While the 2024 Paris Olympics were a showcase of athletic excellence, they also highlighted the challenges of maintaining political neutrality in a globalized world. A united European voice could have played a significant role in shaping the narrative surrounding the games and addressing the complex issues that arose.

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games, marked by controversy and intertwined with societal issues, offered a microcosm of contemporary Europe. The opening ceremony's depiction of religious scenes, drawing parallels to iconic western art, ignited public debate and political divisions. While athletes prepared for their performances, the rhetoric surrounding these depictions fuelled tensions both within Europe and globally. In contrast, the games also celebrated the EU's motto of “United in diversity”, highlighting freedom of movement and rights. The European Commission's introduction of “Team Europe 2024”, a medal counter, aimed to foster a sense of European unity and pride in athletic achievements.

Romania’s Klaus Iohannis and Moldova’s Maia Sandu have built a strong friendship that is leading Europe’s response to a neo-imperialist Russia.

From February 24th to March 31st 2022, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the entire exclusion zone were under occupation by Russian troops. Although the area was cleared up fairly quickly after the withdrawal of the aggressor's troops, the effects of the occupation are still being felt.

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine recently announced a “Victory Plan” concerning the country’s ongoing war with Russia. Stressing the need for allies to provide Kyiv with all the necessary tools, the plan outlines ambitions to end the conflict on favourable terms as early as next year.

Moldova’s recent votes in favour of moving towards the EU were met with great approval across the bloc. Despite this, the situation in the country is far from clear cut at the moment. With ongoing Russian attempts to influence the country, there is still a long way to go if serious progress is to be made in bringing the country closer to Europe.

Most participants of the 2020 protests have already graduated, but the pressure on Belarusian education has not ceased. With the authorities still focused on students, avoiding the institutionalized propaganda is becoming ever more difficult.

In a vote marred by irregularities, manipulation and fraud, the Georgian Dream party recently secured its fourth consecutive term in power. The election was quickly dubbed a Russian “special operation” by the opposition. However, the autocratic ways of Georgian Dream are long in the making and a homegrown phenomenon.

After a weekend of turbulent elections, tens of thousands of Georgians flooded the streets of Tbilisi. Opposition leader and President Salomé Zourabichvili claims her country is “the victim of a special operation by Putin”.

On September 17th, Belarus celebrated its fourth annual “Day of National Unity”, a public holiday established by Alyaksandr Lukashenka's decree in 2021. This date, marking the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, continues to be a focal point for the regime's endeavours to revise history. Its anti-Polish rhetoric further strains relations with its western neighbour and alienates Belarus's Polish minority.

Imagine being 27 years old, with a good job, a mortgage for an apartment, a wife, and two children, and suddenly receiving a call-up to mandatory military service with a compensation of 900 euros. This could soon become a reality for some men in Serbia and Croatia.

Many have expressed surprise at the emerging alliance of Beijing, Moscow and Tehran, which are three starkly different regimes. Do they have anything in common apart from authoritarianism? It is all too rarely noticed that above all China, Iran and Russia are the world’s sole surviving land empires.

The region is currently experiencing a wave of elections that could prove pivotal for the future of various countries. If the West is to properly halt Russian designs concerning these events, it must offer a comprehensive plan to both political parties and civil society to strengthen and maintain democratic values in the area.