The Monocle Minute

“Democracy needs champions,” said Joe Biden at the launch of the first Summit for Democracy in 2021. Energised by his election the previous November and the subsequent attack on the US Capitol, he was joined by heads of state and government from more than 100 countries. This week the summit’s third iteration is taking place in South Korea. Biden will not participate and will be represented by the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. But Washington’s ambitious project to protect and spread democracy across the world is threatening to collapse.

The backdrop to this third summit couldn’t be more dramatic – and not only because Kim Jong-un has publicly renounced North Korea’s peaceful reunification strategy with its southern neighbour. Elections will take place in more than 70 countries this year, potentially involving about half of the world’s adult population. Democracy is under attack and needs a new start.

The Summit for Democracy hopes to inspire democratic dynamism across the globe. This week, however, government and civic leaders will have to address events such as Russia’s dubious presidential vote or the forthcoming general election in India, which is becoming increasingly autocratic. And then there are the US elections in November: Biden’s opponent, Donald Trump, has openly flirted with the idea of being a dictator. The rest of the world urgently needs to find new champions of democracy.

Kaufmann is a regular Monocle Radio contributor and global democracy correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Company. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

France’s lower house of parliament has approved a bill that seeks to apply penalties on fast-fashion products sold by companies such as China’s Shein. Though the bill was unanimously approved by all voting lawmakers, it still needs to pass a vote in the Senate before it becomes law.

Key measures include gradually increasing penalties of up to €10 per item of clothing by 2030 and imposing a ban on advertising such garments. According to the bill, the sector’s low prices and large volumes have “environmental, social and economic consequences”. The move makes France the first country in the world to take substantial legislative steps to address the overconsumption fuelled by fast fashion.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Brussels today to approve the creation of a new assistance fund for Ukraine. The financial reserve, which is part of the European Peace Fund, will provide Ukraine with €5bn in urgent military aid, helping to relieve the country’s shortage of weapons and ammunition.

The move comes amid an intensification of European rhetoric on the conflict: Emmanuel Macron recently refused to rule out sending French troops to Ukraine, while a Czech-led initiative has sought to supply the country with 800,000 artillery shells. For many, it’s a sign of the continent’s increasingly decisive role in the absence of US leadership. “Over the past few months, there has been a tectonic shift in the EU’s relationship with Kyiv,” Ukrainian MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze tells The Monocle Minute. “This decision alone isn’t enough to ensure our victory but it is a significant step forward.”

Monocle travels to the Swiss canton of Glarus to meet Lars Müller, a publisher who has long championed the power of print. He tells us all about his new online project, which offers up his archive to collectors.

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We sit down with Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, the founders of Frieze art fair, to find out about their culinary ventures – and the intersection between art and food. Also in the programme: Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, meets with Finnair’s development chef, Sami Oksava, to learn about the role of Finnish cuisine on board the airline’s flights. Plus: Michael Booth heads to the fête du Diamant Noir in Provence to discover more about the art of truffle-hunting in the region.