- 4 ore fa
L'Europa globale è la risposta al cambiamento delle alleanze? I parlamentari europei discutono sul Ring
In questa edizione del nostro programma settimanale di dibattito The Ring, Damian Boeselager (Volt/Greens) e Helmut Brandstätter (Renew) discutono se l'Europa può essere leader in un ordine mondiale in evoluzione.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/05/15/leuropa-globale-e-la-risposta-al-cambiamento-delle-alleanze-i-parlamentari-europei-discuto
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
In questa edizione del nostro programma settimanale di dibattito The Ring, Damian Boeselager (Volt/Greens) e Helmut Brandstätter (Renew) discutono se l'Europa può essere leader in un ordine mondiale in evoluzione.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/05/15/leuropa-globale-e-la-risposta-al-cambiamento-delle-alleanze-i-parlamentari-europei-discuto
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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00:08Hello and welcome to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show broadcasting from the European
00:14Parliament here in Brussels. I'm Stefan Grobe. On The Ring, members of the European Parliament
00:20go face-to-face on some of the biggest issues facing Europe. Today we want to talk about
00:26how greater Europe is coping with global instability and shifting alliances. Luis Alberto has more.
00:35The European political community's first meeting in the South Caucasus reflects the stretching
00:40contours of Europe geographically, politically and strategically. The meeting in Armenia was
00:47a response to global instability of which increasing trade tensions with the United States are a familiar
00:52part. Donald Trump's threat of 25% tariff on European cars has left Brussels scrambling to
00:59save a fragile transatlantic deal negotiated last summer. As global alliances shift, Europe is
01:06becoming a space others may want to join, align with or orbit around from Canada to the United Kingdom,
01:12from Iceland to the Balkans. Is Europe truly becoming an independent global power? Should
01:18the EU respond to external pressure with deeper unity? And is Europe ready to lead?
01:26A lot to unpack here for our debaters, and here they are.
01:31Damian Böselager, a German MEP from the Greens European Free Alliance Group and co-founder of
01:37VOLDI Europa. He is the vice chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and a member of the
01:42delegation for relations with Canada in the European Parliament. A strong advocate for deeper European
01:47integration, he said,
01:49Europe has finally seen that national politics are not enough to handle crises that don't know of or care
01:56for borders between our nations.
01:58Helmut Brandstetter, an Austrian MEP from the Liberal Renew Europe Group. He is the vice chair of the
02:04delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee and a member of the Committee
02:08on Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament. A strong supporter of transatlantic cooperation, he argues
02:14that Europe must respond to growing geopolitical instability with greater coordination, saying
02:19free trade and open societies are part of the same liberal democratic project.
02:27So let me welcome to the ring Damian Böselager and Helmut Brandstetter. Great to have you here.
02:33Good to see you. Now at the ring we want to offer our viewers a glimpse of how members of
02:39the European
02:39parliament debate each other. So you should feel right at home. And let's get started. Helmut,
02:46I want to start with you. Why should anyone see Europe as a hard power rather than simply a regulatory
02:53power? There's a lot of talk about geopolitical power and we should be strong or something like that.
02:59That doesn't really interest me. What's important is security and wealth for people living in Europe.
03:04and there's one thing is for sure. There is no sovereignty of one nation. So we only, or as
03:11Henry van Spack said, in Europe there are small nations and small nations who don't know yet that
03:16there are small nations, like I'm sorry to say the Germans. So that's the way it is. So we have
03:22to
03:22cooperate for the security, for the wealth of our people. That means common defense, common trade.
03:27These are the basics. And of course, a better cooperation between the nations and less nationalism.
03:34Damian, he mentioned Germany. Is Germany ready for this new task?
03:38Yes, Germany has a huge issue. We have a chancellor that always said he wants to be, you know, the
03:43foreign
03:44chancellor, but also the Europe chancellor. And he hasn't yet understood that running around in the world as
03:49basically a foreign policy chancellor, while not strengthening Europe, while not using his chance to make his
03:55additions to European integration, as his predecessors, for example, Helmut Kohl did.
