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Europe Today: Trump o stanie Unii; przywódcy UE rozważają opcje w sprawie Ukrainy
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CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/02/25/europe-today-trump-o-stanie-unii-przywodcy-ue-rozwazaja-opcje-w-sprawie-ukrainy
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NewsTranscript
00:00www.youtube.com
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.
00:54For 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.
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 U.S.
01:34The idea of grocery prices, all of this is really biting into the popularity of the U.S. president.
01:39And there's perception that perhaps he spent too much time focused on external politics and the geopolitics for a president
01:45who 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 U.S.
02:02He talked about migration, the idea that illegal arrivals now into the U.S. through the southern border with Mexico
02:09have 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.
02:17He 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 U.S. 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've 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.
02:54So the U.S. 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 U.S. in the region saying, quote,
03:05The preference is to find a diplomatic solution, but Iran has to pronounce the magic words and that is they
03:12will never get a nuclear weapon.
03:14In any case, he said the U.S. 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 U.S. policy that mostly centered on U.S. 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 a sort of doctrine that Donald Trump has pursued, certainly on an intellectual level, this
03:42idea that tariffs are needed and the U.S. should have implemented that for decades now.
03:46He did say the tariffs are working and this is a policy that is going to stay.
03:50It is relevant, of course, because the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs that were approved last year
03:55connected to 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.
04:06One 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 countries 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, the reciprocal, quote unquote, tariffs.
04:52He 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 of the U
05:02.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.
05:16The 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.,
05:30had said 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 Outer.
05:42Thank you so much for all those details.
05:44And 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?
06:07What 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.
06:13So, 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.
06:30So, 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 about the
06:40economy 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 US economy.
06:48Tariffs is a very sensitive issue also for lawmakers here in Brussels.
06:52And we know the EU-US 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 US.
07:06India was supposed to be in Washington this week to finalise a trade agreement.
07:11Japan, Taiwan.
07:12There are many others that are now slow-walking, effectively, the trade agreements that 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 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?
08:00Look, there are multiple options available.
08:02There's intergovernmental approaches.
08:03There could be an enhanced cooperation approach.
08:05There 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, with forcing him, strong-arming Orban to
08:27do 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.
08:46President 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.
08:58I 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.
09:25Okay, Barry Andrews, thank you so much for coming into us this morning and being our guest here on Europe
09:30Today.
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.
09:39Speaking 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.
09:58So, 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.
10:07No, 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.
10:20Now, for Ukraine, the EU membership is something that Ukrainians have been seeking,
10:24not now since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but since 2014, since Russia's first invasion.
10:30These were the demonstrations over the revolution of dignity.
10:32So, this is something important now, Kiev feels like.
10:34On 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 we 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.
11:05For 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.
11:37And meanwhile, of course, Sasha, the 90 billion euro loan is also on hold for Ukraine.
11:43Another awkward point in that meeting.
11:44Absolutely.
11:45So 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.
11:55Now, 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
12:05be broken, but 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 because it should give Ukraine
12:17the strength of a steel porcupine, indigestible 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.
12:30What are those options?
12:32Now, this is indeed 90 billion euros question, because the EU seem to have
12:37discussed 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.
12:47Indeed, 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, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia
12:56are in the midst of a serious spat over a key pipeline that supplies Russian crude to Central Europe.
13:02In case you hadn't heard of the Druzhba pipeline before this week, here's our Jakub Janis with a refresher.
13:08In the 1960s, the Soviet Union built one of the longest oil pipelines in the world to supply its satellite
13:15states.
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 oil going to Hungary and
13:35Slovakia through Ukraine.
13:37Kiev blamed ongoing Russian strikes for the blaze, saying 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 until the pipeline is restored.
13:56Two days later, Viktor Orban said it would block a crucial 90 billion euro emergency loan for Ukraine.
14:03And with Russian attacks devastating its internal power generation, Kiev relies heavily on imported electricity to survive the winter.
14:13And almost half of these imports come directly from Hungary, and Slovakia is another important supplier.
14:20Then, on Monday, Ukrainian forces struck a key Russian pumping station feeding that Druzhba pipeline, aiming to bleed Moscow off
14:28petrodollars.
14:29In response, Slovakia and Hungary demanded the EU investigate if Kiev lied about original damage, and completely halted an urgency
14:38electricity to Ukraine.
14:40Which finally brings us to today.
14:43The European Commission is holding an emergency meeting with Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia to try to find alternative oil routes.
14:50But with Croatia refusing to transport Russian oil, it 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 by our Maria Tadeo to tell us why,
15:09Maria, 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, because obviously
15:22there's now a full-on clash between Hungary to a lesser extent Slovakia, but 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, there is a question of a pipeline, this Drushva pipeline,
15:41which connects, just to set the scene for our viewers, Russia with Hungary.
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, was
16:01it a Russian strike, or this is just a case in which Ukraine has neglected the reparations so that oil
16:07doesn'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.
16:17I was told by a number of sources that the Hungarian minister told his Ukrainian counterpart, who was connected in
16:24this meeting through a conference call, that he was, quote, a liar.
16:28He also snapped at Kayakalas, who is a top European diplomat, saying, you give a non-EU member state more
16:35time 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 going on in Hungary.
16:50And this question now has become, for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, not just a talking point on the campaign, but
16:56really a matter of national sovereignty.
16:58At this point, however, and this is a critical question, is who damaged the pipeline and who's going to fix
17:03it?
17:04And that was a question that was put yesterday to President Zelensky in a press conference in Kiev, and he
17:08doubled down.
17:09This is not about Ukraine. It was Russia. Let's take a look.
17:13Pipeline was destroyed by Russia. We have images. We have everything by satellites of partners.
17:22So he destroyed, I mean, Russia destroyed these pipelines several times.
17:27And that was a Ukrainian, of course, President saying this is not the first time in this pipeline has been
17:32damaged by Russia.
17:34Now, at this stage, what are the solutions? What 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 to flow the Russian oil into Hungary.
17:53But, of course, the rest of European countries say they do not want to transit Russian oil because they want
17:58to unplug from Russian energy.
18:00And, of course, at this stage, the Hungarians really control whether the money gets to Ukraine and whether the sanctions
18:04package 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 if it can
18:31be 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.
18:42The 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 could step in.
18:54But obviously, that's a big question mark.
18:56And it's an if.
18:57And then, of course, there's this idea that until the oil flow resumes, right, and it's got to be a
19:01Russian oil because the Hungarians insist they do not want to pay for other crude because it's a cheaper one.
19:06But again, this is a technical question at the 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 the stage because we didn't break it.
19:17OK, whatever happens, we have, of course, reported here on Euronews.
19:21Maria Tadeo, our EU news editor, thank 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 veto, leaving Ukraine in
19:30limbo 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.
19:39Thank you so much for joining us.
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