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Europe Today: i leader Ue si riuniscono a Bruxelles per un vertice cruciale e teso
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ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/03/19/europe-today-i-leader-ue-si-riuniscono-a-bruxelles-per-un-vertice-cruciale-e-teso
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Sintonizzati sul nuovo programma di punta del mattino di Euronews alle 8, ora di Bruxelles. In soli 20 minuti ti aggiorniamo sulle notizie più importanti della giornata.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/03/19/europe-today-i-leader-ue-si-riuniscono-a-bruxelles-per-un-vertice-cruciale-e-teso
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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NovitàTrascrizione
00:14Buongiorno, è Thursday 19th March.
00:17I'm Maeve McMahon e you're watching Europe Today.
00:21Your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up, EU leaders are gathering in Brussels today for their regular spring summit.
00:32On the agenda, not one but two wars, and they may be more connected than you think.
00:37As the conflict involving Iran spills across the Middle East, with dangerous escalations on all sides,
00:44the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, will also join leaders to reflect on the mounting humanitarian crisis.
00:50The message from the summit, though, is clear.
00:53This is not Europe's war, but it is affecting us, whether we like it or not.
00:59From rising energy prices to the risk of food shortages all across Africa, the global impact is already being felt.
01:06Plus, EU leaders won't be forgetting Ukraine.
01:09Now, in its fifth year of war, the country is still waiting for a billion euro loan.
01:14President Zelensky will join the talks remotely.
01:16For more, we can cross straight over to the arrival floor of the EU summit,
01:20where Euronews' correspondent Shona Murray is standing by for us this morning.
01:24Good morning, Shona.
01:25So, we're hearing the EU saying it's not getting involved in the US-Israel war on Iran.
01:30But will leaders discuss any potential support today to allow the Strait of Hormuz to return to normality?
01:38Well, good morning, Maeve.
01:39And we are shaping up for a very rancorous, a very difficult EU summit today.
01:43EU leaders will about to start trickling down the red carpet here over the next sort of half an hour
01:48or so
01:48for what will be a very late summit, which will probably drag in well into the early hours of the
01:53night.
01:53And as you mentioned there, two major items on the agenda.
01:57First of all, of course, the Iran war and the impact it's having on Europe.
02:00Now, EU leaders over the past few days have started roundly rejecting the premise of this war,
02:06saying that they weren't consulted, they're not party to the conflict,
02:09and therefore why should they get involved, why should they send their vessels, their sailors
02:13to help the Strait of Hormuz and the Americans and the Israelis.
02:16Take a listen to German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz speaking to the Bundestag yesterday.
02:23We have also made it clear that we still have many questions about this war.
02:28To date, there is no convincing concept of how this operation could succeed.
02:33Washington did not consult us and did not declare European aid necessary.
02:39Ladies and gentlemen, we would have advised against following this path, which is being currently taken.
02:49So that's Friedrich Mertz, the German Chancellor, obviously making the point that they don't understand the objectives of this war,
02:56they weren't consulted and they would have advised against it.
02:58And that's very interesting, May, because you might recall a couple of weeks ago,
03:01there was a lukewarm endorsement from a lot of Western countries,
03:05particularly some of the most senior countries in the European Union, aside from Spain,
03:09that said, look, let's not lecture our allies.
03:12This is a very important thing to do, potentially to rid the world of the regime in Tehran.
03:18But now they're also looking at the impact.
03:20The impact for European economies on this war is massive.
03:24We've seen oil prices skyrocket.
03:26The impact on the cost of living crisis is huge.
03:28But the key question is, will Europe do anything to save the Americans and the Israelis and the Israelis right
03:34now?
03:34Will they send their vessels, their sailors to the Strait of Hormuz?
03:38We've heard over the past few days that this is a non-starter.
03:40There was even a discussion by the EU foreign policy chief, Kaya Callas,
03:43as to whether she could maybe do a negotiation with the Iranians
03:46to try to get European vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
03:49And that, again, is a non-starter.
03:51But we've seen this war escalate over the past few days,
03:54in particular the world's largest gas field being hit by strikes yesterday.
03:59So EU leaders will definitely discuss the economic impact of this war.
04:03And just briefly, Shona, Ukraine also very much on the agenda.
