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Europe Today: European leaders set for emergency talks as Iran war enters day 10
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00:14Good morning, it is Monday the 9th of March. I'm Maeve MacMahon and this is Europe Today.
00:20Your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:25Coming up, it has been 10 days since US and Israeli strikes hit Iran, killing the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
00:33Khamenei.
00:34Tehran now finds itself under a fog of thick black smoke and faces a major security and environmental crisis following
00:42Israeli strikes on oil refinery facilities.
00:46Meanwhile, Iranian drones have been causing destruction across the Middle East and the Gulf with strikes nearing Dubai International Airport,
00:53where thousands of foreign nationals have been stranded.
00:56The Arab League has condemned Iran for what it calls a dangerous escalation of attacks against civilian targets and vital
01:03infrastructure in the Gulf.
01:05Meanwhile, a brand new Supreme Leader, Moshaba Khamenei, has been announced in Iran as EU leaders prepare to hold emergency
01:12talks with Gulf counterparts on the escalating situation in the Middle East.
01:16All this as oil prices spike.
01:19Euronews correspondents all across the Gulf are keeping us informed across our network.
01:23For the latest, we can now cross over to the UAE, where Euronews's regional correspondent, Jane Witherspoon, is standing by
01:31for us this morning in Dubai.
01:32Good morning, Jane.
01:34So Iran has a new Supreme Leader whilst attacks continue on all fronts.
01:38Bring us up to speed.
01:40Good morning.
01:41Yes, Moshaba Khamenei has been elected as the new Supreme Ruler of Iran, taking over from his father, Ayatollah Ali
01:49Khamenei, who was killed in those strikes 10 days ago, as you say, by the USA and Israel in Iran.
01:57Now, there's not much known about the new leader.
02:00He's kept a relatively low profile over the years.
02:04In fact, there are not many photographs even out there of him.
02:07It is expected, though, that the 50th and also Europe will maintain the hardline rule adopted by his father in
02:17Iran.
02:17Now, that said, President Donald Trump has also issued a bold statement saying that the next Iranian Supreme Leader is
02:26going to have to get approval from us.
02:29If he does not get approval from us, he's not going to last long.
02:34Now, as you can imagine, the last 48 hours, the attacks have ramped up here across the Middle East.
02:40Our colleagues in Doha have reported that they were woken this morning at 3 a.m. by those alarms that
02:47go off on our phone, signaling a strike.
02:50Here in Dubai, on Saturday, there was an attack near to Dubai Airport, where a drone hit the tarmac to
02:58a safe space underground in the main terminal.
03:01In addition to that, a car was hit by drone debris off one of the main roads near Sheikh Zayed
03:08Road, which is the main road through Dubai, resulting in the death of the driver.
03:13On Friday night, I attended a closed meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Dubai, where government officials
03:20told us that the main priority for the UAE, that they are focused on defending the population and infrastructure while
03:29trying to contain the wider situation.
03:32Obviously, lots of talk, as you say, about oil prices this morning.
03:36A barrel of oil is up to almost $120 a barrel.
03:40Well, that is the biggest price hike that we have seen in four years.
03:44So there'll be lots of eyes keeping a close eye on that.
03:48Indeed, Jane Witherspoon, thank you so much for that live update from Dubai.
03:53And as you heard there, oil prices are rising, causing turbulence across the global economy.
03:57That's why European and Gulf countries are trying to cope with this sudden war that they never wanted.
04:02And that's why they're holding emergency talks today, Monday, with their GCC countries.
04:07And our EU news editor, Maria Tadeo, is across the story for us and joins me right now here in
04:12the studio.
04:12Good morning, Maria.
04:13So we're seeing oil prices jumping here to more than $100 a barrel.
04:17We haven't seen this for a couple of years.
04:19Could this lead to weeks-long supply disruption?
04:22Since 2022 and May, of course, we had debated just a week ago when the war started whether or not
04:28we would see this $100 a barrel price benchmark and hit on the price mark.
04:33And now it's taken 10 days, but we're finally there.
04:36Obviously, this has major implications psychologically for the market, but also in terms of the ramifications for the global economy.
04:44Ultimately, some analysts say that this could be the worst energy crisis in decades because of the combination around it.
04:52On the one hand, you have over the weekend that succession put in place in Iran.
04:57It's the son of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who will replace him.
05:00The signals that that sends politically is the heartliners in this regime remain very much in place and they guide
05:07the policy of Iran.
05:09Remember, also, President Trump had been very clear that he did not consider the son of the late Ayatollah an
05:15appropriate choice.
05:16He said he was a lightweight and also said it would be unacceptable for the U.S.
