EU–Western Balkans Summit, U.S. Budget Talks, and More

European Union and Balkan leaders hold a summit amid rising Kosovo-Serbia tensions, the U.S. Congress reaches a critical budget deadline, and the postponed Expo 2020 kicks off in Dubai.

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Host
  • James M. Lindsay
    Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
Episode Guests
  • Robert McMahon
    Managing Editor

Show Notes

European Union and Balkan leaders hold a summit amid rising Kosovo-Serbia tensions, the U.S. Congress reaches a critical budget deadline, and the postponed Expo 2020 kicks off in Dubai.

Climate Change

The United Arab Emirates, a major oil and gas producer, hosts the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), where hundreds of world leaders meet to discuss limiting global warming and helping states that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change; Russia arbitrarily detains a journalist with U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and the World Health Organization asks China for information on a spike in respiratory illness.

Ukraine

Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces stalls as the future of U.S. aid remains uncertain; Argentina gears up for its presidential election runoff while inflation rates soar; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrives in Berlin to address refugee flows and the Israel–Hamas war with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz; and David Cameron returns to the United Kingdom government as foreign secretary.

Indo-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit begins in San Francisco with U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping set to meet on the sidelines; French President Emmanuel Macron hosts a humanitarian conference to discuss new aid options for civilians in the Gaza Strip; the Arab League holds an emergency summit in Riyadh at the request of the Palestinian Authority and Saudi Arabia; and the United States and China discuss nuclear arms control.

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Russia

The Balkans have long been a source of tension between Russia and the West, with Moscow cultivating allies there as the EU and NATO expand into the region. The war in Ukraine could be shifting the calculus.

Climate Change

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