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NewsTranscript
00:00KONIEC
00:30No appetite to extend the mandate of the EU's naval mission into the Strait of Hormuz.
00:37Speaking after EU foreign ministers met in Brussels, she insisted nobody wants to go actively into this war.
00:45Overnight, the conflict raged on, with Israel launching wide-scale attacks on Iran.
00:50Four missiles hit Tehran in the last few hours, and one attack hit the US embassy in Baghdad.
00:56Lebanon has also been drawn into the conflict after Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for the assassination of
01:04Iran's supreme leader.
01:06Over 850 are reported dead in Lebanon and thousands internally displaced.
01:11For more, we can cross now to Dubai and bring in your news correspondent Jane Witherspoon, who's standing by for
01:18us.
01:18Good morning, Jane. Just tell us first, what is the latest there and, of course, across the Middle East?
01:25Good morning. Well, overnight, we heard those public safety alerts for the first time since Friday.
01:32We were woken to them, the first one at around 5 a.m. this morning.
01:36And what followed, I can only describe, was the loudest boom we have heard since the war began.
01:41Now, my house shook, the floors, the windows all shook.
01:44It was so bad that, in fact, I took my children out of their bedroom and their beds and put
01:48them into mine for safety.
01:51Now, that said, people are remaining extremely vigilant here.
01:55We're following guidelines.
01:56And obviously, the air defence team are doing an incredible job.
02:00The authorities here expressed their deep gratitude for the European countries who are supporting that defence,
02:07in particular France, Italy, Germany and the UK.
02:11And meanwhile, Jane, Iran is threatening to wage an economic war in the region.
02:15Tell us more about that.
02:18That's correct.
02:19They're actually diversifying now and putting economic pressure across the region,
02:24which, of course, will have a ripple effect on global economies.
02:27Now, Iran maintained that stranglehold on the Strait of Ormuz.
02:32And, of course, they're now ramping things up in the form of social media threats.
02:37They're putting warnings out, I guess, to try and exert some kind of psychological pressure on people.
02:44Now, this, of course, comes as the new supreme Iranian leader remains unseen still.
02:50But leaked audio has revealed that he actually cheated death by just seconds
02:55when he went out into his garden just as a missile hit his home, killing his father.
03:01Indeed, Jane Witherspoon, thank you so much for that live update from Dubai.
03:05And as you say, reports are surfacing this morning that Mastaba Khamenei escaped death by seconds.
03:10That's according to leaked audio reveals.
03:12You can read more about that on yournews.com.
03:14But now, US President Donald Trump has said that due to the ongoing war in the Middle East,
03:19Iran has been, quote, obliterated.
03:21And the, quote, powerful military campaign in Iran would continue.
03:25Now, the war began just days after President Donald Trump's Board of Peace
03:29convened for the very first time in Washington, D.C., to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza.
03:35For more, Euro News' Maret Gwynne-Jones sat down with the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean,
03:39that's Dubravka Suiza, who was actually physically in D.C. for that occasion.
03:43And Maret started by asking the Commissioner if the Board of Peace was a credible body or not.
03:48It's hard to say whether it's credible or not, but at that moment it was meant for the reconstruction of
03:55Gaza.
03:56And I think regardless of this situation development in the Middle East, we shouldn't forget Gaza.
04:03And I think we have to concentrate on Gaza because the situation remains dire and even worse in Gaza as
04:10we speak now.
04:11So we have to continue working for them.
04:13Yet the charter, so the mandates that President Trump has drafted for the board, does not make one mention of
04:21Gaza.
04:21And the European Commission itself is questioning whether this is in line with the UN Charter, for example,
04:29whether it contradicts the UN Charter.
04:31So given all of that, do you think that the board is credible?
04:35Again, if I may ask you that question.
04:36The invitation for the Board of Peace was received by President von der Leyen and I was representing her at
04:44that meeting.
04:45So it doesn't mean that we legitimized this board.
04:48We were there as we were just observing what was going on.
04:53This was a good occasion for me as Commissioner to meet all the ministers from the region.
04:57For me, it was a good moment to meet all of them at one place.
05:01But at the same time, we are not in line with some of the Board of Peace rules or procedure
05:09with the scope and the different issues so that we are not members.
