- 5 hours ago
Europe Today: ЕС заключает торговое соглашение с США, Путин встречается с Си в Китае
Депутаты Европарламента договорились по торговому соглашению ЕС–США, подписанному в июле с Дональдом Трампом. Эксклюзивно поговорим с докладчиком Берндом Ланге. Тем временем в Китае Владимир Путин проведёт переговоры с Си Цзиньпином.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/05/20/europe-today-eu-reaches-agreement-on-trade-pact-with-us-as-putin-meets-jinping-in-china
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
Депутаты Европарламента договорились по торговому соглашению ЕС–США, подписанному в июле с Дональдом Трампом. Эксклюзивно поговорим с докладчиком Берндом Ланге. Тем временем в Китае Владимир Путин проведёт переговоры с Си Цзиньпином.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/05/20/europe-today-eu-reaches-agreement-on-trade-pact-with-us-as-putin-meets-jinping-in-china
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:05Субтитры сделал DimaTorzok
00:30The controversial EU-US trade arrangement signed last July with Donald Trump in Scotland.
00:34We'll speak exclusively to Bernd Lange, the lead MEP for the Parliament.
00:39Also in Strasbourg today, MEPs will hold crunch talks and finalise the controversial EU returns bill,
00:46as national capitals call for long-term solutions for rejected asylum seekers.
00:50After months of deliberation, it would allow EU capitals to strike deals with third countries
00:56and build deportation centres outside the Union.
01:00Plus, just days after Donald Trump's high-profile trip,
01:03Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing late last night for talks
01:08with his Chinese counterpart and, quote, long-standing friend Xi Jinping.
01:12The visit comes as the US confirms plans to withdraw more troops from Europe,
01:17insisting the move will not weaken NATO's deterrence capabilities.
01:20We'll be crossing live to the NATO headquarters.
01:23But first, to our top story, negotiators from the three EU institutions,
01:27the Parliament, Council and Commission have sealed a deal in the early hours
01:31on the EU-US trade pact struck last summer in Scotland.
01:35After watering down safeguard measures, relations with the US remain fragile
01:39as President Trump continues to use tariffs as a tool to pressure allies.
01:44For more, I'm joined here in the studio by our Europe editor, Maria Tadeo.
01:48Good morning, Maria.
01:48Good morning.
01:49So they got the deal over the line. What's in it?
01:51Well, they got it over the line.
01:52They agree now to expedite the implementation of the arrangement
01:55that was agreed last summer between President Donald Trump
01:58and the head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen,
02:00just to bring our viewers up to speed with this deal.
02:04The tariffs on US industrial goods will go down to zero.
02:07Tariffs on European imports heading into the US would triple.
02:11At this stage, the thrust of this issue is the European Parliament now gives the approval,
02:17the consent to move on and go ahead with the implementation.
02:20They do this in a context in which the President of the US had threatened
02:25to double tariffs on European cars by July the 4th.
02:28That is, of course, America's Independence Day if this did not happen.
02:33What the European Parliament agrees now is that this will put the relationship
02:36on a more stable footing.
02:38That is questionable, of course, given the context between the US,
02:41the Trump presidency and Brussels.
02:43And they also say, which is put together in this arrangement
02:47that we have now cut yesterday at about 2.30 in the morning,
02:51is that they will go ahead, expedite the implementation.
02:53But they also argue that it comes with some safeguards.
02:57Of course, we've had time now to look at the fine print.
02:59When I look at this, what I would argue is that the safeguards have,
03:02in fact, been watered down to get this under the line.
03:05There are no mentions.
03:06At some point, this was floated.
03:07The idea of territorial integrity in the European Union,
03:10and all of this going back to the threats that President Trump made on Greenland,
03:14and therefore also Denmark, a member of the EU.
03:16That does not feature.
03:17They do have a clause that says the Commission would have a right to suspend some of the parts
03:23of the agreement if we do not see tariffs and duties on steel and aluminum come down
03:28by the end of the year.
03:29Remember, they're now standing at around 50%.
03:31There has been no tariff relief on that front when it comes to the Americans on the EU.
03:37And they also say this could be suspended altogether by 2029.
03:41Of course, by 2029, President Trump will not be in offer.
