- 4 hours ago
پوتین اروپا را به جنگ تهدید کرد؛ واکنش نمایندگان پارلمان اروپا
در بالا پنجمین قسمت از برنامهٔ جدید مناظرهٔ یورونیوز «The Ring» را میبینید که میکوشد آنچه نمایی از آنچه در پارلمان اتحادیه اروپا میگذرد را در برابر دیدگان شما قرار دهد.
لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2025/12/04/potin-aropa-ra-bh-gng-thdid-krd-agr-gng-mikhoahd-gng-khoahd-dasht-oaknsh-nmaindgan-parl
مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست
در بالا پنجمین قسمت از برنامهٔ جدید مناظرهٔ یورونیوز «The Ring» را میبینید که میکوشد آنچه نمایی از آنچه در پارلمان اتحادیه اروپا میگذرد را در برابر دیدگان شما قرار دهد.
لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2025/12/04/potin-aropa-ra-bh-gng-thdid-krd-agr-gng-mikhoahd-gng-khoahd-dasht-oaknsh-nmaindgan-parl
مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello there and welcome to The Ring, Euronews' brand new debating show broadcasting from the
00:14European Parliament here in Brussels. Once a week, two elected members of the European Parliament
00:20go face to face on some of the most pressing issues of our time. This week, we're discussing
00:26the EU's role in peace talks to end the war in Ukraine and we're asking if we need to
00:31militarize European societies. Before we meet our guests, let's just get you up to speed.
00:39So far, Ukraine and Europe have remarkably been sidelined in negotiations aimed at ending
00:44the war with Russia. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin
00:50to push a US-sponsored peace deal. Initially concocted with the Kremlin, the plan was amended
00:55with the European and Ukrainian inputs after concerns emerged that Kiev would be pressured
01:01into unacceptable concessions. Yet Europe is having a hard time finding a seat at the negotiation
01:06table. French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky at the Élysée Palace and
01:12stressed that no agreement would materialize without European participation. Voices are
01:17also rising in Brussels for Europe to have its own plan to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine
01:22and deter Moscow from future military action. Only the 27 can't agree on how to proceed.
01:29So what next for the EU? And should the 27 remain a soft power or transition to a military
01:39might? The questions we'll be putting to our contenders. Let's meet them.
01:44Cynthia Newarku, Irish MEP for the Liberal Renew Group. A former journalist and lawyer, she's a devoted
01:51pro-European who believes in dialogue and negotiation under the right circumstances. Any credible peace
01:57plan must involve Ukraine, the EU, the United States and Russia, and it cannot be imposed
02:03on Ukraine or come at the expense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity or democratic future,
02:08she said. Christian Terhes, Romanian MEP for the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.
02:15Former candidate for the country's presidency, a defender of national sovereignty, he has dismissed
02:20the guarantees given by the US, Great Britain, Germany and Russia to Ukraine in order to give up
02:26its nuclear arsenal in 1994. Now he warns against the acceptance of a peace agreement with Russia
02:32at any cost. In the natural tendency, man wants peace immediately. But history shows us the price
02:39of hasty decisions, he said. Cynthia Newarku and Christian Teresh, welcome to the ring.