05:14We are just there.
05:15We were there for courtesy reasons.
05:19So finally on this, will you continue to attend any meeting that are specifically related to the situation?
05:24We will decide on case by case basis.
05:28OK, so obviously there is a war now that is threatening to spill over into the wider Middle East.
05:34You as Commissioner, you're responsible for relations with some of these countries.
05:39How does this war affect your work and the cooperation with the countries such as Lebanon that are directly affected
05:46by the conflict?
05:47So the situation is developing as we speak, so we have to adapt to the situation.
05:53It's also very difficult to start working on Middle East strategy at the moment because the situation develops.
06:02But we have to be active.
06:04We have to be engaged and we want to be engaged.
06:06This is the very reason why this portfolio exists, because President von der Leyen wanted us to be present
06:12and to be not only passive spectators, but to be players in the region.
06:18At this moment, unfortunately, we are mostly payers.
06:21We are paying a lot and our influence is not that huge.
06:25But we want to increase our influence in the region and globally.
06:30Part of this region that you also oversee as well is obviously Israel.
06:35And do you support now the French calls for that they broker talks between Israel and Lebanon to come to
06:43a kind of settlement?
06:44For us, only dialogue, only de-escalation and only diplomacy work.
06:50And this is my position and this is the position of the European Commission.
06:53I could say three Ds, dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation.
06:58And I support, of course, this.
07:00Unfortunately, the proxies, Iranian proxies, Hezbollah started this.
07:04And then it was, if I may say, returned by Israeli strikes, which is not good for the people of
07:14Lebanon,
07:15not good for anyone in the region.
07:16If I may, you say diplomacy, can't you really push for that given the situation that we're seeing today
07:23where we're not seeing any diplomacy?
07:26It's just a conflict.
07:28Yeah, but we are not supporting any conflict.
07:30We are really, we are calling everyone, all the forces there to de-escalate
07:35because it doesn't bring anyone, anything good for the people of the region,
07:41but also globally, to Europe, there is an impact, but there is also impact on the whole world.
07:48If you look at energy prices or crisis, you see what's going on in the world.
07:53And this won't be easy to return to the zero position as it was before this conflict
08:01because the impact is huge, especially on oil, but also on other sources of energy.
08:07And looking at Iran, is there anything that you can do as commissioner to support the Iranian people?
08:13We are the only one in the world who was and who has been and who is supporting
08:18at this moment civil society organizations in Iran
08:21because we didn't have any bilateral connections with the government,
08:28but with civil society organizations via our implementing partners on the ground.
08:33So we have been doing a lot for Afghan people who are refugees in Iran, if you know.
08:40It's more than 100 million euros, which we invested in civil society organizations as of 2021.
08:46So this is what we can do at the moment.
08:49And this is what we have been doing.
08:50So helping people through non-governmental organizations.
08:57Now, the war in the Middle East has nothing to do with NATO and is not a NATO war.
09:01That's the message from the office of the German Chancellor.
09:03For more on the mood among NATO allies, your news correspondent Shona Murray sent us this update.
09:09Well, good morning, Maeve.
09:10And just as we thought the turmoil from last January when Donald Trump said he wanted to take over Greenland
09:14was coming to an end, Donald Trump, it appears, is trying to draw NATO into his war with Iran
09:19with comments at the weekend saying that NATO would face a very bad future if it doesn't support Donald Trump
09:25and help sort out the situation with the Strait of Hormuz.
09:28I caught up with the Finnish foreign affairs minister, Alina Valtanen, and I asked her about this prospect.
09:33NATO, first and foremost, its purpose is, as the North Atlantic Treaty says,
09:38for the North Atlantic security.
09:41And therefore, that's our top priority.
09:44And also, I mean, NATO is a defensive alliance in any case.
09:50But having said all this, of course, we will be closely scrutinizing together with our partners and allies,
09:57so both in NATO, but also in the European Union, whether there are ways in which we can help to
10:04both have the Strait of Hormuz open up,
10:08but also to make it secure going forward as well.
10:12NATO is a defensive alliance, not an offensive alliance.
10:16So therefore, it can't be dragged into a war of the United States and Israel's making.
10:21Is that what you're saying?
