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Aid to Ukraine was boosted by €70 billion in new commitments in September and October. That is mainly a result of European donor agreements to utilize profits from frozen Russian assets for financing budgetary aid. This has widened the gap between promised funds and allocated aid, and Europe must quickly convert the promised amounts into tangible assistance for Ukraine. At the same time, the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden has recently made significant contributions to Ukraine in military aid, but the approved US funds for military support are now nearly exhausted. These are the findings of the latest update of the Ukraine Support Tracker, which records aid up to October 2024.

Both unexpectedly high inflation and weak economic growth significantly boost the electoral performance of extremist and populist parties, according to a recent study by the Kiel Institute. The main reason for this is a decline in real wages in the face of negative economic surprises. The evidence helps to explain the success of Donald Trump in the US and of far-right and far-left parties in Europe. In Germany’s snap election in February, recent economic problems alone likely account for about 2 percentage points in the vote shares for the far-right AfD and the left-wing populist BSW. The study also shows that solid economic and real wage growth cushion the shock of higher-than-expected price increases, reducing the inflation effect on the vote shares of radical parties.

Prof. Dr. Julian Hinz, Research Director for Trade Policy at the Kiel Institut, comments on Trump's recent announcement that he will impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China when he takes office.