05:21Obviously, the scenario that the Americans would like to see is something that looks like Venezuela.
05:25The top leader gets taken out and then obviously what is left changes in alignment with the U.S.
05:31But that is no longer the case or it's no longer the case, I should note, for the time being
05:36because we are seeing that retaliation continue from Iran.
05:39And then secondly, it is really just a question of logistics, supply and transportation.
05:44When you look at the countries that right now, when it comes to the retaliation from Iran, are the most
05:50hurt.
05:50It's the Gulf countries.
05:52Obviously, we also talk about the Strait of Hormuz is not able to operate normally because of these strikes that
05:58keep taking place with missiles,
06:00but also drones, which are very cheap to fire, but they create chaos on the ground.
06:05So it's really this combination that is propping up energy prices today.
06:09I should just point very quickly, President Trump did comment on this over the weekend.
06:14He is a president that likes to monitor very much the performance of the stock market.
06:19So he likes to see high stock markets and then obviously low energy prices.
06:23Right now, this is a reverse.
06:24Stocks are plummeting because of the uncertainty and energy prices are going up.
06:28The president of the U.S. seems to be willing to tolerate those levels, saying that this is a small
06:33price to pay for global security,
06:35especially if the nuclear threat from Iran is eliminated.
06:38Just as a final breaking news on this point, because this energy story is important this morning,
06:43the G7 will gather and there's a possibility perhaps that the G7 countries will agree to release some of the
06:50strategic oil reserves
06:51to sort of step in and stabilize this market.
06:53Indeed, G7 countries meeting and also EU emergency talks are taking place with GCC counterparts.
07:00Fill us in.
07:00Indeed, and that is obviously the Gulf countries speaking.
07:04This is a video conference that will take place today with the head of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen
07:09and Antonio Costa.
07:10This is a sort of two-way communication channel.
07:14Remember, these countries are strategic for the energy story for the EU,
07:18but also defense because there is cooperation between a number of European countries and the Gulf countries
07:24when it comes to sort of a mutual defense.
07:27And that's why we've seen the likes of France and Italy, also the U.K.,
07:32saying that they will step in and help protect strategic assets and also their partners in the region.
07:37Another point that is perhaps closer to home is the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who will be headed to Cyprus.
07:43I believe he's probably now on his way there.
07:46The flight was scheduled to take place just a few minutes ago.
07:49He will go there in a show of solidarity.
07:51I remember last week there was a drone that did hit a base, a U.K. base in Cyprus,
07:57and also the Greek prime minister said to visit all of this in a show of solidarity.
08:02But beyond solidarity, there's a real question about the Mediterranean countries
08:05that could be impacted by indiscriminate strikes.
08:08And that is something that the Europeans have said they will have to help and step in.
08:14And the message also from the Commission was clear last week,
08:16saying no stone left unchecked to help these countries that are in the sort of perimeter
08:22that could be impacted by the war.
08:25Okay.
08:26Maria Tadeo, Uri News' EU editor.
08:27Thank you so much for all those details.
08:29And of course, you mentioned the impact this war is having on Mediterranean countries.
08:33And actually, very shortly here, we'll be joined by the president of the Eurogroup,
08:36who also happens to be the Greek finance minister.
08:39So do change.
08:39Stay tuned for that.
08:41But first, here's an update on that pipeline spat between Hungary and Ukraine
08:45that now includes a police raid on a Ukrainian convoy and threats over Europe's oil supply.
08:51Our Jakub Janis has been taking a closer look.
08:55As the old Hollywood rule goes, attributed to Alfred Hitchcock,
09:00a good thriller starts with an explosion, followed by a rising tension.
09:04In the crisis between Hungary and Ukraine, the explosion was a literal pipeline.
09:09And last week, tension reached a breaking point when the Hungarian anti-terror police
09:14raided a Ukrainian state bank convoy carrying cash and gold.
09:18And in response, Kiev accused Budapest of taking its citizens hostage.
09:23But wait a second, how did we actually get here?
09:27Since late January, the Druzhba pipeline has been down.
09:30Kiev blames Russia for the explosion and refuses to repair the damage,
09:35halting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
09:39Budapest, on the other side, accuses Kiev of exploding the disruption.
09:43And, in retaliation, is blocking a critical 90 billion euro EU loan to Ukraine.
09:49But escalation did not stop at financial vetoes.
09:52Orban vowed to break the oil blockade by force, though he did not explain how.
09:58And Ukraine's president fired back, suggesting he would give Ukrainian troops Orban's phone number.
10:05And Hungary condemned the remark as a death threat.
10:08But you see, there is also a bigger picture.
