Latest news bulletin | December 2nd, 2025 – Midday - video Dailymotion

euronews (in English)

Latest news bulletin | December 2nd, 2025 – Midday  Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this December 2nd, 2025 - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/02/latest-news-bulletin-december-2nd-2025-midday  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

Transcript

00:00Responding to opposition from Belgium's Prime Minister, EU High Representative Gaia Kalas

00:05said a reparations loan for Ukraine would not derail the peace process.

00:10German Chancellor Frederick Merz welcomed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for defense

00:15cooperation talks in Berlin on Monday.

00:19Tens of thousands of Bulgarians staged protests in Sofia to oppose the government budget draft

00:25for next year in what was the biggest demonstration in the country in decades.

00:31In a response to Belgium's Prime Minister Bart Deweyver, EU High Representative Gaia Kalas

00:37said approving a reparations loan for Ukraine gives the European Union greater leverage

00:42at the negotiating table to end Russia's war.

00:46Deweyver had previously warned that the proposal risked derailing the diplomatic process.

00:51Gaia Kalas, however, insisted that the approval of the reparations loan sends three messages

00:55to Ukraine.

00:57She argued it would show them that the EU is there to help defend themselves.

01:01Secondly, it would send a message to Moscow that they can't outlast the EU.

01:05And finally, it would prove to the US that the EU is taking strong and credible steps.

01:11Under the scheme, the bloc would channel the frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

01:15Kiev would only be asked to repay the loan if Moscow agreed to compensate for the damages.

01:22However, Belgium's Prime Minister Bart Deweyver has repeatedly opposed the proposal.

01:27He claims it could pose a risk to Belgium where the assets are stored.

01:31He also said it could act as an obstacle to the White House trying to reach a deal between

01:36Ukraine and Russia.

01:40Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed Prime Minister Donald Tusk for the 17th German-Polish government

01:47talks in Berlin on Monday.

01:48The meeting comes after EU foreign and defense ministers met in Brussels and, as Poland seeks

01:55to deter Moscow's recent provocations.

01:58Warsaw wants to foster stronger relations with Berlin, but there is also mistrust.

02:04However, Chancellor Merz emphasized the importance of solidarity.

02:07Gerade in diesen Zeiten, in denen die Einheit Europas so unter Druck steht, dürfen wir uns

02:14nicht auseinander dividieren lassen.

02:18Wir müssen und wir werden zusammenstehen.

02:20Kann denn das Treffen zwischen Donald Tusk und Friedrich Merz an diesem Misstrauen etwas ändern?

02:35Es gab eben auch innenpolitische Bremsfaktoren, sodass man aus deutscher Sicht, glaube

02:45ich, das Gefühl hatte, Polen macht eine Deutschlandpolitik mit angezogener Handbremse.

02:51According to Dr. Lang, Poland sees itself as the regional power in eastern and central

02:58Europe, and wants to be treated as such.

03:12As the government in Warsaw seeks more direct cooperation and security issues, the reality

03:18on the ground seems to be different.

03:20In Polen wiederum hat sich der Eindruck vertieft, Deutschland habe zwar eine Rhetorik der Einbindung

03:30und der Aufwertung Polens, aber wenn es dann wirklich darauf ankomme, dann werde Polen eben

03:36nicht berücksichtigt.

03:38Can this paradoxical situation develop into a strong German-Polish security partnership in

03:45the future?

03:45Laut dem deutsch-polnischen Barometer zeigt nur ein Drittel der Polen Sympathie für seine

03:50Nachbarn in Deutschland.

03:51Und das dürfte nicht nur an den Reparationsforderungen liegen.

03:55Polen will mehr mit Spracherecht in Sicherheitsfragen.

03:58Zuletzt wurde der US-Ukraine-Friedensplan über die Köpfe der Polen hinweg diskutiert, inklusive

04:04des Punktes 9 mit der Stationierung europäischer Kampfjets auf polnischem Gebiet.

04:09Heute macht der polnische Ministerpräsident Donald Tusk deutlich, Entscheidungen über die Sicherheit

04:14und Europa dürfen nicht über Polen hinweg entschieden werden.

04:17Und der deutsche Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz muss nun beweisen, dass er Polen als strategischen

04:23Sicherheitspartner ernst nimmt.

04:25Diana Resnick aus Berlin für Euronews.

04:28Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron

04:38in Paris to discuss the US-authored peace deal, a deal that has been criticized for

04:43being too weighted towards Russian demands.

04:46Zelensky warned on Monday that Russia should not profit from the invasion of Ukraine, and

04:51Macron on his end underlined that no agreement will move forward without European participation.

04:57So we take the principles for sanctions, for the responsibility for the war, for the juridical

05:04status of our territories, which now take the Russian occupation, for the Russian

05:12active, for the request of the reconstruction.

05:16Aggressor should pay for agressor.

