Latest news bulletin | January 16th – Morning
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
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00:00 European Parliament President Mitsola is confident mainstream parties can ward off a far-right surge in the upcoming elections.
00:08 Rebuilding Trust, the theme for this year's World Economic Forum that's kicked off in Davos.
00:17 Two Palestinians have been arrested after a ramming and stabbing attack in Israel has left at least one dead and dozens injured.
00:29 Yemen Houthi rebels fire missiles at US warships in the Red Sea, responding to recent attacks carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom.
00:38 Enough is enough. Farmers return to the German capital in the tens of thousands to protest against the government's plans to slash diesel subsidies.
00:52 2024 will be an essential year in the EU because of the European Parliament elections.
00:58 Its President Roberta Mazzola, speaking with Euronews at the first plenary session of the year, appealed to all Europeans to vote next June and back pro-European forces instead of populist and extremist parties.
01:17 These five years that have just passed have not been easy. The next five years will not be any easier.
01:23 But democracy requires that you choose. And if you choose, you have a responsibility. Where do you want Europe to go?
01:30 Europe will be facing big challenges. Populism, extremism, intolerance.
01:37 But Europe has shown itself to be unprecedentedly united over the past years. Let's continue on that track.
01:43 And only citizens can choose that to go forward.
01:47 Mazzola believes the Parliament found unity in the centre during the last term, when the Conservatives, Socialists, Liberals and Greens managed to form a majority.
01:57 But this could change after the upcoming vote.
02:01 Are you worried about the rise of the far-right across Europe?
02:06 I'm worried that if we don't, as part of the pro-European constructive, I would call it, majority in the centre, appeal to our voters, then our voters will feel like they have no choice.
02:18 That they have to retreat to the fringes, to those people who want to destroy rather than to build.
02:26 Rather than talk about a fear, I would talk about the challenge that we all have, a responsibility that we all have in order to convince citizens to vote for us, who are at the centre, pro-European, who want Europe to continue to grow, to be integrated further.
02:41 The elections come after the so-called 'cathargate', probably the biggest scandal in the history of the EU institutions. Do you think this can undermine the people's trust in the EU?
02:54 I want the next mandate, the new members of the European Parliament to be reassured that the structures are strong and that our rules are observed.
03:03 We have done a lot of work in the past year and I would like us to be judged on that rather than the actions of some allegations with regards to a small number of individuals.
03:14 Thank you very much.
03:16 Thank you.
03:20 For most of the year, Davos is a popular ski resort in the Swiss Alps. But for seven days a year, it becomes a global summit, attracting leaders from the public and private sector.
03:31 On the agenda this year, geopolitics, climate change, the future of AI. The motto? Rebuilding trust.
03:40 Some would link the erosion of trust to the deep transformations that we are seeing all around us, be they technological, geopolitical, societal or those related to climate and nature.
03:53 And some would also say that all these transformations taken together have ushered in a, if not a completely new era, at least a stark new reality.
04:06 What's striking about this gathering is that the main shopping street here in Davos village transforms into an open air trade fair.
04:15 In fact, the majority of business representatives around here don't even have an access patch to the main Congress centre.
04:22 My name is Teku. We are here with the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance.
04:28 And we are looking for allies who want to join us in the protection of one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.
04:35 We are brought to Davos by Broad Networking. I'm a biotech and digital health founder and investor.
04:41 So I've got a large ecosystem of people I'm going to meet.
04:45 My name is Rania and I am a high school student from the United States.
04:50 And I came to just intern and help out some of my family friends here.
04:55 The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.
05:02 The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen.
05:05 And Ukraine's President, Zelensky.
05:07 Some of the main political headliners that will be passing through Davos this week.
05:12 Whether or not they manage to reach that goal, that motto of rebuilding trust, remains to be seen.
05:17 My name is Mark Mahan. Your own news, Davos.
05:20 Combating climate change is one of the major themes here in Davos.
05:28 And in fact, reaching net zero by 2050 is one of the main goals of the European Union.
05:33 That's why the European Commission has its EU climate law.
05:36 It's also presented its European Green Deal with the tsunami of various plans and regulations
05:41 that will impact business and consumers in the next few decades.
05:45 But what has changed now, compared to back in 2019 when the European Green Deal was presented, is the political climate.
05:51 We're no longer seeing, for example, the Friday for Futures marches out on Fridays.
05:57 The Greta Thunberg movement has also silenced.
05:59 And also politically, across the continent of Europe, the Greens are not doing as well as they would have hoped.