04:00That's a problem. And I think Germany hasn't understood that they're a very small nation.
04:03Sadly, we often have national egos of people that lead nations and that maybe stop them from
04:10strengthening Europe. And is there a discrepancy between hard power versus regulatory power?
04:15I think they're a bit different. So regulatory power often looks at the internal market and how
04:22companies can operate. We can, of course, talk about whether economic strength translates into
04:28foreign policy strength as well. Whereas the question of hard power is really is Europe able to
04:34have its voice heard basically across the world as well, especially in a world that is getting more
04:40insecure. So I think hard power is more questions of like what is Europe's military capacity
04:45look like? Do we have one united voice in foreign policy? Are we even listened to when we speak to
04:50partners outside the European Union? Good point. That brings me back to this conference in Armenia
04:57a few days ago. Was this the beginning of what we could call global Europe? I think the most positive
05:05and the greatest event was that the Canada prime minister Carney was there because what he said was very
05:11clear. We have to cooperate. We are no superpowers. But if all the middle powers work together,
05:16we can be very strong. Again, not to be a superpower, but to do everything for the security of our
05:23people. And that brings me because it was said I'm pro transatlantic. I used to be pro transatlantic.
05:29But if you listen to Mr. Trump, you are not even sure. Does he mean it seriously? He really wants
05:35to
05:35take Venezuela as the fifth ever first. He wanted Greenland. What else? He wants Canada. It's that's
05:41thinking of the 20th century. It's not about borders. I mean, Putin is is I mean, of course,
05:46he's a war criminal, but it was stupid enough to think I have a few more square meters and then
05:51I'm
05:51more powerful. No, it's the brains. It's research and it's cooperation. Putin doesn't understand it.
05:58Trump doesn't understand it. We understand it. And the Canadians understand it. So we have to work
06:02together, of course, with a mania, because we know there's a lot of pressure again from the
06:08Russians against the democracy there. So global Europe, is that is that a feasible, reasonable
06:15concept? I mean, first of all, Europe is a continent, so it's difficult to make it global. I think what
06:22Europe shows is that when nations work together, they can be more successful if they actually transfer
06:28some power to a higher level, which which is, I think, a great example also for other regions
06:33of the world if it works. And that's why it's so important for us to show that this idea that
06:37nations
06:38can only be strong if they expand their territory, if they subdue their neighbors, that this is a wrong
06:43notion and that in the end it's about cooperation and agreements in a house like this, like the
06:49European Parliament, basically a democracy that is a bit supranational. And I think this is where we
06:54need to go. But our global voice, again, will only be strong if we are a good example of cooperation
06:59and of success. So the world order is shifting, obviously. A lot of things are happening that
07:05were unthinkable a few years ago, like Sweden and Finland joining NATO, Norway and Iceland now
07:11considering joining the EU. Is Europe becoming the last beacon of hope, the last beacon of democracy in the
07:20world? I mean, we know there are less and less democratic liberal countries. And Europe is a
07:26hope for many people. That's the first thing. And the second thing that's, again, it's not about power,
07:31but it's about our future. We should talk more about Africa. If you see how strong the influence of
07:39Russia is there, just talk to an African journalist and he explained to me how they organize migration from
07:46Africa to Europe just to destabilize. And it's the Wagner group, you know, they organize it.
07:51They want to destabilize it. And China. China is interested, of course, in the raw materials,
07:57Russia to destabilize. Where's Europe? And here is one strength of Europe. If you think about Austria,
08:02small country, even Germany, we don't have a strong, we don't have a colonial past like the Brits or the
08:09the the the the the Holland or even, of course, France. So we should be stronger there and explain
08:16them we want. We don't want to grab anything. We want to cooperation because Africa is very close to
08:23us and we should cooperate with them. Again, it's not about global power. It's about better life for
08:28people in Europe and secure life. Would we at this point? Would we be at this point,
08:33Damian, without Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin? It's true that sometimes, let's say, instability in
08:39the world can help us understand how precious our stability is in Europe and now our living standards
08:45are good. And I hoped always that Europe would just be a project that integrates further and further,
08:53that builds a foreign policy that is actually coherent and that we understand that this is not a project
08:58that is done. This house here is not readily built. It's not it's not done. It's not finished.
