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Europe Today: Albanese joins us live amid calls from France for her resignation
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00:14Good morning, it is Friday the 20th of February. I'm Maeve MacMahon and this is Europe Today.
00:21Your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up after the first ever meeting of Donald Trump's so-called Board of Peace,
00:31the United States has said it will pledge billions.
00:34It also says it will increase its oversight of the United Nations,
00:37make sure the organisation, quote, runs more effectively.
00:41Officials from over 50 countries attended the meeting, 27 as full members,
00:46with many others observing, including representatives from the European Commission.
00:51President Trump described it as one of the most important things he has ever done
00:55and welcomed the fact that nine members pledged billions to help reconstruct the Gaza Strip.
01:01A handful of countries will also be committing troops.
01:03We can start by taking a listen to President Trump.
01:07Certainly in terms of power and in terms of prestige, there's never been anything close
01:13because these are the greatest world leaders.
01:17Almost everybody's accepted and the ones that haven't will be.
01:20They're all joining, everybody, most of them very immediately.
01:27A few that we really don't want because they're trouble.
01:31I've seen some great boards, period.
01:33It's peanuts compared to this board.
01:36For more, we can bring in Euronews's correspondent, Maya de la Bomme,
01:39who's been following this story very closely for us this week.
01:42So we see a very celebratory there,
01:44Trump saying that everybody is joining this Board of Peace.
01:48Maya, is that true?
01:50I think it's a little bit out of touch with reality,
01:53because if you look at the number of countries which really join,
01:56it's 50 countries, as you said in your introduction.
01:59And, you know, from these countries,
02:02you only have 27 countries that have officially joined the board.
02:06And if you look at Europe, it's only, as you said,
02:09a handful of countries that are really joining this board.
02:12And the most committed member, as we saw yesterday on social media,
02:18is Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister,
02:21who praised Mr. Trump,
02:23but also said that he was the only real representative of Europe
02:27as also a founding member of the board.
02:30So, you know, it's mainly Hungary.
02:33And if you look at Europe,
02:35they've all distanced themselves from the board.
02:38But you have different levels of commitment, clearly.
02:40You have, you know, France and Spain boycotting the whole board.
02:44And then you have other countries which, you know,
02:46sent diplomats, civil servants to show that still
02:50they want to be part of the conversation.
02:52This is Gaza.
02:53They need to be there.
02:54But in the end, European countries are not represented.
02:57They are not supporting.
02:59There's no massive approval here.
03:00And meanwhile, the European Commission,
03:02as always walking a bit of a tightrope on many topics,
03:05this one included, they did decide to send
03:07their commissioner for the Mediterranean,
03:09Commissioner Suiza.
03:10She posted a photograph of herself
03:11very proudly being there yesterday.
03:13But many people are annoyed about this,
03:15especially the French, Maya.
03:16Yeah, and it's quite unprecedented
03:18because yesterday night, Jean-Noël Barraud,
03:20who is the Foreign Affairs Minister of France,
03:23wrote on X, so publicly said that he was very,
03:27you know, he was against this decision
03:29of sending Suiza to DC.
03:32He thought that the commission has no right to do this.
03:36The commission has no mandate to do this.
03:37And if you look at this tweet,
03:38he says the European Commission should never have attended
03:41the Board of Peace meeting in Washington,
03:43as it had not received the council's mandate to do so.
03:46So this really reflects the French position,
03:49also reflects the Spanish position,
03:51which is to say there's no mandate
03:53because the mandate is validated by 27 European countries,
03:56and the commission cannot play solo,
03:59cannot go there without any mandate.
04:01So it's quite unprecedented because it's one of the big,
04:04you know, member countries in Europe saying,
04:06no, the commission has no right to do so.
04:08So it was big.
04:09It was very big.
04:10And of course, we were reporting on that all week.
04:12And of course, it's a big topic that will dominate
04:14the upcoming Foreign Affairs Council
04:16taking place here in Brussels very soon.
04:18Mayda Le Boom, thank you so much for that update.
04:21But now, coming up, we'll be joined by Francesca Albanese,
04:24the UN Special Reporter for the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
04:27She's in the headlines a lot lately.
04:30Recently, she stood accused of calling Israel
04:32the common enemy of humanity at a forum in Qatar.
