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06:25cost of the living. So this is huge. And again, Prime Minister Orbán is portraying himself as
06:31somebody who is fighting with Brussels in Brussels for Hungary, and he's fighting also
06:37with Ukraine in order to secure cheap oil from Russia. This is a big issue, and according to
06:44experts that I spoke to, this could eventually help Orbán boosting his support. And another
06:51thing is, since people are talking about Ukraine, they are not talking about the talking points of
06:56the opposition, which is, you know, hospitals, schools, inflation, etc. And one final thing to
07:03remind, the elections are still open. Orbán could win, but he could also lose. And if he's losing,
07:10this is his last European summit, and possibly his last European veto as well.
07:15As you said, Sander, it'll be a very tough summit. We'll keep a very close eye on it. Thank you
07:19so
07:19much for that update. And now, of course, although all eyes here in Brussels are focused on the
07:25politics coming out of that EU summit today, the eyes of the world are on the Middle East. In Lebanon,
07:31hundreds are reported killed and more than one million people displaced, and strikes are starting
07:35to hit energy infrastructure from Iran to Qatar. This, as President Trump warned Iran not to attack
07:41Qatar again, or the US would, quote, massively blow up the entirety of an Iranian gas field.
07:46We can go to Dubai now, where our regional correspondent Jane Witherspoon is standing
07:50by for us. Good morning, Jane. So it's getting very ugly here and dangerous with energy sites
07:55being struck on all sides. Tell us more.
07:59That's right. Iran has ramped up its attacks on energy sites across the Middle East. It comes
08:04as the Revolutionary Guard has said this is a new era of war. Now here in the UAE, our Habshan
08:12gas facility was closed overnight due to strikes there. We're hearing similar reports across
08:18the region in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. And of course, this morning, we learned that several
08:23sites in Qatar, Doha had been attacked, leading to extensive damage. Now, all three countries have
08:29come out and condemned these attacks, saying it could lead to global security issues. And of course,
08:35these do come off the back of Israel attacking that south par in Iran, their largest gas field
08:42there. However, overnight as well, President Trump has come out and said he had no idea that
08:47these attacks were going to take place. He's condemned further attacks also on Iranian infrastructure.
08:54And meanwhile, Jane, Iran Security Chief Ali Larajani has been killed in an Israeli strike. He was
09:00actually one of the most influential figures of the regime. Tell us more about that and what
09:04it could mean. Yes. Now, a lot of the top brass from that Iranian regime have been killed over the
09:10past few days. There's a statement out in the media in Iran today, supposedly from the Supreme
09:15Leader, Mojabar Khamenei, saying that he condemns these killings. And as you say, his top security
09:22chief was just the latest to be taken out. So he's very angry about that. Now, amidst these strikes,
09:29which are consistent through the day and night across the region, we are hearing that the
09:34Iranian people are against the regime there. And they're now taking to the streets in protest
09:40and they're coming up against security forces there.
09:42OK, Jane Witherspoon. And of course, we have our Farsi desk all over that. Thank you so much
09:47for that live update there from the United Arab Emirates. Now, back here in Brussels at the EU
09:52summit, EU leaders are looking at ways to soften the blow from the war in the Middle East and also
09:58manage the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine, now entering its fifth year. Our Jakob Yanis takes a look
10:03at how
10:04both wars are very connected.
10:08Today, 27 EU leaders meet in Brussels for the European Council. The official agenda highlights
10:14competitiveness and migration. But war overshadows it all. And your reporter doesn't yet know exactly
10:20what they will be saying. But we can certainly guess what keeps them up at night. Especially as
10:26Russia's war in Ukraine and the US-Israeli war in Iran have become deeply interlinked. Let's take a look
10:32together. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, energy 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, Trump announced last week that he's lifting some sanctions on Russian oil.
10:53The US Treasury issued a temporary permit allowing countries to purchase Russian crude
10:58currently stranded at sea. And 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, while Council President Antonio Costa argued
11:20it directly undermines European security by letting Moscow cash in.
11:24But here is the bitter irony. Since Trump's decision, oil prices have not drastically fallen.
11:31But European security has. This sanctions relief could hand the Kremlin a staggering $150 million
11:39a day. That single day of revenue buys up to 7,000 Iranian-designed Shahid drones.
11:46Or could fund sign-up bonuses for 5,000 new Russian soldiers. Every single day.
11:53And after bashing traditional diplomacy, Trump is disappointed Europe is not rushing to help secure
12:00the Middle East. But as EU leaders gathering Brussels just days after the Ides of March,
12:06one could say they know a political backstabbing when they see one.
12:16Jakob Ján is reporting for us there. Now, although only 27 EU leaders are in that summit physically today,
12:22some others are hoping to one day sit in there too. Like Iceland, who planned to hold a referendum
12:27on EU membership. For more, your news is Shona Murray, sent down with the Foreign Minister of
12:32Iceland and started by asking her if this would be a very difficult referendum to get through.
12:38Everyone knows about Brexit and all the lies that were put on the table in that process.
12:46So, yes, it will not be an easy walk. But in the end, you know, you have to trust the
12:54nation and believe
12:55in her. And it's rather positive now. The outcome could be positive now, today, if we would vote.
13:05But on the other hand, you know, it's just a simple question, you know.
13:14Should we continue the negotiation talks? Yes or no?
13:17And from my point of view, if you say no, you are closing a lot of doors. Instead of saying
13:23yes,
13:24should we not continue, see what kind of negotiation and an agreement we will get.