04:09Of course, yes.
04:10It's a major issue that will keep the EU leaders up at night.
04:13Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister,
04:14has reneged on an agreement that was set before Christmas
04:18that he would endorse a €90 billion loan for Ukraine.
04:21He's now saying he won't do that because the Ukrainians are refusing,
04:24as he says, to fix the Druzhba pipeline,
04:26which is a pipeline that gets oil from Russia through Ukraine to Slovakia and Hungary.
04:32So that's going to be a major problem because Ukraine needs this money by June.
04:35Indeed, Shona Murray, thank you so much for that live update there from the EU summit,
04:40from an EU summit that once again could potentially be dominated by a veto
04:43by Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister.
04:46For more, your news is Hungarian correspondent,
04:48Chandor Zeros, is with me here on set.
04:50Good to see you, Chandor.
04:52Thank you so much for being here.
04:53And we understand the EU and Ukraine have sent a team of experts to this pipeline.
04:58Could this resolve now this issue of the veto at the EU summit?
05:01Good morning, Maeve.
05:02Indeed, earlier this week, the European Commission decided to take action
05:06and try to resolve this issue.
05:08The group of experts are currently on the ground
05:11and they are expected to file a report pretty soon
05:15in order to see what does it cost
05:18and how much time it will take to repair this pipeline.
05:22But I guess this is not going to resolve the issue right now at this European summit
05:27because Prime Minister Viktor Orban clearly said two days ago that in order to lift his veto
05:32and in order to finance Ukraine, he needs to get the oil flowing.
05:37And this, according to Ukraine, could take up to one month.
05:41So I expect a really tough summit for Viktor Orban, a lot of fighting,
05:46but I don't think there will be a solution for this loan of Ukraine.
05:51And there is not a plan B, so they cannot simply bypass Hungary on this.
05:56And it's tricky, isn't it, for the EU?
05:57Because, of course, Hungary is a member state, Ukraine an aspiring member state.
06:01And also, very interestingly, we have to remind our viewers,
06:03there's elections coming up on the 12th of April in Hungary.
06:07How is this issue of this kind of spat between Hungary and Ukraine playing out in the campaign, Sander?
06:12That's right. This is one of the main issues in the campaign debated right now.
06:18Because, you know, this is related to energy security.
06:21This is related to the price of the petrol, the price of the heating, cost of the living.
06:26So this is huge.
06:28And again, Prime Minister Orban is portraying himself as somebody who is fighting with Brussels,
06:35in Brussels, for Hungary, and he's fighting also with Ukraine
06:39in order to secure cheap oil from Russia.
06:42This is a big issue, and according to experts that I spoke to,
06:46this could eventually help Orban boosting his support.
06:50And another thing is, since people are talking about Ukraine,
06:53they are not talking about the talking points of the opposition,
06:57which is, you know, hospitals, schools, inflation, etc.
07:01And one final thing to remind, the elections are still open.
07:06Orban could win, but he could also lose.
07:09And if he's losing, this is his last European summit,
07:12and possibly his last European veto as well.
07:15As you said, Sander, it will be a very tough summit.
07:18We'll keep a very close eye on it.
07:19Thank you so much for that update.
07:21And now, of course, although all eyes here in Brussels
07:24are focused on the politics coming out of that EU summit today,
07:28the eyes of the world are on the Middle East.
07:30In Lebanon, hundreds are reported killed,
07:32and more than one million people displaced,
07:34and strikes are starting to hit energy infrastructure
07:37from Iran to Qatad.
07:38This, as President Trump warned Iran not to attack Qatad again,
07:42or the US would, quote,
07:43massively blow up the entirety of an Iranian gas field.
07:47We can go to Dubai now,
07:48where our regional correspondent, Jane Witherspoon,
07:50is standing by for us.
07:51Good morning, Jane.
07:52So it's getting very ugly here,
07:54and dangerous with energy sites being struck on all sides.
07:57Tell us more.
07:59That's right.
08:00Iran has ramped up its attacks on energy sites across the Middle East.
08:04It comes as the Revolutionary Guard has said this is a new era of war.
08:09Now, here in the UAE, our Habshan gas facility was closed overnight due to strikes there.
