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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.
What's going to be the effect of the Polish election?
Well, in a rather dark picture, in terms of global and other affairs, this is a bright spot. A rather decisive win for the democratic and European opposition in Poland. Now, it's going to take some time to form a government. The PiS, the outgoing party, is still the largest party in parliament, so they will get a first go at forming a government. And I think they will try all sorts of tricks for a while. That's going to take weeks, but they will fail, and then we will have a new government. With Donald Tusk returning as prime minister, we will have a government in Poland that is decidedly democratic, committed to the rule of law, committed to European integration, committed to helping Ukraine. That is in a dark situation otherwise, distinctly good news.
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Protests in Serbia turn violent; Europe awaits Polish runoff election
Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, with this week's Europe In 60 Seconds (from the Adriatic Sea):
What's going on in Belgrade and what's going to be the consequence of that?
Well, a wave of protests partly met by fairly substantial police violence. It's partly against new COVID restrictions, there's an outbreak of COVID. But partly the general political situation in the country with a sort of very harsh regime in the effect, or a very dominant regime to be precise. We'll see what happens.
What's my take on the run-off in the Polish presidential election this Sunday?
Well, that's going to be a most important election for Poland, primarily, but also for Europe as a whole. The regime and sitting President Duda has been calling out all of the propaganda means conceivable in order to win the election. But still, according to opinion polls, too close to call. Let's just hope for a positive surprise from Poland on Sunday.