's US trip key to more funding for Russia war | Ian Bremmer | World in :60

Zelensky's US trip likely to secure aid for Ukraine

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

Will Zelensky's US visit lead to more aid for Ukraine?

I think so. Unclear why he had to go to Argentina for Milei's inauguration just before. That feels decidedly B-list for a guy that's running a war. But the US trip is important. And of course, he's seeing all of the senate Dems and Republicans, speaker of the House, as well as Biden and a bunch of defense contractors. Biden really wants this to happen. So do leaders of the Democratic and Republican Party. Biden has to compromise for support, both money as well as policy compromise on border security to get the Republicans to support it. I expect that will happen. So on balance, it's close, but I think you're going to get additional military support and cash from the Americans for 2024. That does not allow the Ukrainians to take more territory back, but it does allow them to maintain their existing defenses, which is pretty important.

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Israeli take part in a gathering and prayer by the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Judaism's holiest prayer site, calling for the release of the hostages taken by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the October 7 attack, in Jerusalem, November 7, 2023

REUTERS/Dedi Hayun

Hard Numbers: The Hamas hostage deal that wasn’t, Brazil nabs Hezbollah agents, former US spook pleads guilty to sex crimes, Polish truckers block Ukrainian border, global warming reaches new record (again)

50: Just before Israel invaded Gaza, there was a potential deal to free 50 of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. According to the New York Times, Hamas was to release them in exchange for a pause in Israeli airstrikes, but the Qatar-brokered deal fell apart over disagreements about timing. Hamas now seeks fuel deliveries to Gaza as one condition for freeing any hostages. The fate of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israel — including hundreds of women and children held in administrative detention — is also part of the negotiations.
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Can the EU get aid to Gaza?
Can the EU get aid to Gaza? | Europe In :60 | GZERO Media

Can the EU get aid to Gaza?

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective on European politics - this week from Milan.

Can Europe help with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza?

Well, in theory, absolutely. The European Commission has tripled the amount of money available for humanitarian help to Gaza. But the problem is, of course, getting it in. For reasons that is beyond me, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is closed. There's a lot of floods of humanitarian help outside that has been flowing into Egypt, waiting to cross, but they are not opening up the border. I would hope that there will be soon an agreement to open up that border and allow the help to get into Gaza. There’re huge numbers, millions of people that are really suffering and need that particular help. Now, that is also politically important, obviously.

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The Civic Coalition's leader Donald Tusk speaks during the election night in Warsaw.

Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters

Poles push populists out at polls

Exit polls from Sunday’s Polish national election show the ruling Law and Justice party, or PiS, failing to secure enough support to form a third majority government.

While it won the most seats, opposition leader Donald Tusk is claiming victory as his Civic Coalition looks to build a government with the Third Way and the Left, who scored a combined 248 seats, surpassing the 231 needed for a majority. The Third Way performed better than expected with 13% of the vote, while the far-right Confederation party, on whose support PiS depended, got only 6.2%, which the party called a defeat.

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Donald Tusk, the leader of the largest opposition grouping Civic Coalition (KO), speaks at the meeting with women during election convention in Lodz, Poland, October 10, 2023.

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Poles to the polls!

This weekend, Poles go to the polls in a Poland that is as polarized between political poles — ok, ok, we’ll stop. But the election is a supremely big deal for the EU’s fifth most populous country, a nation that is aiming to become the military superpower of Eastern Europe.

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