13:29If you say no, then I'm afraid that Iceland will be pretty much alone. Not quite alone,
13:35but of course we are still a member of NATO and we have the EIA agreement we have after.
13:40But I think our position will be not so strong as being a member of the European Union. And there,
13:48again, I come to the values we share.
13:52What do you make of the changing nature of the transatlantic relationship?
13:56If I could now criticise European Union is that they should be with more self-esteem, you know.
14:04European Union is a superpower, you know, and they should act like a superpower, if I could say so.
14:10And you just, if you watch and recall the Greenland's agenda from the US part,
14:19it was quite clear that the European Union was a backbone for Denmark and Greenland when these statements were made
14:29on the US behalf.
14:31And I think that was beneficial for Denmark. But it was also useful for us in Iceland to see, OK,
14:38European Union and most of the countries,
14:42they can stand with people, with other nations when they are in a way attacked and their sovereignty.
14:50Was that very worrying from an Icelandic point of view, what happened with Greenland?
14:54Because we're talking about two islands.
14:57And I mean, he actually, Donald Trump kept on saying Iceland instead of Greenland in his speech in Davos.
15:01Yeah, but he meant Greenland.
15:02I know, I know, but still, I mean, Iceland at the back of his head somewhere.
15:07Somewhere, yeah, somewhere, yes.
15:08Yes, but actually, just to underline, Iceland has an excellent relationship with the US.
15:14Hitler doesn't.
15:16Yes, but, you know, when it comes to defensive security, I just have to underline our cooperation in that field
15:23has been increasing
15:24and has been, not just encouraging, you know, has been very useful for Iceland and I know as well for
15:31the US.
15:33So, whatever people say, you know, in that field, defense and security, it's fine.
15:39And it's one of the most important pillars of our new defense and security policy.
15:44But when it comes to trade, sadly, yeah, no, their friendship is not so good as it was, you know,
15:51because we got first 15 and then now 10 after the decision from the Supreme Court.
15:59So, I think in Iceland we are and we still will be advocating for a good transatlantic relationship.
16:07Of course, everybody is.
16:08You know, yeah, but we also have to work for it, you know.
16:12But we cannot be naive.
16:14And that's why I say it's important for Iceland to increase the pillars under the defense and security policy.
16:26Like I mentioned, there are two main pillars under our defense and security policy, being a member of NATO.
16:32And the other pillar is the defense agreement with the US since 1951.
16:38But, of course, we are having bilateral agreements with countries like Finland and Germany.
16:47And we are updating our memory of understanding and defense with Canada.
16:53And, of course, we are debating our collaboration with other countries.
16:59We have to do it because in this world, in this volatile world, you see what Finland and Sweden did.
17:05They joined NATO and they say those two pillars, EU and NATO, they are the backbone of their security.
17:13And I, of course, we in Iceland, we have to do something more that we have been doing.
17:18And that's why I, for example, I signed this security and defense partnership with the EU today.
17:25When you say the EU should be acting like a superpower, you should recognize the leverage that it has.
17:32I mean, if you look at what's happening in Australia.
17:33It has humongous leverage, you know.
17:34What would you say Ursula von der Leyen should have done, maybe around the issue of tariffs?
17:39Should the EU have played a tariff game with Trump or accepted the 15%?
17:44I will not tell them what to do.
17:47You know, it's a difficult situation.
17:48What I only ask for is, in various areas, show your superpower.
17:55Because together, Europe is a strong alliance.
17:58I suppose to the example of Greenland.
18:01Yeah, exactly, for the example of Greenland, there some nations said, OK, if you're going to put tariffs on us
18:08because we are standing with Greenland and Denmark, then we are going to put tariffs on you.
18:13And, of course, it affected the markets in the U.S.
18:16And that's why one of the reasons that I think the U.S. administration responded to.
18:26Euronews' Shona Marie there is speaking to the foreign minister of Iceland.
18:30Now, here on Euronews, our EU summit coverage is just getting started.
18:34Our reporters will be on the ground all day.
18:36We'll have a live blog all day and night.
18:38And tonight at seven, we'll be bringing you a very special live show from the summit floor, hosted by our
18:44Maria today.
18:44Also, don't miss that.
18:45But for more on how the actual summit will unfold today, we can bring in briefly again our Shona Murray,
18:50who's on the arrivals floor for us.
18:53Anyone arrived yet, Shona?
18:54And how will the day proceed?
18:57No, no one arrived yet.
18:59As you can see, it's gotten much, much busier.
19:01EU leaders will start giving their statements to their press.
19:03They'll probably obviously highlight the Iran war, their concerns about the spillover.
19:07Key on the agenda for all of them will be to get the message across that they will try to
19:11do something about spiraling energy prices.
19:13The problem is that EU member states are not agreed about how the EU should proceed in this regard.
19:18Also, we'll have President Zelensky of Ukraine on video call.
19:22He will be putting his point across in relation to the 90 billion euros, but also how Ukraine can help
19:27support the West in tackling Shahid drones.
19:30So it's going to be a long day.
19:31It's going to be rancorous.
19:32It's going to be difficult.
19:32I'll probably see you here first thing in the morning in the same clothes like before.
19:36You will indeed.
19:37And actually, Shona, this summit was meant to be about competitiveness, but interesting how things have changed.
19:41As I said, stay glued to Euronews.com and Euronews TV for more coverage of that summit.
19:46Thanks for watching.
19:47Take care and see you soon.
