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NewsTranscript
00:14Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:30U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his annual State of the Union speech.
00:34Heavily focused on the economy, it also touched on immigration, Iran, tariffs and NATO defence spending.
00:41It comes as a fresh CNN poll says 32% of Americans do not think Trump has his priorities right.
00:49And 68% say he has not addressed the country's most important problems.
00:55For more, we're joined here on set by our EU news editor, Maria Tadeo.
00:59Good morning.
00:59Good morning.
01:00Look, this is a real American tradition, right?
01:02The State of the Union.
01:03But Europeans are keeping a very close eye.
01:05Well, Maeve, they have to.
01:06And yes, you're right.
01:07This is a very American politics event.
01:10Of course, this is really about the president of the United States setting out his vision.
01:14And of course, the timing matters, too, because we're halfway through the Trump presidency.
01:19The midterms are coming up.
01:20And obviously, the president, President Trump, he has to sell his project to the American people and also hope for
01:26a sort of a reset, too.
01:27Because as you alluded to with polls and his approval rate, you can really see that the cost of living
01:33in the US, the idea of grocery prices, all of this is really biting into the popularity of the US
01:39president.
01:39And there's perception that perhaps he spent too much time focused on external politics and the geopolitics for a president
01:46who promised to put America first.
01:48But nonetheless, yes, Europeans obviously follow and monitor pretty much every speech because, and I think on this we can
01:55agree, this is a president who is unpredictable.
01:58So when you look at the speech yesterday, a lot of that focused on the US.
02:02He talked about migration, the idea that illegal arrivals now into the US through the southern border with Mexico have
02:09dramatically collapsed.
02:10And of course, that is factual because of this very hardline policy that he's pursued.
02:15He talked about a border in a country that is now sealed.
02:18He also talked about the economy, the stock market, which is an index that he really likes to track and
02:23monitor.
02:24The question is whether that reflects to the economy of everyday Americans.
02:27But from a European perspective, this was really a policy speech in which they did not get a lot of
02:33clues in terms of where the foreign policy of the US is going.
02:37Because there was barely no mention of Ukraine.
02:39There was only a very brief but also in passing when it comes to NATO, which he said now our
02:44allies pay for that protection and they got to pay.
02:47He also said everything that we sent to Ukraine we now do through NATO and that is through a mechanism
02:53in which the Europeans pay.
02:55So the US is no longer paying for this.
02:57And then he mentioned Iran and that is relevant, of course, in the context of this military ramp up that
03:02we've seen from the US in the region saying,
03:05quote, the preference is to find a diplomatic solution, but Iran has to pronounce the magic words and that is
03:11they will never get a nuclear weapon.
03:14In any case, he said the US will not allow it.
03:17Interestingly, of course, there was a lot of concern.
03:19Perhaps the Greenland may come up or could come up and it was not the case.
03:23So overall, yes, a speech dedicated to US policy that mostly centered on US policy.
03:29But what about tariffs?
03:30Well, that's a very good question because he did mention the tariffs.
03:33He said and vindicated the tariff policy.
03:36We know that this is the sort of doctrine that Donald Trump has pursued, certainly on an intellectual level, this
03:42idea that tariffs are needed and the US should have implemented that for decades now.
03:46Now, he did say the tariffs are working and this is a policy that is going to stay.
03:50It is relevant, of course, because the US Supreme Court struck down the tariffs that were approved last year connected
03:56to Liberation Day saying they were designed in a way that was illegal.
03:59Nonetheless, Donald Trump insisted tariffs one way or another will stay in place.
04:04Let's take a look.
04:05One of the primary reasons for our country's stunning economic turnaround were tariffs.
04:12They were ripping us so badly.
04:13You all know that.
04:14Everybody knows it.
04:16Even the Democrats know it.
04:17They just don't want to say it.
04:18Then just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court.
04:22It just came down.
04:24It came down.
04:25Very unfortunate ruling.