02:48Thank you so much for having us. Hi, Christian. Hi, Cynthia. Great to have you with us. Well, look,
02:52ladies first, perhaps. We'll kick off with Cynthia Newarku. Why is the European Union not at the
02:56driving seat in the talks to end the war in Ukraine, but always reacting? No, the EU is at the
03:03driving seat, but the driving seat is shared and should be shared between the nations and the
03:09countries that have a vested interest. Obviously, we're in a particular space whereby America has
03:16withdrawn somewhat from its previous historical support through NATO and so forth. So we are in
03:22a new geopolitical atmosphere, as we all know. And therefore, we are in the driving seat very much,
03:28but we can't take over in the driving seat. We also need our partners. So Russia is involved with
03:33the United States. And obviously, we have Europe. But most importantly, we have President Zelenskyy and
03:38Ukraine. And in your clip, you indicated that the coalition of the willing, indeed, Zelenskyy was
03:44welcomed to the Palace Elysee, but he was also welcomed to my country and my parliament in the
03:48Dáil. And I can tell you that Europe stands firm, very firm with Ukraine, because I think my friend
03:54will agree with me, if we don't stand in Europe with Ukraine, who is next? Probably your country,
04:00Romania, possibly Ireland on the western side. But messages of support and new work who are not
04:03enough. We have Kaya Callas. She's the EU foreign affairs chief, but she's nowhere to be seen in any of
04:07those images. Well, I think Europe, European Union right now has to take the lead in this fight,
04:13because at the end of the day, it's not in the US main interest to resolve the situation in
04:18Ukraine, but it's in our own interest in European Union, and especially on countries that are on the
04:24eastern flank of NATO. As Cynthia rightfully mentioned, we are very concerned in Eastern Europe, because if
04:30Ukraine collapses, who is next? It's someone from the Baltic region, it's Romania, who's next?
04:36Messages of support is another thing, but has the EU done enough?
04:39I'm sorry, Maeve, I mean, I watched the news overnight. Putin has withdrawn from the peace
04:44talks. Putin does not want peace. Russia does not want peace. Europe has bent over backwards in their
04:50very professional, organised way, bearing in mind we have 27 member states, and has really negotiated
04:56very skilfully and very hard. And I don't really accept any criticism of Kaya Callas. She may not be
05:02seen in pictures, but I'm not depending on her being seen in pictures. I'm depending on her and
05:06her team negotiating hard. And they have been doing that. But bear in mind, they didn't withdraw.
05:11Putin has withdrawn. He's no interest in peace.
05:13Why did the EU get sidelined by the Trump 28-point peace plan?
05:16That's very, very simple. And I mean, again, I'm sure Christian will agree. President Trump has set up
05:22these so-called collaborative talks, which are not collaborative in any way, because the United
05:27States did not come as the arbitrator, as the mediator, with its proposed plan drawn from both
05:34sides. He came with a Russian plan.
05:36And we saw Steve Whitcoff. He's been to Moscow around six times, but never visited Kyiv.
05:41As you can see right now, we talk too much about what the US does or what the US wants. The question
05:45is what the EU does.
05:47Exactly.
05:47And when you talk to Russia, historically speaking, you have to negotiate with Russia from a position
05:52of power, because the only language that the Russian would listen to is the language of
05:58power. We talk too much. We don't act enough. Not only that we don't act enough, we don't
06:02act strong. I'll give an example. Nord Stream 2, for example. When Trump was elected in 2016,
06:07he sanctioned the companies that were built in Nord Stream 2. When Biden was elected in 2020,
06:13he lifted the sanctions. That's how Nord Stream 2 was finalized. Then we saw what happened in
06:162022. For so many years, there were so many talks, even here in the European Parliament.
06:20But behind the scenes, many EU countries, you know, still conducted business with Russia.
06:26So we paid for this work.
06:28Yeah, I totally agree with Christian when he says about, you know, not acting up quickly
06:32enough, because if we look back at the initial invasion of Putin into Ukraine, that's when
06:36Europe should have acted more comprehensively, more firmly. And they didn't. And we really are
06:41paying the price of that now. But I don't accept the premise that Europe is in some way
06:46way too weak or way too ineffective. I do believe that progress will be made. Look at
06:51how Trump is stymied every time he says there's a deadline, Maeve. Every time he says it's a
06:56deadline, that deadline is passed and we move to a next phase. He wants a quick fix. He
07:01won't learn the lesson, Trump, that we can't get a quick fix when he's asking Ukraine to
07:05give up its sovereignty. And then he's going to ask Romania to give up their sovereignty and
07:09Poland. And where I was standing in Estonia some weeks ago, looking across at the Russian
07:15border and realizing how threatened all these countries on the eastern flank. But you know
07:19what? It's only a hair's breadth away from Ireland.
