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Europe Today: scontro Merz-Trump sul ritiro delle truppe USA, mentre i leader europei in Armenia
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Sintonizzatevi con Europe Today, il programma di punta del mattino di Euronews, alle 8 ora di Bruxelles: in soli 20 minuti ti aggiorni sulle notizie più importanti
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/05/04/europe-today-scontro-merz-trump-sul-ritiro-delle-truppe-usa-con-leader-ue-riuniti-in-armen
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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00:15Buongiorno, è Monday 4th di May, questo è Europe Today e io sono Mariette Gwin,
00:20coming to you live from Brussels with the news and analysis to start your day.
00:24Coming up on today's show, US President Donald Trump is threatening deeper cuts to US military presence in Germany
00:32after the Pentagon announced the withdrawal of 5,000 troops on Saturday, escalating tensions between Washington and Berlin.
00:41The decision follows comments made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying the US was being humiliated by Iran.
00:49And the European Commission says it's keeping its options open after President Trump announced he would hike tariffs on EU
00:57cars to 25%.
00:59The announcement has left the US-EU trade deal struck last summer hanging in the balance.
01:06We speak to the EU's top lawmaker on international trade, Bernd Lange.
01:11Also, 48 leaders are gathering in Armenia for a summit of the European political community,
01:18with a non-European leader, Canada's Mark Carney, in attendance for the very first time.
01:24Carney is seeking to build new alliances with like-minded partners amid a rupture with the US.
01:31But first this morning to our top story,
01:33because Europe is dealing with the fallout of US President Donald Trump's latest verbal attacks against his NATO allies.
01:42Trump signalled over the weekend he would withdraw many more than the 5,000 troops the US said it would
01:49remove from Germany on Saturday.
01:51We're going to cut way down and we're cutting a lot further than 5,000.
01:55Thank you very much.
01:56For more, I'm joined in the studio this morning by our correspondent, Shauna Murray.
02:00Good morning, Shauna. Great to see you.
02:02So this comes after a very public spat between Trump and the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
02:09Tell us more.
02:10Yes, so there are pretty ill-fated comments from Friedrich Merz saying that the Iranians were humiliating the White House
02:16negotiators
02:16and then criticising Trump for his ill-conceived strategy in Iran.
02:20And people might say, well, that's actually a fair point because the war is not going well.
02:25Gas prices are skyrocketing.
02:28The economies, the global economy is not doing very well.
02:30Donald Trump knows this.
02:32And so this sort of added fuel to the fire.
02:34Immediately then, Donald Trump said he was studying whether how to remove troops from Europe.
02:39He announced 5,000.
02:40And then the last few days has announced that he will remove even more than 5,000.
02:44There are around 80, over 80,000 US troops across Europe, about 36,500 in Germany.
02:51It has to be said that Europe has been preparing for a drawdown like this, but not in this sort
02:56of confrontational way.
02:57Now, take a listen to him over the weekend.
02:59He was also asked whether he would do the same in Italy and Spain.
03:03Why shouldn't I?
03:07Italy has not been of any help to us.
03:11And Spain has been horrible.
03:14Absolutely horrible.
03:16And Germany, I mean, he's doing a terrible job.
03:19He's got immigration problems.
03:21He's got energy problems.
03:23He's got problems of all kind.
03:25And he's got a big problem with Ukraine because they're in that mess.
03:30And he criticised me for doing the whole thing with Iran.
03:37But I said, would you like to have a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran?
03:40He said, no, I don't.
03:42I said, well, then I guess I'm right.
03:44A lot being said there.
03:46First of all, Italy and Spain.
03:47We know that Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, has been very vocally critical of the war in Iran.
03:51But Giorgio Maloney, the prime minister of Italy, was once known as the Trump whisperer.
03:56So it shows you that these relationships are transactional and very much temporary.
04:00And, you know, he's criticising Friedrich Merz and the Germans.
04:02But at least they're allowing the U.S. military access to their bases and the use of their skies for
04:08the war in Iran.
04:09But, you know, overall, this is yet another diatribe, another confrontation between the U.S. and its allies at a
04:15very particular critical moment in Ukraine.
04:17And, Shauna, in terms of this drawdown, 5,000 troops from Germany, what does that mean now for security and
04:23for NATO?
04:24Well, this is the issue because speaking to NATO sources over the last few days is they haven't been given
04:28any detail about what this will look like.
04:30Will it be a sort of a rotational issue where 3,000 troops are removed and they won't be replenished?
04:35Is it from a core group?
04:36Is it from the Air Force?
04:37They haven't got that detail.
04:38And we heard from NATO over the weekend saying that they're working with the U.S. to figure this out.
04:42We heard from Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, this morning, he's in Armenia at the European political community,
04:47saying that European allies have heard the message from Trump loud and clear.
04:51That is true.
04:52And they have been preparing for this.
04:53So Germans and other countries have bolstered their forces for the last year or so.
04:58So they're well prepared for this.
04:59They don't, I mean, 5,000 is manageable.
05:01But the question is how many more.
05:03But crucial to this, Marad, is that even in the last year, I spoke to a NATO diplomat.
05:07He said, we're preparing for a withdrawal of troops, but the worst case scenario would be if it happens out
05:12of the blue,
05:13without collaboration with NATO, and also if it comes after a phone call with Putin,
05:18which is exactly what happened here, almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.
05:22So it's, you know, Europeans are again sort of in a very, very difficult position with Trump.
05:27OK, Shauna, thank you so much for that update and for bringing us up to speed.
05:31Now we're moving on because on Friday, President Trump also said he would hike tariffs on EU cars and trucks
05:39to 25%.
05:41It's left the trade deal struck between the EU and the US last summer, hanging in the balance once again.
05:48That deal had set a baseline tariff of 15% on most EU goods, including cars,
05:54while completely removing EU tariffs on US industrial goods.
05:59For more, we're joined live now by the Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange.
06:06Mr. Lange, really good to have you with us this morning.
06:09Can you tell us first, is this announcement, do you think, a political manoeuvre from Trump,
06:16directed specifically perhaps at Germany?
06:20Yes, sir. Good morning. And I think you are quite right.
06:23This is a political decision. He is really angry against Germany.
06:30We just heard it.
06:32And I'm convinced that in this context, he also targeting specifically German car manufacturers.
06:42And this will perhaps lead to an extra tariff volume from around 15 billion.
06:49So that's really, and of course, there are no legal or no economic reasons for that.
06:57This is really politically against Germany.
07:00And I think the big question now, Mr. Lange, is how should the EU respond to this?
07:05Is it time to move from appeasement to retaliation?
07:09That's really the question we will discuss on Wednesday.
07:12So it's totally clear.
07:14We saw a lot of breaches, a lot of breaking of the deal of Scotland by the United States.
07:21Even some weeks after, we saw that more than 400 products were lifted from 15 to 50 percent
07:29because they are containing steel and aluminium.
07:32There's now a revision on the 2nd of April, where also these products are still in average
07:38by 26 percent.
07:41And we saw the Greenland exercise, and we saw that the Supreme Court decided the legal basis was illegal.
07:48So I guess now we will reflect and make an assessment about this one year of breaking by the United
07:55States.
07:55I'm not sure that we can really go on.
07:59And of course, we have a toolbox of possible reaction, and we will discuss it quite intensively, and we will
08:07be serious.
08:08You mentioned a toolbox.
08:10We know that there is this kind of trade bazooka, the anti-coercion instrument.
08:15Will that be on the table as one of the options?
08:19We have the toolbox, and of course, all tools are in.
08:22But in this case, of course, we will look also to other elements like countermeasures,
08:32like counter tariffs or export restrictions.
08:34So I guess all options are on the table.
08:39But as you said, Mr. Langer, we have been here before.
08:42There could be more to come.
08:44So far, the EU has not had the political courage, some would say,
08:48to introduce, for example, retaliatory tariffs.
08:52Do you think that now the time has come and that this will happen?
08:57I'm sure that the mood in the European Union has changed,
09:01specifically after this Greenland exercise.
09:04And if you read the statement by the Commission yesterday, it was much more clear.
09:11And also there was a mentioning of a reaction, and all options are open.
09:18So there's a change inside the attitude of the European Union
09:23after this long story of unpredictable reaction in the United States.
09:29And Mr. Langer, you've been urging EU governments to attach more conditions
09:33to the Scotland deal agreed last year,
09:36including making EU preferential tariffs conditional on the US,
09:40respecting its side of the deal.
09:42Germany has been pushing against that.
09:44Do you think they could now get on board?
09:48In the Council, indeed, there are different positions.
09:51Some are more outspoken.
09:53Some are really trying to de-escalate.
09:57Germany, unfortunately, was more in the camp of the second.
10:01Now, I guess, also here is a change.
10:04And we will have also a discussion with the Council on Wednesday.
10:08And after that, I can give you a concrete answer what we will do.
10:13Okay. Thank you so much, Mr. Langer.
10:15That's all we have time for.
10:16I'm afraid we will be following those discussions on Wednesday,
10:20as you mentioned.
10:22Bernd Langer, the chair of the European Parliament's Committee
10:25on International Trade there.
10:26Moving on now, the European political community,
10:29a forum considered the brainchild of France's Emmanuel Macron,
10:33is meeting for a summit in Armenia today.
10:35Around 48 leaders are expected to attend,
10:38including for the very first time a non-European,
10:41Canada's Marc Kani.
10:42As our reporter, Jakob Yanis, explains.
10:47Marc Kani has arrived in Yerevan, Armenia,
10:50heading to the European political community summit.
10:52as he spearheads efforts to create a middle powers alliance.
10:57This Canadian prime minister,
10:58holding both Canadian and British passports,
11:01represents a unique bridge between the Anglo world
11:03and a Europe increasingly wary of American isolationism.
11:07And this forum could offer Canada a vital opening
11:10to build new European ties.
11:13But could the world's most European, non-European country
11:16actually become the 28th EU member state?
11:21Almost 60% of Canadians now support joining the bloc,
11:25with over 80% prioritizing stronger economic ties
11:28as a buffer against US political turmoil.
11:32And the latest surveys show most Germans and Spaniards
11:35back Canadian accession,
11:36while in Poland, France and Italy,
11:39proponents significantly outweighed those in opposition.
11:41And hey, Ottawa is no geopolitical lightweight.
11:46Canada's population is around 41 million,
11:49which is roughly 10% of the current EU bloc.
11:52And while being a founding NATO member,
11:55it remains outside the European economic area.
11:58However, and that's interesting,
12:00its GDP per capita remains significantly higher
12:03than the EU average.
12:05So, if Ottawa ever entered the Union,
12:08it would be a wealthy net contributor.
12:10All right, but despite the public enthusiasm,
12:13the Brussels bubble has just issued
12:15a polite reality check.
12:16Enlargement commissioner Marta Koss
12:18recently confirmed that while Canada is a state,
12:22it fails the European state requirement
12:24of Article 49 of the Treaty on the European Union.
12:28And unlike Ukraine or Turkey,
12:30Canada lacks the geographic and ancient cultural connections
12:34necessary to satisfy current treaties
12:37without a total legal overhaul.
12:39However, this relationship could evolve
12:42toward a bespoke model,
12:43mirroring Norway or Switzerland,
12:45a close family bond that provides deep integration
12:48into the single market and security programs,
12:51while stopping just short of a formal marriage.
12:54If Europe wants to become more independent,
12:58yes, indeed, we need partners like Canada.
13:01And for that, Canadians could one day say yes.
13:05Huh, or we, as both English and French
13:07are Canada's official languages.
13:14Now, as Armenia hosts
13:16the eighth European Political Community Summit today,
13:20it's also seeking closer ties
13:22with European nations amid a rift
13:24with its traditional ally, Moscow.
13:26For more on the significance of this,
13:28I'm joined by our Ukraine correspondent,
13:30Sasha Bakulina.
13:31Good morning, Sasha.
13:33Tell us how significant this is.
13:35Armenia hosting the EPC for the first time.
13:37It is absolutely unprecedented, Marit,
13:40for anybody who's been following the region
13:42and the developments there for years, I would say.
13:45Now, there's some of the scenes on Monday morning
13:48where it used to be absolutely unimaginable,
13:50like NATO Secretary General Mark Ruter
13:53arriving to the EPS in Yerevan,
13:57and there and shaking hands
13:58with Armenia's Prime Minister,
14:00Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia,
14:02the country that for decades
14:04had been seen as Russia's closest ally,
14:07the country that still has some standing treaties
14:10with Moscow and is officially considered Moscow ally.
14:13Now, Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister,
14:15he tweeted prior to the meeting
14:16and he said about the importance
14:18of Armenia hosting it.
14:19And he said,
14:20I'm looking forward to discussions
14:21with European partners on the vital topics,
14:23including democratic resilience,
14:25regional stability and connectivity.
14:28Now, this, of course, also reflects
14:31a lot of Yerevan's intentions
14:32voiced last year about them trying
14:35to go on the European path
14:37and finally join the European Union.
14:39But in a bigger picture,
14:40this fact that Yerevan is indeed hosting the EPS
14:45and then tomorrow the EU-Armenia summit
14:46cements the fact and this U-turn
14:49in Armenia's foreign policy,
14:50which we have been observing
14:52since a couple of years,
14:54but specifically since Armenia and Azerbaijan
14:57found this treaty and the peace agreement
14:59and put an end to decades
15:01of bloody conflict in Karabakh.
15:04Yes, really fascinating, Sasha.
15:05But also the Ukrainian president,
15:07Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
15:08also at the EPC summit today.
15:10How significant is that?
15:12I would say that, you know,
15:13same as with Mark Rutte arriving to Yerevan,
15:16Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
15:17the scene of Volodymyr Zelenskyy
15:18arriving to Yerevan,
15:19that's sort of another nightmare
15:20that is definitely very closely watched in Moscow.
15:24Now, this is Zelenskyy's first ever visit to Armenia
15:27and he was rather cautious commenting on it
15:31when he tweeted and he said,
15:33many meetings ahead,
15:35the key priority is more security
15:37and coordination for all of us.
15:40Now, he's of course talking about
15:41more and better security deals
15:43and cooperation between Ukraine
15:44and other, not only European countries,
15:47but the fact that he is visiting indeed the country
15:50where there is still a Russian military base
15:51is very important.
15:54And of course, also this visit
15:55comes just a week after he visited Azerbaijan as well,
15:59discussing security deals.
16:00Okay, Sasha, thank you so much.
16:02And we'll, of course, keep an eye out
16:03on the EPC in Armenia today
16:05and as well as that EU Armenia summit
16:07taking place tomorrow.
16:09But moving on now,
16:11last week, a coalition of European mayors
16:14met with European Council President
16:16Antonio Costa
16:17to discuss the housing crisis
16:19gripping many parts of Europe.
16:21Bishu is back on the agenda this week
16:23with the Commission and Parliament
16:25co-hosting a high-level meeting
16:27on the housing crisis tomorrow.
16:29Our correspondent, Angela Scugins,
16:31caught up with the mayor of Rome,
16:33Roberto Gualtieri,
16:35and started by asking him
16:36why Brussels should dedicate political capital
16:39to tackling the crisis.
16:41This is an issue of social justice,
16:43an issue of inclusion.
16:46It's also an issue of competitiveness growth
16:49because labor mobility is key.
16:52And if workers have difficulty to move to cities,
16:55to big cities,
16:57that also affects our economic growth.
17:00So it's a priority, it's an emergency.
17:02And this is the reason why we created this alliance
17:06of mayors for affordable housing.
17:09We elaborated proposals,
17:11very concrete proposals,
17:13not just slogans.
17:14And we are here to present them
17:16to the European Commission.
17:17You say that it's an emergency.
17:19Do you think the European Commission
17:20is taking you seriously?
17:22They did because this commission
17:25has introduced a very important new element,
17:28which is a commission
17:29dedicated to housing
17:30because they are listening to us.
17:33But of course,
17:34now is the time
17:35to move from listening
17:36to deliver results.
17:38Could you argue
17:39that the short-term rentals
17:40are causing the most issue?
17:43What are the other points
17:45that are causing contention here?
17:47The short rentals
17:48are a component of this tension.
17:50Not the only one.
17:51That's very important
17:51because the main problem
17:54is that public housing policies
17:57have been put
17:59out of the policy tool
18:02of Europe and Italy
18:04for a lot of time.
18:06So let's go back
18:08to the re-founding
18:10of a European nation state
18:12after World War II
18:13and with a welfare state,
18:14European social motor.
18:16This is composed in four pillars.
18:18Health, public health,
18:21education, pensions,
18:22and housing.
18:24Now, the fourth part
18:26of this, you know,
18:29social model policy tool
18:31is out.
18:32There is not anymore.
18:33So we don't have
18:35public housing policy
18:36significant of significant magnitude.
18:38And so that's the reason.
18:40So we need first
18:41to recreate
18:42a robust pillar
18:43of public housing,
18:45public policies.
18:46Then, of course,
18:47we have also
18:48to address
18:49the tension
18:50that short-term rent
18:52has created
18:53on housing markets,
18:54especially in very
18:55touristic cities.
18:58The mayor of Rome,
18:59Roberto Gualtieri,
19:00speaking to our correspondent,
19:02Angela Scugins, there.
19:03But that's it
19:04from us for today.
19:06Thank you so much
19:06for tuning in.
19:07If you have comments
19:08or questions for us,
19:10remember,
19:10you can email us
19:11at europetoday
19:12at euronews.com.
19:14We'll be back
19:15at the same time tomorrow.
19:17See you then.
19:23We'll be right back.
19:47We'll be right back.
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