04:28So despite the disappointing ruling, these powerful country saving will remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal
04:37statutes.
04:38And that's, of course, Donald Trump may have the catch.
04:42However, he talks about totally safe, totally tested and totally legal tariffs.
04:46The issue, of course, is last year when he implemented the Liberation Day tariffs, a reciprocal, quote unquote, tariffs.
04:52He also said they were illegal.
04:54The Supreme Court had a very different opinion for the Europeans.
04:57However, this is critical because a deal was agreed last year, a bad deal tilted in favor of the U
05:03.S.
05:03Of course, 15 percent tariff rate.
05:05The Europeans say that in this chaos around global trade, they do not want to end up in a situation
05:10in which they pay more.
05:11They agree that a deal is a deal and that 15 percent really is the top, the ceiling.
05:17The concern, of course, is that the U.S. will now implement other tariffs.
05:20When you add up the tally, European companies could end up having to pay more.
05:24And that is something that both the commission and also the trade commissioner who had a call with the G7,
05:29too, and has been in contact with the U.S.,
05:30said the EU simply cannot accept a deal.
05:33It's a deal that 15 percent was already high and bad enough.
05:36Tariffs tripled.
05:37It cannot go beyond that.
05:38As you say, tariffs causing a lot of stress here in Brussels.
05:41Maria Tadeo, your news is EU Editor.
05:42Thank you so much for all those details.
05:45And to dive a little deeper, coming up, we'll be joined by the Irish politician and MEP Barry Andrews,
05:51a member of the centre-right Fianna Fáil party, the party of the Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
05:56Barry Andrews is a former government minister and a barrister by trade.
06:01Barry Andrews, welcome to Europe today.
06:03Thank you so much for joining us.
06:05Did you manage to watch the State of the Union speech?
06:08What did you think of it from a European lens?
06:09Well, it was two hours long.
06:11Apparently, it was the longest in recent history.
06:14So no is the answer.
06:15I didn't see all of it, but I obviously watched extracts.
06:18I mean, I think the one that part of it that everybody's very concerned about is Iran.
06:22and while he didn't really disengage or de-escalate, he did say that they are in negotiations.
06:29So that's positive.
06:31That's something we're all very pleased to hear about.
06:33But he rambled a lot and there was a lot of fact-checkers kept very busy during the two hours
06:39about his claims about the economy and how tariffs are impacting the economy.
06:43and I think there's a lot of dispute about the actual impact of tariffs on the U.S. economy.
06:49Well, indeed, tariffs is a very sensitive issue also for lawmakers here in Brussels.
06:52And we know the EU-U.S. trade deal, it's on hold for now.
06:55But the European Commission is putting a lot of pressure on you, on the Parliament, to pass it through.
07:00What's your view here?
07:01Well, we're not the only ones that are not proceeding with trade agreements with the U.S.
07:06India was supposed to be in Washington this week to finalise a trade agreement.
07:11Japan, Taiwan, there are many others that are now slow-walking effectively the trade agreements
07:17that they had with the United States.
07:19So I think it's impossible for us to do this in circumstances where nobody is sure whether
07:25the new tariffs themselves are legal.
07:28They are going to be subject to legal scrutiny, I've no doubt about that.
07:32And we're not even sure whether or not there will be refunds for the former tariffs.
07:37So there's so much uncertainty.
07:39And ultimately, it's consumers and businesses that pay the cost for this uncertainty.
07:44So it's much more prudent, in my view, for us to wait until that legal certainty is provided.
07:49And just moving on to Ukraine, we saw yesterday Ursula von der Leyen showing up a little bit empty-handed
07:53because that €90 billion loan is on hold.
07:57She said there's other options, though.
07:58What other options?
08:00Look, there are multiple options available.
08:02There's intergovernmental approaches.
08:03There could be an enhanced cooperation approach.
08:06There could be something around a coalition of the willing.