07:21And you say, of course, the Kremlin only understands the language of power. How would you react to
07:27Vladimir Putin's comments this week when he said he's ready for a war with Europe?
07:30I will not react with words. I would react with actions. We need to build up our defense. But on
07:35top of that, we need to set ourselves the proper mindset in dealing with Russia. And I paraphrase
07:42what the former Taliban leader told many U.S. generals when they had a meeting. The general,
07:46the U.S. general said, well, we got to finish this fast, fast, fast. And the Taliban says,
07:50you know, what is the difference between you and us? What? You have the watch. We have the time.
07:55So the Russians right now are using exactly the same strategy. Cynthia was right when she mentioned
08:02that Trump is always, you know, coming up with these deadlines, you know, from one day to another.
08:06You cannot have, in such a complicated situation, a peace deal from one day to another. In order to
08:12do that, you need to take, you know, enough time to do it. But on top of that, you need to have
08:17a strong defense behind your words. So for many decades, the European Union expected that if
08:23something happens, U.S. is there to defend us. Yes. U.S. can help. But U.S. apparently right now
08:29cannot drive this anymore. But Christian, not only do we need to stand up and smell the coffee with
08:34regards to the mindset of Putin, which I think Europe did a long time ago when they failed to
08:38interact and investigate what was going on in the late, in the early 2000s, I should say, when Russia
08:44invaded first, Donbass, et cetera. But unfortunately, we have the mindset of Trump thrown in for good
08:51measure. And of course, we realize that all the power, all the might, all the money, which
08:55Ukraine has been so dependent on, as well as the huge investment from Russia, it's a very
08:59delicate balance. So, Sari, you talk about mindset. There still is a wonderful aspect of
09:05politics called diplomacy. But of course, Trump doesn't have that in his dictionary or his
09:09lexicon. It doesn't exist. And so, therefore, Kaya Callas and the negotiating team have to
09:14negotiate in a completely different way. It has to be deferential. It has to be sycophantic.
09:20And it has to allow the bully in the room to triumph.
09:23Kaya's coming from one of the Baltic countries, and she had very strong statements, which is
09:28very important. But it's important also, she even mentioned in some of her speeches, to
09:32understand the lesson of history. The first country that was attacked by Russia in the
09:3621st century was Georgia in 2008. Because Georgia, in April of 2008, was not accepted in
09:43NATO because two NATO countries vetoed their accession. So, what happened after the war in
09:48Georgia in August 2008? Russia occupied South Ossetia and Asia. But in 2009, a new U.S. president
09:56took office, Obama. The first thing that he did once he took office was to resume the
10:01relationship with Russia. Russia came with a precondition. That said, and I quote, you
10:06need to forget everything that happened in 2009. We start from scratch. Well, they do not
10:11start from scratch. They keep everything that they got so far. And from this point on, they
10:15want to negotiate. Back to Europeans. So, our viewers watching here today, Cynthia Newarku,
10:19is it time to militarize our societies? Is it time for your voters, your children to start
10:23learning how to fight? I'll tell you what, it's time for now. It's time to realize that
10:28the cooperative military organizations that we have in relation to procurement, in relation
10:34to training, in relation to sharing intelligence, that needs to be ramped up. And yes, Europe has
10:41already reacted to the fact, in the last couple of months, that the budget of each country,
10:46we have to commit a certain percentage. Should we have voluntary military subscription for
10:50all Europeans? Yes. And we need to understand that the biggest security guarantees that any
10:55country has, it's its own military. No foreigner, no stranger is going to come and die for your
11:00country. And we politicians, elected officials, we need to make this point very clear. Nobody
11:06is going to come and die for your country. If you, whomever you are in what elected office
11:11you are, you need to make this clear to your people. So, you have to have, you have to build
11:15up your country to be resilient to any kind of interference from outside, either military
11:20interference, you know, electoral interference, any kind of malign interference. So, building
11:26up your military is one step, but not the only step.
