The only request that Jaume Duch Guillot (Barcelona, 1962) made to President Salvador Illa when he proposed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to him was to change the order of the job title. That is to say, to go from Minister of Foreign Action and European Union of Catalonia to Minister of European Union and Foreign Action of Catalonia. Europe at the forefront. In a decisive and urgent moment for the continent, Duch reviews current international affairs and the role that Catalonia can play. The conversation takes place weeks after having met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, on a trip led by the president, Salvador Illa, and the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni.

Europe has experienced this week two waves of bomb threats on planes and at airports, and also a second cyberattack against supermarkets in several countries where freezers have turned into ovens. No one has claimed responsibility for these incidents and no authority dares to point the finger at anyone. But considering the context in which it is happening, it is inevitable that the idea that Moscow could be behind it will arise. We speak about this with Fredrik Wesslau, an expert analyst on security at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), one of Europe's leading think tanks in foreign policy and security.

Reports about planes that have received bomb threats in Europe have been constant throughout this Thursday morning. According to the Reuters agency count, there have been at least 27 planes affected, in an episode that adds to the one already experienced on Tuesday. There have been alerts on planes that were flying and also on some that were on the runways of various airports. From low-cost carriers and also from flag airlines. All with different routes, but all within European territory. For now, there is no news that any of these warnings were a real threat. And no authority has dared to point out who may be behind it.

European capitals woke up this Wednesday to headlines about the Democratic wave in the United States Congress. Despite the euphoria and hopes this may have generated in some offices, institutional statements have been rather watered-down and have opted for caution. A caution that shows that despite the Republicans' electoral setback, no major changes are expected in foreign policy.

The wave of cyberattacks against supermarket cooling systems continues to spread and, after affecting chains in Portugal this Tuesday, it now counts eight affected countries. Faced with this scenario, the European Union has argued that they should not be treated as isolated events and that a joint response must be prepared.

Since the wave of youth unrest in Western Europe began, the suspicion of a Russian hybrid attack has loomed over public opinion. The confusion over coordinated actions through channels specifically created for the occasion and the absence of visible leaders have spurred the shadow of an influence operation by Vladimir Putin's government. The reality, however, is that it is impossible to attribute the origin of the protests to Russia. What has been proven is that Moscow has amplified the disturbances and has tried to present them as the social reaction to the militarism of community elites devoted to Ukraine. A very convenient approach on the eve of an electoral cycle that could catapult the European parties most opposed to support for Kyiv.

Spain is the fourth largest economy in the eurozone, the second largest country in terms of square kilometers, and the fourth in terms of inhabitants in the European Union. And it is also the country with the most kilometers of high-speed rail lines in community territory. In fact, it is the second in the world, only behind China. The tragic train crash in Toledo—which has caused at least 68 deaths—has put the Spanish railway model in the spotlight. Above all, it has raised doubts about investment priorities, the use of the network, and the maintenance of infrastructure.

Europe is facing uncomfortable climate forecasts: with current policies, the global temperature will rise by 1.5°C by 2030, about 2°C by 2050, and up to 3°C by 2100. On the Old Continent, where the speed of climate warming is even higher, temperatures could reach 4 or 5 degrees higher by the end of the century. Faced with this scenario, the European Union warns: it is necessary to move from prevention to adaptation. For this reason, the European Commission presented this Tuesday a proposal for a climate resilience law that will require member states to assess climate risks and adopt a national plan to address them. Governments will have to identify public authorities responsible for each climate risk and will have to designate an official to oversee the plan. And behind the proposal lies, above all, an economic argument.

France has experienced a quiet night after days of riots and the chaos experienced during the weekend following the protest over the rising cost of living. Only a few unauthorized demonstrations in Lyon and Rennes, and the occasional scene of looting, have disturbed the calm. The bans on demonstrations and the curfews decreed in different cities have served to return –at least for now– to normality. Large cities such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, and Lille will maintain partial curfews for tonight. In the case of the capital, the curfew affects all citizens –including tourists–, the Place de la République, and the Les Halles commercial area, epicenters of the violent acts of recent days. Despite the return of calm, the social crisis is far from being resolved and tension will return to the streets this Saturday in a new day of protest called by the yellow vests movement.

