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Europe Today: Charles Michel im Euronews-Gespräch, EU-Gipfel berät Krisenpläne auf Zypern
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Schalten Sie um acht Uhr Brüsseler Zeit Europe Today ein, das Morgenflaggschiff von Euronews. In nur zwanzig Minuten sind Sie beim Tagesgeschehen auf Stand.
LESEN SIE MEHR : http://de.euronews.com/2026/04/24/europe-today-charles-michel-im-euronews-interview-eu-gipfel-berat-in-zypern
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00:14Untertitelung des ZDF für funk, 2017
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02:25Untertitelung des ZDF für funk, 2017
02:35Kalimera Maret, indeed
02:37the longest serving member of the
02:39European Council is not making
02:41his way to this summit, it would have been
02:43his farewell summit, so to speak
02:46after 16 years of an
02:47interrupted power, but as we remember
02:50Viktor Orban was defeated in the
02:52polls earlier this month and
02:53opposition leader Peter Magyar took over
02:55with the promise of
02:57restoring ties between Budapest
03:00and Brussels. Leaders yesterday
03:02as they made their way to the dinner
03:04were noticeably relieved
03:06by the change in power
03:07because Viktor Orban has been a
03:10figure of disruption and
03:11obstruction for 16 years
03:13and now everybody wants to bring back
03:15a sense of normalcy into the
03:17collective decision making.
03:19And Jorge, the
03:21president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Selensky
03:24was also there joining the leaders
03:26over dinner yesterday
03:27and he had some very
03:29interesting comments on
03:31Ukraine's bid to join
03:34the European Union.
03:37Yes, indeed. At first we didn't know
03:39if Zelensky was going to make it
03:41in person to the summit here in
03:43Cyprus, but after the vetoes
03:45on the 90 billion loan and the package
03:47of sanctions against Russia were lifted
03:49earlier this week, he decided to
03:51show up in person and his message
03:53was unmistakable.
03:56He was pushing to
03:57really speed up the accession process
03:59of Ukraine, which has been blocked
04:01by Hungary for almost two years
04:03now. The frustration of Zelensky
04:05was very palpable as well.
04:07He said that he needs a clear
04:10date for accession and he wants
04:11to speed up the process as soon
04:13as possible. However, other leaders
04:15like the prime ministers of Belgium
04:17and Luxembourg were more cautious.
04:20They said that they don't want any
04:21shortcuts. They don't want any fast
04:23tracks for Ukraine's accession. So my
04:25short analysis here in Cyprus is
04:27that after the end of the
04:29urban era, EU leaders will have to
04:32finally face head on the complex
04:35issue of Ukraine's accession with no
04:37easy answers. And yesterday I got to
04:40talk to one of these leaders, the
04:41Estonian prime minister, Kristen
04:43Mihal, and we talked about accession,
04:45but also other topics that are hot on
04:47the agenda right now. Take a listen.
04:50We'll see because always there's a chance
04:54at least for a fresh start. So it will
04:56mean that you can start again. And to be
05:00honest, I cannot see any other way that
05:04Ukraine's future is in the Europe. That
05:06is definitely so. That will mean that
05:10the question is only when, not if and
05:14how. Now I know you've been working on
05:16initiative to introduce an European
05:19wide ban for Russian soldiers who have
05:22taken part in the full scale invasion of
05:23Ukraine. Why are you pushing for this
05:26measure now? And why is it so important
05:28to you? It's not even important to me,
05:32but it's important to everybody living in
05:34Europe, because to put it very simple
05:38terms that before the war and at the
05:42start of the war, Russia had less men
05:44under the arms than right now. So we have
05:46more men under the arms right now than at
05:48the start of the war. And we would
05:52imagine for a moment that the war would
05:54stop. There will be ceasefire, peace and
05:56some, but hopefully just a lasting peace.
05:59Fine. But what will those people do?
06:02Most of them are criminals, but they have
06:05to be treated as heroes inside Russia. So
06:07once again, I would ask everybody that
06:09do you want these guys near to your
06:11home? No, you don't. So that's why you
06:13have to ban them for life from Schengen.
06:16Ideally, you think it could happen this
06:18year or do you think it needs more time?
06:21Ideally, it could happen. It should
06:24happen before the summer, but this is
06:25ideally. I have this kind of feeling that
06:29we will be talking about it before the
06:31summer already, but I don't know if
06:33enough decisions will be made before
06:35the summer, but I hope so.
06:37Another issue here for this informal
06:39summit is mutual assistance. We know
06:41that the European treaties have an
06:43article of mutual assistance, 42.7. It
06:46hasn't been explored until now, but we
06:49also know that many member states like
06:50yours are also part of NATO, which has
06:52an article 5 of collective defense. Do you
06:55see a possible contradiction between these
06:57two articles or can they coexist? They are
07:00coexisting because, for example, NATO
07:03article 5 has been invoked only once from
07:07the United States and European article 42.7. It
07:12has been also invoked once by France. So the
07:17question is about the need and they can
07:19exist together. I would say because usually
07:23it's pretty much overlapping what we're
07:26doing because you need certain assistance. You
07:28need your allies to act with you. So I
07:31would say this is working well, but also we
07:34should talk about European capabilities
07:36because as we can see, President Trump's
07:39message is also that Europe should bear more
07:41burden in own defense.
