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To return to Europe’s news of the week, despite Putin's speech last week, Zelensky's military effort seems to be causing problems for the Kremlin...
Indeed, Leo, - Putin, who last week announced the complete annexation of several Ukrainian regions, including Kherson, suddenly finds himself in trouble in the face of a counter-attack by Ukrainian forces who have managed to make Russian troops retreat..
As the war progresses, there is increasing talk of how it will end. Some say that the end of the war will come with the end of Putin. Others say that a nuclear strike on Ukraine is on the horizon. How do you interpret the current situation ?
Well Leo, we have to recognise that historically, a nuclear power losing a war does not automatically mean that there will be a nuclear strike - one only has to think of the US conflicts with Vietnam and Afghanistan to see this.
But it must be stressed that from a strategic point of view, a nuclear strike would not be beneficial to Putin. It would risk irradiating his own forces, which are already struggling, all the while only having a minor impact on Ukrainian forces given their decentralised infantry strategies. More importantly, a nuclear strike would most likely guarantee the loss of Russia's allies on the world stage, something which Putin cannot afford.
Do you think that the war in Ukraine could end because of political infighting in Russia?
Well Leo, Putin's domestic strategy has been based on strong propaganda that portrays Russia's success on the world stage, thus diverting attention away from potential problems Russia may face internally.
However, the military mobilisation he announced has broken the barrier between propaganda and reality and the Russian people are clearly confronted with the fact that the invasion is not going according to plan.
This remains only a potential hypothesis, but with military forces losing on the battlefield and Russian citizens realising that the invasion was a mistake, Putin may have to withdraw his troops to prioritise the defence of his own position in Moscow.
Concerning the rule of law, the UK has announced that it is distancing itself from the GDPR as the new British government plans to set up its own data protection system.
Indeed Leo, Michelle Donelan, the UK's Digital Secretary has announced that the UK will develop its own data protection system, claiming that the EU's GDPR is too bureaucratic and hurts the British economy.
Is this the only area where the UK Conservative party is at odds with the EU legal framework?
Well, not really - Home Secretary Suella Braverman has announced that the UK will stop accepting asylum requests from migrants crossing the Channel, stating that these migrants do not contribute to the UK economy and will have to be sent back to their country of origin or sent to Rwanda, which the UK has been using as placeholder destination for migrant deportations.
And finally, on Tuesday the 4th of October, the European Parliament adopted the law on the universal charger for all smartphones, tablets and other portable electronic devices...
Yes Leo, the procedure for the adoption of the universal charger directive has been finalised and will come into force in 2024.
What does the adoption of this law mean for us as users and, of course, for the environment?
The objective is twofold. From an ecological point of view, the European Union wants to give chargers a longer lifespan. Indeed, manufacturers will be required to sell their devices without an additional charger, thus reducing waste. In addition, the EU wants to make life easier for consumers by not having to switch between different chargers - from autumn 2024 onwards, the use of USB-C chargers will be compulsory for all electronic devices.
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