03:44When I look at this, ultimately, the Parliament agrees in a very difficult context to move
03:49ahead, fearing that if not, that would lead to escalation and more tariffs by July.
03:54Ultimately, will this change anything about the fundamental core of the arrangement?
03:59No, the 15% of European goods will stay.
04:02And of course, the US will still remain as a winner out of this with industrial goods coming
04:06down to zero and promised by the Europeans to buy and spend billions on US weapons and energy.
04:12The deal, the core of it, stays as it is.
04:14It is stilted in favour of the US.
04:16OK, Maria Steyo, thank you so much for that.
04:18And shortly, you'll be speaking exclusively to Bernd Lange, one of the top negotiators on
04:21that deal who was up all night.
04:23So stay with us here in the studio for that.
04:25But now, moving on, Russia's Vladimir Putin is back in Beijing meeting Xi Jinping.
04:30But this visit feels very different from Donald Trump's just last week.
04:33So far, both leaders have hailed the important Russia-China ties with Xi, calling Putin a dear
04:38friend.
04:39Our Yakub Yanis has more.
04:42It's been less than a week since Donald Trump's visit to Beijing.
04:46And now it's Vladimir Putin's turn to land in the Chinese capital for a state meeting
04:50with Xi Jinping.
04:51And to see past the official agenda, you just have to look at the guest list.
04:54When the US president visited, he brought tech and finance executives.
04:58Putin's massive delegation, however, includes five deputy prime ministers, eight ministers,
05:04regional governors and the head of Russia's central bank.
05:07So what does this power play actually signal for Europe?
05:12For Russia, China has become a critical economic lifeline.
05:16With bilateral trade topping $200 billion for three straight years, Moscow is structurally
05:22dependent on Beijing for industrial machinery, electronics and cars.
05:26And with major Russian banks cut off from Western financial systems, trade settlements in Chinese yuan
05:32have exploded from less than 2% in 2022 to almost 30 to 40% of Russia's total trade.
05:39And for China, Beijing is buying record amounts of discounted Russian oil, so over 100 million
05:46tons a year.
05:47And at the same time, she is pushing for a massive new gas pipeline called the power of Siberia
05:52too.
05:53And the maths is simple.
05:55The Chinese leader wants cheap Russian raw materials, but he cannot risk Western penalties
06:00blocking Chinese exports to valuable European markets.
06:04But hey, look at who else was on that plane.
06:07Notably, Kirill Dmitriev, so head of Russia's direct investment fund, and Kremlin's key negotiator
06:14with Washington, hoping to leverage China's diplomatic ways to win down the Russia's invasion
06:18of Ukraine.
06:20But for Beijing, it's all about the Taiwan cut.
06:23And by showing Washington how close it can get to Moscow, China is pressuring Trump to
06:28limit US multi-billion dollar arms sales to Taiwan.
06:31And you see, Putin and Xi have met more than 40 times and openly called each other old friends.
06:37So if Europe is just waiting for these two to retire, there is bad news.
06:42Last year, Hot Mike caught them discussing leaving until 150.
06:46So maybe that will be just enough time for Europe to finally decide on its stance.
06:51And if not, maybe to learn Mandarin.
06:58Now moving on, the Brexit debate is back on the agenda after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's
07:03leadership rivals suggested that the UK's place could be back here in the European Union.
07:09Euronews correspondent Marek Gwynn spoke exclusively to the UK's State Minister for Trade from Strasbourg
07:14and started by asking him whether his government should ditch its red lines and try to rejoin the
07:19EU's single market.
07:21Well, the red lines were an agreement that we had between ourselves and the British public
07:25who elected us in the general election.
07:27You're right.
07:27It's not even two years yet since the last general election.
07:30We've got another three years before the next general election.
07:33And I'm sure that the Labour government is going to be pushing forward on all these different
07:37elements.
07:37If we had more regulatory alignment between the UK and the European Union, just as we're about
07:43to do on food and agricultural products, but did that in other sectors as well, I think
07:48you would see a significant saving to business across the whole of the continent and a significant
07:53increase in trade between the UK and the EU.
