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00:14Good morning, it is Wednesday the 25th of February.
00:18I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today.
00:21That's your daily dose of European news and analysis, live here on Euronews.
00:27Coming up, while you were sleeping, US President Donald Trump delivered his annual State of
00:33the Union speech.
00:34Heavily focused on the economy, it also touched on immigration, Iran, tariffs and NATO defence
00:41spending.
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.
00:54For more, we're joined here on set by our EU news editor, Maria Tadeo.
00:58Good 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.
01:18The midterms are coming up and obviously the President, President Trump, he has to sell
01:23his project to the American people and also hope for a sort of a reset too, because as
01:28you 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
01:38of the US president.
01:39There's perception that perhaps he spent too much time focused on external politics and
01:44the geopolitics for a president who promised to put America first.
01:48But nonetheless, yes, Europeans obviously follow and they monitor pretty much every
01:53speech because, and I think on this we can agree, 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
02:07border with Mexico have dramatically 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
02:23to track and monitor.
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
02:32a lot of clues in terms of where the foreign policy of the US is going, because there was
02:37barely no mention of Ukraine, there was only a very brief but also in passing when it comes
02:42to NATO, which he said now our allies pay for that protection and they got to pay.
02:47He also said everything that we sent to Ukraine, we now do through NATO.
02:51And that is through a mechanism in which the Europeans pay.
02:54So the US is no longer paying for this.
02:57And then he mentioned Iran.
02:59And that is relevant, of course, in the context of this military ramp up that we've seen from
03:03the US in the region saying, quote, the preference is to find a diplomatic solution.
03:08But Iran has to pronounce the magic words.
03:11And that is they 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.
03:21And it was not the case.
03:24So 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, he said and vindicated
03:35the tariff policy.
03:36We know that this is a sort of doctrine that Donald Trump has pursued, certainly on an intellectual
03:41level, this idea that tariffs are needed, and the US should have implemented that for
03:45decades now.
03:46He did say the tariffs are working.
03:48And 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
03:54approved last year connected to Liberation Day, saying they were designed in a way that
03:58was illegal, nonetheless, 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.
04:27So despite the disappointing ruling, these powerful country saving will remain in place
04:34under fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes.
04:38And that's, of course, Donald Trump.
04:41Maeve, the catch, however, he talks about totally safe, totally tested and totally legal
04:46tariffs.
04:46The issue, of course, is last year when he implemented the Liberation Day tariffs, the
04:50reciprocal, quote unquote, tariffs, he also said they were illegal.
04:53The 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
05:02of the US.
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
05:10a situation in 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 US 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
05:27with the G7 too and has been in contact with the US had said the EU simply cannot accept
05:32a 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.
05:46Coming up, we'll be joined by the Irish politician and MEP Barry Andrews, a member of the centre-right
05:53Fianna 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?
06:07What 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.
06:16But 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.
06:35And there was a lot of fact checkers kept very busy during the two hours about his claims
06:40about 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.
06:48Tariffs 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 that they had with the
07:18United States.
07:19So I think it's impossible for us to do this in circumstances where nobody is sure whether the new tariffs
07:26themselves are legal.
07:27They are going to be subject to legal scrutiny.
07:31I'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?
07:59Look, 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 in Hungary in April.
08:15And the last thing the European Commission wants to do is to walk into the trap set by Orban.
08:21Orban would love to fight this election with Europe breathing down his neck,
08:24with forcing him, strong-arming Orban to do something he really doesn't want to do.
08:28We 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.
08:46Again, President 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, Barry?
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.
09:04And, you know, everybody that visits is just blown away by how amazing they are, how resilient they are, how
09:10tough they are.
09:11But one of the things that really motivates, I find, is that there is a road, a pathway to accession
09:16in the near term.
09:17And so long as that is still there and very much a reality for Ukrainians, I think they will be
09:22able to continue to pursue the war against Russia.
09:25OK, Barry Andrews, thank you so much for coming in to us this morning and being our guest here on
09:30Europe Today.
09:31And just yesterday speaking in Kiev, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as I said, said it would
09:36not 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-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia,
09:47the Commission President also promised a solution would be found to bridge the country's financing needs.
09:52For more, we can dive a little deeper with our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakilina, who joins us here on set.
09:57Good morning. So, look, this idea of, you know, there's no date we can put on the table.
10:02That's what the Commission President said. But, 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 fourth anniversary
10:13when the EU leaders were there to show and prove their support for Ukraine.
