If you are not freezing, this November morning, we invite you to dive with us in this week’s Monday Briefing. In Europe, Ukraine faces a major corruption scandal, while the European Parliament is remarkably active. Chile’s election shakes South America and a peace agreement is finally settled in Congo.
Spotlight: Troubles for Zelensky, as corruption scandal rages on.
The attention of the international community has come back to Ukraine, but this time it is for a new and unexpected political scandal within the Zelensky government, which could undermine the President’s legitimacy and popular support. Two ministers have resigned, five corrupt officials have been arrested and the last two have fled the country. As the war against the Russian invasion continues, Kyiv political establishment is once more shaken.
Corruption has been an endemic problem for Ukraine and many other former Soviet Republics since the end of the last century. Transparency International ranked the country 108th out 180 on a corruption index in 2024, although it noted that the situation was improving, thanks to several reforms started to approach EU accession. One of these major reforms was the creation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office (SAPO). Their work has never been easy: the two institutions were recently under attack by the government itself, as parliament passed a law in July 2025 to decrease their independence. After international pressure and street mobilization at home, President Zelensky stopped the process, restoring the Anti-Corruption Offices to their independence.
On November 11th, NABU and SAPO announced the completion of Operation Midas, a highly secretive and targeted attack to a vast network of corrupt officials in the Ukrainian state apparatus, in particular in the Energy Sector. The National Agency for Nuclear Energy (Energoatom) seems to be the center of the organization, with contractors forced to pay between 10% and 15% of the contract worth to keep their status and to facilitate procedures. This simple blackmail program has led to the detention of five members of the scheme, while the two most prominent have successfully fled the country.
The ringleader of this criminal operation is Timur Mindich, a business man considered to be very close to Zelensky, as the two founded together Kvartal 95 production company in 2003. This shady figure of Ukraine’s Business and Political Landscape has gained much power since the current President was elected in 2019 and the two have been described as “long term friends”. Apart from the Ukrainian one, Mindich holds the Israeli citizenship, leading to speculation that he might be hiding there. NABU has asked for his return to Ukraine in order to bring him to justice, but as of time of writing he remains a fugitive.
Even though they were not directly charged by NABU and SAPO two Ukrainian ministers have resigned in the wake of the scandal. Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk were urged by the President himself to take a step back, and the two submitted their resignation on November 12th. On X, Zelensky declared that “It is absolutely unacceptable that there are some schemes in the energy sector” and announced sanctions on the two associates that have fled. Nonetheless, the close links between the President and the whole scandal have led to many questions regarding his possible involvement. Contrary to expectations, no major street protests have materialized these days, marking that in this dire moment Ukrainians are aware that Zelensky is the only legitimate leader of the country until the end of the War, and thus have refrained from the usual pressure on the government. The Russian invasion is far from over, and the destiny of Ukraine lies on the frontlines as much as in the Power rooms of the Capital.
World News
President Trump begins to cut tariffs
By Veronika Lizier-Zmudzinski
On Friday, November 14th, President Trump not only reduced, but completely cut tariffs on beef, coffee, and tropical fruits. His administration has begun to feel heavier backlash because of the higher prices consumers now face in the United States.
After voters raised concerns about their financials, and after a round of elections last week where Democrats took big wins around the country, the president decided that it would be best to cut some of the many tariffs he had placed.
President Trump has built his second term around building up domestic production through high tariffs, while maintaining a low rate of inflation. However, the US has continued to experience high prices and limited progress in expanding domestic manufacturing.
Peace agreement between DRC and M23 rebel group
By Riccardo De Ambroggi
After months of mediated talks, representatives from the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and from the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group managed to reach an agreement on several important topics that will substantively impact a peaceful transition in the Eastern regions of the country, torn by a conflict that is causing mass destruction and human losses. The peace negotiations, hosted by Qatar under the supervision of the African Union, are still proceeding and in the next weeks many important topics will be discussed. But, as declared by Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, the agreements on ceasefire monitoring and on prisoner exchange spread optimism among parts towards peace reachability. The protocols are still under discussion regarding how humanitarian aid will be allowed to reach the population and how to enable the return of refugees and internally displaced people. The hope is that peace returns in the region as soon as possible and for longer. The key point is the respect both parties will pay to the protocols, unlike the 2009 agreements that led to the formation of the M23 group since the DRC government unattended the commitments made.
First Round of Chilean Election Exposes Fractured Electorate
By Diego de Carvalho
On Sunday 16th, Chile went to the polls for its general elections, which renewed its parliament and picked two candidates to run-off on December 14th for the country’s presidency. While parliamentary results have not yet been released, preliminary outcomes indicate the presidential run-off will be between Jeannette Jara and Jose Antonio Kast. The dispute was marked by a fracturing of Chile’s right-wing between Mr. Kast, an ultra-conservative, Johannes Kaiser, a far-right libertarian, Evelyn Matthei, a moderate career politician, and Franco Parisi, a populist outsider.
