Europe Today: Ucrania cerca de la paz y ¿la UE-Mercosur sellarán el acuerdo?

Name: Europe Today: Ucrania cerca de la paz y ¿la UE-Mercosur sellarán el acuerdo?
Uploaded: 2025-12-16T07:38:57+00:00
Duration: 15 min 2 s
Channel: euronews (en español)

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Europe Today: Ucrania cerca de la paz y ¿la UE-Mercosur sellarán el acuerdo?

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00:00Good morning, it is Tuesday the 16th of December. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today,

00:21your news's daily live fix of European news and analysis. Coming up today, a real chance for peace

00:28European leaders at Key Talks in Berlin have declared they made significant progress on ending

00:34the war in Ukraine, but insisted that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. In a huddle

00:41between American envoys and EU leaders, including the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,

00:47Europeans said they stand ready to lead peacekeeping force in Ukraine. To get up to speed,

00:52let's turn straight to our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakilina, who joins me here in the studio.

00:56Good morning, Sasha Vakilina. Good to have you with us. How significant is this announcement?

01:01What is your reading of the Berlin Talks? It is the first time when we hear from the

01:04European leaders on paper the real commitments from the European countries, not only to Ukraine,

01:09but also to the United States, following Donald Trump's calls for the Europeans to take

01:13more of responsibility when it comes to ending Russia's war against Ukraine. The host of the

01:19meeting, German Chancellor, said that this is the first time since the war began. A ceasefire now

01:23seems possible. We want to move along the path to peace together with the Ukrainians,

01:28our European partners and the United States. This is a real change of tone there, Maven. This is

01:34indeed probably the first time when we hear this commitment and this optimism as well from the

01:39European leaders about what's coming next. Now, let's take a closer look at some of those commitments.

01:45This is the multinational force inside Ukraine. Important to clarify here, this is about the willing

01:50countries from Europe, but also the force inside Ukraine far from the front lines. Mechanism to

01:57monitor and verify ceasefire, legally binding assistance for future attacks, something that

02:02Kiev insisted upon to make sure that Russia cannot attack again, and EU accession. Of course, what Kiev

02:08has been trying to do for a long while now and trying to overcome some of those vetoes that are blocking

02:14its European aspirations at this stage.

02:16Indeed. But what would Ukraine need to do to concede in return?

02:19There are quite a few points that are still remaining there, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke

02:24about some of them, saying that Ukraine managed to amend the plan in some sense, and the rest

02:29will stay for further negotiations. Let's take a listen.

02:32Some things are, in my view, destructive, and will certainly not help us. It is important that

02:45I don't see them today in the new edits of the documents. To me, this is important, because

02:55dignity is important. The topic of concessions is not relevant anymore.

03:00He also said that he has the feeling that the US side and the US delegation heard Ukraine and

03:06heard Ukraine's position, of course, and the sticking point of the territorial concessions.

03:11This is very important. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will not accept any sort of Russian control over

03:16Donbas, but it is believed that this point will remain for the very end of any negotiations. And this

03:20is something that will be discussed directly between Russia and Ukraine, Maeve.

03:25Okay, we'll stay tuned for the, of course, reactions from the Kremlin. But, Sascha Vakilina,

03:30thank you so much for that update. And now to dive more into the politics and diplomacy behind the

03:36Berlin gathering, we can actually cross over now to the German capital, where our correspondent,

03:40Laura Fleischmann, is standing by for us. Good morning, Laura. Great to have you with us.

03:44Just tell us, how did the German Chancellor, Merz, actually manage to get the Americans to Berlin?

03:50Friedrich Merz actually has a great connection with the US administration. He is seen as a

03:56transatlantic politician. And one of the first things he did when he came into office as Chancellor

04:02of Germany was actually to visit Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. They had a great talk in the

04:06White House in front of the press and formed a great connection. Trump afterwards even called Merz's

04:11friend. So they do keep close contact. And it was no surprise that the Americans actually came when

04:16Merz asked them to. And is Friedrich Merz now seen as one of the strongest politicians in the EU,

04:21perhaps for this? If he is not seen as one of the strongest politicians yet, he could be seen as

04:29one of the strongest with the summit if there is perhaps a Christmas armistice coming out of it as

04:34a result. But the fact that the summit was held in Berlin already shows how influential Friedrich Merz

04:39actually is. It was discussed to have the summit in Paris, as a German newspaper reports, but the

04:44location was changed to Berlin, perhaps because of Merz's great connection with the US administration.