10:18Now, let's take a little step back now.
10:20Now, for Ukraine, the EU membership is something that Ukrainians have been seeking, not now since the full-scale invasion
10:26of Ukraine,
10:26but since 2014, since Russia's first invasion.
10:30These were the demonstrations over the revolution of dignity.
10:32So this is something important.
10:33Now, Kiev feels like, on one hand, first of all, this is something that the European Union promised Ukraine
10:38and committed to it with the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
10:41But also, Ukraine sees this, and this is what's being negotiated here, as part of the EU security guarantees.
10:48And should there be a chance to put an end to Russia's all-out war against Ukraine this year?
10:54How can we proceed in this case for Ukrainians towards the end of the war with the EU guarantees for
11:01Ukraine,
11:01which 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.
11:25And the date you set is your benchmark that you want to match.
11:30You know that from our side, dates by themselves are not possible.
11:35Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen and President Zelensky there.
11:37And meanwhile, of course, Sasha, the 90 billion euro loan is also on hold for Ukraine.
11:43Another awkward point in that meeting.
11:44Absolutely. So no timeline, no commitment to the timeline.
11:47And also now the loan being blocked.
11:50Also, given the fact that the loan was already agreed upon in December,
11:53and there was such an important decision.
11:54Now, Brussels said that they're going to try to find the plan B,
11:58but this is not even the plan B made.
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,
12:06but looks like it can be blocked.
12:08Let's take a listen to what she had to say.
12:10We call it the steel porcupine loan,
12:14because it should give Ukraine the strength of a steel porcupine,
12:20indigestible 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,
12:35because the EU seem to have discussed and to explore it all of those options in December.
12:42And that was the only one that they managed to agree upon.
12:45The one that is now blocked.
12:47It is indeed, Sasha Vakilina.
12:48Thank you so much for that update, as always.
12:50And now, as we have been reporting here all week on Euronews,
12:54Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia are in the midst of a serious spat
12:58over a key pipeline that supplies Russian crude to Central Europe.
13:02In case you hadn't heard of the Drozba pipeline before this week,
13:05here's our Jakob Janis with a refresher.
13:08In the 1960s, the Soviet Union built one of the longest oil pipelines in the world
13:14to supply its satellite states.
13:16It was called Drozba, 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,
13:32impacting flows of cheap Russian oil going to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine.
13:37Kiev blamed ongoing Russian strikes for the blaze,
13:41saying the constant pounding from the air 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
14:00a crucial 90 billion euro emergency loan for Ukraine.
14:03And with Russian attacks devastating its internal power generation,
14:08Kiev relies heavily on imported electricity 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
14:25feeding that Drozba pipeline, aiming to bleed Moscow off petrodollars.
14:29In response, Slovakia and Hungary demanded the EU investigate
14:33if 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
14:46with Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia
14:48to try to find alternative oil routes.
14:50But with Croatia refusing to transport Russian oil,
14:54it seems the EU diplomatic pipeline is completely blocked.
15:02Jakob Janis reporting there.
15:04And for more analysis, we're now joined once again here on set
15:07by our Maria Tadeo to tell us
15:09why, 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
15:20when it comes to the EU,
15:22because obviously there's now a full-on clash
15:24between Hungary to a lesser extent Slovakia,
15:27but also the rest of member states
15:29who want to facilitate help to Ukraine.
15:33At the same time, this is a question that goes beyond the politics.
15:36It is also very technical, because as you saw there,
15:39there is a question of a pipeline,
15:40this Drozba pipeline,
15:41which connects, just to set the scene for our viewers,
15:45Russia with Hungary.
15:47It transports cheap Russian oil,
15:49but it goes through Ukraine.
15:50This pipeline was, and this is objective,
15:52it's a fact, it was damaged at the end of January.
15:56There was an issue, of course,
15:58and this is a matter of the crux of this story,
16:01which is, was it a Russian strike,
16:02or this is just a case in which Ukraine
16:05has 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,
16:16and it got very heated.
16:18I was told by a number of sources
16:19that the Hungarian minister told his Ukrainian counterpart,
16:23who was connected in this meeting through a conference call,
16:26that he was, quote, a liar.
16:28He also snapped at Kayakalas,
16:30who is a top European diplomat,
16:31saying,
16:32you give a non-EU member state more time
16:35than you are giving me to reply.
