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Europe Today: Latvia in turmoil after PM resigns over drone incursion — what now?
Latvia, an EU and NATO member, is facing political turmoil after PM Evika Siliņa resigned yesterday following a drone incursion described as a major security failure. Europe Today has exclusive comments from former Defence Minister Andris Sprūds, who also stepped down this week.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/05/15/europe-today-latvia-in-turmoil-after-pm-resigns-over-drone-incursion-what-now
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Latvia, an EU and NATO member, is facing political turmoil after PM Evika Siliņa resigned yesterday following a drone incursion described as a major security failure. Europe Today has exclusive comments from former Defence Minister Andris Sprūds, who also stepped down this week.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/05/15/europe-today-latvia-in-turmoil-after-pm-resigns-over-drone-incursion-what-now
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:14Good morning, it is Friday the 15th of May. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today,
00:21your daily date with Brussels news and beyond. Thanks for joining us.
00:25Coming up, in a dramatic development being closely watched by the EU and NATO,
00:30Latvia's Prime Minister, Vika Selina, has stepped down suddenly following a security crisis involving
00:35Russian-bound drones entering Latvian airspace. We'll bring you up to speed on the growing
00:40political crisis, which began with the resignation of the Defence Minister, Andrzej Szpultz,
00:45who we'll be hearing from exclusively this morning on Europe Today. And in Beijing,
00:50the US President Donald Trump enjoyed a state banquet last night before tea with the Chinese
00:56President Xi Jinping today. From Taiwan to trade, the Middle East to tech, President Trump described
01:02the discussions as, quote, extremely positive, adding that Xi was a, quote, great leader.
01:09Meanwhile, Iranian and Russian foreign ministers have met on the sidelines of a BRICS gathering
01:14in New Delhi. With the conflict involving Iran ongoing, India is balancing ties between Tehran
01:20and fellow BRICS partner, the UAE. The EU, which signed a historic deal with India this year,
01:27also watching this gathering closely. But first, EU and key NATO member Latvia is facing political
01:34turmoil after the Prime Minister stepped down. The crisis stems from what critics are calling
01:39a major security failure, placing the Baltic frontline state's defence architecture under intense
01:45scrutiny. For more, we're joined here in the studio by our correspondent, Angela Skugins,
01:50who happens to have Latvian roots. So we're in very safe hands here with them, with you,
01:54Angela, with this story. So just tell us what happened to the Prime Minister. And by the way,
01:58our viewers met her here when we interviewed her recently on Europe Today.
02:02Good morning, Maeve. So yes, the Latvian Prime Minister, Evika Silnia, she held the top job for three
02:07years, announced that she would resign yesterday. She is from the centre-right political party,
02:12the Unity Party. Now, it stems from political infighting. I won't get into the weeds of that just yet,
02:18following a major drone incursion that happened on Thursday last week. Now, she demanded the
02:24resignation of the then defence minister, Andris Prudz. He stepped down. She offered a replacement.
02:29He was widely panned. But let's take a listen to what she told Latvian citizens yesterday regarding
02:34why she resigned.
02:38Faced with a strong professional candidate for the position of Minister of Defence,
02:43political anti-talkers chose not a solution, but a crisis, a government crisis. That is why I am
02:49announcing my resignation as Prime Minister. This is not an easy decision, but it is an honest
02:54decision in this situation.
02:56Alanya, what happened with these drones? What exactly were the failings?
03:01Yes. So on Thursday last week, three stray drones from Ukraine crashed into Latvia. Now,
03:08they were suspectedly diverted to that Baltic nation from Russia. No civilians were injured. There was a
03:14brief fire. However, many citizens claimed that they only received a warning message regarding the
03:19incident an hour after it occurred. So there clearly are massive failings when it comes to civil
03:24preparedness, the text message, but also where were the air defences. We also saw this morning
03:29that Finland themselves experienced their own drone incursion, raising fresh questions regarding
03:35these Baltic and frontline nations' ability to ward off Russian aggression when and if it comes. Now,
03:43experts have also suggested that the political turmoil creates massive vulnerabilities for Latvia,
03:48particularly in the run-up to that parliamentary election in October. Now, I managed to speak
03:53exclusively with the former Defence Minister Andrzej Sprudz yesterday regarding what exactly happened
04:01last week, the failings. He said that he takes full responsibility for that drone incursion.
04:07But let's take a listen to what he had to say regarding what he would have done differently next time.
04:12Well, it is not easy to have some kind of silver bullet. And I have expressed it always that it
04:19is difficult to deal with drones which have lost its trajectory. And that's why I am realistic. And I've been
04:28always realistic. And I've been also communicating that there are some realistic constraints for what is possible to do. At
04:35the same time, yes, we are moving forward with our air defences. We are moving forward with learning from Ukraine.