Mr. Kast, who won 24% of the vote and will proceed to the second round, is on his third presidential run, having lost in the second round of the 2021 election to current president Gabriel Boric. He is a representative of Chile’s traditional, but still extremely conservative right-wing, whose roots can be found in the country’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet. His current campaign has been marked by his hardlines stance against rising crime and immigration in Chile, in a rhetoric akin to American president Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Ms. Jara is a member of Chile’s communist party and the current labor minister under Gabriel Boric. Her association with Mr. Boric has made her unfavored in most runoff polls against Mr. Kast, even as she finished first yesterday with 27% of the vote. Ms. Jara’s campaign is centered on tackling a rise in cost-of-living which has plagued Chile for almost a decade.
European News
‘United in Motherhood’: female lawmakers can now vote, and be mothers
By Alice Di Terlizzi
The very human phenomenon of pregnancy happens to be denied deserved human recognition, starting from cultural prejudice until reaching more entrenched national misconception. Entering motherhood tends, indeed, to be depicted as an impairment which may not be elicited through spoken words, although its hampering nature comes into being in terms of career disadvantages as manifested through evident political undermining, that weights on the shoulders of those women whose decision to have a child is then complemented by negative spillovers at both societal and political levels. It has now come the so-long-wished-for time for due change, going in the direction of increased equality and proper redefinition of political rights, whose universality must account for the biological needs faced by female lawmakers during the process of family formation.
On Thursday, November 13th, 2025, a rule has been backed at the European Parliament, that goes in the direction of granting proxy voting to female lawmakers about to enter motherhood, or who have recently given birth. A similar rule, which is now on its way to being approved by EU member states, would be applicable up to three months before childbirth, and during the six months coming right after. By delegating the right to vote to a fellow parliamentarian, the vote by proxy marks an outstanding step forward in terms of easing the conciliation between incoming motherhood and the pursuit of a political career for women working at the Parliament.
Still, criticism arises on behalf of male parliamentarian figures, especially those belonging to the leftist side of the political spectrum. Is proxy voting a right that further widens the gap between mothers and fathers in terms of their respective parental responsibilities? Or should paternal leave be politically recognized as well within Parliament, in order to allow new fathers to take care of their children, without having to choose between either their familial or political duties?
The End of the Cordon Sanitaire? EPP Aligns with the Far Right on Green Deregulation
By Teodora Stefan
Last Thursday, the European Parliament held a vote on the simplification of the Omnibus Package, a legislative proposal initiated by the European People’s Party (EPP) and supported by several center-right allies. The package aims to ease regulatory burdens by granting broader exemptions to companies from the EU’s green reporting obligations and related due diligence frameworks. Proponents argue that the reforms will enhance European competitiveness, while critics contend, they represent a significant rollback of the EU’s environmental and transparency commitments. Nevertheless, it is a sign of a general shift towards decreasing climate consciousness within the EU Parliament, with likely negative consequences.
During the vote, the EPP aligned with far-right groups, notably Patriots for Europe (PfE) and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), to secure passage of key amendments. This collaboration effectively breached the long-standing “cordon sanitaire”, an informal agreement among mainstream and left-leaning parties to isolate the far-right from legislative influence. This measure was originally intended to preserve democratic norms and prevent extremist groups from shaping EU policy, yet now its continuation is unclear.
The EPP’s decision to bypass its traditional centrist and liberal partners marks a turning point in parliamentary dynamics. It signals both a strategic shift in the party’s approach to climate legislation, as well as a potential erosion of the informal coalition politics that have long structured cooperation within the European Parliament.
Every week, your TiL Monday Briefing 🗞: you better read it with a cup of coffee! ☕️
Head of the Monday Briefing column: Diego de Carvalho. Current writing staff: Alice di Terlizzi, Andreas Manolopoulos, Anouk Lainé, Daniel Dishdishyan, Derinsu Polat, Riccardo de Ambroggi, Ruben Gianzini. Cartoons by Polina Mednikova. The Monday Briefing column was established in its current form in 2021 by Bojan Zeric.
I’m Veronika. I grew up in the US but am half-Italian, half-Polish. I’m a first-year BIEM student and am interested in not only economics, but fashion, politics, books, and getting to know the community around me.
My name is Diego, and I am currently in my 3rd year of BESS. I was born and raised in Brasília, Brazil and although I have lived also in Switzerland, the United States, and now Italy, I consider myself Brazilian and Latin-American by heart. My heart and time are often split by many different interests, including football, history, geopolitics, philosophy, music, and cinema.
Hello everyone! My name is Teodora and I’m a 3rd year BIEM student from Bucharest, Romania. I spend my free time reading up on political issues from around the world and I’m particularly keen on topics concerning the European Union. On a more personal note, I’m passionate about art history, music and writing about the world around me.