Efforts to end nearly three years of aggression against Ukraine remain one of the main geopolitical challenges of the coming year. This will have to be accompanied by measures to strengthen Europe against Russia's increasingly aggressive behaviour, including a more resolute response to hybrid warfare or an increase in alliance defence spending.

The assumption that Donald Trump is an isolationist is wrong. He has always wanted to be involved in the world in some way and he sees that America is supposed to be the superpower that will make the rules. He will very likely still threaten to leave NATO, but the EU is a bigger thorn in his side, JAN HORNÁT, an expert on the United States, tells EURACTIV Slovakia.

Mark Rutte called on MEPs to significantly strengthen the defence of the West. He said that although we are not currently at war, this could change in five years' time. He also called for more aid to Ukraine, which at the current stage “is not strong enough” to start negotiating with Russia.

The super-election year 2024 brought many changes in the leadership of the West. Nevertheless, its unity has been most disrupted by Bratislava and Budapest. "The way the Slovak government is acting today towards Ukraine and its Western allies is isolating it. It also shows that it cannot be relied upon. This has a number of different consequences at the level of security services or political cooperation," PAVEL HAVLÍČEK, a Czech expert on Eastern Europe, tells EURACTIV Slovakia.

Increasing Slovakia's defence spending to three per cent GDP would be a politically difficult decision, but according to security analyst Vladimír Bednár, it is inevitable. He warns that states that neglect these investments expose themselves to a greater risk of aggression, despite their NATO membership.