11:29We need to defend, for example, and make sure that we safeguard our correctness of the electoral
11:35process, for example. But we also need negotiation, Maeve, and we need diplomacy. Those two elements
11:40which Trump doesn't like. Let me stop you there, because it is now to take time to take the gloves
11:45off here. That means, Cynthia and Christian, you can challenge each other directly, just like
11:53you do in the hemicycle. Cynthia, you can kick off with your very first question for Christian.
11:57Certainly. Are you worried at the statement of Putin overnight, which stated, if Europe
12:05want war, we are ready for war? And how do you think Europe should react to that statement?
12:11I have to say that Putin said it from 2007, fall of 2007, in Lisbon, during a summit between
12:19EU and Russia. And he said something, and I paraphrase him, if the foreign, if the international community
12:25is going to recognize the independence of Kosovo, all the frozen conflicts from Eastern Europe
12:29are going to melt. And he nominated South Ossetia, Pazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria.
12:34So that was fall of 2007. We saw what happened in 2008. We saw then what happened in 2014 and
12:40what happened in 2022. He's tricking us with words. Russia was preparing for this war, not
12:48from today or from like 2014. Russia was preparing for this war a few years after Putin to power.
12:55So what should the reaction be, Cynthia?
12:57Well, we need to react. You need to prepare yourself for war. You need to not to attack
13:02someone, but to be able to defend yourself.
13:04Because is that not scaremongering? Are our viewers not sitting at home fretting?
13:06I'm not scaring anybody. I'm realistic. Look at what Churchill said, for example, during the
13:12Second World War. It's exactly the kind of leadership that we need and we are missing right now.
13:16I think we need to have a nuanced, mature conversation with our voters, whether we're on the western
13:21periphery in Ireland or we're in Estonia and we're right up against it, the country of
13:26Kayakalas. We need to have a mature conversation that about the militarization and the investment
13:32in militarization. No, it doesn't mean a united European army, but it does mean massive cooperation,
13:39massive investment. But can we afford it? I mean, we will have to afford it, even though
13:43there are competing interests, whether it's farmers, which are very dear to my heart, whether
13:48it's businesses, whether it's education, Erasmus. But right now, at this point in time,
13:53we are under threat. This is the closest we've been to the Cold War that I can remember.
13:58Christian, your question now for Cynthia?
14:00You were mentioning about the price. I have to say that it's cheaper to invest in your own
14:05defense than to support the war. And we see the situation in Ukraine. It's way cheaper.
14:09Christian, your opportunity now to address a question to Cynthia.
14:11Yes, considering the... I hope it's a simple one.
14:13Well, we'll see. You know. So do you think you could have done more to help Ukraine? And
14:19if so, what?
14:21Absolutely not. I don't believe they could have done more. I think the amount of money
14:26that Europe has put in, more than the United States, and the amount of talks, time given
14:33to talks, preparation given for talks and leading out, they couldn't have done any more. I think
14:38they have ramped up and reacted with regards to the commitment of the member states to
14:42their military spend, to their defense spend. I don't think we're 27 member states who have
14:47very different constitutional setups and structures. I don't see how Europe could have done more.
14:53Are we perfect? Of course not. I'm not suggesting that. But sorry, this is in real time, Maeve.
14:58But certainly not enough has been done, Cynthia, if we're entering the fourth winter of war.
15:02Ursula van der Leyen, and I wouldn't be the biggest fan of Ursula van der Leyen or President
15:06van der Leyen, but Ursula van der Leyen has reacted as swiftly as she can to a devastating
15:12new geopolitical situation that Christian has referred to, which is no support anymore from
15:17Europe. Stand on your own two feet. Get on with it.
15:20Well, would you agree with Cynthia?
15:22Up to a point, yes. But I think you could have done more sooner.
