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Euronews új reggeli zászlóshajó műsora 8-kor: 20 percben a nap legfontosabb hírei
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Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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00:14Good morning, it is Tuesday the 24th of March. I'm Maeve McMahan and you're watching Europe
00:20Today, your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has touched down in Australia to revive long-running trade talks
00:33after a lengthy hiatus.
00:35We'll explain why this deal matters to you.
00:38And Italy's Prime Minister, George Maloney, has lost a high-stakes referendum on justice reform.
00:43We'll speak to our correspondent in Rome.
00:45But first, it is day 25 of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
00:50In an announcement that thrills financial markets, US President Donald Trump said that Iran and the US, quote, want to
00:57make a deal.
00:58And he's pushed his deadline to the end of the week.
01:01However, Tehan says claims of these talks are, quote, fake news.
01:05This comes as the EU sends millions in aid to Lebanon as clashes continue between Israel and Hezbollah in the
01:12south of the country.
01:13For the latest, we're joined here in the studio by Euronews' Stefan Krobey.
01:17Good morning, Stefan.
01:18Good morning, Maeve.
01:18So what's going on?
01:20I mean, this seems like quite a surprise, what President Trump has said.
01:23Well, surprise is quite an understatement.
01:25It was a stunner for all of us professional Trump watchers.
01:29So just hours before his own deadline for Iran, he backed down from his threat of potentially devastating airstrikes against
01:37Iranian oil installations.
01:39And remember, Maeve on Saturday, he told Iran, if you don't unblock the strait of homers, I will answer with
01:48devastating airstrikes.
01:51I will obliterate Iranian oil installations.
01:53Then these 48 hours expired yesterday.
01:56And instead of bombs, Trump offered an olive branch saying that he would postpone this deadline by five days.
02:06And that was the stunner.
02:09He was in talks with the Iranian leadership over the end of the conflict.
02:13Here's Donald Trump yesterday speaking in Memphis, Tennessee.
02:17Take a listen.
02:18So we are now having really good discussions.
02:20They started last night, a little bit, the night before that.
02:28And I think, you know, I think they're very good.
02:31They want to they want peace.
02:35They've agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon, you know, et cetera, et cetera.
02:39Yeah, et cetera, et cetera.
02:41This is all very vague.
02:42And we don't know anything about about contents or even who is talking to whom here.
02:50There's only one problem with this.
02:52Otherwise, it would sound too good to be true.
02:54The Iranians have denied that there were talks at all.
02:58And Trump has said we've been talking since Saturday.
03:01They said, no, there were no talks.
03:03So what do we make out of this?
03:05Now, we know there were at least some contacts through intermediaries, countries like Turkey, Egypt, Oman and Pakistan.
03:12And even the British government, Keir Starmer, yesterday confirming these talks.
03:18He said we were aware of these talks.
03:20But other than that, we know nothing.
03:22So very much wait and see mode, Stefan Krober.
03:24Thank you so much for that update.
03:26Now, several strong explosions and air alert sirens rang out yesterday in Bahrain.
03:31That's the first to be heard in the Gulf since the US president said, in fact, that talks to end
03:35the war with Iran were underway.
03:37For more on the feeling across the region there now, we can cross now to our regional correspondent,
03:42Adil Khalim, who's in Doha for us this morning.
03:45Thanks so much for joining us.
03:46Just tell us, what is the mood like there?
03:48And does anyone trust this new deadline of President Donald Trump?
03:53Maeve, here in Doha and across the Gulf, people are holding their collective breath this morning.
03:59And that's because the 48-hour ultimatum issued by US President Donald Trump to potentially strike Iran's power infrastructure has
04:05come and gone.
04:06And for now, the worst case scenario seems to be avoided.
04:09And honestly, there's quite a bit of relief being felt here.
04:12People know just how potentially catastrophic this could have been with repercussions in Iran and felt here in the Gulf.
04:19Still, our Euronews colleagues in Dubai heard jets being flown overhead all night.
04:24Power lines were hit in Kuwait.
04:26Seltzer and play sirens were sounded in Bahrain.
04:29And Saudi Arabia's defense ministry says it intercepted 19 drones overnight.
04:34Also, Iranian media reported strikes on two energy facilities after the pause was called.
04:38So while people are cautiously optimistic, there's clearly deep uncertainty about what comes next.
04:44Here in the Gulf, everything is so closely tied to energy and water.
04:47So when there's talk of hitting Iran's power infrastructure and Tehran's possible retaliation,
04:53people here start to think about real-life consequences, about electricity, desalination, and just daily life.
04:59So while there are two very different stories coming out of Tehran and Washington this morning,
05:03behind the scenes there are signs towards diplomacy.