08:15We're hearing similar reports across the region in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia.
08:20And, of course, this morning we learned that several sites in Qatar, Doha,
08:25had been attacked, leading to extensive damage.
08:28Now, all three countries have come out and condemned these attacks,
08:32saying it could lead to global security issues.
08:35And, of course, these do come off the back of Israel,
08:38attacking that South Par in Iran, their largest gas field there.
08:43However, overnight as well,
08:44President Trump has come out and said he had no idea
08:47that these attacks were going to take place.
08:49He's condemned further attacks also on Iranian infrastructure.
08:54And, meanwhile, Jane, Iran Security Chief Ali Larajani has been killed in an Israeli strike.
09:00He was actually one of the most influential figures of the regime.
09:03Tell us more about that and what it could mean.
09:06Yes.
09:06Now, a lot of the top brass from that Iranian regime
09:09have been killed over the past few days.
09:11There's a statement out in the media in Iran today,
09:14supposedly from the Supreme Leader, Mouchabar Khamenei,
09:18saying that he condemns these killings.
09:20And as you say, his top security chief was just the latest to be taken out.
09:25So he's very angry about that.
09:27Now, amidst these strikes,
09:29which are consistent through the day and night across the region,
09:33we are hearing that the Iranian people are against the regime there.
09:37and they're now taking to the streets in protest
09:40and they're coming up against security forces there.
09:42OK, Jane Witherspoon, of course, we have our Farsi desk all over that.
09:46Thank you so much for that live update there from the United Arab Emirates.
09:50Now, back here in Brussels at the EU summit,
09:53EU leaders are looking at ways to soften the blow from the war in the Middle East
09:57and also manage the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine,
10:00now entering its fifth year.
10:02Our Jakob Yanis takes a look at how both wars are very connected.
10:07Today, 27 EU leaders meet in Brussels for the European Council.
10:12The official agenda highlights competitiveness and migration.
10:16But war overshadows it all.
10:18And your reporter doesn't yet know exactly what they will be saying.
10:22But we can certainly guess what keeps them up at night.
10:25Especially as Russia's war in Ukraine
10:27and the US-Israeli war in Iran have become deeply interlinked.
10:32Let's take a look together.
10:34With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed,
10:36energy and petrol costs are soaring.
10:38And because that vital waterway handles a massive share of global fertiliser shipments,
10:44it also means higher grocery prices for everyone.
10:47To ease that pressure,
10:49Trump announced last week that he is lifting some sanctions on Russian oil.
10:53The US Treasury issued a temporary permit
10:56allowing countries to purchase Russian crude currently stranded at sea.
11:00And Washington insists this only applies to already loaded cargo,
11:05strictly ruling out new trades or major financial benefits for Russia.
11:10But European leaders are strongly pushing back.
11:13German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the move wrong,
11:17while Council President Antonio Costa
11:19argued it directly undermines European security
11:22by letting Moscow cash in.
11:25But here is the bitter irony.
11:28Since Trump's decision, oil prices have not drastically fallen.
11:31But European security has.
11:34This sanctions relief could hand the Kremlin
11:37a staggering $150 million a day.
11:41That single day of revenue
11:42buys up to 7,000 Iranian-designed Shahid drones.
11:46Or could fund sign-up bonuses for 5,000 new Russian soldiers.
11:52Every single day.
11:54And after bashing traditional diplomacy,
11:56Trump is disappointed
11:57Europe is not rushing to help secure the Middle East.
12:01But as EU leaders gathering Brussels
12:03just days after the Ides of March,
12:06one could say they know a political backstabbing
12:09when they see one.
12:16Jakub Jan is reporting for us there.
12:18Now, although only 27 EU leaders
12:20are in that summit physically today,
12:22some others are hoping to one day sit in there too.
12:25Like Iceland, who plan to hold a referendum
12:27on EU membership.
12:29For more, your news is Shona Murray
12:30sent down with the Foreign Minister of Iceland
12:33and started by asking her
12:34if this will be a very difficult referendum
12:36to get through.
12:38Everyone knows about Brexit
12:40and all the lies that were put on the table
12:45in that process.
12:46So, yes, it will not be an easy walk.