15:26Because now we have the 19th package of sanctions, you know. Many of these sanctions could have been
15:30done right at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. On top of that, we could have,
15:37you know, cut their finances. Even right now, for example, the transportation corridors, for example,
15:42from Central Asia and China, all the goods that are coming to Europe, they are still coming through
15:46Russia, which is absurd. So on one side, you're claiming, and rightfully so, that Russia declared war to
15:52Europe. On the other side, you do business with them. It doesn't make any sense. This is what I'm
15:57calling on public officials, you know, to be correct and to be straightforward with the population,
16:03because it's the only way to be able to properly defend from this kind of attacks.
16:08And briefly, what leverage do the Europeans have over President Trump, for example, who seems to trust
16:13the Russians more than he does the EU?
16:15I think the leverage that we have over the United States is to show the United States
16:19that we have heard the message loud and proud for President Trump. We are standing on our own
16:24two feet and we do have a plan. But Christian is right. There can be certainly a ramping up,
16:29particularly in relation to, excuse me, the financial sanctions, a ramp up of that, instead of having
16:35so many talks about talks. Now, bearing in mind that countries, some countries in Europe are more
16:40adversely affected if we do impose the trading sanctions. So we have to be careful that we don't
16:44create another crisis. But you're quite right. Perhaps more could be done in that regard.
16:49But with regards to America, I think Christian is right. We have to stand up with a powerful voice.
16:54Kaya Callas is doing that. She's doing it in a feminine way, which obviously juxtaposes
16:59against President Trump, who's calling journalist Miss Piggy on Air Force One. But at the same time,
17:04I would prefer to have her leadership rather than the likes of what we're seeing across the pond.
17:09Cynthia, we're a big fan there of Kaya Callas. Look, we've heard some points of view from our MEPs
17:14here. And now I would like to bring in another voice. And I'd like to bring in the voice of Ben
17:23Hodges, the former commanding general of the US Army Europe, speaking to me earlier here on Euronews.
17:29He said the US really sees Europe as inconsequential, except maybe for some business purposes. Europe,
17:35he said, is slowly waking to the realization that they cannot count on the US to be a fair
17:41interlocutor here. Christian, are we inconsequential? Up to a point, yes. He said we're fourth on the
17:48list of the priorities of the Americans. Yes, because for so many years, we allowed ourselves
17:53to be fourth on their list. Trump said when he was asked recently or a few months ago, what is his
18:00position on Ukraine and how the US is going to react to what is happening there? He said, you know,
18:04there are two oceans between US and Russia, which geographically is correct. There are two
18:08oceans, Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. It should be us, the Europeans, the driving force of the
18:15peace deal in Ukraine. And we are not right now because we talk too much and we act soft. Russia,
18:22this is the important... Look, every time when Putin speaks, he makes reference to certain historical
18:28events. Russia developed a technique to twist historical events to their favor. And they use
18:35that in a way to shape the narrative and to influence the population. We come with this
18:41sometimes tough talks, but with soft actions. And we speak and we talk publicly about immediate
18:48consequences. Let's do something right now. They have the time to wait. And then when they make
18:53any reference to history, they twist what happened in the past. Can I just say, Trump has forgotten
18:59that he's got a major trading block and he's got major economic ties to Europe. And he's kind
19:03of forgotten about that because he's speed dating China and he's speed dating Putin. But he's after
19:09finding out now, he's after sending Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, and he's after sending Steve
19:14Whitcoff and so forth. And they're after being given, as we say in Ireland, the bums rush,
19:18the shut door. They're gone now. And their proposals about more business ties between
19:23America and Russia have come to zero. Zero. And now Trump is going to think,
19:28we do have an awful lot of dependency in terms of our business benefits from Europe.
19:34And interesting this week as well, NATO foreign ministers gathered in Brussels without
19:38the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, around the table. A very unusual move. But on that point,
19:42we can close this conversation to take a very short break here on The Ring. But do stay with
19:47us because we'll be back very soon with some more political punch from the heart of the European
19:51Parliament.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Eurie News' weekly debating show broadcasting from the European
20:06Parliament here in Brussels. I'm joined by the MEP's Cynthia Niwerku from Renew Europe and Christian
20:12Teres from the European Conservatives and Reformists. And the idea here is to bring the European
20:17Parliament debates to your very couch. So, what about you? How do you feel about the war in Ukraine?