05:19For the rest, there is not a plan that is finalized today.

05:22On the issue of territories, it cannot be finalized only by the President Zelensky.

05:26On the issue of geled actives, the security guarantees, access to the European Union, the European

05:32sanctions, it cannot be finalized only with the Europeans around the table.

05:36Over the weekend, a Ukrainian delegation met with US officials to discuss the peace deal.

05:43According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the meeting had been productive.

05:48The latest round of talks comes at a challenging time for Kyiv, as Russian forces continue to

05:53gain ground in eastern Ukraine, and Zelensky is facing strain following a domestic corruption

05:59scandal.

06:04In an interview with Euronews' new morning show Europe Today, General Ben Hodges, former

06:10commanding general of the US Army in Europe speaking on the war in Ukraine and Europe's

06:15safety, warned that the continent is slowly waking to the realization that it cannot count

06:21on Washington as a fair partner.

06:25I think Europe and Ukraine, including Ukraine, knows that the United States has a primary

06:30interest which is business with Russia after this is all concluded.

06:35In the General's view, the US administration's approach to the conflict was flawed from the

06:41start.

06:42The administration's approach has always been doomed from the start because they didn't

06:48care about the origin, they didn't care about the history or the geography involved, and in

06:54fact approached it as a massive real estate deal.

06:57Secretary Rubio said in the beginning, Ukraine, you're going to have to give up some territory

07:02here, before they even started.

07:05This week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will skip a key NATO meeting, highlighting Europe's

07:12decreasing priority for the US after the Western Hemisphere, Indo-Pacific and likely the

07:18Middle East, according to Hodges.

07:20But the General remains confident that Europe has the capabilities to defeat Russia's war

07:25on Ukraine.

07:26If you add together the industry, the wealth, the populations, the technologies, there's no

07:33reason that Europe, including Ukraine, cannot stop Russia.

07:37What they lack is the self-confidence and the political will.

07:41According to Hodges, the narrative that Ukraine is losing the war doesn't add up as Russia's

07:46economy is in deep trouble and in 11 years, Russia has only been able to occupy 20% of

07:54Ukrainian territory.

07:58Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, to voice their

08:04objection to the government's budget draft for next year, in what turned out to be the

08:08biggest protest in the country in decades.

08:11The demonstration was dominated by young people and was planned to be peaceful in nature.

08:18Protesters chanted resignation as they demanded the incumbent coalition, led by the Citizens

08:23for European Development of Bulgaria party, known as GERB, to revise the draft or step down.

08:30Protesters also called for the prosecution of two key players in the ruling coalition, GERB

08:36leader Boiko Borisov and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader Delian Pivsky.

08:41But a small group of masked people incited chaos outside the headquarters of those parties, throwing

08:47chairs at the buildings and police officers guarding them, as well as glass bottles.

08:53Footage showed clashes between the masked individuals and police forces, with garbage dumpsters being

08:58set on fire and police vehicles vandalized as chaos quickly unraveled.

09:04Protesters say those who incited violence were not part of the rallies, accusing them of being

09:09hired to provoke and undermine the demonstrations.

09:13On the 27th of November, the government announced it was withdrawing its controversial budget plan,

09:19which aimed to steeply increase taxes, following domestic pressure and a night of protests.

09:25Borisov later rescinded the withdrawal, instead promising changes to the draft, which he said

09:30would be implemented by the first or second parliamentary vote, prompting the organization of a second

09:36rally.

09:38Others are worried the proposed budget, along with major imminent shifts, like Bulgaria's

09:43adoption of the Euro in January, could lead to economic instability.

09:51The White House said on Monday that a Navy Admiral acted within his authority and the law when

09:56he ordered a second follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea in September.

10:04According to White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, Defense Secretary Exeth authorized Admiral

10:10Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes.

10:13Levitt, in her comments to reporters, did not dispute a Washington Post report that they

10:18were survivors after the initial strike.

10:21Her explanation came after the reports detailing the attack sparked controversy and President Donald Trump

10:28said he wouldn't have wanted a second strike when asked about the incident.

10:33The controversial September strike was warned in a series carried out by the U.S.

10:38military in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean as Trump ordered the build-up of a fleet

10:45of warships near Venezuela, including the largest U.S. aircraft carrier.

10:50More than 80 people have been killed in the strikes that Washington says targets drug cartels.

11:01Nicola Pietrangheri, the Italian tennis champion of the 1950s and 60s, has died at the age of

11:0892 on Monday, according to the Italian Tennis and Paddle Federation.

11:13Pietrangheri was the first Italian player to win a Grand Slam trophy triumphing at the French

11:19Open in 1959.

11:21He was also captain of the national team that claimed the Davis Cup in 1976 and reached the

11:28semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1960.

Latest news bulletin | December 2nd, 2025 – Midday

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended