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NewsTranscript
00:16Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:30Trump is set to host his first official Board of Peace gathering in Washington today.
00:35Ahead of the meeting, which will take place at the U.S. Institute of Peace,
00:39Trump, who will chair the board, described it as potentially the most consequential international body in history.
00:46The initiative has already, though, sparked strong reactions.
00:49Critics warn it reflects an imperial agenda and could sideline the UN,
00:54but supporters argue it could serve as a practical mechanism focused on reconstruction efforts,
01:00particularly in Gaza.
01:01We can take a listen now to the White House Press Secretary, Caroline Leavitt.
01:04I don't think that peace should be partisan or political or controversial.
01:09And of course, the administration wants all those who were invited to join the Board of Peace to join.
01:15And this president has a very bold and ambitious plan and vision to rebuild and reconstruct Gaza,
01:20which is well underway because of the Board of Peace.
01:23This is a legitimate organisation.
01:27And your news correspondent, Maya de la Bomme, is following the story for us and joins me now in the
01:32studio.
01:32Good morning, Maya.
01:33Good morning, Maeve.
01:35So look, a big day for this Board of Peace.
01:37Brussels has sent the EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, Suisse.
01:41But so many ambassadors are furious about this.
01:43That's what you've been reporting.
01:44Tell us more.
01:45Yes, diplomats told us that there was a very tense meeting in Brussels yesterday with many countries,
01:51including and especially France and Spain, saying that they were not consulted.
01:56So they are sending Schwyza in Washington, D.C.
01:59But, you know, member states should validate the mandate of Mrs. Schwyza.
02:04And this is what they have been saying in this meeting where other countries also were furious
02:09because, you know, this is a foreign policy matter and you need a mandate validated by the 27 EU countries
02:17to be able to send a commissioner to Washington, D.C.
02:20and participate in a very controversial entity, which is the Board of Peace.
02:24And on top of that, I think that, you know, most diplomats say that Mrs. Schwyza has a very political
02:30figure.
02:31This is a commissioner.
02:32Commissioners are political figures.
02:34And so why would you send a political figure to D.C.?
02:38I mean, the idea for many member states and many diplomats who we spoke to said,
02:42we need a lower level person.
02:45We need a civil servant.
02:46We need a diplomat, not a political figure.
02:48And on top of all of this, I think what we've gathered in our reporting is that diplomats are also
02:54furious
02:55because they think this participation of Mrs. Schwyza sends the wrong signal
03:00because it means that in a way it means that Europe is validating the Board of Peace.
03:04And we know that the Board of Peace is a very controversial entity.
03:08Most member countries, and again, I'm talking about France, Spain,
03:11and I'm excluding Hungary and, you know, Bulgaria,
03:15which have said that they would participate in this Board of Peace.
03:18But the reasoning behind this is that it sends the wrong signal
03:22that Europe is validating the Board of Peace, which most countries aren't.
03:27Yes.
03:27So I'd say there's some awkward phone calls now between the Commission and the Capitals.
03:31But meanwhile, the Commission is standing by this decision.
03:34Yeah, the Commission is standing by this decision because they want to have a voice on this issue,
03:40on the issue of Gaza.
03:41You know that the European Union is the largest donor of aid in Palestine.
03:47It supports the Palestinian Authority.
03:50It has supported the Palestinian Authority for decades.
03:52And it thinks that, you know, it should participate because this is an issue.
03:57This is a reconstruction of Gaza, and Europe should be involved in this reconstruction of Gaza.
04:02So what we hear from the Commission is we stand by because we are not joining the Board of Peace,
04:08but we need to have a voice.
04:10Otherwise, we will be excluded.
04:12And, you know, our role in this region is crucial, as they tell us.
04:18Okay, Maida Le Boom, thank you so much for that live update.
04:20And, of course, to find out who else will be in Washington, D.C. for those talks,
04:24do check out yournews.com.
04:27But now, coming up, we'll be joined by Saloma Sourish-Bishvili,
04:30a Georgian politician who served as the President of Georgia from 2018 to 2024.
04:36She was the first female to take on this role.
04:40Located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia,
04:42Georgia was plunged into a political and constitutional crisis
04:46after disputed elections that triggered mass anti-government protests.
04:50For its part, the European Parliament refuses to recognise the current authorities
04:55of the Georgian Dream Party
04:56and continue to see Saloma Sourish-Bishvili as the legitimate President.
05:00So good morning.
05:01Good morning.
05:01Welcome to Europe Today.
05:02Lovely to have you with us.
05:03Thank you.
05:04So the big story for us, of course, here today is Trump's Board of Peace.
05:07If you were still in office as President, would you sign up?
05:11I think that I know that our neighbours have signed up
05:16and I think that it's very important that the region, the Caucasus,
05:20stays united and stays present in all the formats where it can be,
05:26and especially for Georgia, it's very important to be a subject
05:29of international relations and not only an object,
05:33which, unfortunately, we have become in the past period.
05:37And what should the EU...
05:38Forgotten.
05:38You can see there's a big dispute now in the EU about who should go
05:42and who should not?
05:43Well, that's their own subject, which I'm not here to comment upon.
05:47But I think that for a small country like Georgia,
05:50which is faced with one enemy, Russia, that we know how it behaves,
05:55it's very important to be present in all the formats
05:59where it can have its voice heard.
06:01And you were at the Munich Security Conference.
06:04Marco Rubio was also there, and he was describing the fact that the EU faces,
06:08or Europe faces civilisation erasure.
06:10How do you interpret that?
06:13Well, I think that it has been...
06:16First of all, I was not at the Munich Conference this year,
06:19but I think that it is not true.
06:23It's not what happens in one day that suddenly Europe's...
06:28and this civilisation is erased.
06:30And on the contrary, I think that what is happening is a wake-up of Europe,
06:36which is discovering that together with its huge economic power,
06:42its huge civilisational power,
06:45it also needs force, strength, and military power.
06:50in part, that's also thanks to the wake-up call from the United States.
06:56So I think that all of that coming together is very good news for the Europeans
07:00and for the to-be Europeans.
07:03And you mentioned the threat of Russia earlier.
07:05We know that talks took place yesterday in Geneva for two days
07:08trying to end that war in Ukraine.
07:10Do you think they will ever come to an end?
07:13I think, of course, it will come to an end one day.
07:16What is important is how it comes to an end,
07:18because as neighbours of Russia,
07:21all the neighbours of Russia know that Russia has been a constant invader,
07:26a constant aggressor, and a constant imperialist power
07:30that doesn't know where its borders stop.
07:32So what is very important out of these peace negotiations
07:36is the, of course, sovereignty of Ukraine,
07:40territorial integrity of Ukraine,
07:42and also the fact that Russia recognises elsewhere
07:46that it cannot occupy the territory of its neighbours.
07:50That's true for Abkhazia and Ossetia.
07:53That's true for North Dnepstria, Transbistria.
07:57Is Putin interested in peace, do you think, at these talks?
07:59He's never interested in peace.
08:01He has to be brought to peace by constraint.
08:05And I think that in that sense, probably,
08:09the uncertainty that Putin is probably experiencing with Trump and Trump's actions
08:15is the best ally for forcing him down to peace agreement.
08:21Maybe it's the best time that we have to see Russia having to recognise
08:27that somebody is both impredictable and stronger than he is.
08:33And meanwhile in Georgia, what about the path towards EU membership?
08:35It's on ice now.
08:36Talks are on board.
08:37It's a very thick ice at this time,
08:40because everything that is happening within Georgia today
08:44is distancing us from the European past,
08:49from the European reforms.
08:50We have a capture of the state by Russia.
08:54We have a Russian model, in fact,
08:55being put into place at a very rapid pace,
08:59and that's costless for Russia,
09:01much more costless than, of course,
09:04the military intervention in Ukraine.
09:07With us, it's taking over institutions,
09:11democratic old principles,
09:14but there is a civil society,
09:17unlike in Russia or unlike in Belarus,
09:20a civil society that is fighting,
09:22that is resilient.
09:24And what more can you do here?
09:26What more can you do here?
09:27What more can I do?
09:29be heard here,
09:30but I'm in Georgia.
09:31I'm not here.
09:32I'm going out just to have the voice
09:35of the Georgian people heard,
09:37more attention to Georgia,
09:39which is not easy at a time
09:41when there are so important
09:43and many crises around us.
09:45But it's still very important
09:47that we have the moral support,
09:49because the people that are fighting
09:51are fighting for a European democratic Georgia.
09:54And we think that it's important
09:56not only for Georgians,
09:58but it's important for the future
10:00of a strong Europe,
10:02very present in the Caucasus
10:05and also American partners.
10:07Okay.
10:07Salome,
10:08thank you so much for being our guest
10:10this morning here on Europe Today.
10:12But now, moving on,
10:13speaking on Europe Today,
10:14just yesterday,
10:15the US ambassador to the European Union,
10:17Andrew Puzder,
10:18said that Europe has a major problem
10:19with mass migration.
10:20This is after Marco Rubio warned
10:23that Europe faces civilisation erasure.
10:25Our Jakobianus takes a look at the data.
10:30You might be wondering,
10:32is the EU experiencing mass migration?
10:34And you see,
10:35there isn't a simple yes or no answer,
10:38because the numbers are actually falling.
