00:00Dzień dobry, jest Tuesday 16th December.
00:18I'm Maeve McMahan.
00:19And this is Europe Today.
00:21Your news' daily live fix of European news and analysis.
00:26Coming up today, a real chance for peace.
00:29European leaders at Key Talks in Berlin have declared they made significant progress on ending the war in Ukraine,
00:36but insisted that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
00:41In a huddle between 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.
00:52To get up to speed, let's turn straight to our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakilina, who joins me here in the studio.
00:57Good morning, Sasha Vakilina. Good to have you with us.
00:59How significant is this announcement?
01:01What is your reading of the brilliant talks?
01:03It is the first time when we hear from the European leaders on paper the real commitments from the European countries,
01:08not only to Ukraine, but also to the United States, following Donald Trump's calls for the Europeans to take more of responsibility
01:15when it comes to ending Russia's war against Ukraine.
01:18The host of the meeting, German Chancellor, said that this is the first time since the war began a ceasefire now seems possible.
01:25We want to move along the path to peace together with the Ukrainians, our European partners and the United States.
01:32This is a real change of tone there, Maven.
01:34This is indeed probably the first time when we hear this commitment and this optimism as well from the European leaders about what's coming next.
01:43Now, let's take a closer look at some of those commitments.
01:46This is the multinational force inside Ukraine.
01:49Important to clarify here, this is about the willing countries from Europe,
01:52but also the force inside Ukraine far from the front lines.
01:56Mechanism to monitor and verify ceasefire, legally binding assistance for future attacks,
02:01something that Kyiv insisted upon to make sure that Russia cannot attack again, and EU accession.
02:07Of course, what Kyiv has been trying to do for a long while now and trying to overcome some of those vetoes
02:13that are blocking its 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 Vlody Mazelensky spoke about some of them,
02:25saying that Ukraine managed to amend the plan in some sense and the rest will stay for further negotiations.
02:31Let's take a listen.
02:38Some things are, in my view, destructive and will certainly not help us.
02:44It is important that I don't see them today in the new edits of the documents.
02:53To me, this is important, because dignity is important.
02:57The topic of concessions is not relevant anymore.
03:01He also said that he has the feeling that the US side and the US delegation heard Ukraine
03:07and heard Ukraine's position, of course, and the sticking point of the territorial concessions.
03:11This is very important. Zelensky said that Ukraine will not accept any sort of Russian control over Donbas.
03:16But it is believed that this point will remain for the very end of any negotiations.
03:20And this is something that will be discussed directly between Russia and Ukraine, Maeve.
03:25OK, we'll stay tuned for the, of course, reactions from the Kremlin.
03:29But, Sasha Vakilina, thank you so much for that update.
03:32And now to dive more into the politics and diplomacy behind the Berlin gathering,
03:37we can actually cross over now to the German capital, where our correspondent Laura Fleischmann is standing by for us.
03:43Good morning, Laura. Great to have you with us.
03:45Just tell us, how did the German Chancellor Merz actually manage to get the Americans to Berlin?
03:49Friedrich Merz actually has a great connection with the US administration.
03:55He is seen as a transatlantic politician.
03:58And one of the first things he did when he came into office as Chancellor of Germany
04:02was actually to visit Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.
04:05They had a great talk in the White House in front of the press and formed a great connection.
04:09Trump afterwards even called Merz's friend.
04:11So they do keep close contact.
04:13And it was no surprise that the Americans actually came when Merz asked them to.
04:18And is Friedrich Merz now seen as one of the strongest politicians in the EU perhaps for this?
04:24If he is not seen as one of the strongest politicians yet,
04:28he could be seen as one of the strongest with the summit if there is perhaps a Christmas armistice coming out of it as a result.
04:34But the fact that the summit was held in Berlin already shows how influential Friedrich Merz actually is.
04:40It was discussed to have the summit in Paris, as a German newspaper reports.
04:44But the location 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
04:54because of his great focus on foreign diplomacy and international politics.
04:58Okay, Laura Fleischmann, our Berlin correspondent.
05:01Thank you so much for that update.