10:22NATO is indeed a defensive alliance, and we won't be dragged into any war of choice.
10:28But having said all this, we, of course, have a collective interest.
10:32And I should say not only within NATO, but as the world to have the oil flowing and also the
10:41situation to de-escalate.
10:42And that is certainly something we are calling for.
10:45OK, so what's then the EU and, I guess, NATO, but let's say European response going to be to try
10:50to help reopen and keep open the Strait of Hormuz,
10:53given the impact it's having on the global economy and oil prices?
10:57Yeah.
10:58So, well, today in Brussels, but also in the upcoming days, we will be discussing this with our closest partners
11:06and allies,
11:07both within the European Union and in NATO, whether there should be some sort of an operation which could be
11:16there for that precise purpose,
11:20that we both keep this Strait open, not just for now, but also for the future.
11:25But having said all this, it will require very close scrutiny because, for instance, I can say that for countries
11:33like Finland,
11:35we as NATO members and securing a very long border with Russia as well,
11:40we certainly need our capabilities first and foremost to deter the threat of Russia against the entire alliance.
11:48Back a few months ago, there was Greenland.
11:50OK, then you have months before that, all NATO allies saying that they're going to increase spending to 5 percent.
11:58And everyone did that.
11:59And now you have Donald Trump taking away the Russian sanctions against the Kremlin,
12:04which is probably one of the most effective thing that Europe has done.
12:08Now that Putin can get all this money from the oil revenue, it means he can spend it on the
12:12war in Ukraine.
12:14Well, you see, the Russian economy showed some serious cracks earlier this year.
12:22And many were of the opinion that finally the sanctions that we have put on do work.
12:29And certainly the sanctions have played a massive role in weakening Russia's fiscal position,
12:35which is good because Russia is using its rubles essentially to fund its war machine.
12:43But now that the oil price has been ticking up and it probably will be staying there for some time,
12:51that certainly helps Russia on a daily basis.
12:55Should Europe say, OK, we will help you, but we need a better deal on Ukraine,
12:59whether it's security guarantees or we need you to take away the tariffs that you've imposed on us
13:04that are really damaging our economies or creating global instability.
13:07Certainly, if there's going to be a decision to be helping out with the Strait of Hormuz,
13:12then certainly there's a lot of leverage that we can also make use of.
13:18Like what? What would you think?
13:19So let's rush into conclusions here.
13:22But what has to be said that not only Ukraine, but also Europe have very strong cards,
13:27especially in the long term.
13:31And now moving on, even though everyone outside Brussels is talking about the Oscars this week
13:36and the exceptional wins of European actors,
13:39inside Brussels, everyone's talking about Manfred Weber,
13:42the German centre-right politician accused of teaming up with the far right
13:45after promising his voters he would not.
13:48But who is the 53-year-old who's been EPP party boss since 2022?
13:53Jakob Janis takes a look.
13:55In Brussels, no one throws a political party quite like conservatives.
14:01And tomorrow, the European People's Party celebrates its 50th anniversary.
14:06All eyes are now on party's boss, Manfred Weber,
14:09who doesn't just want to make kings, he wants to be one.
14:13But while the party looks back at its history,
14:16your reporter wants to look at his true currency.
14:19Because for Weber, it's all about the votes.
14:22So let's count them, shall we?
14:25Remember 2019?
14:27Because Weber certainly does.
14:29He was the lead candidate for the European Commission presidency.
14:33But EU leaders publicly snapped him, giving the job to Ursula von der Leyen instead.
14:38And he didn't take it lightly.
14:41But Weber is a tough player.
14:43He secured the overall party presidency in 2022.
14:47Then he cemented his absolute control with a massive re-election victory at the party congress in Valencia last year.
14:56Finally, there are the votes he trades.
14:59Last November, his lawmakers teamed up with the far right to weaken corporate sustainability rules.
15:05And his group defended the move, arguing they simply had to find a majority to help companies do business.
15:13But you see, this cooperation actually goes further.
15:16And last week's investigations show his group even collaborated with Alternative für Deutschland
15:22in a text chat to advance tougher migration laws.
15:26But you might ask, why does this even matter?
15:29And the answer is simple.
15:30Recent elections show voters demand more right-wing answers to political questions.
