In the News, 2019: EUROPE

President Vladimir Putin (above) has maintained his 19-year-long grip on the Russian government by stifling dissent and cracking down on political enemies. President Trump continues to push for better relations with Russia, and he met with Putin in July 2018. But relations between the two nations remain strained, largely because U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with the aim of helping to elect Trump to the White House.

The number of migrants arriving in Europe after fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa is down from the peak of the crisis in 2015. But in 2018, tens of thousands continued to risk the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. The huge influx of refugees—almost 2 million in the past few years—has prompted a backlash in some European countries, including Germany and Italy. Other nations, such as Hungary and Poland, have refused to accept any migrants.

Traditionally, the United States has been a leader of NATO, the 29-country military alliance dedicated to protecting Western Europe’s freedom. But President Trump has questioned the importance of the alliance and complained that many countries aren’t paying enough to support it. Trump has also clashed with European allies over the Paris climate agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, and the issue of tariffs (taxes on imported goods).