Europe Today: Margrethe Vestager, az EU korábbi digitális biztosa reagál a feszült EU-USA kereskedelmi tárgyalásokra

2 days ago

Europe Today: Margrethe Vestager, az EU korábbi digitális biztosa reagál a feszült EU-USA kereskedelmi tárgyalásokra

Kapcsolódjon be az Euronews új napi élő műsorába, az "Europe Today"-be, amely brüsszeli idő szerint reggelente 8 órakor kezdődik. Mindössze 15 percben tájékoztatjuk Önöket mindenről, ami a kontinensen történt.

BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2025/11/25/europe-today-margrethe-vestager-az-eu-korabbi-digitalis-biztosa-reagal-a-feszult-eu-usa-ke

Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven

Transcript

00:00Good morning, it is Tuesday the 25th of November. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today,

00:22your news's daily live fix of European news and analysis. Coming up, it's a nail-biting week with

00:28the future of Ukraine at stake and the Kremlin rejecting a counter-proposal put on the table

00:33by European leaders. Negotiations are ongoing and also when it comes to trade. Yesterday,

00:40for the first time ever, Europeans got together for lunch in Brussels. On the menu, tariffs,

00:46of course. For more on exactly what they chewed over, we can bring in now your news's EU editor,

00:52Maria Tadeo. Good morning, Maria. Lovely to have you with us. Look, what were the main takeaways

00:56from these trade talks? Was there any progress, Maeve? Well, to be a fly on the wall, because,

01:01Maeve, as you say, this is the first time or was the first time that European officials

01:05and US officials got together face-to-face in Brussels since the trade deal was agreed in July.

01:12Remember, the European Union now faces 15% tariffs. The Americans have tripled tariffs on European goods.

01:20So yesterday, the Europeans made a point to the Americans that they want to see a form of

01:26relief, better quotas and exemptions. Of course, when you look at specific items,

01:31steel, aluminium, the tariffs are 50%. This is huge. It is a problem for the European

01:37Union. Now, the flip side, of course, is the Americans argue not so fast. We want to see a

01:42faster implementation of the deal we agreed in July, which got a lot of heat for Ursula von der Leyen.

01:47They want to see those commitments when it comes to buying the weapons, the energy and the digital

01:52rules. This is always a sticking point. Not just Trump, every US administration, but the Trump

01:57administration is more aggressive. And they argue we want to see much more soft, lenient

02:03implementation of the rules.

02:04And that's why the digital rules, of course, they were the elephant in the room yesterday over

02:08those talks. How severe is this pressure on the EU to change the rules?

02:11Look, absolutely. Because again, going back to this question of the steel and aluminium,

02:15the Europeans want to see better terms on that 50% tariff. The Americans have argued that perhaps

02:22they can debate. But first, they want to see a softer implementation of these digital rules,

02:28which, of course, for the EU are key. But I just want to play you for one second a comment yesterday

02:33on the red carpet. Euronews was there. Jamie Greer, he is the US Commerce Ambassador. Let's take a look.

02:40The United States has had significant concerns for many years about the Digital Markets Act and similar

02:45legislation in the EU. Many times the thresholds are set to the extent that it's nearly only US

02:51companies that are captured. The enforcement is quite aggressive at times. It becomes, you know,

02:58complying with the law can become challenging. Sometimes our companies feel like the goalposts

03:02are moved. The fines can be quite large. We know that the European Union, that these laws are important

03:07to them. We just want to make sure we're controlling for our companies that have global business models,

03:12that their global revenues aren't affected, and a variety of other things that perhaps could be

03:17modified to help accommodate their concerns and ours.

03:21And that was Jamie Sun Greer, the US Trade Representative. Maeve, that kind of language on

03:25a red carpet with the US Trade Commissioner there, but also the Europeans next to him. That was very

03:31aggressive. This is not a very polite thing to say when you're meeting and you're being hosted by

03:35someone else. But of course, they are making a very clear point. They want to see the implementation

03:40change. And they want to see American companies act in a way that they argue would be fair to the

03:46revenues. The problem for the Europeans, of course, is that this goes beyond trade. This is now about

03:50the legislation and the rule of the EU. You could argue there is a form of political interference. And

03:56yesterday, a US official and a European official told me, we see this are two completely different

04:01negotiations. Steel is one thing. The digital rules are a different thing.

