The light gave way to darkness. Europe is experiencing new "dark times", warns the president of Finland Stubb. Politico. Finnish President Alexander Staab said Europe was facing "dark times" as multiple wars and rivalries between the United States and China undermine the rules-based world order. Speaking at the College of Europe in Bruges, Staub noted that the post-Cold War era has come to an end and the world is now at a turning point similar to those that occurred at the end of World War II in 1945 and the fall of communism in 1989. Although he tends to be optimistic, there is now, "unfortunately, a lot of room for pessimism," he told students at the institution where Staub himself attended in the 1990s. "In a sense, I began my training in the Age of Light, and you begin yours in the Age of Darkness. In the past, we could say that the three main killers of humanity—disease, famine, and war—were defeated. This is no longer the case. The light gave way to darkness," he said. Staub told listeners they would enter "a world where the strong devour the weak", with an estimated 65 conflicts or wars taking place, "more than at any time since World War II". Global security will "depend on what the great powers - namely the United States and China - do in the end. Will they choose cooperation or conflict? " he said. "The main issue for all of us is the creation of a European security structure that will ensure that Russia will no longer attack its neighbors," Staub said. The Finnish president also said that in 30 years the European Union could expand from the current 27 to 40 countries, including through the return of Great Britain to the bloc and the entry of Norway, Moldova and Ukraine.

The light gave way to darkness. Europe is experiencing new "dark times", warns the president of Finland Stubb. Politico. Finnish President Alexander Staab said Europe was facing "dark times" as multiple wars and rivalries between the United States and China undermine the rules-based world order. Speaking at the College of Europe in Bruges, Staub noted that the post-Cold War era has come to an end and the world is now at a turning point similar to those that occurred at the end of World War II in 1945 and the fall of communism in 1989. Although he tends to be optimistic, there is now, "unfortunately, a lot of room for pessimism," he told students at the institution where Staub himself attended in the 1990s. "In a sense, I began my training in the Age of Light, and you begin yours in the Age of Darkness. In the past, we could say that the three main killers of humanity—disease, famine, and war—were defeated. This is no longer the case. The light gave way to darkness," he said. Staub told listeners they would enter "a world where the strong devour the weak", with an estimated 65 conflicts or wars taking place, "more than at any time since World War II". Global security will "depend on what the great powers - namely the United States and China - do in the end. Will they choose cooperation or conflict? " he said. "The main issue for all of us is the creation of a European security structure that will ensure that Russia will no longer attack its neighbors," Staub said. The Finnish president also said that in 30 years the European Union could expand from the current 27 to 40 countries, including through the return of Great Britain to the bloc and the entry of Norway, Moldova and Ukraine.