04:36But as the transcript then of her speech later showed,
04:38she never made that comment.
04:40France is, however, calling for her resignation.
04:43We can take now a listen to the French Foreign Minister,
04:46Jean-Noël Barreau.
04:49Enough with the fake news.
04:50I did not distort or shorten Mrs Albanese's comments.
04:53I simply condemn them because they are reprehensible
04:57and add to a long list of provocations,
04:59such as the justification of the 7th of October,
05:02the worst antisemitic massacre in our history since the Holocaust,
05:06in which 51 of our compatriots lost their lives.
05:09So yes, I said that these repeated provocations
05:12mean that she should have the dignity to resign.
05:17So Francesca Albanese, thank you so much
05:19for joining us this morning on Europe Today
05:21here on Euronews.
05:24Thank you for having me.
05:25So you were listening there to Jean-Noël Barreau.
05:28How do you respond to the fact that the Foreign Minister of France
05:30is saying that you're not fit for the job?
05:36It's his opinion.
05:38It's the French's diplomacy's opinion.
05:42And I keep on asking them to respond to the content of my reports.
05:49It's already ludicrous that the French Minister of Foreign Affairs
05:58accuses me for something I never said.
06:01And then he's scratching the barrel in order to give his anger a meaning.
06:09And so he says, yeah, she didn't say that, but she's untenable anyway.
06:13But again, let's not make it about me.
06:17I've prepared and submitted to the UN seven reports,
06:22which are damning.
06:23And also for France as a state and for some of French businesses.
06:28This is what his country, his government needs to respond to.
06:32And the fact that they had more scrutiny over something I didn't say,
06:39that over the practices of a state accused of war crimes,
06:44crimes against humanity and genocide is telling.
06:46But you've discussed the idea of the system.
06:48What do you mean?
06:49What is this system that you're criticizing?
06:51Oh, absolutely.
06:52But this is what I documented in my last report.
06:56And my, so in the economy of genocide, economy of occupation report,
07:01I said Israel would have not been able to displace, replace the Palestinians,
07:06as it did in the occupied Palestinian territory,
07:08hadn't it been for a network of private actors, businesses,
07:12and even universities, research centers, banks, pension funds, etc.
07:18And then in the next report, I documented 62 states,
07:21among whom France,
07:24who have provided political, strategic, military support to Israel,
07:30so as while it was committing crimes against the Palestinians.
07:34And this is the system.
07:35Impunity, the High Commissioner for Human Rights says, kills.
07:39But you've said it's not about you,
07:40but we're reading more about you than about these documents.
07:43And Jean-Noël Barraud, you know,
07:44the foreign minister of a very important country,
07:46has said he's lost the confidence in you.
07:49Do you plan to resign?
07:53No.
07:54No, because I have the trust of the Human Rights Council.
07:58I mean, again, the fact that it's about me,
08:01it's not something I can respond to.
08:03It's something that regards France, Italy, Germany,
08:07and the Czech Republic, who have gone after the French minister,
08:11amplifying the lie.
08:12Again, I, the reason why they are attacking me is a distraction,
08:16in order not to talk about my findings.
08:20So convenient, but also so hypocritical.
08:22And meanwhile, we've heard from the likes of Marco Rubio,
08:26saying that the UN is obsolete.
08:28What is your view here?
08:30Yeah, this is the, this is the thing.
08:32I've been saying that for years,
08:33that behind the assaults, for example,
08:37on UNRWA and then on my mandate,
08:39and other parts of the human rights system,
08:41there was the beginning of a project,
08:46the dismantlement of the multilateral system,
08:48substituted, we see that now with the Board of Peace,
08:51with something else,
08:52which is more the expression of a new empire,
08:55or an empire unveiled, than multilateralism.
09:00But again, there is a movement that doesn't want it.
09:03And in fact, is pushing for a decolonized multilateralism.
09:07And this is what we have to work on.
09:09And what about the UN Security Council?
09:11Do you think it's a little bit obsolete?
09:13Well, I think that there are parts of the UN Security Council
09:17that are obsolete.
09:19One for all is the veto power.
09:21The veto power reflects the world order of the past century.
09:25We need the decolonized multilateralism
09:27where each state has one vote.
09:29And it's not about adding new members who can have a veto.
09:33It's about removing the veto.