10:11Both leaders are racing against brutal April deadlines.
10:15And if the Ukraine loan is not unblocked by early April,
10:19the country will run out of money, facing devastating cuts to public services.
10:24Meanwhile, Orban faces divisive elections on the 12th of April.
10:29And opposing Ukraine is his strategy to win.
10:32That leaves the EU rushing to break the veto and deliver the cash before Ukraine goes broke,
10:38while trying not to look like it's picking a side in Hungary.
10:41But finding that balance is really hard when this political thriller is building toward its breaking points.
10:49So take a deep breath, because the final scene is about to begin.
10:59For more on that story, you can visit euronews.com.
11:02But for now, as promised, coming up, we'll be joined by Kyriakos Perekakis,
11:07the president of the Eurogroup and the Minister of Economy and Finance of Greece.
11:11As head of the Eurogroup, he chairs meetings of finance ministers from the Eurozone countries
11:16and coordinates economic policy across the Eurozone.
11:19Good morning.
11:20Good morning.
11:21Great to have you with us here on Europe Today on Euronews.
11:24Delighted to be joining you.
11:25So look, Europeans are waking up today with deep concern about the escalating situation,
11:30the rising energy prices.
11:31How vulnerable is the European economy here to these shocks?
11:34First of all, we're being tested.
11:35This is obvious.
11:36And obviously, we're also being quite concerned about how things are unfolding on the ground.
11:41I think we're meeting the diplomatic challenge.
11:43You mentioned Cyprus before in the visit of President Macron in Cyprus.
11:47I think it's quite pertinent that we have this testament, this manifestation of European solidarity
11:52by having forces sent in Cyprus.
11:54And I have to say, I'm quite happy that Greece and the Greek government led the way by being first.
12:00I would also add that we're also tested economically.
12:02And this is what we're going to be discussing today at the Eurogroup meeting.
12:06Energy is going to be a core element of our discussion.
12:09The impact of energy prices is significant already.
12:11And we want to see how we're going to meet that challenge on the ground as well.
12:14And just first, back to that visit in Cyprus today,
12:17the Greek Prime Minister also accompanying President Emmanuel Macron.
12:20Is the war getting closer to your home?
12:22By definition, I would say that we are concerned.
12:25And this is an area where European solidarity is absolutely essential to manifest and showcase.
12:30That's why I mentioned and I underlined that it's quite important that European states,
12:34European member states are collectively showing support
12:36to ensure the security of a member state of the European Union.
12:39And Greeks are concerned.
12:40They're already getting very concerned about the cost of living crisis,
12:43how this is impacting their pocket.
12:44What will you do to address these concerns?
12:46I would say that we already have a toolkit.
12:48And the toolkit is the 2022 toolkit.
12:50We're not yet there.
12:52But businesses and households are already signaling that they want to see what type of support
12:57they would receive should the crisis deepen.
12:59I think we have two key words here.
13:01The first one is duration, how long it will last.
13:05The second one is disruption.
13:07What type of crisis will it be?
13:09If you have a disruption of supply chains and maritime transport,
13:13for instance, at the Strait of Hormuz for a very long period of time,
13:16by definition, the impact is going to be different.
13:18We're looking at the price of natural gas.
13:21We're looking at the price of oil.
13:22But effectively, there are many elements of a potential disruption that we're also looking at.
13:26The price of fertilizers, air traffic, food security.
13:30There are many elements on the ground that affect the international economy.
13:33And I mentioned 2022 because the invasion of Russia and Ukraine provided us with a European toolkit of how we
13:40can manage those crises.
13:41So are we better prepared now?
13:42Of course, we're better prepared.
13:43That's why we have this deployment of a toolkit.
13:46But at the same time, we need orchestration and coordination at the European level.
13:50And this is what the Eurogroup is for.
13:51So we're going to be discussing all of those things both today and on many meetings,
13:56even at the level of the leaders, because we need a concerted European action.
13:59Because the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, have warned in a report just the other day
14:03that the consequences could be felt earlier than we even think.
14:06The key word here, I think, is uncertainty.
14:09That's why I mentioned duration.
14:10And uncertainty, we saw that with tariffs.
14:12Uncertainty has a much greater impact than a problematic policy per se.
14:17That's why you need to unleash the full potential of the European market, of the European Union.
14:21When we're discussing macroeconomic developments for the previous year at the level of the European ministers of finance,
14:28we say that the key word for Europe is resilience.
14:31But, if we're frank, we need to underline and stress that resilience is not a growth strategy.
14:36We need much more.
14:37And Europe has a huge potential to unlock its innovation, its dynamism.