04:04Okay, Maria Tadeo. Euronews's EU Editor, thank you so much for all those details. And of course,

04:09for more on that story, you can find specialised reports by our EU news team, and of course,

04:14our trade reporter, Peggy Corlan, on Euronews.com. But for now, coming up, we'll be joined by Margareta

04:20Vesteyer, the former EU competition commissioner that President Trump used to call the tax lady,

04:26known as one of the main trailblazers of the EU's landmark digital rulebook, and also for having

04:31inspired the famous Danish TV show Borgen. The Danish liberal politician spent two terms in

04:37Brussels. She was also a government minister back home, a deputy prime minister, and a party leader.

04:42So, Margareta Vesteyer, thank you so much for joining us this morning on Europe Today from

04:47Copenhagen. Lovely to have you with us.

04:49It's such a pleasure to be with you. Thank you very much for having me.

04:52So, look, you were listening to Maria Tadeo there on set. The message yesterday,

04:56cut your digital rules for lower US steel tariffs. Are the Americans cornering the Europeans here,

05:03do you think? Well, these are two completely different discussions. One is steel and aluminium.

05:09It has been going on for years. The second one is about how do we live with technology?

05:14Because promises were made to Europeans that digital services would be safe to use,

05:20just like any other product or service, and that the market actually would be open for competition

05:26so that we can get new products and services. This is not crazy. This is not against anyone.

05:32This is normal. This is what you would ask in a normal market.

05:36But how would you be handling this if you were still in office? We can see a lot of your work

05:40being undone here, the work that you put in place. Well, I see that the Commission is continuing the

05:47work done because promises were made to Europeans. You know, when one discusses, for instance,

05:52the Dintra Services Act, this is a very sort of simple piece of legislation just asking companies who

05:59are on our hands, in our devices every day for their products to be safe to use. And of course,

06:06what the DMA is asking is that you do not misuse your market power, but, you know, that you have

06:12a competitive market. You know, actually, this is everything that you could ask for. And actually,

06:17you do see some of the US states pushing for some of the same things, because it is absolutely

06:23essential that you can trust also the digital services that most of us are using every day.

06:29But that is not how the Americans see it. Do you think this could be the beginning of the end of the

06:33the so-called Brussels effect, where the EU has been setting global standards? Now it could be the

06:38United States. Well, we should not be setting global standards. We set standards for ourselves,

06:44because we have a long, long, long tradition of making sure that protection of consumers

06:49goes hand in hand with innovation. That has been the goal. And actually, that has been achieved. If you

06:55see how that digital market is changing and more and more also European companies, they need to be

07:01able to reach their customers and not being kept out by gatekeepers. And how do you strike that balance,

07:07though? That is, of course, the problem. So that innovation can thrive and we also can have strong

07:12regulation. Well, innovation thrives when you see that I want to solve a problem, not just I want to

07:20produce another service. And when you look at the European ecosystem, when it comes to everything

07:26digital, we have very strong entrepreneurs. We have very strong innovation. The thing is that we do not

07:32make sure that they have a market. And the Digital Markets Act is exactly about this, making sure that

07:38it's your ideas, your work ethic, the people on your team that gives you a fair chance of getting to

07:43the market. We've been discussing this with the Americans ever since I took office. This is not new. What is

07:49news is that we actually deliver to Europeans as promised. But did you over-regulate during your term?

07:57Well, I see in the omnibus proposal just tabled that there are actually some quite pragmatic,

08:05sensible simplifications when it comes, for instance, to cookies, when it comes to

08:11when to implement and how to enforce the AI Act. And I think that is really important because,

08:16of course, you can always do better. But one thing is important, and that is that we have promised

08:22Europeans that their services would be safe to use for their mental health, for their democracy as such.

08:28And that is, of course, core in any democracy that you stand by the promises made.

08:33And that US-EU trade deal, was it a bad deal for Europe?

08:39I think it was a wise thing not to take the bait and escalate the conflict. Of course, some areas are

08:46not within that deal. But I think in a world like this, some level of predictability is actually

08:52worthwhile. And we could conclude the single market and kind of make up for the increased

08:56tariffs.

08:57And just what about Ukraine? That is, of course, a big story we're keeping a very close eye on.

09:03This week, what should the Europeans be doing now to make sure they're heard

09:06in these very important talks, to make sure they have a seat at the table?

09:10Well, having followed the developments over the last week, you know, I was completely devastated

09:17when I saw the first US proposal. But the negotiations that has been ongoing actually

09:23shows that there has been a listening, that European concerns and how we have obliged ourselves

09:32to peace in our region. I think that is a positive development, but so far it's completely impossible

09:38to say what comes out of it. But I think that the ask to be at the table is completely legitimate.