Europe is already preparing for the end of the war in Ukraine. Once the conflict is over, the Arctic will be the new security scenario on which the great powers will focus, and especially the Russian threat, community sources state. "With Russia and China increasing their footprint and ambition, the Arctic has become the new frontline of global power competition," summarized the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, who insisted that this "new reality" has forced a rethink of European strategy and made security a priority.

It is not just France. In Italy, Belgium, Germany, Albania, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, there are also protests underway. Most of the mobilizations have a common background: protesting against the rising cost of living. In the case of Italy, the protests have escalated this weekend in parallel to those in France. In the north of the country, the mobilizations have ended in riots, especially in Milan, where the police have arrested 271 people and the Prosecutor's Office has requested preventive detention for eleven protesters.

Donald Trump, who in his election campaign promised to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, began his second term by starring in an extremely tense meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, where he did not hide his disdain for the Ukrainian leader. That set off alarms in Kyiv and, although the two leaders apparently eased the tension, it has become clear in recent days that Trump continues to belittle the Ukrainian president, whom he points to as the culprit for not being able to reach a peace agreement while celebrating the alleged willingness of Vladimir Putin. And in all this context, aid from the United States to Ukraine has remained blocked for almost two years, since Trump returned to the White House.

New setback for the European Union's climate goals. The continent's economic engines, France and Germany, reached an agreement this Friday to soften the climate requirements for the automotive sector and maintain the manufacturing of combustion vehicles beyond 2035. This was announced by the French government in a statement, in which it details that the pact also includes tools to strengthen production conditions within Europe. This proposal has been a major demand from European manufacturers, who are currently working hastily to electrify in the face of strong Chinese competition.

Pedro Sánchez "arrives prepared" in Brussels to face the migration rebukes from his partners, including those from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, according to diplomatic sources. This week's leaders' summit will be the first time the Spanish Prime Minister has met with the Italian Prime Minister since the Ceuta crisis this summer. At the time, the leader's response to the massive influx of immigrants opened the floodgates for a confrontation over migration. Italy suspended free movement with Spanish travelers –a measure replicated by the Spanish government– and initiated a spiral of confrontation that has served to vindicate its model of external border control.

NATO claims to be prepared for an attack from Russia. NATO leadership has reiterated several times that it will not back down in the face of Moscow's threats and that it will defend "every inch of allied territory" against any aggression, but until now it had avoided detailing what this defense might consist of.

While Donald Trump eases the pressure on Vladimir Putin with a deal to put millions of barrels of Russian diesel on the market and demands that Volodymyr Zelensky call elections in Ukraine, the European Union reaffirms its support for Kyiv and urges Washington to do the same. The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, announced this Monday the broadest sanctions package deployed so far against the Kremlin. The EU is incorporating nearly 1,600 names linked to the Russian military-industrial complex into the list of sanctioned individuals and entities.

Drones on the battlefield, drones in hybrid attacks... and also maritime drones. This week, two commercial vessels were attacked simultaneously with drones in the Black Sea. One of them sank and there were fatalities. The escalation of maritime drone attacks adds to the air strikes that continue to hit Ukraine. On Thursday, unmanned devices left six dead and 17 injured in Kyiv.

In the corridors of the European Parliament this week, a "very palpable concern" can be felt, asserts Jaume Asens. "There is a shared anxiety," agrees former European Commissioner László Andor. "All week I have received messages from colleagues on the left," explains Compromís MEP Vicent Marzà. "Everyone is asking about the issue," summarizes Javi López, also a socialist MEP.

The European Union is taking a giant step to prevent capital flight to the United States and to boost the continent's companies. The bloc's Economy and Finance ministers have agreed on a legislative package to unify and simplify financial rules across all EU countries with the goal of making it easier for the savings of EU citizens to be allocated to European companies and innovation projects.

Anti-drone shields, surveillance flights with warplanes, new battalions on NATO's eastern flank, increased arms production... Europe is immersed in an undeniable remilitarization race, but protection does not end in the military sphere. Faced with the increasing threat of hybrid attacks by Russia, the most exposed countries have also redoubled their efforts in civil defense.