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Europe Today: Ribera e De Croo a Euronews, Francia e Regno Unito guidano vertice su Hormuz
Collegati a Europe Today, il 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/2026/04/17/europe-today-la-vicepresidente-ue-ribera-e-lex-premier-belga-de-croo-parlano-a-euronews
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
Collegati a Europe Today, il 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/2026/04/17/europe-today-la-vicepresidente-ue-ribera-e-lex-premier-belga-de-croo-parlano-a-euronews
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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00:14Buongiorno, it's Friday the 17th of April. I'm Mariette Gwynne and you're watching Europe Today,
00:20your morning fix of news and analysis live here from Brussels.
00:25Coming up today, France and the UK will later co-chair a meeting with allies on restoring
00:31navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The critical waterway has remained effectively closed since
00:37the war on Iran began. We'll have the details. In other news this morning, a 10-day ceasefire
00:44in Israel's war on Hezbollah has come into effect overnight after what have been described as
00:49historic US-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel. It comes as President Trump says he's
00:56very close to a deal with Iran. And an EU delegation is expected in Budapest later today for talks with
01:04the incoming Peter Maja-led government. They're expected to discuss the release of EU funds for
01:10Hungary that were frozen under Orbán. We'll bring you the details. And the Spanish Prime Minister,
01:15Pedro Sánchez, hosts left-wing global leaders in Barcelona today for Summit of World Progressives.
01:21We have an exclusive interview with the European Commission Vice President Teresa Rivera.
01:27But first, our top story this morning. A French and British-led coalition of around 40 mainly NATO
01:35countries is meeting today and is expected to announce a solution aimed at securing the Strait of
01:40Hormuz. Military planners have been working on the plans for weeks. To explain more, our NATO
01:46correspondent, Shauna Murray joins me here in the studio. Good to have you back, Shauna.
01:50Tell us first, these talks happening today in Paris and online, what can we expect?
01:55Well, the expectation is that this coalition will deliver a broad shape of an outline to reopen the Strait
02:00of Hormuz when the conflict ends. Now, they're saying that this is very much going to be a defensive
02:05operation. They will not be party to the conflict. But the idea is that they will send vessels,
02:10frigates, demining operations, personnel, radars, intelligence to the region to be ready to then
02:17kickstart the reopening of the Strait when the hostilities come to a cease. Now, there's obviously
02:22huge risks in that because we don't know when this war is going to end. But the reason why this
02:27plan
02:27needs to happen today, or at least the outline needs to be in place, is because Donald Trump has been
02:32putting huge pressure on NATO allies, saying that they never came to his aid. And he's obviously
02:37threatened the alliance. And even this week, he went on US TV saying the Strait of Hormuz is already
02:42open. Ships are coming back and forth. We're doing it, which is not really the case. But anyway,
02:46he says our country should not be paying trillions of dollars to NATO once again, threatening the future
02:52of the alliance. So this is a very important day. And Shauna, we also saw reports overnight that the US
02:57has told
02:58its European allies to expect delays in the delivery of weapons, weapons that were previously approved
03:03by the US. And tell us more.
03:06This is something that allies have feared since the very beginning of this war, and the fact that this war
03:10is now dragging out. NATO allies have purchased equipment, such as interceptors and so on, from the United
03:17States to be used in Ukraine through the prioritized Ukraine requirements list at NATO. Now they're hearing that
03:24that that equipment won't get to Ukraine. So that's hugely problematic for Europe's defense,
03:29for the NATO defense, and of course, for the Ukrainians. And it was something that actually
03:33has been expected. But we know that Ursula von der Leyen had a meeting with Mark Rutte,
03:37the Secretary General of NATO this week, as well as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe,
03:41Alexis Grinkovic. And they relayed this to her and said that Europe needs to once again step
03:47up its defense industrial base even more than before. And I spoke to a NATO source last night who said
03:51to me,
03:52look, there's only so much equipment to go around. That's why the defense industrial base is so
03:56important. So this is a very tricky situation now for Europe, not just from an economic perspective,
04:01but now for the defense of the continent, all right?