12:51But in the end, you know,
12:53you have to trust the nation
12:54and believe in her.
12:57And it's rather positive now.
12:58the outcome is, could be positive now,
13:02today, if we would vote.
13:05But on the other hand,
13:09you know,
13:12it's just a simple question, you know.
13:14Should we continue negotiation talks?
13:17Yes or no?
13:17And from my point of view,
13:19if you say no,
13:20you are closing a lot of doors.
13:22Instead of saying yes,
13:24should we not continue,
13:25see what kind of negotiation
13:27and agreement we will get.
13:29If you say no,
13:30then I'm afraid that Iceland
13:32will be pretty much alone.
13:34Not quite alone,
13:35but of course,
13:36we are still a member of NATO
13:37and we have the EA agreement.
13:40We have EFTA.
13:40But I think our position
13:43will be not so strong
13:45as being a member
13:46of the European Union.
13:48And there, again,
13:49I come to the values we share.
13:52What do you make
13:53of the changing nature
13:54of the transatlantic relationship?
13:56If I could now criticize
13:58the European Union,
13:59is that they should be
14:02with more self-esteem, you know.
14:04European Union is a superpower,
14:06you know,
14:07and they should act like a superpower,
14:09if I could say so.
14:10And you just,
14:12if you watch and recall
14:14the Greenland's agenda
14:17from the US part,
14:19it was quite clear
14:21that the European Union
14:22was a backbone for Danemark
14:25and Greenland
14:25when these statements
14:29were made on the US behalf.
14:31And I think that was beneficial
14:33for Danemark,
14:34but it was also useful
14:36for us in Iceland to see,
14:37okay, European Union
14:39and most of the countries,
14:42they can stand
14:44with other nations
14:45when they are,
14:46in a way,
14:47attacked
14:48and their sovereignty.
14:50Was that very worrying
14:52from an Icelandic point of view,
14:53what happened with Greenland?
14:54Because you're talking
14:54about two islands
14:56and, I mean,
14:57he actually,
14:58Donald Trump kept on saying
14:59Iceland instead of Greenland
15:00in his speech in Davos.
15:01Yeah, but he meant Greenland.
15:02I know, I know,
15:03but still,
15:04I mean,
15:05Iceland at the back of his head somewhere.
15:07Somewhere, yeah,
15:08somewhere, yes.
15:08But actually,
15:09just to underline,
15:11Iceland has an excellent
15:12relationship with the US.
15:14Until it doesn't.
15:16Yes, but, you know,
15:18when it comes
15:19to defensive security,
15:20I just have to underline
15:21our cooperation
15:23in that field
15:23has been increasing
15:24and has been
15:26not just encouraging,
15:28you know,
15:28it has been very useful
15:29for Iceland
15:30and I know as well
15:31for the US.
15:33So,
15:33whatever people say,
15:34you know,
15:35in that field,
15:36defensive security,
15:37it's fine
15:38and it's one
15:39of the most important
15:40pillars of our
15:42new defense
15:43and security policy.
15:45But when it comes
15:46to trade,
15:47sadly,
15:47no,
15:48their friendship
15:49is not so good
15:50as it was,
15:51you know,
15:51because we got
15:52first 15
15:53and then now 10
15:55after the decision
15:56from the Supreme Court.
15:58So,
16:00I think
16:01in Iceland
16:01we are
16:02and we still
16:04will be advocating
16:05for a good
16:06transatlantic
16:07relationship.
16:08everybody is.
16:08You know,
16:09yeah,
16:09but we also
16:11have to work
16:11for it,
16:12you know.
16:12but we cannot
16:13be naive
16:14and that's why
16:15I say
16:15it's important
16:17for Iceland
16:18to
16:22increase
16:23the pillars
16:24under the
16:24defense and security
16:25policy.
16:26Like I mentioned,
16:26there are two main pillars
16:28under our defense
16:29and security policy,
16:30being a member
16:30of NATO
16:32and the other pillar
16:33is the defense
16:36agreement
16:36with the US
16:37since 1951.