05:05Countries like Turkey and Egypt are believed to be quietly passing messages back and forth.
05:10So right now, Maeve, the mood is cautious.
05:13Relief?
05:13Absolutely.
05:14But still a tremendous amount of uncertainty.
05:17People here aren't just assuming that things are over, just thankful that it hasn't gotten worse yet.
05:23Okay.
05:23Adil Halim, thank you so much for that live update there from Doha.
05:27Now, during their EU summit last week, right here in Brussels, European leaders were clear that this was not their
05:33war.
05:33In a statement, they called for, quote, de-escalation, maximum restraint, the protection of civilians,
05:39and full respect of international law by all parties.
05:42Euronews' EU editor, Maria Tadeo, had the chance to get the view from Israel on this by speaking to the
05:47former Israeli Prime Minister,
05:49Naftali Bennett.
05:50She asked him how he qualified this reaction from European leaders.
05:54You know, it's a bit cowardly.
05:57We are fighting their war.
05:59I'll tell you why.
06:00Iran shot two missiles to Diego Garcia, which is almost 4,000 kilometers from Iran.
06:07That's a range that reaches Brussels, that reaches Madrid, that reaches Paris.
06:13And we, in fact, had we not acted, all of Europe would be under a terrible nuclear ballistic missile menace.
06:24So we're fighting your war.
06:25And we expect not to be, you know, criticized in and on.
06:31But we expect your backing.
06:33That would be the decent thing to do.
06:35But we get it.
06:36We have to do the hard job.
06:37We're used to it.
06:38And we'll do what's right.
06:40But let me pick up on that point.
06:42So at this point, you'd say the reaction from the Europeans is that they are cowards.
06:46Many.
06:46Not everyone.
06:47Some European countries have stepped up to the plague, but many others.
06:51I'm not going to name names.
06:52I think you know exactly who.
06:54I think any European leader who sort of says, this isn't our problem.
06:59So when will it become your problem?
07:01When they have a nuclear weapon?
07:04When the missile is on its way to Madrid?
07:06When it hits Madrid or Barcelona?
07:08Is that when you're going to wake up?
07:10So we're doing the fighting.
07:12We didn't ask you for any help.
07:14Nothing.
07:14All we're doing is fighting against this horrible, radical Islamist menace.
07:20We're reducing and hopefully eliminating this threat.
07:24And instead of thanking us, you're criticizing us.
07:27And what's the deal there?
07:29Well, since you mentioned Madrid, of course, there's other governments led by the Spanish government that say this war is
07:34entirely illegal.
07:34And by the way, it has destroyed any sort of diplomacy in the Middle East.
07:38Is that fair criticism?
07:40No, it's just foolish criticism.
07:44Spain's leadership has been just abhorrent, I have to say.
07:48Incredibly disappointing.
07:50Because here's how it works.
07:53If you allow a threat to grow and grow, at some point it becomes so big that you can't manage
08:00a threat anymore.
08:01Like North Korea, where the world did not act, and now no one can take care and eliminate those nuclear
08:08weapons.
08:09Like Hitler, who became so big and everyone wanted to avoid war until it was too late.
08:15So this time we acted on time.
08:18But what about when a U.S. top official resigned because he says there was no imminent threat to the
08:23U.S.?
08:24Regarding that guy who quit, well, he's a schmuck.
08:28I don't care about him.
08:30He's irrelevant.
08:31He's going to go down in the dustbin of history.
08:34We're fighting the most just war ever.
08:37And we should be getting your back in and not your criticism.
08:41We've seen the president of the U.S. now seems to want to make a deal.
08:45He suggests five days still of talks.
08:48And he says the Iranians wants to make a deal.
08:50The U.S. also wants to make a deal.
08:51What about Israel?
08:52Is the deal a good thing for Israel at this point?
08:54It depends.
08:54We have objectives.
08:55Our objective is to totally dismantle the nuclear program and ensure they never achieve a nuclear weapon.
09:01Same with the ballistic missiles and same with dismantling the terror proxies.
09:06So we have to see what the deal is.
09:08If it achieves those goals, that's wonderful.
09:10Okay, and this is my final question, however, and it is the question at this point.
09:14What happens if the U.S. decides this war is over for us?
09:17We leave now.
09:18Goals have been met.
09:19But Israel considers no.
09:20Those three key goals have not been met.
09:22Will you go on fighting alone without the support of the U.S.?
09:25We're going to have to take a look at the actual results if this indeed turns into a full-blown
09:33agreement, and then we'll make our decisions.
09:35Based on those points, and what are those points?
09:37Are you working in tandem with the U.S.?