07:57And I think that there's a really strong feeling that in a few years' time, it's perfectly possible
08:01that you will see British troops standing next to Danish troops and Spanish troops and German
08:07troops in Ukraine and defending our European security.
08:11It will be crazy if by that time we haven't managed to achieve a trading arrangement which
08:16allowed them to use the same car and buy the same products online and use services across
08:23the whole of the continent as well.
08:25Yet while you're pushing for this, your government is clearly on very fragile ground right now.
08:29There will clearly be eventually an official leadership contest.
08:33And one of the challenges of former Health Secretary West Streeting has already adopted a
08:38much bolder line on the post-Brexit relationship, saying there needs to be a special relationship
08:44and even the possibility of rejoining the EU.
08:47Should that now be the Labour Party and the Labour government's line as well?
08:51Look, I've been a Remainer from the beginning of time and I remain a Remainer and I will remain a
08:57Remainer until my dying day.
08:59So, of course, I would love to see the UK as a member of the European Union.
09:03But a vote was taken in 2016 and we had a general election in 2024 in which we made commitments
09:09to the British public, which I don't think we're about to surrender.
09:15The truth of the matter is we just need to get a common sense approach to so many different
09:20issues, whether it's business travel and it's British performing artists being able to tour
09:25around Europe or it's standing up to the security threat.
09:29And our need, for instance, we will need to produce more steel, green steel in Europe,
09:35including in the UK, to be able to create the armaments that we're going to need for the future
09:40if we're going to really significantly invest, as we've all said we're going to, in defence and security.
09:46Now, if we're going to do that, we need to make sure that we have a good deal between the
09:51EU
09:51and the UK on steel, for instance. We need to make sure that British cars and electric vehicles
09:57can be sold in the European Union without additional burdens. All of these things, I think,
10:02to be honest, are just common sense.
10:03You also mentioned steel. The EU has recently halved its quotas and doubled its tariffs on
10:09foreign steel in response to the more hostile international landscape it's operating in.
10:14Are you afraid that the UK will be caught in that?
10:17So on steel, we are having very productive conversations with steel. We ourselves are
10:23introducing new steel trade measures on the 1st of July, just as the European Union is.
10:28We need to make sure that we don't provide a problem for each other. And because, frankly,
10:32the problem about overcapacity in steel, which undermines sovereign steel capacity on the continent
10:39of Europe, is not provided by us. It's provided by China and some other countries in the world.
10:44But I'm very confident that we will come to a good arrangement on that. In relation to the idea
10:50of a European preference, a preference aérobienne or made in Europe campaign, I'm very confident
10:55that people accept this idea that the supply chains, in particular for cars and electric vehicles
11:01across Europe, include the UK. And if we're going to make sure that the whole of the continent
11:07of Europe prospers, I think made in Europe will probably will have to include the UK as part
11:12of that agenda. Now moving on to NATO, where foreign ministers are preparing for a two-day
11:20summit in Sweden, where concerns over military hardware due to the US-Israel war in Iran are top
11:25of the agenda. Also on their plate, how Europe can assist in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,
11:31if and when a resolution to the conflict emerges. For more, we can call straight over to NATO,
11:36to your news correspondent, Shona Murray. Good morning, Shona. So military chiefs are very worried
11:41about ammunition stocks. What are they saying to you? Well, good morning, Maeve. Indeed,
11:48NATO foreign affairs ministers are meeting in Sweden for the next couple of days to discuss
11:51a number of seriously consequential issues that are facing the alliance, not least of which
11:56is this delivery of munitions. Because as we've seen, the United States is burning through its
12:00stockpiles of very critical weapons, including Patriot air defence systems. That can have a knock-on
12:06effect for Europe and Ukraine and its access to these weapons. In addition, Maeve, we've also seen
12:12over the last few weeks, an announcement by the US for troop cuts across European territory and
12:18European NATO territory. And there's due to be a further announcement of this on Friday. Now,
12:22I'm joined here at NATO headquarters by Colonel Martin O'Donnell, who's a senior advisor to the
12:27Supreme Allied Commander of Europe. Martin, thanks for joining us this morning. So first of all,
12:32this troop cut. Now, we saw an announcement of 5,000 from Germany. Instead of taking 5,000 troops
12:38from Germany, the US is taking 4,000 or cancelling a brigade to Poland. But there is going to be
12:44subsequent cuts. The United States has already warned of this. But can you tell us a little bit
12:49more about the context? Yeah, sure. So I think you're talking about two separate things, but they
12:54share one thing in common. I'll talk about the two separate things. But on the commonality,
12:59that is, the United States has made it abundantly clear that it needs to focus elsewhere, not just
13:06in Europe. It has stressed Europeans need to step up. Europeans are stepping up. There is agreement
13:13within the alliance that a stronger Europe equals a stronger NATO. So that's the commonality
13:19that those two things share. Separately, if you look at each one, you talked about the 5,000 with the
13:254,000. The 4,000 troops, the Rotational Brigade earmarked for Poland, this has never been about
13:32Poland. The other 1,000 troops, obviously, coming from Germany, from a long-range fires unit there.