07:43Trump has also threatened to withdraw the
07:46United States from NATO. He's been saying
07:48this several times. We don't know what's going
07:50to happen. But do you think that because of
07:53these threats that he's making so publicly, the
07:55value of Article 5 has been decreased, that
07:58it's not so powerful anymore?
08:01I would say no to that because, for example, when
08:06we had Russian MiGs in our space a little bit
08:10before that, certain Russian drones in Poland's
08:13airspace, which was shot down first time in NATO's
08:16history at that moment. At that moment, Trump's
08:18message was quite clear that America is
08:21standing to protect Baltics, Poland and so on. So
08:24I would say that the messages have been quite
08:27clear that NATO's working and also in Haig. We
08:29had NATO summit there and some said that if
08:33Europe is sharing the burden, he will commit to
08:37NATO. Yes, I can understand that there's a lot of
08:40political messages, but the military side is
08:44working absolutely as well.
08:48That was the Estonian Prime Minister Kristian
08:51Michal speaking to our correspondent Jorge
08:53Liberero and we'll, of course, keep an eye out for
08:56Jorge's reporting throughout the day from those
08:58talks in Cyprus. Now, when he was president of the
09:02European Council, Charles Michel had a notoriously
09:06strained relationship with Commission President
09:09Ursula von der Leyen. Those tensions have resurfaced in
09:13in recent weeks. Our Europe editor Maria Tadeo caught up with
09:17Michel earlier today at the Delphi Economic Forum. She
09:21began by asking him about von der Leyen's leadership style,
09:24often described as highly centralized, and whether
09:27sufficient checks and balances exist to keep that
09:32approach in tech. All of us, we know what we have to do, but I'm
09:37observing that it seems that it's difficult to make decisions that
09:40are urgent and that are needed. I trust the European Council. I
09:45think that by nature, the European Council is the right body to
09:49decide what are the main orientations and also to make the most difficult
09:54decision because, you know, the European Council is the
09:58guardian of the European unity. And this European unity is something that's not
10:02easy to achieve. It requires a lot of work, a lot of preparation. It requires a lot of
10:07collective intelligence. It requires to listen to each other. And I'm confident
10:13that sooner or later, the European Council will make additional decisions to clarify some of the
10:20orientations that we have to decide on in the near future.
10:23Do you, are we to understand therefore that the Council's stance, it should be
10:28stronger, it should have a louder voice? It's not as strong as it should be this
10:32message now. You know, it's in my opinion, it's not a
10:35question of voice, it's a question of decisions that have to be made.
10:39And what is a bit frustrating for all those like me, who are absolutely
10:43trying to think that this project is more needed than ever, the European project, the European
10:47dreams, the European principles, the European values, the European coexistence.
10:51And what is frustrating is the fact that all of us, we know what we have to do. We know
10:55exactly
10:56what we have to do. Everything is on the table. And I observe that there are always good reasons
11:00to procrastinate. There are always good reasons to waste time. And that's regrettable. And again,
11:09I don't want to blame anyone in particular. Let's be clear. That's not my point. When I want to
11:15blame someone, I'm very clear, you know me. Here, that's not my point. My point is, let's look at the
11:20future. And we have tools, we have capacities, we have capabilities, we have great companies,
11:26we have great structures, we have a lot of strength within the EU. And there is a crisis,
11:32there is chaos across the world. And by experience, we know when it's difficult in the world, in general,
11:39the EU is able to learn lessons fast. Let's act faster. And let's learn our lessons.
11:47Some would argue the weakness at times of the Council goes back to the idea of unanimity.
11:52And that has been dragging the action and certainly the peace and the speed around it.
11:56Viktor Orban obviously has been crushed in a defeat. Viktor Orban now is gone from the Council. Is that going
12:03to make things better? Or actually, would you argue, the dynamics are more profound? Even with the
12:07Hungarian Prime Minister gone, this issue will remain. I hope that it will help the European
12:13Council to be more united in the future. Are you relieved that Viktor Orban lost?
12:18I wouldn't say that. Because I will tell you why. Because I think that based on the experience I have,
12:24on some topics, some in the European Council were hiding behind Viktor Orban, point one. And point two,
12:32in some of the European countries, you can have tomorrow some national leaders won so far from
12:39Viktor Orban's ideology on some topics, including on Ukraine, for instance, point one. Point two,
12:45does it mean that unanimity is a problem? For sure, unanimity is a challenge, there is no doubt. But I
12:51think
12:51you should think carefully before making a decision not to use unanimity anymore. Because if you stop
13:00to try to involve every country in a state decision, the risk is that you will weaken the weight of
13:08the
13:09EU at the international level. And that's why I think the priority should be different. In my opinion,
13:14you should fight against the abuse of this veto right. Because if you follow the philosophy and
13:21the principle of the Lisbon Treaty, the idea was really that the veto right was supposed to be used
13:27when your vital interests are at risk. And the problem is that today, too many countries are tempted
13:33too many times to use this veto right as a kind of tool to blackmail and to get something into
13:40the fight.