09:39That is really the question because it seems from the outside, Israel believes this is not going to get done
09:44in a week.
09:44The U.S. is now talking about a five-day until Friday.
09:47That's a big gap in the timeline.
09:49Yeah, we'll have to see.
09:50Our objectives are to dismantle the nuclear and ballistic programs, dismantle the global terror proxy network.
10:28European Commission President is in Australia right now, trying to push a long-delayed free trade deal across the finish
10:34line.
10:34With U.S. tariffs rising and trade tensions heating up with China, both Brussels and Canberra urgently need reliable partners.
10:42Because trade is not just economics.
10:44It is power.
10:45And that's quite interesting, so let's take a look.
10:50The economic ties are already massive.
10:53The EU is currently Australia's third largest trading partner, exporting almost 28 billion euros more in goods than in imports.
11:01And for the EU, Australia ranks just 20th.
11:04But this deal is not about selling more machinery.
11:07It is about securing the green transition.
11:10A goal that the current war in Iran has turned into a matter of sheer energy security.
11:15Australia is the world's third largest producer of rare herbs.
11:19And Brussels wants to remove trade barriers to critical raw materials like lithium and cobalt, to limit its reliance on
11:26China.
11:27But the big sticking point is agriculture.
11:30Fearing a repeat of the Mercosur farmer protests, Brussels is putting a hard ceiling on Australian meat imports,
11:37demanding strict quotas and full protection for European food names.
11:42But hey, there's also a bigger picture.
11:44Brussels is on a roll, sealing recent pacts with Mercosur, India, Mexico, Switzerland and Indonesia, to become the ultimate reliable
11:54partner.
11:55And according to von der Leyen, the message is clear.
11:58The world wants to trade with Europe.
12:01And if you're thinking that there is somebody missing in this beautiful picture,
12:05it is the United States, which happens to be the EU's biggest trading partner.
12:09For now, European lawmakers are trying to implement a limited trade deal.
12:14But between Donald Trump's 15% tariffs and recent US Supreme Court chaos, progress is slow.
12:21And one would say that the biggest obstacle to an EU-US trade deal seems to be the US itself.
12:32Yeah, I could be honest there.
12:33And in fact, this Thursday, the European Parliament will be voting on that EU-US trade deal that would impose
12:3815% tariffs on EU goods.
12:40The EU also agreed to buy almost 650 billion euro of US energy exports until 2028.
12:47To get the view now from the Trump administration, we're joined here in the studio by the US ambassador to
12:52the European Union,
12:53Andrew Puzder. Lovely to have you back with us.
12:55Great to be here, Maeve. Thanks for having me.
12:57So all eyes on this vote finally taking place this Thursday. Will it pass, do you think?
13:02All the signs seem to be good. You hate to take anything for granted, and I don't want to prejudge
13:06the result.
13:07We're going to keep working with people to make sure we address any issues that they have.
13:11But I say the signs are good, and it really would be economic malpractice not to pass this.
13:15It's a great deal for the United States and a great deal for the European Union.
13:19So hopefully we'll see it passed.
13:20We'll keep a close eye on it. You heard in that report that some think that the US is the
13:25biggest obstacle to doing trade with the European Union.
13:28How would you react to that argument?
13:29I'd say, you know, we signed this agreement in, I think, yeah, we signed it in August, late August of
13:35this year.
13:36And every day since then, the United States has been in compliance with what it agreed to do under the
13:41agreement.
13:42We have yet to have a day where the Europeans are in compliance because they had a process to go
13:46through.
13:47I guess the second to the last step will be, or maybe the third to the last step is Parliament
13:52approves, and they go to Trilog, and then they vote again.
13:55But we're anxious to see it approved.
13:58But I don't think the United States is the obstacle.
14:00Like I say, we've been complying.
14:02We're waiting for Europe to get through its process.
14:04But there's anxiety, of course, among European lawmakers.
14:07There's anxiety among European business due to the fact that every second week we hear different announcements from the White
14:12House when it comes to potential tariffs that would hurt our economy here in Europe.
14:16So, as I said, despite what you're hearing, despite the political talk, the United States has been in compliance every
14:22day.
14:23There's not one day where we haven't been in compliance under the agreement.
14:26And we're waiting for Europe to be in compliance like one day.
14:29So, I mean, I don't think this is a one-sided issue.
14:33We're ready to go.
14:34And can the Europeans trust you?
14:36Of course they can.
14:37They've trusted us for 250 years, I think.
14:40At least many of them have.
14:42And what happens if this is signed, but then in a couple of weeks Trump gets angry with Spain, for
14:46example, due to their stance on certain geopolitical issues and decides to cut off trade with them?