09:36Okay, Francesca Albanese, UN special reporter there.
09:39Thank you so much for joining us here on Europe Today on Euronews.
09:43But now, moving on.
09:44President Donald Trump has warned Iran
09:46that it must make a deal over its nuclear program
09:49or, quote, really bad things will happen.
09:52Trump says in 10 or 15 days,
09:55the US will take some sort of action for The View from Brussels.
09:58We're joined here on set now by Tommy Houtanen,
10:00director of the Wilfrid Martin Centre.
10:02That's a think tank base here in Brussels
10:03affiliated with the centre-right European People's Party.
10:07Tommy, good morning.
10:08Good morning.
10:09Pleasure to be here.
10:09Yeah, great to have you with us.
10:10Look, what is The View from Brussels here?
10:13Is another war on the horizon?
10:14You mentioned Trump.
10:16It may be so that even Trump doesn't know exactly what's going to happen.
10:19My guess and what I'm discussing with Washington is that
10:23there are going to be an action.
10:25There are going to be a war.
10:27It's going to last maybe 24 or the heat is going to take 24, 48 hours.
10:32What is more unclear is what will happen after.
10:35I think the risk is a little bit there that in the ground,
10:38there's a huge expectation that the US is going to stay there.
10:41I don't think so.
10:42And then there's a question, how is the follow-up?
10:45There will be ground operation.
10:46Israelis are going to be involved sooner or later.
10:50But what will happen?
10:51That's the question.
10:52And of course, the wider implications then.
10:54Exactly.
10:55I think, you know, in Europe, we need to understand what the possibilities is.
10:59Because if you look at Iran, Iran is in the current regime,
11:01is in war with its own people.
11:04It's creating havoc in the region.
11:06But also it's in conflict with Europe, helping Russia.
11:10You know, children in Kiev are dying because of Iran's thrones.
11:14And I think that what you can say is that there's a massive possibility for massive change
11:21on how the whole Moscow, Teheran, Beijing actually is going to work out.
11:27And I think it gives a new opportunity for us to enhance our power.
11:31So what is the role then that the European Union can play here?
11:34Well, that's a good question.
11:35First of all, you know, what will happen if and when there is a heat?
11:39If there is a civil war kind of situation, unfortunately, the tools are very little.
11:43But on the other hand, if there is a kind of Syria kind of quick switch or quick change,
11:50we could assume that the Europeans will get very quickly involved.
11:56President Metzeler has already very clearly stated on behalf of the parliament that we are with the people.
12:01They are already, Manfred Webber made the initiative on opening the embassies,
12:05you know, for demonstrators.
12:08That's an indication that we would be very quickly involved.
12:11However, I don't think that there's a strategy and thinking yet.
12:14But I think there's a political commitment and understanding that that's a moment for us,
12:18for Europe to come in and really fix the Middle East.
12:21And meanwhile, you're on the phone, you said, close contacts with your contacts in D.C.
12:25Yes, yes, indeed.
12:27But of course, it's all about the president and what the president finally decides.
12:32Nobody knows for sure.
12:34And maybe even the president himself doesn't know.
12:37Well, whatever the president does decide, we will report it here on your news.
12:40Tommy Houten, thank you so much for joining us here this morning on Europe Today
12:44and for bringing us your analysis there from the Wilfrid Martin Centre.
12:47But now, moving on, Christine Lagarde is expected to leave the European Central Bank in Frankfurt
12:54before her eight-year term as president expires in October 2027.
12:59Europe's top central banker, who joined the bank back in 2019 from the International Monetary Fund,
13:04wants to exit before the French presidential election in April next year.
13:09For more on what this all could mean, our Ida Sanchez takes a look.
13:13Big changes are coming for the European Central Bank.
13:17After months of speculation, rumours that Christine Lagarde, the head of the ECB, will step down, are coming true.
13:28Europe's top bank in Frankfurt said that the decision had yet to be made.
13:33But why would Christine Lagarde want to leave early?
13:43Reports suggest that a possible goodbye would leave room to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
13:50to choose a successor before the French presidential elections.
13:54This would give them time to oversee the appointment of her successor,
13:59giving the current leadership of Europe's top two economies the chance to shape the future of the European monetary policy.
14:08Who would want to take her position?
14:11Spain might be one of the countries ready to step in.