05:03But now coming up, we'll be speaking to Thomas Weitz,
05:05the Austrian ecological farmer and member of the European Parliament for the European Green Party.
05:12Thomas Weitz is in Strasbourg this week, where members of the European Parliament are meeting on their agenda,
05:17a potential showdown on the EU's trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur.
05:22Ursula von der Leyen was planning to head to Brazil this weekend to sign off on that trade deal that is three decades in the making.
05:29European industries see it as a Christmas gift they've all been dreaming of, but farmers are not convinced.
05:34For more on this, we can cross straight over to the European Parliament in Strasbourg
05:38and bring in Euronews' EU editor, Maria Tadeo.
05:41Good morning, Maria. What is the latest on this?
05:44Well, good morning, Maven.
05:46And so close yet, so far.
05:48It's a massive trade deal that could be signed with Latin American countries, including, of course, Brazil and Argentina.
05:55The head of the European Commission, as you said, was supposed to get on a flight on December 20th,
05:59but that is now, excuse the pun, up in the air because the French are calling for a delay to this vote.
06:05Germany and Spain are pushing to get it done.
06:08They see big business opportunity, but it now hangs really in the hands and in the balance of the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Milani.
06:16She could decide whether there's a qualified majority to get it through the finish line
06:21or a blocking minority enough to grind this to a halt.
06:26Now, to debrief, we are joined indeed by Thomas Weitz, who is a member of the European Parliament for the Greens.
06:33Of course, you oppose this deal. Why?
06:36Because some would argue at this point it justifies a logic.
06:40Well, it might be a good deal for industry, but we are sacrificing small and medium scale farmers.
06:45We're putting them into an unfair competition while cutting the funds for farming in the European Union at the same time.
06:51We have a situation where, you know, pesticides are used in South America that are banned in the European Union.
06:57They have no control over the origin of beef.
06:59They have no control over the use of antibiotics as growth promoters.
07:03So that's double standards.
07:04OK, you say it's double standards.
07:06But when the commission say we have done everything to include the safeguards.
07:09And by the way, you're going to vote that here.
07:11When they say you will get compensated if there is unfair competition, are they lying or what?
07:16The safeguards is kind of a tranquilizer, you know, a sedative, especially for the French farmers.
07:22Basically, this is already in the trade agreement and it's just the implementation legislation.
07:26There's nothing new about that.
07:28These safeguard mechanisms will only start working after the damage has been done to the market.
07:33And as a farmer, you only go bankrupt once because if you're bankrupt, then your land is owned by the bank and it's over.
07:39OK, but let's talk about the farmers.
07:40Because some would argue the opposition to Mercosur has nothing to do with the terms now.
07:44It really is about, and I say this with all due respect, the farming lobby and the subsidies around it.
07:50And ultimately, it comes down to money.
07:52How do you respond to that?
07:53Well, it's the big farming industry that will profit.
07:55And it's the massive amount of small and medium farmers that will pay the price.
08:00So if this is the farming lobby that 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 the rural areas, we lose infrastructure in rural areas.
08:10We also lose the ability to supply our population independently with food.
08:15And this is, I think, a high value that we should protect.
08:18What about those who say there's geopolitical value?
08:20This is a new alliance with Latin American countries.
08:22What you're doing is short sighted.
08:24And it's also dangerous at this moment in time.
08:26Well, there is absolutely geopolitical value in this, but then support the European farmers.
08:31You cannot cut the funds for the farmers by 20% literally and by 40% if you include inflation.
08:38Then support the farmers right and don't sacrifice them 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.
08:48Some say if this flops on December 20th, that's it. Mercosur is dead and left for good now.
08:53So how will this end? And 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 framework,
09:03so 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.
09:11The deadline is December 20th. They cannot change the budget in four days.
09:13The Commission can if there's a political will.
09:15They can come out with the communication and give promises at least.
09:19It's not a final decision, but they can see that they take the worries of farmers serious.
09:23And they also do this to make this deal happen.
09:27Of course, a lot of this now depends, too, on the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgio Meloni.
09:32The French are now calling for a delay to this vote.
09:35She could decide which way it goes. So which way is it going to go?