04:41And creating those experiences. Critical part is here, certainly the communication society. So we need to communicate.
04:48It's also the lesson. Can you communicate more? Also communicate realistic solutions, what is expected and what we can do.
04:56It is important that we are closely cooperating with different other institutions, because it is not just about defence sector.
05:03It is also about civil defence, municipalities, and also the interior ministry and institutions are extremely important. So there is
05:12a spectrum of things which have to be done.
05:14Speaking of the eastern flank, of course, those countries that are on the front line of defence when it comes
05:19to Russian aggression, if it were to push past Ukraine, does this political crisis not create a chink in that
05:27armour?
05:27No, I don't think so. I think that we are united. And as I said, sometimes domestic challenges, if not
05:35to say crisis, happen. It is what we have democracy. And it's absolutely a good thing that, of course, we
05:43have the different approaches and diversity of opinions also within society and different expectations.
05:49And we, of course, of course, of course, of course, of course, of course. And we, of course, also portray
05:51our parties portray the interests of our societal groups. So that's why it is also the part and parcel of
06:00the democratic process.
06:02But I have full trust in our unity as a NATO ally, as a NATO ally, as a support in
06:09Ukraine against Russian aggression. So this is what unites us and will be united.
06:14So I have no any doubts, despite some domestic turmoil and turbulence.
06:21And the discussion is there speaking to Latvia's former defence minister on a story which, of course, has big stakes
06:27for Europe, given the country plays a huge role in helping Europe's security.
06:31But now, moving on, Donald Trump is wrapping up his three-day visit to China in talks. He has described
06:37as, quote, incredible.
06:39He'll sit for tea again today and a diplomatic lunch before departing for Washington.
06:44Donald Trump has already invited Xi to D.C. in December for further talks.
06:48To look into the substance now of these talks, beyond the pump, we're joined by Euro News' Stefan Grubbe.
06:55Good morning, Stefan.
06:56Good morning, Maeve.
06:57So beyond these lovely walks in the Rose Garden and the duck over the state banquet last night, what were
07:02the disagreements, Stefan?
07:04Well, it was really a tale of he said, Xi said.
07:07There were not certainly any open disagreements, but the readouts from the two sides offered some varying and somewhat diverging
07:15accounts of what was actually discussed.
07:17Now, the Americans focused primarily on trade and the economy, focusing, like, Chinese investment in the U.S., expanding market
07:27access for U.S. companies, etc.
07:29What was missing, though, was any mention of Taiwan, which is absolutely central for China.
07:35The Chinese statement said that Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in
07:43China-U.S. relations and could fast lead to clashes and even conflicts if handled, if mishandled.
07:51So that was a stark warning.
07:53On Iran, the Chinese readout simply said that both presidents exchanged views, while the Americans' account quoted Xi as being
08:02much more accommodating to the U.S. view.
08:05In an interview afterwards, Trump even went further.
08:09Take a listen.
08:10President Xi would like to see a deal, man.
08:12He would like to see a deal, man.
08:14But he said, I would love to be of help.
08:16If I could be of any help whatsoever, he'd like to see the Hormuz Strait open.
08:21He said, if I could be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.
08:25Yeah.
08:26There you go.
08:27Trump also said that Xi had pledged not to send any military equipment to his Iranian ally.
08:35On the whole, both praised each other lavishly at the state banquet, certainly catnip for Donald Trump.
08:43And the difference in language compared to how Donald Trump described China, the anti-Chinese rhetoric during his first term
08:52was quite striking, Maeve.
08:53And you mentioned that state banquet.
08:55We saw a lot of American CEOs getting selfies taken with some of the participants there.
09:00But what are these CEOs actually taking home?
09:02Well, first and foremost, Xi gave Elon Musk, Tim Cook and all the others a somewhat reassuring message that China
09:09remains open to business and sees U.S. companies as important partners rather than adversaries.
09:16He also framed the economic relationship in geopolitical terms, saying that what is good for one country is also an
09:23opportunity for the other.
09:26He was essentially signaling that Beijing wants foreign investment and does not want a full-scale economic confrontation.
09:35Now, in terms of corporate news, Xi announced that China would buy 200 Boeing aircraft.
09:41That number is much, much lower than everybody expected, around 500.
09:46And as a consequence, investors on Wall Street were rather subdued.
09:49The share price of Boeing went down.
09:51But we'll see whether there are other major announcements by the end of the day.
09:55We will indeed, Stefan Krobey.
09:57Thank you so much for that update.
09:58And now to London, where obstacles on the left and right of the UK Labour Party are making this one
10:05of the worst week in politics for the Labour Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
10:10Wes Streeting has resigned as Health Secretary, saying he has lost confidence in Keir Starmer's,
10:15and this is, of course, deepening the political crisis for the Labour government.
10:19For more on the story, I'm joined now by our correspondent Shona Murray, who actually covered Brexit and also UK
10:25politics for many years.
10:26So lovely to have you with us, Shona, this morning.
10:28Is it inevitable now, do you think, that Keir Starmer will have to step down?
10:32I think that's what the consensus is, Maeve, because we had this abysmal election results last week.
10:36You had a very underwhelming speech subsequently, and then you've had a slew of resignations.
10:40This most sort of, I suppose, important of which was yesterday, was Streeting, the Health Secretary.
10:45And, you know, I suppose when you look at what he said in his resignation letter, it was extremely withering.
10:51It's hard to see how Keir Starmer can hang on.
10:53Let's have a look at what he said.
10:54He said, where we need vision, we have vacuum.
10:57As you know from our conversation, having lost confidence in your leadership, I've concluded it would be dishonourable and unprincipled
11:04to remain in post.
11:05It's difficult, though, to see how the road ahead is for West Streeting.
11:10He doesn't seem that popular amongst the Labour Party.
11:12Then you have other people like Andy Burnham, who is not quite an MP.
11:15He's the mayor of Greater Manchester, so there has to be a by-election for him to be an MP
11:19to then challenge Keir Starmer.
11:21So we're looking at a long enough road, which could be death by a thousand cuts, which means that Keir
11:27Starmer could be a lame duck prime minister for some time, which is obviously problematic for the EU.
11:31Less than two years ago, he became prime minister.
11:33And everyone thought here in Brussels, stability once again.
11:36Well, you mentioned the EU, of course. What does this all mean for the EU-UK reset?
11:41Yeah, well, Keir Starmer has been inching towards this.
11:44And in the next few weeks, there is due to be another EU-UK summit, similar to the one that
11:48was last year.
11:48We haven't got a date for it yet.
11:49But what they're supposed to agree is this SBS deal, which means that the UK can once again export food
11:56into the EU like they did before Brexit once they follow all EU rules.
12:00Now, this is going to be problematic for a lot of Brexiteers, because that's one of the reasons why they
12:04wanted to leave the EU.
12:05But it's, you know, it's a very, very interesting situation because Brexit has not gone away.
12:10Brexit by proxy is still there.
12:11If you look at the last year, last week's elections, Nigel Farage did very well, the arch-Brexiteer, and he
12:17did very well in Brexit voting areas.
12:19So the question is, for every prime minister for the next few years, do you move towards the EU and
12:25say, forget about those leave voters, or do you support the majority of British people who actually want much closer
12:31EU relations?
12:32I mean, if you look at the polling results, even a few weeks ago from YouGov, 55% of British
12:38people would like to rejoin the EU.
12:40And that's across all voters, including leave voters.
12:42So, I mean, it's going to be problematic, but I think that Brussels would like to see the British have
12:48much closer ties, of course.
12:50And if you look at the British economy since Brexit, it's unobjectively been bad.
12:55You see investment down by 18%.
12:57You see employment down by 5%.
12:59You see GDP down by 6% to 8%.
13:01So it's a very, very difficult moment for any prime minister to try to deal with the growing Nigel Farage
13:08party, which is anti-EU.
13:09And also, then you have, of course, the other part of the country who wants to say, well, look, we
13:14need to do the best for our economy, you know.
13:17OK.
13:17Shona Murray, thank you so much for that very comprehensive update.
13:20And now we can move on to the Eurovision Song Contest, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in Vienna this weekend.
13:27The singing contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union, known to most of us as the EBU, was founded to
13:34unite the continent through music.
13:35But it's facing growing divisions both on and off the stage.
13:39Jakob Janis tells us more.
13:42Have you ever wondered what makes a hit in 2026?
13:46According to Spotify, there is a literal formula for the perfect entry.
13:49A tempo of 127 beats per minute, a 4-4 time signature, and a key of F major.
13:56But this year, the biggest hit is not a melody.
13:59It is the politics.
14:01Vienna is hosting the 70th anniversary of Eurovision, but the United by Music motto is under its heaviest strain yet.
14:08So let's look together what's behind the glitter.
14:14With only 35 participating countries, the lowest level since 2003,
14:18the competition is struggling to survive the grids of real-world geopolitics.
14:23And Europe is witnessing its largest boycott ever.
14:26With five nations, so Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland, pulling out over Israel's inclusion.
14:33And in a move of a direct protest, Slovenia has replaced the live broadcast with a documentary series titled Voices
14:40of Palestine.
14:40And even inside the arena, Israel's Noam Betan qualified amidst a wall of both cheers and protests.
14:48So it seems like this edition has become a high-stakes revenue gamble for an event that organizers claim
14:53was watched by over 160 million people around the world last year.
14:58And following the vote last December to confirm Israel's place in the contest,
15:02President Isaac Herzog argued that the country deserves to be represented on every stage.
15:07He also described the move as a vital demonstration of solidarity, fellowship and cooperation.
15:13And Israeli officials have accused their critics of a wide-ranging campaign against Israel's participation in Eurovision.
15:18With the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs saying it has identified a sharp increase in anti-Semitic and anti-Israel
15:25tones surrounding the contest.
15:27But one thing is certain.
15:29Whether through boycotts or ballads, Eurovision remains the only stage where continent's tensions are performed in three minutes of pyrotechnics,
15:37strobe lights and perhaps even some music in the background too.
15:46Jakob Yannis there for us.
15:48And as you heard there, Spain is one of the song contest's biggest financial donors.
15:52But this Saturday, they'll be running their own musical special, The House of Music.
15:56For more Euro news, Amaya Ezevarria asked Spain's culture minister, that's Ernest Urtushun,
16:01if this was still a music festival or really a geopolitical battlefield.
16:06Some years ago, we were very fast in excluding Russia from Eurovision.
16:11And we are applying, the EBU is applying a double standard here by allowing Israel,
16:18which is committing a genocide in Gaza and which I have to remind,
16:22has an ongoing investigation in the International Criminal Court for very grave crimes in Gaza.
16:28We are allowing them to participate.
16:29So those double standards, we do not accept.
16:32And as a minister of culture, I have to say that I will never accept that culture is used
16:37to whitewash very grave criminal crimes at the international level.
16:42The slogan of Eurovision is indeed united by music.
16:47Do you think that this year is music dividing people?
16:50It's not music.
16:51It's not dividing people.
16:52What it's dividing people, I have to say, is the decision not to exclude Israel from the competition.
17:00It's not about music.
17:01Music is a moment of celebration.
17:03And the Eurovision has always been a moment of celebration.
17:05We're very happy.
17:06A Spanish to take part in Eurovision every year.
17:08But the thing is, when you have a contest where countries are represented,
17:12and you have both Russia and Israel with the current investigation by the ECC,
17:17you cannot turn a blind eye around that.
17:19And when you allow Israel to participate, you're actually using culture to whitewash what is going on there.
17:26Yes, and we are not ready to accept.
17:27But we are not ready to accept that, neither in Eurovision, neither in the Biennale in Venice,
17:33where we also had that discussion around the participation of Russia and Israel.
17:39The Spanish position is very clear.
17:41Do you think that other countries that are accepting to participate are also doing a political statement?
17:47Look, every country can decide on its own.
17:50It's not up to me to say whether a country is right or wrong in participating.
17:56We have decided not to.
17:58The decision that I would like to criticize is not the decision of those countries to maintain their participation.
18:05The decision that I would like to criticize, which I think is wrong, is the decision of the EBU board
18:11to allow Israel to participate.
18:13This is what is wrong from the beginning.
18:15From here, of course, there are several countries that we have decided not to participate because we don't want to
18:20participate in those circumstances.
18:22And is this position that has been taken by the government of Spain supported also by people in Spain and
18:29also people in Europe?
18:30I have the impression that people in Spain are very proud that our broadcaster decided not to participate.
18:37And it's with pain because people love Eurovision in Spain.
18:40It's not that we don't like the contest.
18:42We love the contest.
18:42It's massively followed every year.
18:44So it's a difficult decision.
18:46But I think people in Spain are very proud that the broadcaster took that decision
18:50because I think the very vast majority of Spaniards reject war, reject genocide and are outraged at what is going
19:00on in Gaza.
19:01So, yes, I think we have the backing of our people, yes.
19:04I mean, we are a country that we love to take part in Eurovision.
19:07But, again, we will only take that decision if a cultural event like that one will not be used to
19:14what was something very, very dangerous
19:17and something very, very grave like the genocide in Gaza.
19:23And that was the Spanish Culture Minister there, Ernest Ortajul.
19:27And let us know if you're watching the Eurovision this Saturday night and how you feel about these boycotts.
19:31You can write to us at europetoday at euronews.com.
19:34Despite the controversies, the Euronews Song Contest is, of course, very popular.
19:38It attracts around 160 million viewers on TV.
19:42But that brings this edition of Europe Today to an end.
19:45For more news on all the stories we're covering this morning, including that drone alert in Finland and the bombings
19:50in Kyiv,
19:51do visit euronews.com.
19:53Thank you so much for joining us.
19:54Take care and see you very soon here on Euronews.
19:59Euronews.
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