13:41And so those are rotational forces. Rotational forces can rotate in and out. What's happening now
13:46is that the Supreme Allied Commander, General Grinkowicz, in both his capacity as Supreme
13:51Alley commander and his European commander, is looking at how he needs to potentially adjust
13:55forces inside Europe to compensate for that, both U.S. forces and NATO forces. Separately,
14:03yes, the U.S., the U.S., there's been indications that the U.S. will announce changes to the NATO
14:11force model. I think the important thing for your viewers to understand is that those adjustments
14:17have been discussed about with NATO over the course of the last many months. All right, this is, there
14:21should be no surprises on this. And it will focus on areas where we see Europeans very, very capable
14:27of stepping up. So the idea being that the first announcement was, I suppose, in the middle of a
14:32feud with Chancellor Mertz. This announcement is in relation to ongoing discussions and military
14:38planning. So it's a little bit more sort of forward planning. And can I ask you also about
14:42access to munitions? Because we've seen the United States burning through billions of dollars worth
14:47of weapons. Now there's concerns that Europeans won't be able to access what they need for Ukraine.
14:52Yeah, so I think the United States has also made this clear that there's enough munitions.
14:57Munitions are still flowing, both to Europe and most importantly to Ukraine. Cannot stress enough
15:03the importance of the Pearl, the prioritized Ukraine requirements list, and the contributions that we
15:08continue to need from nations to step up. We've seen many, many contributions from many European
15:13nations. We need more to keep coming in to ensure these munitions can continue to go to Ukraine.
15:17But I suppose in terms of reproduction, that's the key issue, isn't it? Because they can't keep up with
15:20the pace. So what needs to be done about production?
15:22Well, we need to increase our defense industrial base on both sides of the Atlantic. And that was a big
15:27part of the discussion that occurred here yesterday with the Chiefs of Defense meeting. I think that
15:31that will continue at the end of the week with the meeting of the foreign ministers.
15:34Just in relation to the drones, can you just quickly tell us a little bit about, because
15:39we've seen a lot more drone incursions across European territory. Just very quickly, is this
15:44something we need to be deeply concerned about?
15:46Yeah, so I think what, again, the viewers need to understand is we saw NATO shot down a drone
15:53yesterday that potentially threatened NATO airspace. We've done that before. We'll continue to do that.
15:59We're continuing to roll out ground-based interceptors for drones all along the eastern front as part of
16:06eastern century. And so viewers should be assured that NATO has a handle on this.
16:10Okay, Colonel Marlodon, thank you very much for joining us this morning. And back to you in studio, Maeve.
16:14Thank you so much. But now, as promised, it is time to dive deeper into our top story today. And
16:19that is, of course, that deal last night in Strasbourg on the EU-US trade deal. Maria today,
16:24of course, is here with us on sesh. So over to you.
16:26Yes, Maeve, let's now go to Bernd Lange, because he is a top negotiator for this file.
16:32A deal has been agreed yesterday night. Let's go straight to our guest in Strasbourg. And
16:38sir, you've had no sleep. So thank you so much for joining us. I've got to admit, I've defended
16:43you many times every time you've delayed the vote, because this is a consequential decision
16:49for Europeans. Nonetheless, I'm surprised you've now agreed to it. What changed?
