Five major international events in 2025

The year 2024 was marked by armed conflicts, among others in the Middle East and Ukraine, but also by record elections when half the planet was called to the polls. Here are five major international events to watch in 2025.

United States: the inauguration of Donald Trump (January 20)

Donald Trump’s inauguration will take place on January 20. Trump will then officially take control of the White House for the second time.

He has not yet made his official entry into the Oval Office and is already shaking up international news. His threat to impose customs tariffs of 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods has left no government indifferent, just like that against Panama on the canal of the same name, which, according to the president-elect, imposes passage fees too high for American ships.

Unlike the previous transition, marked by false allegations of stolen elections and the assault on the Capitol on the day Joe Biden’s victory was certified on January 6, 2021, the current one is much more orderly. Donald Trump has already indicated his intention to pardon the rioters who participated in this violent revolt.

Joe Biden will be present at the swearing-in ceremony of his successor.

A demonstration against Mr. Trump’s coming to power is still planned for January 18, 2 days before his inauguration. There people’s march on Washington is organized by major civil rights, racial justice, and reproductive health organizations, like the Women’s March, Planned Parenthood and the National Women’s Law Center.

One thing is certain, the return of Donald Trump will be felt all over the world, as it will be possible to see in the other major international meetings that follow.

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Parliamentary elections in Germany (February 23)

Unpopular and struggling with an unfavorable economic situation, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces the challenge of his re-election. His tripartite coalition, in power since 2021, dissolved on November 6 following the dismissal of the Minister of Finance and the decision of his party to leave the government.

Early elections were called following the lost confidence vote on December 16. Economic and social issues are expected to dominate the campaign, which is likely to swing in favor of the conservative German Christian Democrats (CDU), Friedrich Merz.

The pillars of the economic model of the leading European power have collapsed, notably due to the war in Ukraine. The German model was built on access to cheap energy (Russian gas) and stable peace in Europe.

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The imminent arrival of Donald Trump in power calls into question the defense provided by the American umbrella while the Republican president, who is not a fan of multilateralism, threatens to no longer defend his allies. Furthermore, trade with China, Berlin’s main trading partner, is slowing down.

The population is also sharply divided over German aid to kyiv in the face of Moscow’s invasion.

The stage is therefore set for a rise in extremes on the ideological level. On the far right, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has just made spectacular breakthroughs during regional elections in the former East Germany. On the far left, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – For Reason and Justice (BSW) –, which emerged from a split from the far-left Die Linke party, also obtained a growing share of voting intentions. .

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The third anniversary of the war in Ukraine (February 24)

February 24, 2025 will mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to continue the fight on the ground – where his troops have lost around 4,000 km² in one year, according to a calculation by Agence France-Presse (AFP) – as well as at the negotiating table.

The return of Donald Trump adds uncertainty to the current fog of war, as the president-elect and members of his party have repeatedly expressed their opposition to sending military aid to kyiv. Donald Trump even claimed that he could end the war raging on Europe’s doorstep in less than 24 hours.

Ukraine fears being forced by its main ally to negotiate with its enemy under conditions it has always rejected, such as the creation of new borders along the current front.

The arrival of North Korean soldiers on the battlefield in the Russian region of Kursk – part of which had been seized by the Ukrainians during a surprise offensive – also shakes up the international scene.

If it led to the authorization by Washington to use its long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory, it is possible that the United States will backtrack on the issue, since the president-designate “strongly » expressed against this green light, seeing it as an escalation which fuels the conflict.

The Biden administration is working to step on the accelerator before the change of guard in the Oval Office to send as much military equipment as possible.

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The G7 summit in the Rockies (June 15-17)

The heads of the Group of Seven (G7) member states – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – will gather for an international summit in the Rocky Mountains Canada, in Kananaskis, Alberta. The last meeting took place in Italy last June.

During the most recent meeting on Canadian soil, in Charlevoix in 2018, Donald Trump threw a wrench by tearing up the final communiqué and vilifying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter (now X) by leaving aboard the presidential plane to meet North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

Canada has hosted this international summit six other times: in Charlevoix (Quebec) in 2018, in Muskoka (Ontario) in 2010, in Kananaskis (Alberta) in 2002, in Halifax (Nova Scotia) in 1995, in Toronto (Ontario) in 1988, and in Ottawa (Ontario) and Montebello (Quebec) in 1981.

The last time such a meeting was held in Kananaskis, we were talking about the G8, since Russia was a member at the time. Note that the European Union is also represented in these meetings between advanced Western economies.

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COP30 in Brazil (November 10 to 21)

After the United Arab Emirates in 2023 and Azerbaijan in 2024, it is in Brazil that the great international climate mass, COP30, will take place in November.

The city of Belém, considered the gateway to the Amazon, a paradise of biodiversity and a great victim of human capitalist ambitions, will be the scene of this major international gathering.

The last UN climate conference in Baku did not result in an important agreement, and many left with the impression of a missed opportunity. I think we managed to save the furniture, but we haven’t made much progressdeclared the Canadian Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault.

The approximately 200 countries narrowly agreed to improve financial support from richer countries to developing ones. However, they did not agree on targets for reducing GES lower on an international scale nor on a plan to promote the energy transition.

With information from Ximena Sampson, Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press