Europe Today: Ukraine peace talks, terror in Australia, and climate change

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00:00Good morning, it is Monday the 15th of December. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today,

00:21your news's daily live fix of European news and analysis. Coming up today, after spending

00:28his Friday on the front line in the embattled city of Kubiansk that Moscow claimed to have captured,

00:34Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has moved on to Berlin. On his agenda, face-to-face talks with

00:40American officials, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law,

00:45Jared Kushner. The Ukrainian president has hinted that Kyiv could drop its long-held ambition

00:50of joining NATO in return for Western security guarantees. For more on the talks and the latest

00:56attempts to end the ongoing war, I'm joined here in the studio by Maria Tadeo, our EU news editor.

01:01Good morning, Maria. Great to have you with us. So look, marathon talks taking place in Berlin. Any

01:06movements? Well, marathon talks because we understand they went on for more than five hours yesterday,

01:12Maeve, and they will continue this morning. Of course, the German chancellor who, to his credit,

01:17has really taken the lead now in the negotiations when it comes to the Europeans hosting the Ukrainian

01:23President Vladimir Zelenskyy and a U.S. delegation, which, as you alluded to, included Steve Witkoff,

01:29of course, as the special envoy, but also Jared Kushner, who is the son-in-law to President Trump.

01:35And the two men, we should note, were instrumental, remember, in negotiating a ceasefire between Hamas

01:41and Israel. Now, in terms of the details, we have not heard from the Ukrainians. They argued they will

01:47only brief after the talks are completed today, but we did hear from the Americans and hopefully

01:52we can put it up on the screen. Steve Witkoff yesterday saying we had in-depth discussions

01:59regarding the 20-point plan for peace economic agendas and more. Remember, initially, this plan

02:05was 28. It was deemed to be two in favor of Russia. The goal now for Ukraine and the Europeans is to sway it

02:12in Kyiv's favor. As I say, not a lot has officially been confirmed. There has been speculation, however,

02:18that Ukraine could be prepared now to drop its ambition to join NATO if it can get NATO-like

02:25security guarantees. There has also been talk about fast-track EU membership. Of course,

02:30one of the dates that was floated was January 1st, 2027. The Ukrainians have not officially confirmed

02:36this. But I can tell you the diplomats I spoke with over the weekend said this is really not an

02:42option. It's not real. Ukraine cannot join in a year. But of course, you understand the logic here.

02:48The U.S. would offload some of the NATO responsibility to the EU and the Ukrainians

02:52keep that momentum and that pressure to accelerate their talks. But as I say, diplomats telling me this

02:58is not feasible. We've got to be realistic. We've got to be realistic. And of course, this week,

03:02Maria's crucial week for the European Union for Brussels as it strives to strike a deal on Ukraine's

03:06funding. What are the chances? What are the chances? Very difficult. We've talked about

03:10make or break current time. This is really now crunch time and decision time. Two things just

03:15very quickly. On Friday, the European Union taking now steps to keep the Russian frozen assets,

03:20which are held here in Belgium by Euroclear, permanently frozen. But of course, we know that the Belgians

03:26continue to resist it. But also a new element, Italy also reaching out to the Commission

03:31and saying, well, perhaps this is now the time to push for a plan B. However,

03:36those who favour the frozen assets and the reparations loans say there is no time for

03:41a plan B. We should go ahead with this. At this point, flip a coin.

03:45Flip a coin. Well, stay tuned to Euronews to find out because, of course, that EU summit

03:48is taking place later this week. We have foreign affairs ministers gathering here today. So

03:53Euronews.com, of course, your source for all your news and analysis. Thank you so much,

03:57Maria Tadeo, for all that. But coming up, we'll be joined by Laurence Tubiana,

04:00the French economist and climate diplomat who served as France's climate change ambassador for

04:06the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, making her the architect of the landmark Global Climate Act.

04:13At 74, Laurence Tubiana still works tirelessly to try to combat climate change as CEO of the

04:19European Climate Foundation. So Laurence Tubiana, thank you so much for taking time out to join us

04:24this morning on Europe Today. Hello. Nice to have me. Yeah, great to have you this early on a

04:31Monday morning. Laurence, look, mines are occupied, as you've heard there, with the ongoing war in

04:35Ukraine. So the climate emergency has kind of been politically parked here, if you like,

04:39in Brussels. But 10 years on from the Paris Agreement, are you confident it is still intact?