16:55First of all, it's not a deal. It's a legislation. And that's really important. And therefore,
17:00we had to be really careful. And secondly, we are not really delaying the process. The
17:08only delay we had was during the so-called Greenland exercise, where President Trump really
17:16used coercive measures against us. So now we have a safety net. So we are looking for safeguard
17:24mechanisms for a monitoring system. We're looking really to suspension clause. And we have also a
17:31clear sunset for the whole legislation. So this is a package which gives predictability and safety for
17:38us, for our consumer, for our industry. Therefore, I'm quite happy that you concluded it.
17:43But sir, do you honestly believe that? Do you think you're going to have a more stable relationship
17:48with President Trump? Because some would argue you've agreed to it, because it's threatening you
17:52to double tariffs on the cars. That's really what changed. Nothing else.
17:57Yeah, of course, we have now security. And that's so important. If, and as you know, this current legal
18:04base in the United States, the Straight Act 1 to 2, is expiring on the 24th of July. And nobody
18:11knows
18:11what will come after. And we have now clear criteria that if our deal is not respected on the U
18:20.S. side,
18:20then we will lift again the tariffs. Or secondly, as you know, the United States have really increased
18:28tariff for washing machine and other products after the deal of Scotland was concluded. And we want to
18:35bring them back. And also this has to be in our legislation. So this gives us an assurance that we
18:43can act in a proper way if there are turbulences on the other side of the Atlantic.
18:48Mr. Lange, some would say it's in fact the opposite. The safeguards have been watered down.
18:53There is a clause here that argues the deal can be halted, but only after 2029. President Trump will
18:59be gone by then. Do you really believe you have the safeguards in place so that this is a balanced
19:04deal?
19:08I will not make any comment on the deal of Scotland. Now we have really a safety net. And yes,
19:15we have safeguards. We will have a monitoring of the economic consequences inside the European Union
19:21starting three months after this legislation is coming into force. And we have a lot of suspension
19:28clauses. And we have also clear regulation that if the United States will not decrease the tariffs
19:35for this metal products until the end of the year, then we will lift our tariffs for this
19:43product. And yes, we have a sunset clause. And this is really totally new. This was not
19:48foreseen. We will have an impact assessment about the whole exercise. And then we will start
19:54negotiations after three years with the United States. So there is a really big package for
20:00giving us predictability.
20:02Although, of course, the sunset clause only kicks in in 2029, one year after President Trump
20:06leaves office. But I have to ask you about steel and aluminum, because this is very important for
20:10the European industry. What makes you think the U.S. will agree to lower them from 50 percent?
20:15Because we have seen no movement over a year. This is very painful for the European industry.
20:22That's not totally correct. So we have some movement on the 2nd of April. So I'm a motorcycle
20:29driver and motorcycles are relieved from this tariff. So back to 50 percent. And some other products as
20:37well, but not all of them. So we are in contact and we give them a time until the end
20:43of the year.
20:43And if then it's not happening, then we will come back to our terrorists. So there is some room
20:50for maneuver on the U.S. side. And I hope that the U.S. administration will act properly.
20:58I just have to ask a final question. Now that you've agreed to expedite this, you say,
21:03I hope the U.S. will agree and comply, too. Do you trust President Trump ultimately?
21:07Do you honestly believe he will go through his words?
21:14You never know what is coming in his mind. But we have the possibility to act. So if the conditions
21:20are not fulfilled, then we will reestablish immediately the European terrorists for U.S.
21:27products. And this is a clear message. Stick, President Trump, to the deal of Scotland. Then,
21:34of course, we can act in a proper way. If not, then we have our countermeasures ready.
21:40Well, Mr. Lange, thank you so much. I know you had a very short night. So thank you. I appreciate
21:44it
21:44for joining us this morning.
21:46Thank you so much as well to you, Maria, as well. And Bert Lange, of course, will be having
21:49a busy day. He'll be speaking to the press a little bit later this morning. For more news,
21:53of course, on that compromise, you can read yournews.com. But that does bring this edition
21:57of Europe Today. To a close, reach out to us at europetoday at euronews.com. That is our email
22:02address. But as always, thank you so much for tuning in. Take care of yourself and see you soon
22:06on Euronews.
Comments