04:50And Merz is seen as an Aussenkanzler in Germany, which translates to foreign chancellor because of

04:54his great focus on foreign diplomacy and international politics.

04:58Okay, Laura Fleischmann, our Berlin correspondent, thank you so much for that update. But now coming

05:03up, we'll be speaking to Thomas Veits, the Austrian ecological farmer and member of the European

05:09Parliament for the European Green Party. Thomas Veits is in Strasbourg this week, where members of the

05:15European Parliament are meeting on their agenda, a potential showdown on the EU's trade deal with

05:20the South American bloc, Mercosur. Ursula von der Leyen was planning to head to Brazil this weekend to sign

05:25off on that trade deal that is three decades in the making. European industries see it as a Christmas

05:30gift they've all been dreaming of, but farmers are not convinced. For more on this, we can cross

05:35straight over to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and bring in Euronews' EU editor, Maria Tadeo.

05:40Good morning, Maria. What is the latest on this?

05:44Well, good morning, Maeve. So close yet, so far, it's a massive trade deal that could be signed

05:50with Latin American countries, including, of course, Brazil and Argentina, the head of the European

05:55Commission, as you said, was supposed to get on a flight on December 20th, but that is now excused

06:00upon up in the air because the French are calling for a delay to this vote. Germany and Spain are

06:07pushing to get it done. They see big business opportunity, but it now hangs really in the

06:12hands and in the balance of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. She could decide whether

06:17there's a qualified majority to get it through the finish line or a blocking minority enough to grind

06:24this to a halt. Now, to debrief, we are joined indeed by Thomas Weitz, who is a member of the

06:30European Parliament for the Greens. Of course, you oppose this deal. Why? Because some would argue at

06:37this point it justifies a logic. Well, it might be a good deal for industry, but we are sacrificing

06:43small and medium scale farmers. We're putting them into an unfair competition while cutting the funds

06:48for farming in the European Union at the same time. We have a situation where, you know, pesticides are

06:53used in South America that are banned in the European Union. They have no control over the origin

06:58of beef. They have no control over the use of antibiotics as growth promoters. So that's double

07:03standards. Okay, you say it's double standards. But when the commission say we have done everything

07:07to include the safeguards, and by the way, you're going to vote that here, when they say you will get

07:12compensated. If there is unfair competition, are they lying or what? The safeguards, this is kind

07:17of a tranquilizer, you know, a sedative, especially for the French farmers. Basically, this is already

07:23in the trade agreement, and it's just the implementation legislation. There's nothing new

07:27about that. These safeguard mechanisms will only start working after the damage has been done to

07:32the market. And as a farmer, you only go bankrupt once, because if you're bankrupt, then your land is

07:37owned by the bank, and it's over. Okay, but let's talk about the farmers, because some would argue the

07:41opposition to Mercosur has nothing to do with the terms now. It really is about, and I say this with

07:46all due respect, the farming lobby and the subsidies around it. And ultimately, it comes down to money.

07:52How do you respond to that? Well, it's the big farming industry that will profit, and it's the

07:56massive amount of small and medium farmers that will pay the price. So if this is the farming lobby

08:01that you're talking about here, I'm also part of the lobby that lobbies for small-scale farmers.

08:06Because if we lose them, we lose rural areas, we lose infrastructure in rural areas,

08:10we also lose the ability to supply our population independently with food. And this is, I think,

08:17a high value that we should protect. What about those who say there's geopolitical value? This is

08:21a new alliance with Latin American countries. What you're doing is short-sighted, and it's also

08:25dangerous at this moment in time. Well, there is absolutely geopolitical value in this, but then

08:30support the European farmers. You cannot cut the funds for the farmers by 20 percent, literally,

08:35and by 40 percent if you include inflation. Then support the farmers, right? And don't sacrifice

08:41them just for the profit of a few multinational companies or European industry.

08:45OK, so how is this going to end then? Because the clock is really ticking. Some say if this

08:49flops on December 20th, that's it. Mercosur is dead and left for good now. So how will this end,

08:54and what can we put on the table in four days to get it through the finish line?

08:58Well, the commission can still promise that they adjust the so-called multi-annual financial

09:02framework, so the budget for the next seven years, and support farmers in being able to survive this.