04:45It's not, meaning it works, but not to speed enough. It works because we have seen a major

04:53transformation of the world economy, in particular in the green technology, the rise of China investment

04:59in renewable energy. The fact that almost all countries have a climate low now since Paris,

05:05and 88% of global emissions are covered by a commitment to be net zero by the mid-century. So,

05:12and you see every day, even the public awareness is absolutely not comparable. Even the media, I think,

05:19now understand the problems because of this climate change is now, unfortunately, really putting enormous

05:26stress on many, many countries and many, many societies every year these days. But we have a climate

05:32change denier in the White House, President Donald Trump. How does that impact your efforts?

05:38I think it's very damaging, more than probably the first moment when Donald Trump decided in 2017

05:45to withdraw from Paris Agreement. And you see the pressure, of course, on many countries, in particular

05:50small countries. And you see more aggressivity for the oil and gas producers that really want

05:57the Paris Agreement to be delayed or blocked. And so we feel the pressure. It's a very

06:02difficult geopolitical situation. But the interesting thing is, at COP30, you have 85 countries that

06:09decided to plan for a win out of fossil fuel, you know. So on one side, nobody minus the US has

06:18decided to withdraw from Paris Agreement. The second element is now there are countries that more

06:22decided than never to get out of the dependence from fossil fuel, including Brazil.

06:27So you think that was a success? Because many would have considered that a failure,

06:31the COP30 this year in Brazil?

06:34It is not. It's complex, of course. Again, it's more violent and aggressive than it has never.

06:39I haven't seen since my whole life working on climate, I've never seen such aggressivity

06:44from the US, including, as you know, the pressure in particular on Europe. And that's so important that

06:50Europe stand up and don't decide to go, you know, for more import for fossil fuel and LNG, even from US.

06:58We have to be independent and economic security is energy security these days.

07:03And just finally, the EU wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. Do you think that's still achievable?

07:09I think it's achievable if we continue the good work that has been done all over the fight last year.

07:15If we go, we increase renewable energy. If we now decarbonize, of course, the industry, we can be there and we will be in time for 2030 minus 55 percent, which was already enormous.

07:30And then I think we are in a good shape.

07:33Okay. On that positive note, we can bring that conversation to an end, Laurence Tubiana. Thank you so much for joining us here this morning on Europe Today.

07:42But now, moving on, it is time to reflect on the deadly attacks on Bondi Beach this Sunday during Hanukkah celebrations that took the lives of at least 16 people.

07:50It was Australia's worst shooting since a massacre almost 30 years ago that saw the country then introduce some of the world's toughest gun laws.

07:59Political leaders across the European Union have sent condolences to Australia, expressing solidarity with the victims and their families.

08:06For more on this story, we're joined by Euronews' political correspondent, Stefan Krobey.

08:10Good morning, Stefan.

08:10Good morning, mate.

08:11Thank you so much for being with us here. Tell us what we know so far.

08:14Well, what happened was that at least two gunmen opened fire at a crowd that was at Bondi Park, as you said, about a thousand people.

08:24Many of them were participants of the Jewish Hanukkah festival.

08:29So the suspects opened fire at the crowd, sending panic crowds running in all directions.

08:35The attackers, by the way, were father and son, as police later said, 50 and 24 years old.

08:41One of them was killed in a shootout with law enforcement.

08:45The other one was shot and is in life-threatening condition in a hospital as we speak.

08:50Police also removed explosive devices found in a nearby vehicle.

08:56Police also said that there might be a third suspect, but they cautioned against any speculations as investigations, of course, continue.

09:04Australian authorities declared it an anti-Semitic terrorist attack and an act of, you know, brutal force.

09:14Eyewitnesses reported that the gunmen were deliberately pushing aside bystanders who visibly were not participants of the Hanukkah festival.

09:23So that leads us to assume that it was a precise targeting targeted attack on the Jewish community here at Bondi Beach.

09:31Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, condemned the attack sharply, saying an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian.