04:03Indeed, Shauna, thank you so much for that very comprehensive update. We'll keep an eye on your
04:07reporting, of course, throughout the day. Now, the UN Development Programme says ongoing
04:12military escalation in the Middle East could push 30 million people into poverty worldwide.
04:18Our reporter, Lauren Walker, spoke to the agency's administrator, Alexander de Croix,
04:24who, of course, was formerly the Prime Minister of Belgium. She started by asking him about the
04:29global spillover effects of the conflict.
04:32The impact goes way beyond the region. For example, Sub-Saharan Africa is severely impacted by what is
04:40going on in the region. Small island states, for example, in the Pacific, you start to have a few
04:47islands that just don't have enough fuel anymore. So the impact of the war and the blockade that is
04:54linked to it has a deep impact. And it shows that war is development in reverse. It takes decades to
05:04lift people out of poverty. It takes six weeks of war to push them back into poverty.
05:09Are you confident that a diplomatic solution can be found between the US and Iran?
05:14Am I confident? I have no crystal ball. Am I hopeful? Yes. And that, of course,
05:21is the first measure is to stop the war or at least come to some type of normalization of the
05:28shipping
05:29lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. But even if the war would stop today, you will need economic interventions
05:38to avoid that whole countries and whole populations are being pushed back in poverty in a structural way.
05:44Yeah, it's macroeconomic interventions that international financial institutions can do
05:50on, for example, providing targeted and time limited cash outs to populations who are impacted
05:58or providing free access to fuel, cooking gas and so on. If you don't do these targeted, timely
06:10macroeconomic interventions, you will have many more ripple effects. And we have not talked about the
06:16ripple effects of poverty, of food insecurity. That could lead to additional conflicts. That could lead to
06:26more displacement and migration flows that could lead to other types of extremism.
06:31And you're obviously part of the UN, an institution which has been heavily criticized recently
06:37by the US President, for example. There are fears that his Board of Peace could replace it.
06:43What does the UN bring to the table in this geopolitical context that we're facing now?
06:49We have multiple UN organizations that despite the criticism, and I'm not deaf for the criticism,
06:57are very, very much appreciated by the populations with whom we work. Now, the key element for us is to
07:07have access. For example, in Gaza, which is a really desolate place these days, more than 85% of people
07:16have
07:16lost their homes and are living in the middle of the rubble in tents that are not even worth the
07:21name of
07:22being a tent, we can help many more people. We can provide way more assistance, but we're not getting the
07:29access.
07:29My attitude would be game on, let us show what we're capable of, but then also give us room to
07:36do so.
07:37For the moment, there's no access for UN organizations, but no one else is doing it.
07:44And I'm open to work together with the Board of Peace. I think the Board of Peace is based on
07:48a Security
07:49Council resolution. It has helped in bringing a ceasefire or the diminishment of fire in Gaza. These are good
07:58things. I mean, these are realizations of the U.S. administration. But now we need to move into
08:04the next phase and moving into that next phase really is urgent in helping people to reconstruct their lives.
08:14Lauren Walker speaking to Alexander the Crow there. Moving on now, because an EU delegation is expected
08:20in Budapest later today to meet with the team of the incoming Prime Minister, Peter Magyar. For more,
08:26we can cross over now to Budapest and bring in our correspondent, Sultan Shiboshegi, who is standing
08:33by for us there. Good morning, Sultan. Great to have you on the show. Can you first run us through
08:38what we're expecting from these technical talks between Brussels and Magyar's team today?
08:44Good morning, Europe today. Thank you for having me. Yeah, today, finally, it's going to happen because
08:49originally this delegation was planned for yesterday, but they postponed it. It's going to be a really
08:54important one because Peter's Magyar key campaign pledge was to restore Hungary's ties with the EU
08:59and unblock billions in funding that had been withheld over rule of law and corruption concerns.