16:38but of course
16:39we are
16:42having bilateral
16:43agreements
16:44with countries
16:45like Finland
16:46and Germany
16:47and we are
16:48updating our memory
16:50of understanding
16:51and defense
16:52with Canada
16:53and of course
16:54we are
16:54debating
16:55our collaboration
16:57with other countries
16:59and we have to do it
17:00because in this world,
17:01in this volatile world,
17:03you see what
17:04Finland and Sweden did.
17:05they joined NATO
17:06and they say
17:07those two pillars,
17:09EU and NATO,
17:10they are
17:10the backbone
17:11of their security
17:12and I,
17:14of course,
17:15we in Iceland,
17:15we have to do something
17:16more
17:17that we have been doing
17:18and that's why
17:19I,
17:20for example,
17:21I signed this
17:22security and defense
17:23partnership
17:24with EU today.
17:25when you say
17:26the EU
17:27should be acting
17:27like a superpower,
17:28should you
17:30recognize the leverage
17:31that it has?
17:32I mean,
17:32if you look at
17:32what's happening
17:33in the trade
17:33It's a humongous leverage,
17:34you know.
17:34What would you say
17:35Ursula von der Leyen
17:36should have done
17:37maybe around
17:38the issue of tariffs?
17:39Should the EU
17:41have played
17:42a tariff game
17:43with Trump
17:43or accepted 15%?
17:45I will not tell them
17:46what to do.
17:47You know,
17:47it's a difficult situation.
17:48What I only ask for
17:50is in various areas,
17:54show your superpower
17:55because together
17:56Europe is a strong alliance.
17:58As opposed to the
17:59example of Greenland.
18:01exactly.
18:02For the example
18:02of Greenland,
18:03there some nations
18:06said,
18:06okay,
18:06if you're going
18:07to put tariffs
18:07on us
18:08because we are
18:08standing with Greenland
18:09and Denmark,
18:11then we are going
18:11to put tariffs
18:12on you.
18:13And of course
18:14it affected the markets
18:15in the US.
18:17And that's why
18:18one of the reasons
18:19that I think
18:21the US administration
18:22responded to.
18:26Euronews's
18:27Shona Murray
18:27there speaking
18:28to the Foreign Minister
18:29of Iceland.
18:30Now here on Euronews,
18:31our EU summit coverage
18:32is just getting started.
18:34Our reporters
18:34will be on the ground
18:35all day.
18:36We'll have a live blog
18:37all day and night.
18:38And tonight at seven
18:39we'll be bringing you
18:40a very special live show
18:41from the summit floor
18:42hosted by our Maria today.
18:45Also don't miss that.
18:45But for more
18:46on how the actual summit
18:47will unfold today,
18:48we can bring in briefly again
18:49our Shona Murray
18:50who's on the arrivals
18:51floor for us.
18:53anyone arrived yet?
18:54Shona,
18:54and how will the day proceed?
18:57No, no one arrived yet.
18:59As you can see
18:59it's gotten much, much busier.
19:01EU leaders will start
19:02giving their statements
19:02to their press.
19:03They'll probably
19:04obviously highlight
19:05the Iran war,
19:05their concerns
19:06about the spillover.
19:07Key on the agenda
19:08for all of them
19:09will be to get
19:09the message across
19:10that they will try
19:11to do something
19:11about spiralling
19:12energy prices.
19:13The problem is
19:14that EU member states
19:15are not agreed
19:15about how the EU
19:17should proceed
19:17in this regard.
19:18Also we'll have
19:19President Zelensky
19:20of Ukraine
19:21on video call.
19:22He will be putting
19:23his point across
19:23in relation to
19:24the 90 billion euros
19:25but also how Ukraine
19:26can help support
19:27the West
19:28in tackling
19:29Shahid drones.
19:30So it's going to be
19:30a long day,
19:31it's going to be
19:31rancorous,
19:32it's going to be
19:32difficult and I'll
19:33probably see you here
19:33first thing in the
19:34morning in the same
19:35clothes like before.
19:36You will indeed
19:37and actually Shona
19:38this summit was meant
19:39to be about competitiveness
19:40but interesting how
19:40things have changed.
19:41As I said,
19:42stay glued
19:43to Euronews.com
19:44and Euronews TV
19:45for more coverage
19:46of that summit.
19:46Thanks for watching,
19:47take care
19:47and see you soon.
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