09:02It's a hybrid between, let's say, an intergovernmental situation and parliamentary European
09:08democracy. And I think we need to finish the pieces. I do think that some crazy leaders outside
09:14of the European Union are accelerating this process or to put it differently. They put in front of us a
09:18challenge and either we live up to this challenge and actually build a Europe that is able to live in
09:23the future or we will fall apart because we are unable to actually come together as one. So Putin and
09:30Trump,
09:31the drivers of European integration. And are we, in addition to that, are we ready for this? Is
09:37Europe living up to this ambition? That's the point. That's the big question. I think we've understood
09:43it. But now it's about doing something. And when I saw Ursula von der Leyen, you know, with Trump and
09:49then
09:49to shake hands, she should have known that he doesn't take it seriously. So it's not about shaking
09:55hands. It's not about talking. It's about doing. So now with the 25 percent on European cars, we have
10:02to react immediately. And we know they are soft apart. And that's that's the platforms. You know,
10:09that's the reason why Musk is friend and why they're all friends with with Trump, because they are afraid
10:16of us. We could be much stronger against them. We have to explain to them if you want to make
10:22business
10:23here, you've got to follow European laws. So we have to be more not more outspoken, more out doing. You
10:31said Europe will grow in the solidarity of action, not of words. Very good. Let me stop you here as
10:41we're just getting warmed up. Now it's time for our viewers to get a real flavor of the European
10:50Parliament chamber, where members ask each other questions. That means it is time for you guys to
10:57challenge each other directly, just as you do in the hemicycle behind us. So let's get started.
11:03Damian, I'm starting with you. So the first question to you, Hamoud, would be your party was also in
11:09government and promised the United States of Europe. What have you done to actually make them a reality?
11:14That's a very good point, because, as you know, coalitions are very difficult to build. And with the
11:21social democrats, conservatives and liberals like us, there are a lot of differences. But what we have
11:27done, we have a very strong foreign minister. And she, her first trip was to go to Ukraine. She explained
11:33to the Austrians it's important that Ukraine also defends us. We were always part, as a neutral country,
11:40always part of supporting Ukraine. And we expressed that and did much more than the others. So is it
11:47enough? No. But there were very important first steps we did take. Are you happy with this? I mean, I
11:54think the
11:55realities are what they are. It seems like we all, all of us, all the different nations have to do
12:00more to actually push for more European integration. I think what I'm missing from all the members of the
12:05councils of the 27 national governments is to take actually up the challenge of the European
12:09Parliament to change the treaties of the European Union. So I was just wondering if there were any
12:13initiatives coming. No, short answer, going to the past, there was a European Parliament and you can
12:19see it in the Austrian Parliament. It was the old Reichsrat of the Habsburgs. And why did it fall apart?
12:27Because of nationalism. Nationalism first killed Europe and then killed many, many people. And that's,
12:34we have to explain again. So I invite everybody to go to the Reichsstadt in Vienna and visit it.
12:39that you see a European Parliament. But you are right. We have, we have to do more. Yes.
12:43Yeah. I remember François Mitterrand in Strasbourg saying nationalism is war.
12:46Yeah. Yeah.
12:47That's the main question.
12:48I have another question to Damien.
12:51Can I ask another one?
12:52No. First him.
12:53No, they don't.