13:41It seems to me, however, listening to the leaders just finally on this point, that they would agree
13:45enlargement needs to happen as soon as possible and complete the union. But they would also say we
13:50need to reform and there is no fast track for Ukraine. Are those three statements compatible?
13:55Yeah, but what you mentioned is this Greek language, no fast track, etc. When we want to do something,
14:04but in parallel, we add a sentence, so it is in fact more difficult to get the result. Let's be
14:15clear.
14:16There is no doubt that in those countries, they have to do their homework and they know what they have
14:21to do.
14:22They have to put in place the reform, they have to guarantee the independence of justice, to fight against corruption,
14:27etc., point one.
14:29On the other hand, let's be honest, in some of the European countries, it was very comfortable
14:34to use the argument of those countries not acting as fast as needed, because there was in some European countries
14:46a difficult point of debate with this enlargement policy. And I think that in those circumstances,
14:52we could all win if we tell the truth to our people. Everywhere in Europe, the future will be
15:00more stable, more situated with them within the EU. And of course, there are some efforts,
15:05between also our efforts that are needed in terms of domestic reforms and in terms of what kind of policy
15:14we put in place.
15:17That was the former president of the European Council, Charles Michel, speaking to our Europe editor, Maria Tadeo.
15:24Now, the FIFA Football World Cup is just around the corner, happening this summer, of course,
15:30in the US, Canada and Mexico. And it's becoming deeply intertwined with global politics.
15:36The Trump administration is reportedly working behind the scenes to replace Iran, which did qualify for the tournament, with Italy,
15:46which painfully lost in the playoffs to Bosnia and Herzegovina, missing out on a spot in the World Cup for
15:53the third consecutive time.
15:55For more, our Jakob Yanis has this explainer.
16:01Could the 2026 World Cup see a team that failed to qualify take to the pitch?
16:07A plan is brewing in Washington to give Italy a wildcard entry by replacing Iran.
16:12Paolo Zampolli, a special envoy to President Trump, confirmed he has pitched the swap to both the White House and
16:18FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
16:20But wait a second, is this game-changer even in the rulebook?
16:26The Financial Times reports this is an attempt to repair ties between Trump and Italy's Giorgia Meloni after the Republic's
16:33spot over the Iran War and the Pope.
16:36And Zampolli argues Italy four world titles offered the pedigree to join the 2026 tournament hosted across the US, Mexico
16:45and Canada.
16:45All right, but how is it legal?
16:48Article 6 of the World Cup regulations gives FIFA sole discretion to replace any team that withdraws or is excluded.
16:57And while Iran insists they plan to participate, FIFA has already set a precedent.
17:03Just last summer, they used the same powers to hand a spot at the club World Cup to Inter Miami,
17:10enabling Lionel Messi to play.
17:13But football is not the only arena where the guest list is being rewritten.
17:17This February, Russia and Belarus were bards from flying their flags at the Milano-Kortina 2026 Winter Olympics in response
17:24to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
17:27Yet, when the Paralympics, which are governed by a different body than the Olympics, allowed these symbols back after a
17:34Swiss court ruling, the European Commission boycotted the opening ceremony.
17:37Sport Commissioner Glenn Mikalev called the return of the national banners unacceptable, while Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine continues.
17:46So if Italy does make it to Los Angeles this June, it could be the most historic wildcard in the
17:52history of the sport.
17:54They just have to hope their diplomatic pedigree is as strong as their footballing one.
17:58Especially after the brutal defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualifying play-off final.
18:09And that brings this edition of Europe Today to an end.
18:13Thank you so much for your company today and throughout this week.
18:17We will be bringing the latest from that meeting of EU leaders taking place right now in Cyprus.
18:23Our correspondent Jorge Liborero is there on the ground.
18:27Keep an eye out for his reporting throughout the day on Euronews and Euronews.com.
18:32You can also get in touch with us.
18:34Email us at europetoday at euronews.com with your tips, questions and feedback.
18:40We love to hear from you.
18:41We'll be back on Monday with more news and more analysis from Brussels and across our European bureaus.
18:48In the meantime, do have a great weekend.
18:53We'll be back on Monday withKnowToday.com.看一下,
18:56western and as well. We'll
18:59be back on Tuesday break. Thank you
19:00mySpace. Thank you,
19:03Anna. Bye-bye.
19:03Bye-bye.
19:03Bye-bye.
19:04Bye-bye.
19:05Bye-bye.
19:09Bye-bye.
19:21Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020
19:50Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020
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