20:23Has the EU done enough? And would you be willing to fight if Russia invaded your country or another EU
20:29member state? Well, Eurie News' reporters took to the streets of Athens, Madrid, Bucharest and Warsaw to find out. Take a look.
20:36For my family. I would like to leave the war. I wouldn't want to leave a family here. I would like to be able to help me.
20:44I think that we should fight as a country. If I had to fight as a country, I would definitely have to fight as a country.
20:53I always fight for my country, of course.
20:55I think it's an honor to die for my country,
20:59so of course, I will die for my country, it's a shame.
21:02It's a shame that we have to be thinking about this type of training.
21:06In Europe we have lived, in quotes, very well,
21:09and maybe now we have to give it to us,
21:12but I think that before than us, we have our young people,
21:14because we have already had an age.
21:16Yes, even this year I plan to be a reservist,
21:20but if there was a 1.000, I would like to go.
21:22When it comes to Greece, yes.
21:24I don't want to risk my life for a third country.
21:28Interesting, right, to see how many people said
21:30they would actually be happy to die for their country, Christian?
21:33But we don't get to that point where somebody has to physically die.
21:36War is the last resort.
21:38When you go to war, you know, that's the collapse of diplomacy.
21:42So in order to prevent a war, you need to prepare for war.
21:46Everybody talks right now and understand the reason why,
21:48and they are afraid or, you know, in support of going to war.
21:51But that's the last resort.
21:52We need to prepare, you know, with all these things before that.
21:55And I'm telling you, if you're strong and you project power,
21:59Russia is not going to attack you.
22:00Russia is like a bear.
22:01A bear is going to attack a weak animal.
22:04What is this on people's minds, do you think, Cynthia Newarku?
22:07In Ireland, for example.
22:08Yes, in Ireland.
22:09I deal with Ireland.
22:10And Ireland wasn't Voxpot.
22:11But what that shows is the difference, the diversity.
22:15But we have to have inclusivity.
22:17For me, Europe is full of diversity, inclusivity and liberal values.
22:20That might be different for Christian's party.
22:22But having set that aside, it shows that we, as elected representatives in Europe,
22:27need to speak to our voters in a very reasonable, informative, intelligent way
22:33about the fact that militarisation doesn't mean a European army.
22:37It doesn't mean the destruction of neutrality in Ireland.
22:39It doesn't mean that youngsters in Ireland are going to be signed up for conspiration.
22:42It means different things to different countries.
22:44But there's got to be a unity amongst Europe in relation to the protection of Europe and
22:51fortress Europe.
22:52But it doesn't mean capital F.
22:53And we still need talks.
22:54So what answers, Cynthia, would you have gotten if you went out to speak to your voters
22:57about that topic?
22:58Oh, I think the answer in Ireland would be that people are very, very afraid of a militarisation
23:04that destroys our neutrality, attacks it in any way, because that is held very dearly.
23:09And, of course, it's in our constitution.
23:11So it's different for each country.
23:13It's very easy to be critical of the EU in terms of its negotiating skills and its sanctions
23:17and so forth.
23:18But we have a job to do as well.
23:19It's not all about the higher echelons of Europe leading out.
23:23So has the message been wrong from Brussels then?
23:25They haven't got it right, this idea of rearming Europe?
23:27Well, rearming Europe, it's a good project and we really support it.
23:30But we need to go back to the narrative.
23:33We who frames the argument wins the debate.
23:35The whole debate right now, both in Brussels and in DC, it's about let's have a peace.
23:40The narrative in Moscow is let's win.
23:43Yeah.
23:44So we don't talk anymore in Europe nor in DC about winning a war that we didn't have
23:49started.
23:50We were attacked.
23:51We didn't.
23:52We always talk about let's have peace.
23:53So Putin knows that.