09:08They cannot do this in four days, and you know this very well. The deadline is December 20th. They

09:12cannot change the budget in four days. The commission can. If there's a political will,

09:16they can come out with the communication and give promises at least. It's not a final decision,

09:20but they can see that they take the worries of farmers serious, and they also do this to make

09:26this deal happen. Of course, a lot of this now depends too on the Italian Prime Minister,

09:31Giorgio Meloni. The French are now calling for a delay to this vote. She could decide which way

09:35it goes. So which way is it going to go? I think she's going to carve in, as she did in many occasions.

09:41Unfortunately, that's what I expect from Giorgio Meloni. Because she's weak? She's weak?

09:45Because she has a tradition in promising and not fulfilling her promises.

09:49Okay. Well, thank you very much for joining us, sir. And of course, Maeve, that was Thomas

09:54Weiss, who is a member of the European Parliament. And of course, the Green Party. A vote is expected

10:00to on the safeguards, but the big vote, Maeve, will be the member states. And we just talked about,

10:06it really comes down to Rome and Giorgio Meloni. She has the power either to delay it and possibly kill

10:11it or make it fly. It does indeed. Maria Tadeo, thank you so much for that live update from quite a

10:17quiet Strasbourg this morning. And thanks, of course, to the Austrian MEP, Thomas Feitz as well.

10:21And while MEPs are voting today in Strasbourg, over 5,000 farmers from all across Europe and 1,000

10:28tractors are en route to Brussels for a major protest this Thursday, the same day, of course,

10:32as the EU summit. Our Jakub Janus has been taking a look at the farmers' winter of discontent.

10:38It sounds like a bad joke. Lumpy skin disease. But in France, nobody's laughing. Farmers are clashing

10:52with police as their herds get slaughtered to stop a viral outbreak. And strangely enough,

10:59this virus might be what kills one of the biggest trade deals in EU history. Here is the connection.

11:05French farming unions are fighting the systematic cooling of entire herds when just a single case

11:13is detected. Meanwhile, Brussels is pushing the Mercosur deal, a trade pact that would open the door

11:20to South American beef. Farmers call it a double standard. Why should we sacrifice our herds to meet

11:28high standards, they ask, when we are going to import cheap meat from Brazil produced with pesticides,

11:35and antibiotics banned in Europe. And that anger lands in the European Parliament tomorrow.

11:44Our European lawmakers will vote on a reciprocity clause. It's basically a mirror rule.

11:51If you want to sell to Europe, you must meet European standards. If MEPs vote against it,

12:00they risk a revolt in rural Europe. And if they vote for it, South America might walk away as it doesn't

12:09want to import European laws. In the EU, our politics is often local. And right now, locals are angry.

12:19Yeah, could be honest there. But now moving on, are you a big online shopper? Then stay tuned for a

12:30levy coming your way from next summer. In an attempt to tackle the floods of cheap Chinese

12:35e-commerce packages, Brussels has agreed on a very concrete measure that will hit your pocket.

12:40Aida Sanchez reports.

12:43Three euro earrings? Add to the shopping cart. A five euro organizer for all your hot socks?

12:50Add to the shopping cart. This toy for your five-year-old child, which is way cheaper on a

12:55Chinese website? Add to the shopping cart. Buying cheap objects from sites such as chain or

13:01Temu is a daily routine for many Europeans. But the situation will change in July 2026.

13:08EU countries have agreed to impose a three euro temporary flat custom fee for small parcels

13:15entering the EU. Until now, these objects have been exempt from duties. But why? Are the countries

13:21against the citizens saving some money? Far from it. Those packages pose a competitive disadvantage for

13:28European companies, exposed to more taxes. Many of them pose health and safety risks for consumers.

13:35They might use toxic chemicals or don't follow the regulations that make them safe for children.

13:41Risks that citizens might not even be aware. Many of the websites even sell products that are illegal

13:48in the EU, like counterfeit products. The number of small parcels entering the EU has

13:53risked sharply in past years. And it looks it's not going down anytime soon.

13:58Ida Sanchez reporting for us there. But that does bring this Tuesday's edition of Europe Today to an

14:10end. Thank you so much for tuning in. Join us again tomorrow. We'll have all the latest on the

14:14Western Balkans summit that's taking place right here in the EU capital. So look forward to seeing you

14:19then. Take care and see you soon.

14:32See you soon.

14:39We'll see you soon.

14:59Gracias por ver el video.

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Europe Today: Ucrania cerca de la paz y ¿la UE-Mercosur sellarán el acuerdo?

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