09:44OK, thank you so much for that. And I hope you can join us next time here in the studio

09:49when you're passing through Brussels. But now, it would be my pleasure.

09:53As you heard now, Ukraine's future is still unsure after the Kremlin said that the European

09:57counterproposal does not work. Quote, leaders from the Coalition of the Willing, i.e. Ukraine's

10:02allies will be gathering today via video call. Our reporters, Jakob Yanis and Jorge Libreiro,

10:08have been comparing the various proposals on the table.

10:10By passing Brussels, Washington presented a 28-point blueprint directly negotiated with Moscow to

10:20put an end to Russia's all-out war against Ukraine. Europe has now responded. A side-by-side comparison

10:27reveals three fundamental differences. What are they? First, money. The US-Russia plan would

10:34unblock the frozen Russian assets to create two investment vehicles, with Washington taking half

10:39the profits from the Ukraine's reconstruction fund. The European plan insists that the assets

10:45must remain frozen until Russia fully compensates Ukraine for the destruction. Second, security.

10:52The US-Russia plan would cap Ukraine's army at 600,000 personnel at all times. Europe raises that

11:00limit to 800,000 in peacetime only, giving Kyiv the flexibility to scale up if threatened. Crucially,

11:08the Europeans demand a seat on a joint security task force alongside Ukraine, refusing to let Washington

11:15and Moscow decide the continent's fate alone. Third, territory. The US-Russia plan accepts occupied Crimea,

11:24Lugansk and Donetsk regions as...

11:28...to recognize borders changed by force. It all leads us to one fundamental question.

11:35Who decides the borders of Europe? An inviting military force or the European principles of sovereignty?

11:45And for more context on this, we can now bring in our EU news editor Maria today. Oh, back,

11:51welcome back. Look, the Kremlin has rejected this European plan, but there seems to be a bit of

11:55cautious optimism in Brussels. Where do we go from here? Well, Maeve, no question, because that original

12:0028-point plan obviously was clearly tilted in Russia's favour. The issue here, and this is the crux of

12:06the matter, is that what works for Russia does not work for Ukraine, and what works for Ukraine does not

12:10work for Russia. Nonetheless, this 28-point plan has changed. We now understand it is 19 points.

12:17The Ukrainians also now... Yesterday, President Zelenskyy just checked this out. After Geneva, remember,

12:23they met on Sunday. There are fewer points. It is no longer 28. Many correct considerations have been

12:29taken into account, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done, and it will be difficult to produce

12:35a final document. So, obviously, what we see here is that the Ukrainians now believe they have managed

12:40to insert some of their demands. There is speculation that President Trump and President Zelenskyy could

12:46meet in America this week. There is no date for it. This would be for the critical political points.

12:52And then, of course, it does also seem that this deadline for Thursday has somewhat eased.

12:57And that's, of course, indeed good news. And just briefly, the Coalition of the Willing will be gathering today.

13:02What are your expectations for their meetings? Well, Coalition of the Willing and, of course,

13:05a reminder for our viewers. This is a group of countries that are supportive of the UK,

13:10some of the EU, but not just led by the UK and France. They will gather today. The idea is,

13:17what else can the Europeans offer and put on the table to sway this deal in favor of Ukraine? I was

13:23told, however, yesterday by a diplomat, it seems that things are moving better. There is less panic

13:29compared to a week ago, but also something very important. The Europeans believe that this plan,

13:34the 28-point plan, as it was done, is over. And this is not a static negotiation. It can improve.

13:40So indeed, cautious optimism. And of course, this topic will be dominating MEPs while they gather

13:45as well in Strasbourg this week. And Maria today, you'll be in Strasbourg as well for us tomorrow.

13:49So we look forward for your update then. But now, this does bring this edition of Europe

13:53Today to an end. Thank you so much for tuning in. For more news and analysis, do take a look at

13:57euronews.com or keep an eye on our social media networks. You can also check out our new formats,

14:02The Ring and 12 Minutes With on Euronews. And I'll be back tomorrow morning here on Euronews. See you then.

14:10Euronews.

14:40?

14:41?

14:50?

14:54?

Europe Today: Margrethe Vestager, az EU korábbi digitális biztosa reagál a feszült EU-USA kereskedelmi tárgyalásokra

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended