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01:16It came after direct talks between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US, the second such talks in recent
01:24days.
01:47But first, for our top story today, we're taking you to Cyprus, where EU leaders are holding an informal summit
01:54against a fraught geopolitical backdrop.
01:58Last night, over dinner, leaders discussed plans to revive the EU's little-known defence clause amid deepening cracks in the
02:06relationship between the US and its European allies.
02:09Today, they'll tackle the EU's long-term budget, and they'll also lunch with leaders from the Middle East.
02:15For more, we can cross over to Cyprus now, and to our correspondent, Jorge Liborero, who's there for us.
02:21Great to see you, Jorge, this morning.
02:24Listen, this should have been Victor Orbán's last summit, but he's decided to skip, and that really seems to be
02:31defining this gathering.
02:35Calimera Maret, indeed, the longest-serving member of the European Council, is not making his way to this summit.
02:43It would have been his farewell summit, so to speak, after 16 years of uninterrupted power.
02:48But as we remember, Victor Orbán was defeated in the polls earlier this month,
02:53and opposition leader Peter Magyar took over with the promise of restoring ties between Budapest and Brussels.
03:00Leaders yesterday, as they made their way to the dinner, were noticeably relieved by the change in power,
03:08because Victor Orbán has been a figure of disruption and obstruction for 16 years,
03:13and now everybody wants to bring back a sense of normalcy into the collective decision-making.
03:19And, Jorge, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, was also there, joining the leaders over dinner yesterday.
03:27And he had some very interesting comments on Ukraine's bid to join the European Union.
03:37Yes, indeed. At first, we didn't know if Zelensky was going to make it in person to the summit here
03:43in Cyprus.
03:44But after the vetoes on the 90 billion loan and the package of sanctions against Russia were lifted earlier this
03:50week,
03:50He decided to show up in person, and his message was unmistakable.
03:56He was pushing to really speed up the accession process of Ukraine,
04:00which has been blocked by Hungary for almost two years now.
04:04The frustration of Zelensky was very palpable as well.
04:08He said that he needs a clear date for accession, and he wants to speed up the process as soon
04:13as possible.
04:14However, other leaders, like the prime ministers of Belgium and Luxembourg, were more cautious.
04:20They said that they don't want any shortcuts, they don't want any fast tracks for Ukraine's accession.
04:25So my short analysis here in Cyprus is that after the end of the urban era,
04:31EU leaders will have to finally face head-on the complex issue of Ukraine's accession with no easy answers.
04:38And yesterday, I got to talk to one of these leaders, the Estonian prime minister, Christian Mihal,
04:44and we talked about accession, but also other topics that are hot on the agenda right now.
04:49Take a listen.
04:50We'll see, because always there's a chance, at least, for a fresh start.
04:55So it will mean that you can start again.
04:59And to be honest, I cannot see any other way that Ukraine's future is in Europe.
05:06That is definitely so.
05:08That will mean that the question is only when, not if and how.
05:15Now, I know you've been working on an initiative to introduce an European-wide ban for Russian soldiers
05:21who have taken part in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
05:24Why are you pushing for this measure now?
05:27And why is it so important to you?
05:29It's not even important to me, but it's important to everybody living in Europe,
05:35because to put it in very simple terms, that before the war and at the start of the war,
05:42Russia had less men under the arms than right now.
05:45So we have more men under the arms right now than at the start of the war.
05:50And we would imagine for a moment that the war would stop.
05:54But there will be ceasefire, peace and some, but hopefully just and lasting peace.
05:59Fine.
06:00But what will those people do?
06:02Most of them are criminals, but they have to be treated as heroes inside Russia.
06:07So once again, I would ask everybody that, do you want these guys near to your home?
06:11No, you don't.
06:12So that's why you have to ban them for life from Schengen.
06:16Ideally, you think it could happen this year or do you think it needs more time?
06:21Ideally, it could happen.
06:23It should happen before the summer, but this is ideally.
06:27I have this kind of feeling that we will be talking about it before the summer already,
06:32but I don't know if enough decisions will be made before the summer, but I hope so.
06:37Another issue here for this informal summit is mutual assistance.
06:41We know that the European treaties have an article of mutual assistance, 42.7.
06:46It hasn't been explored until now, but we also know that many member states like yours
06:51are also part of NATO, which has an Article 5 of collective defense.
06:54Do you see a possible contradiction between these two articles or can they coexist?
07:00They are coexisting because, for example, NATO Article 5 has been invoked only once
07:06from the United States from the United States and European article 42.7.
07:12It has been also invoked once by France.
07:15So the question is about the need and they can exist together, I would say,
07:21because usually it's pretty much overlapping what we're doing because you need certain assistance.
07:28you need your allies to act with you.
07:31So I would say this is working well, but also we should talk about European capabilities
07:36because, as we can see, President Trump's message is also that Europe should bear more burden
07:42in its own defense.
07:43Trump has also threatened to withdraw the United States from NATO.
07:48He's been saying this several times.
07:49We don't know what's going to happen.
07:51But do you think that because of these threats that he's making so publicly, the value of Article 5
07:57has been decreased, that it's not so powerful anymore?
08:01I would say no to that because, for example, when we had Russian MiGs in our space a little
08:09bit before that, certain Russian drones were in Poland's airspace, which were shot down
08:15first time in NATO's history at that moment.
08:17At that moment, Trump's message was quite clear that America is standing to protect Baltics,
08:23Poland and so on.
08:24So I would say that the messages have been quite clear that NATO is working.
08:28And also in Haig, we had NATO summit there.
08:31And Trump said that if Europe is sharing the burden, he will commit to NATO.
08:38Yes, I can understand that there's a lot of political messages, but the military side is working
08:45absolutely as well.
08:48That was the Estonian Prime Minister Kristian Michal speaking to our correspondent Jorge
08:53Liberero.
08:54And we'll, of course, keep an eye out for Jorge's reporting throughout the day from those talks
08:58in Cyprus.
09:00Now, when he was president of the European Council, Charles Michel had a notoriously strained
09:06relationship with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
09:10Those tensions have resurfaced in recent weeks.
09:14Our Europe editor Maria Tadeo caught up with Michel earlier today at the Delphi Economic Forum.
09:20She began by asking him about von der Leyen's leadership style, often described as highly centralised,
09:27and whether sufficient checks and balances exist to keep that approach in check.
09:34All of us, we know what we have to do, but I'm observing that it seems that it's difficult to
09:39make decisions that are urgent and that are needed.
09:43I trust the European Council.
09:45I think that, by nature, the European Council is the right body to decide what are the main
09:51orientations and also to make the most difficult decisions.
09:54because, you know, the European Council is the guardian of the European unity.
10:00And this European unity is something that's not easy to achieve.
10:03It requires a lot of work, a lot of preparation.
10:06It requires a lot of collective intelligence.
10:09It requires to listen to each other.
10:12And I'm confident that sooner or later the European Council will make additional decisions
10:18to clarify some of the orientations we have to decide on in the near future.
10:24Do you, are we to understand, therefore, that the Council's stance, it should be stronger, it should have a louder
10:30voice?
10:30It's not as strong as it should be, that's the general.
10:33You know, in my opinion, there's not a question of voice, it's a question of decisions that have to be
10:39made.
10:39And what is a bit frustrating for all those like me, who are absolutely convinced that this project is more
10:45needed than ever,
10:45the European project, the European dream, the European principles, the European values, the European coexistence,
10:51what is frustrating is the fact that all of us, we know what we have to do, we know exactly
10:56what we have to do.
10:57Everything is on the table.
10:58They are observing that there are always good reasons to procrastinate, there are always good reasons to waste time, and
11:05it's regrettable.
11:06And again, I don't want to blame anyone in particular, let's be clear, that's not my point, when I want
11:15to blame someone, I'm very clear, you know me.
11:17Here, that's not my point, my point is, let's look at the future.
11:21And we have tools, we have capacities, we have capabilities, we have great companies, we have great searchers, we have
11:29a lot of strength within the EU.
11:31And there is a crisis, there is chaos across the world. And by experience, we know when it's difficult in
11:38the world, in general, the EU is able to learn lessons fast, let's act faster, and let's learn our lessons.
11:47Some would argue the weakness of the Council goes back to the idea of unanimity. And that has been dragging
11:53the 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 Hungarian Prime Minister
12:08gone? This issue will remain.
12:10I hope that it will help the European Council to be more united in the future.
12:16Are 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.
12:31Point one. And point two, in some of the European countries, you can have tomorrow some national leaders, one so
12:39far from Viktor Orban's ideology and some topics, including Ukraine, for instance.
12:44Point two, does it mean that unanimity is a problem? For sure, unanimity is a challenge, there is no doubt.
12:50But I think you should think carefully before making a decision to not to use unanimity anymore, because if you
12:58stop to try to involve every country in a safe decision, the risk is that you will weaken the weight
13:08of the EU at the international level.
13:10And that's why I think the priority should be different. In my opinion, we should fight against the abuse of
13:18this veto right.
13:18Because if you follow the philosophy and the principle of the Lisbon Treaty, the idea was really that the veto
13:25right was supposed to be used when your vital interests are at risk.
13:30And the problem is that today, too many countries are tempted too many times to use this veto right as
13:37a kind of tool to blackmail and to get something in the other side.
13:40That's the problem number one, I think.
13:42It seems to me, however, listening to the leaders just finally on this point, that they would agree a larger
13:46needs to happen as soon as possible and complete the union.
13:49But they would also say we need to reform and there is no fast track for Ukraine. Are those three
13:54statements compatible?
13:55What you are mentioning is this Greek language, no fast track, etc. When we want to do something, but in
14:05parallel, we add a sentence, so it is in fact more difficult to get the result.
14:14Let's be clear. There is no doubt that in those countries, they have to do their homework and they know
14:21what they have to do.
14:22They have to put in place a 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 to use the
14:35argument of those countries not acting as fast as needed,
14:43because there is, in some European countries, a difficult pension debate with this enlargement policy.
14:49And I think in those circumstances, we could all win if we tell the truth to our people.
14:57Everywhere in Europe, the future will be more stable, more secure with them within the EU.
15:03And of course, there are some efforts, but there are also other efforts that are needed in terms of domestic
15:10reforms and in terms of what kind of policy we 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, in the US, Canada
15:31and Mexico.
15:33And it's becoming deeply intertwined with global politics.
15:37The 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 Janis has this explainer.
16:01Could the 2026 World Cup see a team that failed to qualify take to the pitch?
16:06A 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.
16:21But 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 Giorgio 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.
16:45Alright, but how is it legal? Article 6 of the World Cup regulations gives FIFA sole discretion to replace any
16:54team that withdraws or is excluded.
16:57And while Iran insists they plan to participate, FIFA has already set a precedent.
17:02Just 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.
17:16This 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 Nikalev 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.
17:59Especially after the brutal defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualifying playoff 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 Thursday.
18:55And we'll be back on Thursday.
18:59And here we go.
18:59See you next week.
19:04Hang on to Los Ánglios.
19:05Tide.
19:06Well, you bang on your edge.
19:50...
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