16:37I cannot talk to him directly.
16:39And also,
16:40I will not allow at this point
16:41that Ukraine criticizes Hungary.
16:43Obviously,
16:44this is also very political
16:45because there is a very brutal,
16:47aggressive election campaign
16:48going on in Hungary.
16:50And this question now has become,
16:52for Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
16:53not just a talking point on the campaign,
16:55but really a matter of national sovereignty.
16:58At this point, however,
16:59and this is a critical question,
17:00is who damaged the pipeline
17:02and who's going to fix it?
17:04And that was a question
17:04that was put yesterday
17:05to President Zelensky
17:06in a press conference in Kiev,
17:08and he doubled down.
17:09This is not about Ukraine.
17:10It was Russia.
17:12Let's take a look.
17:13Pipeline was destroyed by Russia.
17:16We have images.
17:18We have everything
17:19by satellites of partners.
17:22So he destroyed,
17:24I mean, Russia destroyed
17:25these pipelines several times.
17:27And that was the Ukrainian,
17:29of course,
17:29President Zain,
17:30this is not the first time
17:31and this pipeline
17:31has been damaged by Russia.
17:34Now, at this stage,
17:36what are the solutions?
17:37What does a possible compromise
17:38look like?
17:39Well, there's the idea
17:40that an inspection
17:41could be carried out externally.
17:42But of course,
17:43for Ukraine,
17:43that is delicate
17:44because you're talking
17:45about a war zone.
17:46A different number
17:47of pipelines have been floated,
17:48perhaps as providing
17:49another way to flow
17:51the Russian oil into Hungary.
17:53But of course,
17:54the rest of European countries
17:55say they do not want
17:55to transit Russian oil
17:57because they want to unplug
17:58from Russian energy.
18:00And of course,
18:00at this stage,
18:01the Hungarians really control
18:02whether the money
18:03gets to Ukraine
18:03and whether the sanctions package
18:05goes ahead.
18:06This is a great talk
18:07and pour for their campaign.
18:08I was told at this stage
18:09they have no incentive
18:11to back down,
18:12but the repercussions
18:13are severe
18:14because the EU
18:14at this point is divided
18:15and Ukraine,
18:16as you saw yesterday,
18:17doesn't have the sanctions
18:18and they don't have the money.
18:19So what does that mean
18:19for these emergency talks
18:21taking place today, Maria?
18:22There are emergency talks
18:24happening today.
18:24This is at a technical level.
18:26Of course,
18:26there's this idea
18:27that ultimately
18:27this is going to be resolved
18:29as a political level
18:30if it can be resolved
18:31because it's become
18:32such a political issue too.
18:34You saw the Ukraine
18:35saying we have the satellite images
18:36to prove that it was Russia.
18:38The Hungarians,
18:39I'm told they insist
18:40the damage was not caused
18:41in the strike.
18:42The pipeline is operational
18:44and there was a fire,
18:45yes,
18:45but it affected a container,
18:47not really the pipeline.
18:48So the oil can't flow.
18:49At this stage,
18:50the question is
18:50whether other countries
18:51like Croatia
18:52has been floated to
18:53could step in,
18:54but obviously
18:54that's a big question mark
18:56and it's an if.
18:57And then, of course,
18:57there's this idea
18:58that until the oil flow
18:59resumes, right,
19:00and it's got to be Russian oil,
19:02because the Hungarians insist
19:03they do not want to pay
19:04for other crude
19:05because it's a cheaper one.
19:06But again,
19:06this is a technical question
19:07at the stage
19:08and as it stands,
19:09it's very unclear
19:10to see what the fix can be.
19:12The Hungarians have no incentive
19:13to back down
19:14and the Ukrainians say
19:15this is not a priority
19:16at the stage
19:17because we didn't break it.
19:18Okay, whatever happens.
19:19We have, of course,
19:19reported here on Euronews,
19:21Maria Tzeo,
19:21our EU news editor.
19:22Thank you so much
19:23for keeping across
19:24that story for us.
19:25And you can read more
19:26about that story
19:26about how Hungary
19:27hijacked Brussels
19:28with their double veto
19:29leaving Ukraine in limbo
19:30on Euronews.com.
19:31But that does bring
19:32this edition of Europe Today
19:33to an end.
19:34Thank you so much
19:35for your company.
19:35As always,
19:36take care
19:36and see you very soon
19:37here on Euronews.
19:43We'll be right back.
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