12:53My question is very simple. What I hear in Austrian companies is bureaucracy. There's the Austrian
12:59bureaucracy and there is the EU bureaucracy. What did you do? And people, and you know,
13:05the companies, especially SMEs, they are drowning in bureaucracy. What do you do for more competition
13:10and less democracy? Yeah. My dream would be is that we are actually following small entrepreneurs in
13:15different sectors to understand how much is actually communal, how much is regional,
13:21how much is national, and how much is European bureaucracy. And can we put that on a matrix of like
13:26the most annoying and most useless ones that we can actually look at. What I did personally is that in
13:32almost all the laws I negotiated, I tried to include the minimis clauses, meaning for smaller
13:38companies, SMEs, startups that are starting off, that they excluded from many of the rules that we
13:43write, because it's always an issue with regulation that it hits the smallest companies first,
13:48because they don't have the big legal departments to deal with it. And the second thing that I really
13:53want to underline is because this is missing in the debate. We often talk about simplification,
13:57reducing the regulatory burden. What we don't talk about is harmonization. We need to finish the
14:03internal market, meaning there shouldn't be any sectoral legislation on the national level,
14:08stopping us from growing from one country to the next. I want startups and scale ups in Europe to be
14:13able to grow across borders as if there was no border. And I don't think we're there. Why? And this
14:18is
14:18something you actually mentioned earlier, because there are hard choices to be made. And I'm unhappy at
14:23the moment, because there's only a fake single market program at the moment in the European Union,
14:27whereas harmonization would be the solution. One law can replace 27. And we should do that.
14:33And we need a capital market. This is luckily something I work on in the Econ Committee.
14:38How lucky you are for this. Now it's your time to ask Helmut another question.
14:44Yes, there's a range of questions. Maybe I'll start with one on nationalism again,
14:48because I had a panel with Robert Menasse, who's an Austrian writer. And it was very interesting
14:55because I felt he was much more against the nationalism and the nation state as a whole. He
15:00was much more for regional identities. Whereas for me, I think there can be regions, nations. But
15:06what's really important is that the European Union functions well as an actual democratic, you know,
15:11government elected by the European Parliament. So where do you stand? Do you think the nations need
15:15to be abolished or you don't care? No, that's interesting because I know Robert Menasse since
15:19our common times at the University of Vienna, and we discussed it before the last elections.
15:24And he said, I'm against your program because we said United States of Europe. And he said,
15:29no, no, we don't need United States. We only need one Europe. And I said, you see, in the United
15:34States,
15:35it's also United States. And there are regional identities, as we know, between Texas and Massachusetts,
15:40it's great difference. But it's foreign policy. It's the dollar. It's defense. That's important.
15:47So I think there is sometimes it's a regional identity. There is also national identity. I don't
15:53fight national identity. I just want to explain chauvinism. So one country thinks or one nation
15:59thinks they are better. That's the problem. Plus, I think that what Robert says is a little bit of a
16:05dream. I think we should think in steps. And the next step is more likely to be the United States
16:11of Europe than only one European state. All right. We have heard the views from our guests. And at this
16:17point, I would like to introduce a new voice.
16:25For our quote of the week, let's bring in Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was mentioned already.
16:31He participated in the conference in Armenia. And here's what he said. Take a listen.
16:36We're here because of the moral and security imperatives of our cooperation in the Caucasus,
16:43in the Baltics, in Ukraine, across Europe, and also because of the immense potential for our
16:49partnerships to build a better, more prosperous, sustainable and just world for our citizens. And
16:57is my strong personal view that as the international order will be rebuilt,
17:02but it will be rebuilt out of Europe. The international order will be rebuilt out of Europe.
17:09Do you agree? I think we have a potential. I think the world is looking at this block right now,
17:14seeing how we react to this challenge that Donald Trump and that Putin actually confront us with.
17:21And we have a chance, especially if we follow Mark Carney's advice and start building real
17:26relationships, deep relationships with other partners to diversify our trade away,
17:31but just make it more resilient. But also, yeah, to work with partners on the eye level. And I think
17:38we have the opportunity. We just need to do it. And I don't see it happening right now.
17:41It's interesting that this comes from the Prime Minister of Canada, a country of
17:44British political traditions and French culture. What can this country bring to the table?
17:50British tradition, French culture and German immigrants, German immigrants and danger from
17:56the US, you know, because what Trump said about about Carney and also about Canada is also very
18:02important. So that's probably also part of it that he thinks cooperation will help us. But I want to
18:06add one more thing. We didn't talk about migration yet. I want to talk to the Canadian ambassador in
18:12Vienna about migration in Canada. They said, OK, we also have a problem. So we developed a system that if
18:18there is a family coming, we find another family and they have to be, you know, like a partner
18:23family and they have to do something for them. And I think that's a good idea. And what I would
18:27say
18:27is that for me, one of the most important things is Europe. We learn from each other. There are some
18:32things better in Germany, in France, in Ireland, wherever. And there's something which is better in
18:36Canada. So if we cooperate as far as that's concerned, if you learn from Canada, wonderful. And I think if
18:42you
18:42listen to Carney, you have to love him. He's wonderful. Will this new order be rebuilt without the United
18:49States, knowing that Donald Trump will not be president forever, Damian? I think at the moment, it's clear
18:55that the United States or at least the president has no interest in building lasting, deep
18:59relationships with Europe. It's quite the opposite. His security strategy says clearly that Europe needs to be
19:05dismantled. Why? Because it's actually a functioning union of democracies. This might change. I'm a
19:10transatlanticist as well. I lived for two years in the United States. I love the United States.
19:15But it's also true that at the moment, we need to understand we have an over-reliance on the
19:19United States and we need to diversify our reliance, which means more trade relationships with different
19:24geographies, more deeper ties with others, a functioning European defence. And then we can also, of course,
19:30we have to also work with the United States as productively as we can. But at the moment,
19:36with the tariffs that also Helmut mentioned, we are in a situation that is quite negative and that
19:40might need a friend that is a bit more strict from the European side now rather than like open arms.
19:47All right, let's take a break here on The Ring. We'll be back with more after this.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show. I'm Stefan Grobe,
20:06and I'm joined by two members of the European Parliament. From Germany, Damian Böselager,
20:11representing VOLT Europe, caucusing with the Greens. And from Austria, Helmut Brandstetter from
20:16Renew Europe. I'd like to bring in the voices of the European sovereign now, the people who send
20:23you here. It's the latest Eurobarometer polling on the general satisfaction of citizens with the
20:30European Union. And here we see that nearly three quarters believe their country has benefited on
20:37balance from being a member of the EU. More than half, 57% of EU citizens are satisfied with the
20:44way
20:44democracy works in the EU. And 51% of Europeans trust the EU. 51% trust. Is that number too
20:54low?
20:55Yes, of course, it is too low. We are not good enough. We are not good enough in explaining what
21:00we are doing. But of course, also, the democracy is not perfect. I think the system that the nation
21:06states are too strong, that's a problem. But the second thing is, we learned a lot about Russian
21:12desinformation here. And there are, you know, the right wing groups, they are the puppets of Putin.
21:17And they, you know, they say the same things like parrots. Sometimes their propaganda is better than
21:23our truth. We have to work on that. So the first question I always ask is, do you think there's
21:28stuff we need to do on the European level? And everybody says something, you know, defense,
21:33internal markets, climate, whatever is on their minds, they understand that we need to cooperate.
21:38And then I ask, how would you like to cooperate? Do you think it should be the 27, you know,
21:43national leaders sitting in a room like in the medieval times? Or do you think there should be
21:46a functioning government? And a lot of people actually are happy with, you know, a functioning
21:50government. And we actually have one number in the Eurobarometer, which you didn't mention,
21:54which is that there are 90, I think it's 80 something percent of people, you can fact check,
21:59that want more European integration, that think we could actually do more on the European level together.
22:03So how does it work with the mistrust number that you have just mentioned? The truth is not,
22:08I think that we're not explaining well enough. The truth is that around 60 percent of the laws are
22:12already coming from the European level that goes through the German Bundestag, for example,
22:17but people don't know. And the reason for that is very simple. It's national parties.
22:22So we actually, it's our own fault as national governments, it's our own fault that people don't
22:30really understand how Brussels works, because we're not fixing it.