06:05 For more on what she hopes will be changing regarding that topic here at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos,
06:13 we spoke to Joa Metta. She's the co-founder of Stop Ecoside International.
06:18 For the first time, we've been invited to actually contribute to the conference itself.
06:24 I'm speaking on a couple of panels and I'm going to be talking, of course, about ecocide law,
06:28 which is the recognition of mass damage to nature as a crime, a serious crime.
06:33 And what about the topic in general, politically?
06:35 Are you concerned slightly about the fact that the Greta Thunberg movement has died out a bit,
06:40 the Fridays for Future movement has died out, and also politically, the Greens are not doing so well
06:44 and we have elections this year and people perhaps won't be voting with these issues on their mind?
06:50 I have to say I'm not particularly worried about that because when we look at how things are developing,
06:54 both in various national jurisdictions but also regionally, for example at the EU and globally,
07:00 we're seeing a clear legislative direction of travel.
07:04 People are moving towards this recognition of ecocide.
07:08 And I think that's partly, in a sense you could say that that conversation was triggered by things like
07:14 the School Strikes movement and those sort of climate protests.
07:19 But I think what it's made people understand or realise is that we're lacking that external framework
07:24 for safety going forward into the future.
07:27 It almost doesn't matter what solutions we put in place, if we don't prevent the mass destruction of ecosystems,
07:34 none of those are going to work long term.
07:37 Jojo Metta there remaining optimistic despite the lack of progress made in Dubai before Christmas at the COP28.
07:45 Yves McMahon, Euronews, Davos.
07:48 At least one person is reported to have been killed and dozens others wounded in a stabbing and car-ramming attack in Israel.
07:59 It happened on the streets of Ranaana, near Tel Aviv,
08:03 when a stolen vehicle was driven into pedestrians at several locations in the city.
08:08 Some of the victims were also stabbed.
08:10 A woman in her 70s was killed and at least three other people were seriously injured.
08:17 Police say two Palestinians from the West Bank, who had been working illegally in Israel, were arrested.
08:26 Hamas praised the attack but neither it nor other armed groups claim responsibility.
08:32 Yemen Houthi rebels have fired missiles at US warships in the Red Sea,
08:44 responding to attacks carried out by the United States and the United Kingdom since Thursday.
08:48 The attack on Sunday marks the first US-acknowledged fire by the Houthis,
08:53 following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.
08:56 UK Defence Secretary has said that he is monitoring the situation very closely.
09:02 If the attacks don't stop, we will then have to take the necessary measures, he said.
09:06 Their behaviour in the Red Sea was completely unacceptable
09:11 and we will keep a very close eye if we have to take further action.
09:14 That is something we will consider.
09:16 But our intention was to have a very clear message sent to the Houthis,
09:20 which I think is what has been achieved thus far.
09:23 UK and US Navy repel largest, most complex Houthi attack in the Red Sea.
09:27 Since October 17, 2023, Iranian-backed Houthi militants have attempted to attack
09:33 and harass multiple ships in international shipping lanes.
09:40 10,000 farmers gathered in the heart of Berlin to protest against the German government's
09:44 plan to cut agricultural diesel subsidies.
09:46 Although the government backtracked and promised to reduce these subsidies over the next two years
09:50 before ending them in 2026, farmers say this is not enough.
09:55 In principle, we can assume that we farmers would like to work completely without subsidies.
10:01 Everyone would like to be paid fairly for the product they produce
10:08 and have the opportunity to live well from the earnings.
10:13 But now, in Germany, we have been fulfilling environmental requirements for many years
10:19 and taking measures to protect animals, which are of course throwing us behind in the global competition,
10:27 as other countries have much lower standards and costs.
10:31 The German Farmers Association said the end of these subsidies could spell the end for agriculture in Germany.
10:37 So, in fact, we have a structural change, a die-off of 2 to 3 percent per year.
10:44 This is of course being dominated at the moment, also by EU subsidies, which are being misdistributed.
10:49 If we were to cut all subsidies from today to tomorrow,
10:53 then many companies would say that there is no longer any prospect and my children should not do this job anymore.
10:59 On the other hand, we have a very strong bond, also with farmers,
11:05 to continue their farms and to continue their desire.
11:08 Experts argue that focusing more on the European market rather than global competition would benefit everyone, especially the farmers.
11:16 German farmers are not just angry about agricultural diesel cuts.
11:20 They say the policies from the EU in Germany, which they are dependent on, can change at a moment's notice,
11:26 making it almost impossible to plan long term.
11:29 Liv Stroud, in Berlin, for Euronews.
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