The Monocle Minute

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, made a point last week of praising Eastern Europe for its competitiveness while scolding some of its western neighbours. “Europe’s west has a lot to learn from Europe’s east,” she said at the Globsec Forum, an annual conference of leaders and ministers hosted this year in Prague. Von der Leyen also said that the continent’s western nations “should have listened better” about the threat posed by Russia before it invaded Ukraine.

There’s a growing confidence, evident over the weekend in Prague, that eastern perspectives are being heard in Brussels. Estonia’s former president Kersti Kaljulaid told Monocle that the likely appointment of her compatriot Kaja Kallas as the EU’s next foreign-policy chief showed how much things had improved.

But this is a delicate time for the region. Eastern European governments have swung between EU-friendly and more nationalistic, even Russia-leaning, positions. Globsec, now in its 19th year and traditionally held in Bratislava, was moved to Prague because Slovakia’s populist government under Robert Fico is less interested in reaching out to the global democratic community. This weekend, Czechia’s president, Petr Pavel, basked in the attention brought by the forum but it wasn’t long ago that Prague was the seat of a nationalist government and Slovakia was more liberal. Jan Lipavsky, Czechia’s foreign minister, told Monocle that common histories teach lessons but they don’t necessarily lead to similar outcomes. This is what’s behind the divergence that we’re seeing today in former Soviet states.

It isn’t a uniquely Central European story. France, the US and the UK are among those that have lurched – or are in danger of lurching – from moderation to the extremes. Conferences such as Globsec are being forced to choose their locations more carefully than before but they’re also a reminder that open-minded approaches to diplomacy and security can still help to tackle today’s geopolitical challenges.

Christopher Cermak is Monocle’s senior news editor and producer of‘The Foreign Desk’. Listen out for upcoming episodes of the show from Globsec in the coming weeks on Monocle Radio. For more opinion, analysis and insight,subscribeto Monocle today.

Pope Francis will arrive in Jakarta tomorrow for the start of a 12-day, four-country tour of Southeast Asia to boost interfaith relations and urge global action on climate change. First, the Pope will spend three days in Indonesia, a majority-Muslim country that is home to eight million Catholics; he is expected to hold a meeting with various religious leaders at Jakarta’s Istiqlal mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia.

He will then head to Papua New Guinea, before moving on to Timor-Leste, becoming the first pontiff to visit the nation since it gained independence in 2002. His arrival will be a significant milestone for the country, whose population is 97 per cent Catholic. He will conclude his trip in Singapore and fly back to Rome on 13 September. It’s an ambitious schedule for the 87-year-old Pope – and his longest-ever trip abroad.

The Swiss city of Basel has been selected to host the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, after beating bids from cities including Berne and Geneva. At a cheerful press conference announcing the news, Conradin Cramer, the president of the Basel-Stadt canton, said that he “can’t stop smiling”. Home to Art Basel, the well-connected city is no stranger to big international events.

“It’s a huge moment for Switzerland to show its credentials, especially for Basel,” says Monocle’s editorial director, Tyler Brûlé. “The city has amazing art and design foundations, and let’s not forget that it’s also a global pharma hub.” This will be the third time that Switzerland has hosted the event: the first Eurovision took place in Lugano in 1956 and its 1989 edition was held in Lausanne. Thanks to Swiss singer Nemo’s impressive victory in Sweden earlier this year, the country is in party mode and excited to bring the contest back to its birthplace.

For the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine Fashion Week (UFW) will return to Kyiv this week. In 2022 its organisers launched the “Support Ukrainian Fashion” initiative, which allowed designers to showcase their collections in other fashion capitals such as London and Copenhagen as part of the event. At this year’s edition, more than 50 new and established brands will take to the runways.

“Ukraine Fashion Week is one of the oldest fashion events in Central and Eastern Europe,” Lisa Ushcheka, head of international communications for UFW, tells The Monocle Minute. “It’s not just about preserving the culture that Russia is trying to destroy but also about showing that Ukrainian designers are still creating new collections, despite the air-raid alarms, missile attacks and constant bad news. It represents hope for the future and will be a source of inspiration for Ukrainians to keep fighting.”

For our full interview with Lisa Ushcheka, tune in to tomorrow’s edition of ‘The Globalist’ on Monocle Radio, from 07.00 London time.

Since its inception in 1942, Montréal-based Bombardier has grown to become one of the country’s best-known aerospace firms. Monocle visits its new manufacturing hub on the northwestern periphery of Toronto Pearson Airport, which signals the storied manufacturer’s ambitions at a time when demand for its planes – from military, government and private clients – is soaring.

To read the full article, pick up a copy of Monocle’s Septemberissue, which is available online and on newsstands now.

We discuss the art of the film poster with Tony Nourmand, editor and publisher of 1001 Movie Posters: Designs of the Times. We also check in with film critic Karen Krizanovich about how the press is paying close attention to the Venice Film Festival this year and celebrate Stockholm and Vilnius-based Playground magazine.