09:40Take a listen.

09:41This is a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, an act of evil anti-Semitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation.

09:54There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation.

10:00Let me be clear.

10:01We will eradicate it.

10:03Prime Minister Albanese there.

10:05Meanwhile, Stefan, one brave man actually put his life at risk trying to stop the killer.

10:10Tell us about Ahmed.

10:12Absolutely.

10:12Ahmed, a 43-year-old father of two and an owner of a fruit shop.

10:17And so a pretty much regular guy.

10:21And you see him here attacking, tackling one of the attackers, bringing him down and then pointing the gun at him.

10:30You see here on the right, the gunman now getting up back on his feet and moving, slowly moving away.

10:37So this, of course, half the firepower of the two gunmen, Australian authorities, calling this an unusual act of bravery and calling him a hero.

10:50He certainly saved probably a lot of lives here.

10:55As I said, one was killed and one was severely injured.

11:01And Ahmed, I think, is doing well.

11:02He's recovering in hospital.

11:03Stefan, what has been the reaction here in Europe and also among Jewish communities?

11:07They must be rather on edge this Monday.

11:09Yeah.

11:09Well, the European leaders condemned almost immediately the attack.

11:14French President Emmanuel Macron saying in Sydney, an anti-Semitic terrorist attack struck families gathered to celebrate Hanukkah.

11:23France extends its thoughts to the victims, the injured and the loved ones.

11:27We share the pain of the Australian people and will continue to fight relentlessly against anti-Semitic hatred, which hurts us all wherever it strikes.

11:37And further to the east in Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying the anti-Semitic attack at Bondi Beach during Hanukkah leaves me utterly shocked.

11:47My thoughts are with the victims and their families.

11:49This is an attack on our shared values.

11:51We must fight anti-Semitism here in Germany and around the world.

11:54And, of course, France and Germany having had sad experiences with anti-Semitism.

12:00Indeed, Stefan Grobe.

12:01Thank you so much for that update.

12:03But now coming back to Brussels news.

12:05As you heard earlier, EU heads of state and government are poised for a major gathering in Brussels this week.

12:10The most important, perhaps, for years.

12:12Because on the table, a loan for Ukraine to keep the country afloat for the next two years.

12:16Our Jakob Yanis has a little refresher for you on the frozen Russian acids earmarked to foot the bill.

12:22Day called Europe Week.

12:28Well, Brussels just locked down 210 billion euros of Russian central bank cash.

12:35Most of it sits right here in Euroclear.

12:38Think of it as the world's most nervous piggy bank.

12:43Until now, keeping it frozen required a unanimous vote every six months.

12:48That made the cash a hostage to vetoes, especially Hungarians.

12:54So, last week the EU pulled a legal trick and an emergency clause.

12:59In times of crisis, it allows for majority voting to bypass unanimity so no single country can veto.

13:07Now, the assets are frozen indefinitely.

13:11And to unfreeze them, you would need another majority vote in favor of Russia.

13:17Good luck with that.

13:20Moscow has already sued Euroclear, but the EU calls it speculative.

13:25And Belgium is nervous about the legal risks, but the clock is ticking.

13:30Why the rush, you ask?

13:34This first day, the EU leaders meet for a make-or-break summit.

13:39They need to raise 90 billion euros to keep Ukraine from collapsing.

13:44And with Russian sabotage already hitting Europe, we could be next.

13:48Victor Orbán, a well-known practitioner of veto power, calls the move a Brazilian dictatorship.

13:57But for others, it's a preview of a stronger EU.

14:00One that finally stops letting a single country, in times of emergency, turn off the lights.

14:07Yeah, I could be honest reporting there.

14:13And just speaking of Hungary, I don't know if you noticed, but this weekend, tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital, Budapest,

14:19to protest against the Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and called for his resignation.

14:23For more on that story, do visit Euronews.com.

14:26But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.

14:29Thank you so much for tuning in.

14:30Join us again tomorrow morning.

14:32We'll bring you all the latest from Strasbourg, where MEPs are gathering for their last session before the Christmas break.

14:38Thanks again for watching.

14:39See you soon on Euronews.

15:00See you soon on Euronews.

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