14:51Well, if you're saying what happens if somebody breaches the agreement, then I think the parties have to analyse where
14:56they are.
14:57I don't know that that particularly would be a breach.
14:59We'd have to wait and see how the agreement comes out.
15:01We're still waiting to go through amendments that the parliament's proposed and whether the council will accept those amendments and
15:08there'll be a different bill out of the trilogue.
15:10And so we're waiting to see what the final bill says.
15:12But it's like any other agreement.
15:14If one party breaches, the other party reacts.
15:16And of course, the big news that we're reporting on this morning is Commission President Erso von der Leyen in
15:21Australia clinching a brand new trade deal for the Europeans with Australia.
15:25What's the view from the White House on this?
15:27Look, if two of our closest allies come to an agreement on trade, I think that that helps the world.
15:33It doesn't hurt the world.
15:35We just want to make sure we get our deal done.
15:37Of course, you're not jealous of the other friendships that the European Union has across the world.
15:41We have other agreements as well.
15:43We have agreements with South Korea, with Japan.
15:46We're moving forward on a number of different tracks.
15:49I don't think we could lecture somebody else about doing the same.
15:53And is that a warning shot to Brussels to get that vote across?
15:55I don't make warning shots.
15:57I'm just hopeful that they'll get it across.
15:59I think it's in their best interest.
16:00I think it's in our best interest, best interest of the people of Europe and the people of America.
16:04So let's get it done.
16:05Let's move on.
16:06Let's really build the kind of economic relationship and the kind of joint prosperity that we could and should share.
16:12OK, we'll keep a close eye on it.
16:13Ambassador Andrew Puzzer, thank you so much for coming in to us here.
16:16Now we turn to Italy, where a two-day referendum on judicial reform has concluded.
16:21The proposed changes triggered deep political divisions across the country and united the centre-left opposition.
16:27The government argued that splitting the career paths of judges and prosecutors was essential to strengthening judicial independence.
16:33But critics say it could upset the balance of powers established after the fall of fascism.
16:38For more, we can head now to Rome and bring in our correspondent, Georgia Orlandi.
16:42Good morning.
16:43So the referendum has actually failed.
16:45What more can you tell us?
16:48Good morning, Maeve.
16:49Well, indeed, it looks like the majority of Italians rejected that key judicial reform.
16:54This was one of Maloney's main political pledges.
16:58The most controversial element of the reform was the proposal to change the way members of this body overseeing judges'
17:06careers are selected.
17:08So under the proposal, they would have been chosen by selected by lottery move that the critics say undermines merit.
17:17And as you mentioned there, undermines the balance of powers, despite the fact that this reform was promoted as a
17:23way to limit political influence.
17:24Now, 50 million Italians were called to say yes or no to the reform.
17:29The no camp won just by a few points.
17:32That's not a landslide, but that's enough to block the reform, also considering that no turnout threshold was required.
17:40The most interesting aspect of the referendum was the fact that we saw a very high voter turnout,
17:46almost 60 percent higher than expected level seen in 2022 during the general elections that brought Maloney to power.
17:55Something that makes us think that this was seen as a political test for Maloney and her government.
18:01Maeve?
18:01Well, this is it.
18:02It feels a little bit like a big test for Georgia Maloney's government.
18:05Did she fail it then?
18:08Well, indeed, Maeve, she had already ruled out resigning over the results.
18:17She wanted to avoid the path taken by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who resigned after losing that constitutional referendum
18:25in 2016.
18:27reacting to the outcome, she said that, of course, she respects the decisions taken by Italian voters,
18:35but that she also says she's determined to continue now hinting to the fact that she doesn't see this as
18:41a major political defeat.
18:43But it's clear, as analysts say, that this outcome has made her more vulnerable.
18:49So the next few months will be challenging, given that the next general elections will take place in 2027.
18:56The referendum took place at a challenging time.
18:59Maloney has faced criticism over a handling of the war in the Middle East,
19:04especially when it comes to this very close relationship with Donald Trump that critics say, quote,
19:10it's very risky for Italy.
19:11The main takeaway from this outcome, though, Maeve, is the fact that Maloney will have to review its reform plan
19:17and, most importantly, try to strengthen the ruling coalition unity within that coalition,
19:23ahead of what looks like a very uncertain political phase.
19:26Maeve?
19:27OK, Georgia and Andy, thank you so much for that live update there from Rome.
19:31And thank you so much for watching Europe Today.
19:34For more on any other stories breaking across Europe Today,
19:37including the general elections taking place in Denmark, you can always visit euronews.com.
19:42Thank you so much again for tuning in.
19:44Take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
19:54Take care and see you very soon.
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