10:41Last year,
10:42Frontex saw the EU border
10:43and Coast Guard agency
10:45reported over 25% drop
10:47in irregular crossings
10:49to around 180,000.
10:52And this is less than a half
10:54of the total recorded in 2023.
10:56But public perception
10:58tells a completely different story.
11:00And for clarity,
11:01let's narrow it down
11:02strictly to irregular migration,
11:04so people crossing EU borders
11:06without official permission.
11:09Because the feeling of a crisis
11:11is so strong,
11:12mainstream politicians
11:13are adapting policies
11:14that used to be considered taboo.
11:17And take Denmark as an example,
11:19led by a centre-left government.
11:21They are pushing
11:22a zero-refugee policy
11:24and advocating
11:25for asylum processing
11:26outside of Europe.
11:28And as this Denmark model spreads,
11:30the European Commission
11:31and major players like Germany
11:33are now officially backing
11:34the idea of return hubs
11:36in third countries.
11:38But this new approach
11:39is tearing the EU apart.
11:41And while the European Parliament
11:42just voted
11:43to allow deportations
11:45to unrelated third countries,
11:47Spain is going the opposite way.
11:49Madrid recently announced
11:51it will grant legal status
11:52to half a million
11:53undocumented migrants.
11:55And that raised
11:56strong reservations in Brussels.
11:58Because papers in Spain
11:59might mean free travel
12:00across the Schengen zone,
12:02directly threatening
12:03the EU's strict new crackdown
12:05on irregular migration.
12:07Meanwhile,
12:08over four million
12:08Ukrainian war refugees
12:10live in the EU legally.
12:12Fleeing Russia's invasion,
12:14they did not come by choice.
12:15And what's important,
12:17they did receive
12:18official EU protection.
12:19But when you walk
12:20down the street,
12:21perception doesn't care
12:22about visas or paperwork.
12:24And that is why
12:25this clash
12:26is no longer
12:27about policies and numbers.
12:29Or even
12:30the migrants themselves.
12:36Jakob Janos there.
12:37Well, moving on,
12:38Real Madrid's
12:391-0 victory
12:40over Benfica
12:41in the UEFA Champions League
12:42in Portugal
12:43has been overshadowed
12:44this week
12:44by fresh allegations
12:46of racist abuse.
12:47The 25-year-old Brazilian
12:49professional footballer,
12:50Vinicius Jr.,
12:51was allegedly verbally abused,
12:53prompting the referee
12:54to hold up the match
12:55and trigger
12:55an anti-racism protocol.
12:57For more on the impact
12:58of this,
12:59we can now cross over
13:00to Lisbon,
13:00where Euronews'
13:01correspondent,
13:02João Azevedo,
13:03is standing by for us
13:04outside the very
13:05football stadium
13:06where the incident occurred.
13:08Good morning, João.
13:09Just tell us
13:10what happened
13:11and what's next.
13:15Yeah, good morning, Maeve.
13:16Good morning to you
13:17and the team
13:17over there in Brussels.
13:19It did happen
13:20at the stadium
13:21right behind me,
13:22as you said.
13:23You know,
13:24Vinicius Jr.,
13:25he had just scored
13:27the goal.
13:27It was a monumental goal,
13:29curled in a shot
13:30into the top corner.
13:33But that masterpiece
13:35triggered some ugly scenes
13:37over there on the pitch.
13:40You know,
13:40Vinicius Jr.,
13:40he also had a somehow
13:42provocative celebration,
13:44but still,
13:45he can celebrate
13:46as he wants.
13:47And actually,
13:49that celebration,
13:50it did put off
13:53the fans in the stands
13:55and also some Benfica players
13:57on the pitch,
13:58especially Prestiani,
14:00who confronted
14:01Vinicius Jr.
14:03He actually pulled his shirt
14:07up over his mouth
14:10and he did tell him
14:11something.
14:12Actually,
14:13Vinicius Jr.
14:14spotted it to the referee,
14:16reported it to the referee,
14:17saying that he had been
14:18racially abused.
14:20Madrid's French striker,
14:22Kylian Mbappé,
14:23confirming that version
14:24at the end of the match,
14:26telling reporters
14:27in the mixed zone
14:28that he heard
14:30Prestiani
14:31call Vinicius Jr.
14:33a monkey five times.
14:36Prestiani denied
14:37those allegations
14:40with Benfica,
14:41as expected,
14:42siding with their player.
14:46And I'm going to quote
14:47a part of the statement
14:48the club put out.
14:50I think we can put it up
14:51on the screen now.
14:53Benfica reiterates
14:54that he fully supports
14:55and believes in the version
14:57presented by the player,
14:59Gianluca Prestiani.
15:00the club now regrets
15:03the defamation campaign
15:04to which the player
15:05has been subjected.