09:05The recovery funds question is particularly urgent. Hungary stands to lose nearly 10 billion euros if
09:12payments are not disbursed before the end of August. On Monday, Magyar outlined the four-step plan to meet the
09:19conditions for accessing the funds, including join the European public persecutor's office,
09:24restoring judicial independence and safeguarding economic freedom. Peter Magyar has already spoken
09:30twice with the European Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen, who pleasures support. But this is not
09:36just the only item what will appear on Friday agenda. Hungary is currently withholding the EU's 90
09:42billion euros aid package to Ukraine after believing PM Viktor Orban blocked the previously agreed decision
09:49at the March EU summit. For sure, the delegation will try to convince Peter Magyar, even though we had it
09:58opt out.
09:59OK, Sultan, thank you so much for that update. And we'll keep an eye, of course, on those talks happening
10:04in Budapest today.
10:05Moving on now to Barcelona, where the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is hosting a raft of left-wing
10:13world leaders, including the presidents of Brazil, Colombia and South Africa. Our EU editor Maria Taveo
10:20is there for us and just before the show sent us this update. Well, good morning indeed, Marit. We are
10:27in
10:27Barcelona, where the Spanish government is hosting a convention today and tomorrow, bringing together
10:33heads of states, intellectuals and activists of what it calls is the progressive social democratic world. In a way,
10:41you could argue this is the opposite, the complete opposite of the CPAC convention led in multiple occasions by
10:48President Trump. And of course, it's not a secret that the Spanish Prime Minister and President Trump have clashed on
10:54pretty much every subject, including the war in Iran, which this country, Spain says, is completely illegal and will set
11:01the
11:01region on fire. Now, in terms of today, I spoke with Teresa Rivera. She is the Executive Vice President
11:08of the European Commission, also a former minister in the Spanish government. And I began by asking her
11:14in our interview, why is it that the world needs progressive ideas, but also has the European left lost
11:21the working class because of a disconnect between their vision and their needs? Let's take a look.
11:29My conviction is that we need to think on how to solve the problems. So it is not against anyone,
11:35but to be fair and solid on the type of responses that we are proposing and that we are playing
11:40and
11:41walking the path. So I would not say. Obviously, there is a political view that is pretty different from
11:49those political views being supported by the most conservative voices. But the main intention is to
11:58say what we want. That probably provides a different view of the things that others do want.
12:05But since you talk about the idea of progressive Europe, some would say the left has lost the European
12:11working class because it doesn't have the right priorities, because it has put forward an energy.
12:17I wonder, is this also a moment where the left needs to do a form of soul searching to?
12:22On the contrary, I have the impression that climate action is providing opportunities to people
12:29that could feel the harm, the penalties of not taking climate action. Energy transition means counting
12:39on sources of energy that do not create additional problems and that allow people to have lower bills.
12:44So it is part of the discussion that has been distorted in purpose to prevent action in those
12:51areas that could help people to do things and to count on the high quality of life.
12:57Over the weekend, there was a very important election in Hungary in which the Hungarians
13:01voted for change. Prime Minister Viktor Orban will be leaving office
13:05after 16 years. He was obviously a big ally of President Trump in Europe.
13:10I wonder, what does that election, that result, that call for change say to you when it comes
13:16to Europe at this stage?
13:21We've seen that Hungarians, they decided that they wanted to be Europeans, that they wanted to
13:27fight for their rights, that they thought that this was important in terms of democracy. And they decided
13:33to vote massively, massively. It was not a tight election. It was very clear.
13:39So I think that this shows to what extent this narrative against Europe, against working together,
13:46against being united, against the defense of the civil rights and the integration,
13:51is not something that can win in the middle and long run. On the contrary, it probably exposes
13:57the limitations and the harm that people could feel in the absence of these
14:03joint forces, joint efforts of the European nations to develop the European program.