08:09But ultimately, the sensitivity here, of course, as everybody knows, is that there's an election
08:13in Hungary in April.
08:15And the last thing the European Commission wants to do is to walk into the trap set by
08:20Orban.
08:21Orban would love to fight this election with Europe breathing down his neck, with forcing
08:25him, strong-arming Orban to do something he really doesn't want to do.
08:29We can't get into that.
08:30So we have to find a way that excludes Hungary.
08:32I'm not exactly sure what those options are going to be.
08:35But ultimately, we have to provide this €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
08:39By April, they will run out of money.
08:41So it is absolutely existential for the future of Ukraine.
08:44Another issue, of course, EU membership for Ukraine.
08:46President Zelensky pushing for a date, but Commission President saying we cannot give a date.
08:50What's your view here?
08:51Should they join by 2027?
08:53Absolutely.
08:54I think it's one of the key motivations for Ukrainians to maintain their resilience.
08:59I was there in November.
09:00We went over to Kharkiv with a demining charity, Halo Trust.
09:05And everybody that visits is just blown away by how amazing they are, how resilient they
09:10are, how tough they are.
09:11But one of the things that really motivates, I find, is that there is a road, a pathway
09:15to accession in the near term.
09:17And so long as that is still there and very much a reality for Ukrainians, I think they
09:22will be able to continue to pursue the war against Russia.
09:26OK.
09:26Barry Andrews, thank you so much for coming into us this morning.
09:28and being our guest here on Europe Today.
09:31And just yesterday, speaking in Kiev, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,
09:35as I said, said it would not be possible to put a date on Ukraine's EU membership.
09:40Speaking alongside President Zelensky on the anniversary of the four years since the full
09:44scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Commission President also promised a solution would be
09:50found to bridge the country's financing needs.
09:52For more, we can dive a little deeper with our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakilina, who joins
09:57us here on set.
09:57Good morning.
09:59So look, this idea of, you know, there's no date we can put on the table.
10:02That's what the Commission President said.
10:04But, you know, Ukraine wants to join by 2027.
10:07Now, that statement was indeed a cold shower also because, of course, that happened on the
10:12fourth anniversary when the EU leaders were there to show and prove their support for Ukraine.
10:18Now, let's take a little step back.
10:20Now, for Ukraine, the EU membership is something that Ukrainians have been seeking, not now since
10:25the full scale invasion of Ukraine, but since 2014, since Russia's first invasion, these were
10:30the demonstrations over the revolution of dignity.
10:32So this is something important.
10:34Now, Kiev feels like, on one hand, first of all, this is something that the European Union
10:38promised Ukraine and committed to it with the beginning of the full scale invasion.
10:41But also, Ukraine sees this and it's this is what's been negotiated here as part of the EU
10:47security guarantees.
10:48And should there be a chance to put an end to Russia's all-out war against Ukraine
10:53this year, how can we proceed in this case for Ukrainians towards the end of the war with
10:59the EU guarantees for Ukraine, which include EU membership?
11:03Let's take a listen to what happened yesterday in Kiev.
11:06For Ukraine's accession to the EU, the year 2027 is very important for us.
11:13And I hope doable, I hope, so that Putin cannot block our membership for decades.
11:21I understand very well that for you, a clear date is also important.
11:26The date you set is your benchmark that you want to match.
11:30You know that from our side, dates by themselves are not possible.
11:35Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Zelensky there.
11:38And meanwhile, of course, Sasha, the 90 billion euro loan is also on hold for Ukraine.
11:43Another awkward point in that meeting.
11:45Absolutely.
11:45So no timeline, no commitment to the timeline.
11:47And also now the loan being blocked.
11:51Also, given the fact that the loan was already agreed upon in December and there was such an
11:54important decision.
11:55Now, Brussels said that they're going to try to find the plan B, but this is not even the
11:59plan B, Maeve.
12:00Now, at this stage, we're much further than that.