15:08However,
15:09some football legends,
15:12including Thierry Henry,
15:13also Mika Richard,
15:16they did hit out
15:18at Prestiani's behavior.
15:21And there was also
15:22some sharp criticism
15:24coming from within
15:25Benfica's circles.
15:27Take Luizão,
15:28for example,
15:28a former captain
15:30of the club.
15:31It's someone who made
15:32over 500 appearances
15:34for the club.
15:36He didn't pull any punches.
15:37He wrote on social media.
15:40I think we can also
15:42see that statement.
15:44This is what he had to say.
15:45I love Benfica.
15:46It's my second skin.
15:48This message makes it worse.
15:50He's obviously referring
15:51to Benfica's statement,
15:53saying that that message
15:54makes it worse
15:54because it's a lie.
15:56It was a racist act.
15:58and I am ashamed of that.
16:01So pretty strong words
16:03there from Luizão.
16:06Now, UEFA has appointed
16:08an ethics and disciplinary agent
16:11who will be charged
16:12with investigating the incident.
16:15Of course,
16:16a judicial battle
16:18is now going to start.
16:21You have Madrid players
16:23saying that if
16:24Prestiani
16:25was not going to say
16:27anything wrong,
16:28then why did he feel
16:29the need
16:30to cover his mouth?
16:32But on the other hand,
16:33Benfica
16:33saying that
16:34it's not possible
16:35for any Madrid
16:36players really
16:38to say that
16:38they heard
16:39any racial slur
16:40coming from Prestiani
16:41because there was
16:42a rowdy atmosphere
16:43in the stadium
16:44with a lot of noise
16:45and the distance
16:47between the players
16:50that just makes it impossible
16:51for any player
16:53to hear any racial slur
16:55from the opponent.
16:57So now,
16:58as I said,
16:59a judicial battle
17:00will be happening.
17:03and we do know
17:05that,
17:06of course,
17:07if Prestiani
17:09is found guilty
17:10of racial abuse,
17:12he lands in hot water.
17:15Of course,
17:16he risks
17:17a pretty heavy sanction,
17:19potentially
17:20a 10-match ban.
17:23Andro,
17:23just tell us,
17:24is this an isolated case
17:25and what does it say
17:26about racism in football?
17:30Yeah,
17:31it's not an isolated case.
17:33actually,
17:34and especially
17:34as for Vinicius.
17:36Vinicius Jr.
17:37is certainly not
17:38a stranger
17:39in this kind of episodes.
17:43For example,
17:44since 2022,
17:47he's filed
17:4718 legal complaints
17:50for alleged racist abuse.
17:55So this is a player
17:56who's been involved
17:58in this kind of incidents
18:00quite often.
18:01and the most
18:02high-profile one
18:04may be dating back
18:05to May 2023.
18:08It happened
18:09at Mestadia Stadium
18:11in Valencia
18:12when Vinicius Jr.
18:14confronted
18:15some spectators
18:16in the stands.
18:18And ultimately,
18:19three Valencia fans
18:21were sentenced
18:22to eight months
18:23in prison.
18:25and they also
18:26got banned
18:26from stadiums
18:28for two years.
18:31They even apologized
18:32to Vinicius Jr.
18:35So that was
18:36the very first conviction
18:37for hate crimes
18:39in Spain
18:40and obviously
18:41a big win
18:41for Vinicius Jr.
18:43You know,
18:45some Valladolid fans,
18:46five Valladolid fans
18:47also got sentenced
18:49to some time
18:51in jail
18:52following some racist
18:54abuse
18:55directed
18:56at Vinicius Jr.
18:58And this recently,
18:59it's January 2026,
19:00like some weeks ago,
19:02a group of
19:03Alba City fans,
19:05they were heard
19:07outside of the stadium
19:08ahead of a Copa del Rey
19:09match against Real Madrid
19:11singing racist chants
19:13towards Vinicius Jr.
19:15Now, that said,
19:17UEFA does not have
19:18a really strong track record
19:19when it comes
19:20to punishing racism.
19:23There was a 2021
19:25Europa League match
19:28with Slavia Prague's
19:31center back
19:32found guilty
19:34of racially abusing
19:36Glasgow Rangers
19:38but other than that,
19:40it's been a very
19:41light find here
19:42and then
19:42so we'll see
19:43how things shake out.
19:43Joao Azevedo,
19:44thank you so much
19:45for that very comprehensive
19:46live update there
19:47from Lisbon
19:48and thank you so much
19:49for watching.
19:50That does bring
19:51this edition of
19:52Europe Today
19:52to an end.
19:53For any more news
19:54and analysis
19:55and any of the stories
19:56we're covering for you
19:57here on Euronews,
19:58do visit Euronews.com.
20:00Take care
20:00and see you very soon
20:01here on Euronews.
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