15:36But the so-called Cordon Sanitaire, or Brandmauer in German,
15:40forces difficult compromises with the left and liberals, leaving fewer people happy.
15:45And this is not just about the European Parliament, but the Bundestag too.
15:49And so, with the economy struggling, European and German conservative leaders face a dilemma.
15:56Should they stick to centrist alliances?
15:58Or maybe quietly work with the far right?
16:01And some speculate Weber is now eyeing a new mega-job merging the European Commission and council presidencies.
16:09He certainly knows how to gather votes, but can he handle the trouble that comes with them?
16:19And for more on this, let's go straight to the European Parliament,
16:22where correspondent Vincenzo Genovese is standing by for us this morning.
16:25Vincenzo, what is the latest here?
16:29Yes, Maif, indeed, the pressure is mounting on Manfred Weber,
16:33the chair of the European People's Party.
16:35Yesterday evening, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stepped in,
16:39saying, we don't accept this, we don't cooperate with the far right,
16:43we expect this to end, and we expect consequences.
16:46This will be Weber's responsibility.
16:48So Weber has always defended that his group is not cooperating with the far right,
16:55despite the fact that on migration-related files,
16:59EPP has voted in the same way as the far right groups,
17:03including Europe of Sovereign Nations, to which belongs Alternative for Germany.
17:08So, let's ask them.
17:10Joining me is Thomas Froelich,
17:12one of the lawmakers of Alternative for Germany here in Brussels.
17:16So, did this cooperation take place?
17:19I'm not a member of this committee.
17:22It was decided on the Liber Committee's level.
17:24I'm not a member of the Liber Committee,
17:26but as you can see, there was a certain form of cooperation on technical level.
17:32It's not an official cooperation.
17:34And, yeah, they voted on the same report,
17:39and it's not for the first time.
17:40I mean, we had already votes on the budget.
17:44I think it was one year ago.
17:46Not the first time of technical level cooperation,
17:49technical level talks.
17:50I mean, we just tabled some amendments.
17:52We called for more funding for physical barriers,
17:59physical border barriers.
18:00We called for more funding for external hubs for returns.
18:06And it was, I think, one and a half year ago.
18:08And our amendments that were tabled by our group
18:12were supported by the EPP at this time.
18:15So, it was not the first time that we turned down the so-called...
18:18Same views, more or less.
18:19But would you say that the firewall, the Brandmauer,
18:23has fallen, at least here in Brussels?
18:26As I said, it was one and a half year.
18:28It has fallen for the first time, and now for the second time.
18:32Yeah, look, we don't care about firewalls or about codon sanitars,
18:36because, in our opinion, for us,
18:39the interest of the Germans and the Europeans comes first,
18:42and then the party interests.
18:43And now it's up to the EPP how they want to handle this situation.
18:47As I said, for us, the interest of our voters comes first,
18:51and I think in the democracy,
18:54it would be better if also the other groups
18:56would respect the will of the people.
18:59And, as I said, in many countries,
19:01parties like the AFD or like Rassemble, Monas and Ireland in France
19:04are the strongest or second strongest party.
19:06So, I think we need to respect the will of the people.
19:09And they are already cooperating with EPP parties in other countries,
19:12but not in Germany.
19:13So, what are the consequences in Germany, if any?
19:17As I said, we put the interest of the German people first,
19:20and now it's up to the CDU.
19:23I think for the CDU it's a problem.
19:25The codon sanitaire, the so-called firewall,
19:27is a bigger threat to the CDU than to us.
19:30Okay, Vincenzo, thank you so much there for that live update,
19:32and also to your guest, the AFD MEP, Thomas Follett.
19:36Well, that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.
19:39For our millions of viewers with Irish blood,
19:40happy St. Patrick's Day.
19:42Stay with us here on Euronews,
19:44as later from 1.30 Central European time,
19:47we'll be bringing you a very special live show
19:49all about healthcare and health innovation in the European Union.
19:52The Euronews Health Summit will look into the complex health landscape
19:55with a deep dive into AI, rare kidney disease,
19:58and the EU's health mandate.
20:00And we'll also be joined by the EU Commissioner for Health.
20:02We'll be joined by the Euronews Health Summit.
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