12:02And this is when the president of the commission said that the word cannot be broken, but looks
12:07like it can be blocked.
12:08Let's take a listen to what she had to say.
12:09We call it the steel porcupine loan because it should give Ukraine the strength of a steel
12:18porcupine indigestible for potential invaders.
12:22We will deliver on the loan one way or the other.
12:26Let me be very clear.
12:28We have different options and we will use them.
12:31What are those options?
12:32Now, this is indeed 90 billion euros question, because the EU seem to have discussed and
12:39explored all of those options in December.
12:42And that was the only one that they managed to agree upon, the one that is now blocked.
12:47Indeed, Sasha Vakilina.
12:48Thank you so much for that update, as always.
12:51And now, as we have been reporting here all week on Euronews, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia
12:56are in the midst of a serious spat over a key pipeline that supplies Russian crude to
13:01Central Europe.
13:02In case you hadn't heard of the Druzhba pipeline before this week, here's our Jakub Janis with
13:07a refresher.
13:09In the 1960s, the Soviet Union built one of the longest oil pipelines in the world to
13:14supply its satellite states.
13:16It was called Druzhba, which translates to friendship.
13:20And right now, that friendship pipeline is tearing Europe apart.
13:24Let's look at it from the start, shall we?
13:28A month ago, an incident was reported on the pipeline, impacting flows of cheap Russian
13:34oil going to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine.
13:37Kiev blamed ongoing Russian strikes for the blaze, saying the constant pounding from the
13:43air is delaying repair works.
13:45But Budapest and Bratislava accused Ukraine of lying.
13:49And last Wednesday, they retaliated by halting their own diesel exports to Ukraine.
13:54until the pipeline is restored.
13:56Two days later, Viktor Orban said it would block a crucial 90 billion euro emergency loan
14:03for Ukraine.
14:04And with Russian attacks devastating its internal power generation, Kiev relies heavily on imported
14:10electricity to survive the winter.
14:13And almost half of these imports come directly from Hungary.
14:16And Slovakia is another important supplier.
14:20Then, on Monday, Ukrainian forces struck a key Russian pumping station feeding the Druzhba
14:26pipeline, aiming to bleed Moscow off petrodollars.
14:30In response, Slovakia and Hungary demanded the EU investigate if Kiev lied about original damage
14:36and completely halted an urgency electricity to Ukraine.
14:40which finally brings us to today.
14:43The European Commission is holding an emergency meeting with Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia
14:48to try to find alternative oil routes.
14:51But with Croatia refusing to transport Russian oil, it seems the EU diplomatic pipeline is completely
14:57blocked.
15:03Jakob Janis reporting there.
15:04And for more analysis, we're now joined once again here on set by our Maria Tadeo to tell
15:09us why, Maria, is this pipeline sending politics ablaze?
15:12Well, Maeve, this is now a mess.
15:14Really, this is a very messy situation.
15:16It is almost approaching what I would say is an institutional crisis when it comes to the EU,
15:22because obviously there's now a full-on clash between Hungary to a lesser extent Slovakia,
15:27but also the rest of member states who want to facilitate help to Ukraine.
15:32At the same time, this is a question that goes beyond the politics.
15:36It is also very technical because, as you saw there, there is a question of a pipeline,
15:41this Druzhba pipeline, which connects, just to set the scene for our viewers, Russia with
15:46Hungary.
15:47It transports cheap Russian oil, but it goes through Ukraine.
15:50This pipeline was, and this is objective, it's a fact, it was damaged at the end of January.
15:56There was an issue, of course, and this is a matter of the crux of this story, which is,
16:01was it a Russian strike or this is just a case in which Ukraine has neglected the reparations
16:06so that oil doesn't transit?
16:08And this is the line that the Hungarian government is pushing.
16:11And I reported extensively on this this week.
16:14On Monday, there was a meeting of foreign ministers and it got very heated.