22:34Helmut, is the European public at large ready for a huge overhaul of sort of Europe's vision? We
22:42mentioned global Europe at the beginning. I think not yet. And you know, there's one reason
22:47the enemies of the European Union, they are very strong emotionally. We are very strong here and they
22:54are here. We have to be way more emotional about Europe. Of course, it's not always talking about
23:00the past, but you know, the generation of my father or his grandfather, they were in the war or in
23:05resistance. They had to fight for their life. We live in peace here together. So we are not strong
23:10enough to explain how great emotionally this Europe is, that it's never been before. And today we can live
23:17here. We can discuss, but we don't, there's a war between France and Germany also, it's impossible.
23:25But emotionally, we are not good enough to explain that. Is that right? No, I think now we can actually
23:31debate, you know, because there's one question, you know, is it, are we not doing a good enough job
23:37as Europeans explaining to everyone what's happening? I don't think, honestly, I don't think it's on us
23:42this time. I, you know, like when my grandfather and your father's generation basically started to
23:48build the European Union, they were starting in a moment of hate towards each other, of hate. So
23:53they didn't have the emotions to carry this project, but they understood as leaders, especially the
23:58political leaders, that they need to explain this and that they need to make this happen. I don't see
24:03a single European leader being like the national leaders currently making the step of explaining
24:09why Europe needs to integrate further. So I don't think, very clearly, I don't think we can defend
24:14the status quo. We do, we shouldn't even try saying like this hybrid between national and European.
24:19No, we should actually say there's a vision of where it will go and we will fix the issues.
24:22Let me, on this emotion, and I think this is a very powerful point. Hate certainly is an emotion,
24:29but reconciliation is also an emotion. So are we not emotional enough? And that was his, his point.
24:36I feel that like saying we somehow need to convince the hearts of the people,
24:40while at the same time national petitions constantly lie about what's happening in Europe,
24:45while citizens are not being properly informed about what's happening in Europe,
24:49while people hate like the idea of front of line because she's not elected
24:53by them. I think this is an uphill battle that we will not win. We need the national level.
24:58She was elected. She was elected by the European Parliament. Who was elected by the people, right?
25:02Like Mr. Merz. So, but the issue here is that she did not campaign, neither for the first time,
25:07nor for the second time, as the lead candidate of her party. People didn't have the feeling that they
25:12can change. So what is important in elections? The feeling of being able to change the future.
25:16This is something that people do not connect. They vote for a regional party in Germany for the
25:22European Parliament elections. That's absolute bullshit. That makes no sense.
25:25Now it's time to move on to our fifth and final round.
25:32You want to do something different here. I'm going to ask you a set of questions and you can only
25:37answer with yes or no. Okay. Damian, has Europe for a long time confused moral leadership with
25:48geopolitical power? No. Yes. Yes. Should Europe create a joint European army? Absolutely. Yes.
26:00By the way, in what language is that army going to operate? English. Just a thought. I mean,
26:09which language are we speaking here? Should defense spending rise above 3% of GDP across Europe?
26:18At the moment, it seems necessary, yes. Look, if we would actually pool the money,
26:22we would have much more and we could potentially spend less, but we are spending it very inefficiently.
26:27Okay. Is the EU currently capable of acting as a true global power? No. No.
26:34Has Europe become too risk-averse to act like a great power? Yes. We never tried. Okay.
26:45Will Canada join the EU someday? I absolutely hope so. I hope so. Okay. And in European elections,
26:55should voters across the EU vote for any candidate anywhere they like? Yes. There should be list
27:02elections. So, no. No. So, I could not vote for somebody I like in Italy, for example. There should
27:09be two votes, one for a European list for the party you like and one for a regional representative. So,
27:14it's a bit of a yes-no. Okay. That final answer brings us to the end of this edition of
27:20The Ring. Thanks
27:21again to Damian Böselager and Helmut Brandstetter for a very interesting, lively conversation here from
27:27the European Parliament. Thanks to our audience at home. If you like, you can continue the conversation
27:33by sending us your comments to theringateuronews.com. That's it for today. I'm Stefan Grobe. Take care and
27:40see you soon here on Euronews.
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