14:42We need to remove the barriers that exist between the member states of the European Union.
14:46And if we're speaking about energy, we need a single European energy market, which we don't have.
14:50That's why energy was put on the agenda.
14:53It's not only about the here and the now, the crisis that we're having at the Gulf right now.
14:58It's much broader.
14:59It's about interconnections.
15:00It's about regulation.
15:01It's about unlocking the potential of our European energy market.
15:04We need to do all of those things at once.
15:06A lot to do, indeed, of course.
15:07But just about the here and now, our viewers waking up this morning worrying about inflation, that it could go
15:11up again.
15:12That's why I mentioned before that we're looking very closely.
15:15The impact on oil and natural gas and, obviously, a rise in energy prices has an adverse impact on inflation.
15:21We saw that in 2022.
15:23I would say that we're not there.
15:262022 was a much deeper crisis.
15:28But we need to be anticipatory and we need to be very well prepared.
15:31As you asked before, we're much better prepared now.
15:34But we need to be vigilant and we need to be observing the situation on the ground.
15:38And what about the European Central Bank?
15:40What role will they be playing here?
15:41Obviously, we believe very firmly in the independence of the European Central Bank and they have shown that they have
15:46the agility and the capability to react when it is necessary and we fully trust them.
15:50And will that be soon, you think?
15:52I cannot comment on that because, as I mentioned, the independence of the Central Bank is for all Europeans a
15:57sine qua non.
15:58And are you feeling very worried right now?
16:00I would say that I feel concerned.
16:02I would say that our work, our job is to be concerned.
16:05But at the same time, our work is to know what we need to do and when we need to
16:09do that.
16:09And as I mentioned before, I think that we have this capacity right now, both at the level of Europe,
16:14both at the level of Brussels and at the level of the member states.
16:17And did this war take you by surprise, Minister?
16:20In reality, we have seen a density of geopolitical events in the recent years which shouldn't be taking us by
16:26surprise at all.
16:27The things we have seen in the last six or seven years would have never been anticipated, you know, from
16:33a 2019 lens, which is when the government that I participate at came into office.
16:38But I think that at the same time, our capacity building has changed, both at the European level and at
16:43the national level.
16:44And this is why, even though you cannot fully anticipate the granularity of certain events, the mentality of anti-fragility
16:51and of capacity building yourself is now here.
16:53And is the EU speaking with one voice, do you believe, on this war?
16:57I think so.
16:57And I mentioned Cyprus at the beginning because that was a testament of European solidarity at the diplomatic level.
17:03We need to have more concerted and more coordinated action at the economic level as well.
17:08This is our responsibility.
17:10This is why we're here.
17:11And President Macron's visit to Cyprus today, is it diplomatic or is it really strategic for him?
17:16I think it's absolutely strategic.
17:17And diplomacy is a core element of that strategy.
17:19All of those things are being, in a sense, being put together.
17:23Diplomacy, economic policy.
17:25Europe should speak with one voice on all fronts.
17:27This is what we need to achieve.
17:28We need strategic autonomy.
17:30But Europe has not been speaking with one voice on all fronts.
17:32Well, that's the challenge.
17:32That's why we have the Draghi report.
17:34That's why we have the Leto report.
17:35And this is why the whole idea is that you need a single market to begin with in order to
17:39unlock your potential, even on a sovereignty basis, not only on an economic basis.
17:43That will be the challenge of my generation in politics, I think.
17:46And it's a challenge that should be met.
17:48We don't have the luxury of not meeting it.
17:50And you don't have the luxury of time, given the escalation crisis right now.
17:53And what you're saying is, effectively, an element of the European story in the past.
17:58We typically integrated crisis, metabolized crisis, into a change in policy when they were manifesting themselves.
18:04We need to become more anticipatory.
18:06We should at least integrate perfect, optimal responses to crisis.
18:10But at the same time, we need to learn how to anticipate them.
18:12We don't have the luxury of simply reacting anymore.
18:14And just one final question.
18:16Bulgaria recently joined the Eurozone.
18:18How is that going?
18:18It's going well.
18:20And we have a collective experience of a transition to the European currency from all the other stories, like the
18:27Greek story, for instance, that took place in the past.
18:30We're supporting the Bulgarian government.
18:32And so far, the situation has been going quite well.
18:35OK. Thank you so much, Minister, for being our guest this morning on Europe Today and for coming into us
18:40here on Euronews.
18:41All the best with your busy day of talks.
18:43And that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.
18:47For more news and analysis, do visit Euronews.com or download our app or visit all our social media sites.
18:52Thank you so much for watching.
18:54Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
19:03We'll see you soon on Euronews.
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