23:55And Christian and I at the break discussed Putin wants more.
23:58He wants to grab.
23:59The conversation in Russia is about grabbing more.
24:01Exactly.
24:02Because if you give land in exchange for peace, tomorrow you'll have another war so they can
24:07take more land for pretended peace.
24:10I was in an official delegation in Latvia and I could see into Russia.
24:15The first billboard in Russia, once you pass the checking point, it's victory.
24:20So their mindset since their young age, kids in Russia are educated to win this war against
24:26the West.
24:27This is not the war that started in 2014 or in 2008.
24:30It started way earlier than that.
24:32If we don't change our mindset to understand that we have on the other side, it's not even
24:36the other side of the table because they're not at the table, the other side of the battlefield
24:41pretty much, an opponent that really wants to wipe you out, you will not be able to win
24:45this war.
24:46So I would use exactly the same narrative as Ronald Reagan used to say when he was asked,
24:50how do you think the Cold War is going to end?
24:52Very simple.
24:53We win, they lose.
24:54And on that point, we can bring this segment to an end and move on to our fifth and final
24:58round.
24:59Our guest MEPs are only allowed to answer my question with a yes and no answer.
25:07Is that doable, Christian?
25:08Yes.
25:09Bring it on.
25:10I'm being short.
25:11Should Ukraine join the European Union?
25:13Yes.
25:14Yes.
25:15Should they be fast-tracked into the European Union?
25:17Yes.
25:18Yes.
25:19Should Ukraine be allowed to join NATO?
25:22That is still on the...
25:26That's a very...
25:27That's not a binary.
25:28Yes or no?
25:29What about peacekeepers?
25:30Should we be sending EU peacekeepers to Ukraine?
25:32Christian?
25:33We should send more weapons to Ukraine.
25:34And peacekeepers?
25:35When the time comes, yes.
25:36We should indeed.
25:37Absolutely.
25:38And I would be absolutely delighted if our Irish peacekeeping forces could go to Ukraine.
25:43They have a wonderful history.
25:44Should the EU have an army?
25:45Yes.
25:46Yes or no?
25:47But it already has a national army.
25:48We need to make sure that they work together and fight for the same cause.
25:51Should the EU have a European army with the European flag?
25:54If I understand it in the way you're putting the question, no, I don't believe in that.
25:59Should we use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine?
26:02Most definitely.
26:03Yes.
26:04Should we block then the Belgian veto for this?
26:06Well, we need to talk more inside of EU to make sure that they understand the game that
26:13is played here.
26:14Yes, to his answer.
26:15I agree with his answer.
26:17It's nuanced.
26:18If the war did end and Russia did come around, should we lift the sanctions against Russia,
26:23Cynthia?
26:24Yes, I believe in the spirit of finality of the war.
26:29But of course, Putin doesn't believe in finality.
26:32He just wants more.
26:33He wants to make the Russian Empire great again or better than it is now.
26:37Christian?
26:38We need to make sure that Russia loses this war.
26:42The sanctions should be kept in place until they fully pay Ukraine for the damage that
26:48they've done.
26:49Have you agreed with each other?
26:50I think quite a lot, right?
26:51Well, this is a topic that despite our ideological differences, you know, this is a topic that
26:55unites us.
26:56And I know this show is more about fighting and stuff.
27:01Sometimes politicians from different political groups will need to understand that there are
27:06issues that exceed their political differences.
27:09And this is one.
27:10I hope this program renews the viewers' interest and support for the European project.
27:15We certainly have shown our viewers, I believe, a glimpse of the European hemicycle where
27:19sometimes MEPs disagree and sometimes, in fact, they agree.
27:23Cynthia Mirku and Christian Thersh, thank you so much for being our guests on The Ring.
27:27Thanks, Maeve.
27:28And thank you so much for watching.
27:30If you have any views on anything you've heard today, please get in touch.
27:34TheRing at Euronews.com.
27:36That is our email address.
27:37We'll see you very soon here on Euronews.
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