16:18I was told by a number of sources that the Hungarian minister told his Ukrainian counterpart,
16:23who was connected in this meeting through a conference call, that he was, quote, a liar.
16:28He also snapped at Kayakalas, who is a top European diplomat, saying,
16:32you give a non-EU member state more time than you are giving me to reply.
16:37I cannot talk to him directly.
16:39And also, I will not allow at this point that Ukraine criticizes Hungary.
16:43Obviously, this is also very political because there is a very brutal, aggressive election campaign
16:48going on in Hungary.
16:50And this question now has become, for Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
16:53not just a talking point on the campaign, but really a matter of national sovereignty.
16:58At this point, however, and this is a critical question, is who damaged the pipeline
17:02and who's going to fix it?
17:04And that was a question that was put yesterday to President Zelenskyy in a press conference
17:07in Kiev, and he doubled down.
17:09This is not about Ukraine.
17:11It was Russia.
17:11Let's take a look.
17:13Pipeline was destroyed by Russia.
17:16We have images.
17:18We have everything by satellites of partners.
17:22So he destroyed, I mean, Russia destroyed these pipelines several times.
17:28And that was a Ukrainian, of course, president saying this is not the first time
17:31and this pipeline has been damaged by Russia.
17:34Now, at this stage, what are the solutions?
17:37What does a possible compromise look like?
17:39Well, there's the idea that an inspection could be carried out externally.
17:42But, of course, for Ukraine, that is delicate because you're talking about a war zone.
17:46A different number of pipelines have been floated, perhaps, as providing another way
17:50to flow the Russian oil into Hungary.
17:53But, of course, the rest of European countries say they do not want to transit Russian oil
17:57because they want to unplug from Russian energy.
18:00And, of course, at this stage, the Hungarians really control whether the money gets to Ukraine
18:04and whether the sanctions package goes ahead.
18:06This is a great talking port for their campaign.
18:08I was told at this stage they have no incentive to back down.
18:12But the repercussions are severe because the EU at this point is divided.
18:15And Ukraine, as you saw yesterday, doesn't have the sanctions and they don't have the money.
18:19So what does that mean for these emergency talks taking place today, Maria?
18:22There are emergency talks happening today.
18:24This is at a technical level.
18:26Of course, there's this idea that ultimately this is going to be resolved as a political level
18:30if it can be resolved because it's become such a political issue too.
18:34You saw the Ukrainians saying we have the satellite images to prove that it was Russia.
18:38The Hungarians, I'm told, they insist the damage was not caused in the strike.
18:43The pipeline is operational.
18:44And there was a fire, yes, but it affected a container, not really the pipeline.
18:48So the oil can't flow.
18:49At this stage, the question is whether other countries like Croatia has been floated to
18:53could step in.
18:54But obviously, that's a big question mark and it's an if.
18:57And then, of course, there's this idea that until the oil flow resumes, right?
19:00And it's got to be Russian oil because the Hungarians insist they do not want to pay
19:04for other crude because it's the cheaper one.
19:06But again, this is a technical question at this stage.
19:08And as it stands, it's very unclear to see what the fix can be.
19:12The Hungarians have no incentive to back down.
19:14And the Ukrainians say this is not a priority at this stage because we didn't break it.
19:18OK, whatever happens.
19:19We will, of course, report it here on Euronews.
19:21Maria Tadeo, our EU news editor.
19:22Thank you so much for keeping across that story for us.
19:25And you can read more about that story about how Hungary hijacked Brussels with their double
19:29veto, leaving Ukraine in limbo on Euronews.com.
19:31But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.
19:34Thank you so much for your company.
19:35As always, take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
19:40WordPress
19:41And I see you very soon.
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19:51Buy us a big choice for your company.
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19:53We'll see you soon.
19:53You can read more here on Euronews.
19:55Forget it.
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20:01Bye.
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20:02Ευχαριστώ.
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