09:38I think she's going to carve in, as she did in many occasions.
09:41Unfortunately, that's what I expect from Giorgio Meloni.
09:43Because she's weak? She's weak?
09:45No, because she has a tradition in promising and not fulfilling her promises.
09:49Okay. Well, thank you very much for joining us, CERN.
09:52Of course, Maeve, that was Thomas Weiss, who is a member of the European Parliament.
09:57And, of course, the Green Party.
09:59A vote is expected, too, on the safeguards.
10:01But the big vote, Maeve, will be the member states.
10:04And we just talked about it really comes down to Rome.
10:07And Giorgio Meloni, she has the power either to delay it and possibly kill it or make it fly.
10:13It does indeed.
10:14Maria Tadeo, thank you so much for that live update from quite a quiet Strasbourg this morning.
10:19And thanks, of course, to the Austrian MEP, Thomas Feitz, as well.
10:22And while MEPs are voting today in Strasbourg, over 5,000 farmers from all across Europe
10:27and 1,000 tractors are en route to Brussels for a major protest this Thursday,
10:32the same day, of course, as the EU summit.
10:34Our Jakub Janus has been taking a look at the farmers' winter of discontent.
10:44It sounds like a bad joke. Lumpy skin disease.
10:48But in France, nobody's laughing.
10:51Farmers are clashing with police as their herds get slaughtered to stop a viral outbreak.
10:57And strangely enough, this virus might be what killed one of the biggest trade deals in EU history.
11:03Here is the connection.
11:05French farming unions are fighting the systematic cooling of entire herds when just a single case is detected.
11:13Meanwhile, Brussels is pushing the Mercosur deal, a trade pact that would open the door to South American beef.
11:21Farmers call it a double standard.
11:25Why should we sacrifice our herd to meet high standards, they ask, when we are going to import cheap meat from Brazil, produced with pesticides and antibiotics banned in Europe?
11:39And that anger lands in the European Parliament tomorrow.
11:44Our European lawmakers will vote on a reciprocity clause.
11:49It's basically a mirror rule.
11:51If you want to sell to Europe, you must meet European standards.
11:58If MEPs vote against it, they risk a revolt in rural Europe.
12:04And if they vote for it, South America might walk away as it doesn't want to import European laws.
12:12In the EU, our politics is often local.
12:16And right now, locals are angry.
12:21Yeah, could be honest there.
12:26But now moving on, are you a big online shopper?
12:29Then stay tuned for a levy coming your way from next summer.
12:33In an attempt to tackle the flood of cheap Chinese e-commerce packages,
12:37Brussels has agreed on a very concrete measure that will hit your pocket.
12:41Ida Sanchez reports.
12:433 euro earrings?
12:45Add to the shopping cart.
12:47A 5 euro organizer for all your hot socks?
12:50Add to the shopping cart.
12:52This toy for your 5-year-old child, which is way cheaper on a Chinese website?
12:56Add to the shopping cart.
12:58Buying cheap objects from sites such as chain or Temu is a daily routine for many Europeans.
13:04But the situation will change in July 2026.
13:08EU countries have agreed to impose a 3 euro temporary flat custom fee for small parcels entering the EU.
13:17Until now, these objects have been exempt from duties.
13:20But why?
13:21Are the countries against the citizens saving some money?
13:24Far from it.
13:25Those packages pose a competitive disadvantage for European companies exposed to more taxes.
13:31Many of them pose health and safety risk 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.
13:44Many of the websites even sell products that are illegal in the EU, like counterfeit products.
13:50The number of small parcels entering the EU has raised sharply in past years.
13:55And it looks it's not going down anytime soon.
13:58I guess I'm just reporting for us there.
14:05But that does bring this Tuesday's edition of Europe Today to an end.
14:10Thank you so much for tuning in.
14:12Join us again tomorrow.
14:13We'll have all the latest on the Western Balkans summit that's taking place right here in the EU capital.
14:18So look forward to seeing you then.
14:19Take care and see you soon.
14:21See you soon.
14:27Yeah, completely busted.
14:31See you soon.
14:32Muzyka
15:02Muzyka
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