14:10Just a final point on this. There's been reports now that the Commission, and obviously this now
14:14touches the core of your portfolio, this is a massive job that you have when it comes to the
14:18competition laws in the EU. And these reports suggest that there is now a plan to massively dilute some
14:26of the regulation to allow for mergers to create major European champions. Is that the case? Are you
14:32preparing for this? We are entering into the last phase to adopt an updated version of our merger
14:39guidelines. So we have already a very sound draft. After having hurt everybody, we know that we need to
14:45update our reality to today's economy. But that doesn't mean forgetting the core bulk of our mission,
14:54which is protecting consumers from abuses of dominance. So this means that we may take into
15:00consideration innovation, long-term sustainability, resilience. This means that we need to be ready to
15:08understand the global context and the impact in the national and the domestic economy. But this doesn't
15:14mean forgetting about the importance of keeping the level playing field.
15:18So you're not, just as a final question on this, because it's important, so you're not preparing
15:24major deregulation to allow companies to come together? Of course not. That is not in the pipeline?
15:27No, no, no, of course not. And I say this because you have said in the past that too much
15:30simplification
15:31at times has made things confusing. So your fundamentals is still to say deregulation would be bad for the EU.
15:37This is not a product to deregulate. This is a product to modernize and to be transparent of the criteria
15:48that we will be using to assess when the emergency is pro-competitive and provides positive effects to
15:55the economy and when it is a real risk and it is not proven that the operation does not comply
16:03with
16:04what it is being said, either if it is innovation or sustainability. So I think that it allows much
16:10more innovation and much more security for all. But at the very same time, it is quite clear that we
16:16will remain defending the interests of the consumers and not accepting whatever as a blank check.
16:24That was Maria Tadeo speaking to the European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribeira.
16:29Now, there's another major election coming up in Europe this weekend. On Sunday, Bulgarians will
16:36head to the polls once again after a series of elections that have failed to break a persisting
16:42political deadlock. Our Jakob Yanis explains what's at stake.
16:49Bulgaria heads to the polls this Sunday for its eighth parliamentary election in five years.
16:54The country is the poorest in the European Union and the electorate is exhausted by a
16:59prolonged political crisis. And on paper, Bulgaria is a recent European success story,
17:04having finally adopted the Euro on the 1st of January and joined Schengen. But there is a big Euro
17:10hangover. On the ground, citizens feel impoverished and ignored by the political class. So who is stepping
17:17in to fill the void? This profound frustration has set the stage for a bitter showdown between two major
17:25figures. One side is Borko Borisov. He's the veteran center-right leader of the GERB party. While
17:32firmly pro-European, his decade in power was plagued by scandals, making him the symbol of the entrenched
17:39establishment. Facing him is Ruman Radev, the left-leaning former president, who sensationally resigned in
17:46January to run for prime minister. And Radev is riding a wave of populist anger, campaigning to dismantle
17:53the oligarchy. But his vocal opposition to military aid for Ukraine and softer stance on Moscow have left
18:00western allies alarmed. And although polls show Radev leading Borisov 31 to 21 percent, neither is close to
18:09a majority, leaving the winner to inevitably cobble together a complicated coalition. And the battle
18:16for control is fierce. Just weeks before the vote, authorities detained over 200 people for electoral
18:23coercion. And the tactics are shocking. Some local officials tricked individuals into believing their
18:30state-funded winter heating and hot lunches were personal gifts from politicians. So Sunday is about
18:37much more than electing a government. It will determine whether the country can finally address
18:42these deep structural problems and rebuild public trust in the political system.
18:52Jakob Janis there. And of course, we'll bring you the analysis on the outcome of those elections on
18:58our show on Monday. But that's it for us for today and for this week. Thank you so much for
19:03your company.
19:04Remember, if you have story ideas, tips or questions for us, you can get in touch by emailing us at
19:10europetoday at euronews.com. We love to hear from you. You can also stay up to date on our reporting
19:17on
19:17Euronews and euronews.com. We'll see you on Monday. In the meantime, have a great weekend.
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19:57Grazie a tutti.
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