14:15Spain wants to play a leading role in the new Council once the remaining positions are renewed.
14:19We are prepared should this situation or decision come earlier.
14:25And they are not the only one, as Klasnot, the former Dutch central bank chief, might also be interested.
14:38Ida Sanchez reporting there.
14:39And for more, of course, on what that could mean for the future of the EU institutions and who will
14:43run them,
14:44do take a look at our reporting on Euronews.com.
14:47But for now, a story that everybody is talking about.
14:51Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former British prince and brother of King Charles,
14:55has been photographed on his way home after spending some 12 hours being questioned by police in Norfolk yesterday.
15:02Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
15:07For more on this major scandal facing the royal family,
15:10we can bring in our culture editor, our very own Toks Salico.
15:13Good morning, Toks. Great to have you with us here this morning.
15:16Look, this is a huge, it's a huge scandal, Toks.
15:19Just bring us up to speed on the latest.
15:21It is a huge scandal, as you rightly said, Maeve.
15:24It's sent shockwaves across the UK, which, let's face it, is used to hearing about scandals from the royal family.
15:32But also anything that happens there sends a shockwaves across the rest of the world.
15:37The latest is, as you said, that Prince Andrew was released late last night.
15:42It was roughly around 12 hours after his arrest.
15:45No charges have been made regarding the suspicion of misconduct in public office.
15:52And the raid that took place at his Berkshire home is still continuing 24 hours after.
16:01That's at the Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate, of course.
16:06But it's not the search which was taking place at his current home.
16:11Hopefully viewers can stay with me.
16:14At the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where he was arrested, that search has ended.
16:19But we don't know what's going to come from those searches.
16:23Of course, we do know that police have been looking for papers in relation to his former role as the
16:29UK Trade Envoy,
16:31a role that he had for roughly around five or six years.
16:33And we should make it clear, of course, that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to
16:41Geoffrey Epstein,
16:42the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
16:46What we also understand now is that the king, neither the king nor Buckingham Palace, had any knowledge of the
16:54arrest before the raid.
16:55However, the Home Secretary was informed by the National Police Chiefs Council,
17:02which has issued a statement as well this morning saying that it was in line with routine practice.
17:08It alerted its operational colleagues.
17:11No word yet from number 10, though, some might say perhaps surprisingly.
17:15But unsurprisingly, Donald Trump has had a few words to say.
17:19He's described it as a very sad thing, adding that it's a shame as US lawmakers and survivors in the
17:27US, of course, are still calling for justice.
17:30And interesting, Toks, you mentioned it took the royal family by surprise there.
17:33I mean, what does this all mean for the monarchy, who are much loved in the UK?
17:38They are still much loved despite their crisis.
17:41I mean, often in these situations we talk about, you know, what what must the mood music be like?
17:47And I would imagine perhaps in Buckingham Palace there might be a mix between sort of embarrassment by madness or
17:54he ain't heavy.
17:55He's my brother.
17:55We read, of course, some of you would have seen the statement from King Charles yesterday,
18:01making it clear that no one is above the law.
18:05He called for the law and the investigation to be carried out.
18:09Interestingly, though, as I mentioned, there's been no real statement from number 10,
18:14but Sir Keir Starmer did appear on television yesterday, roughly around the same time,
18:21as Andrew Mountbatten was being arrested, but it wasn't reported at that time.
18:27And he also made it clear that in the eventual possibility of action being taken against Andrew,
18:35that no one would be against above the law.
18:38But make no mistake, even though charges haven't been issued yet,
18:44this is an enormous crisis for the royal family and as well for the monarchy.
18:50I don't think there's been actually an arrest in the royal family.
18:54They've had some good behavior for nigh on about five or six hundred years now.
18:59I think the last one's in 1605.
19:01Princess Anne was perhaps the last royal member to actually have been charged when she had a conviction for her
19:10dog biting somebody.
19:12But seeing as he's eighth in line to the throne, it could be a crisis.
19:18So thank you so much for that live update there on a story that is extremely embarrassing,
19:23embarrassing, of course, for the royal family.
19:25But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.
19:28Thank you so much for your company.
19:29As always, more news and analysis.
19:31You know where to go.
19:32It's Euronews.com.
19:33Take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
19:35Thank you so much for joining us.
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