- 12 minuti fa
Europe Today: droni, bunker e caos politico: cosa succede in Lituania?
Mercoledì un attacco di droni in Lituania ha bloccato la capitale e costretto i leader a rifugiarsi in un bunker. Ursula von der Leyen promette una risposta "unita e forte". Parla il ministro della Difesa Robertas Kaunas.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/05/21/europe-today-droni-bunker-e-caos-politico-cosa-succede-in-lituania
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
Mercoledì un attacco di droni in Lituania ha bloccato la capitale e costretto i leader a rifugiarsi in un bunker. Ursula von der Leyen promette una risposta "unita e forte". Parla il ministro della Difesa Robertas Kaunas.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/05/21/europe-today-droni-bunker-e-caos-politico-cosa-succede-in-lituania
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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00:14Good morning, it's Thursday the 21st of May.
00:18I'm Mariette Gwynne and this is Europe Today.
00:21Your morning fix of news and analysis broadcast live from Brussels.
00:25On today's show, a drone incursion into Lithuania on Wednesday brought the capital to a standstill
00:33and forced the country's leaders to shelter in a bunker.
00:37The commission boss, Ursula von der Leyen, has said Europe will respond with, quote,
00:41unity and strength.
00:43We'll speak to Lithuania's defence minister, Roberta Skhaunas.
00:48And NATO foreign ministers gather in Sweden today,
00:51where U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to further encourage allies
00:57to take responsibility for their own defence.
01:00The U.S. has signalled it will reduce the capabilities it makes available to NATO
01:06as it pivots to priorities elsewhere.
01:09Also, world leaders have summoned Israeli envoys
01:13after Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir shared a video
01:18showing him taunting handcuffed activists from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
01:24Italy and France have described the scenes as, quote, intolerable.
01:29We'll bring you the details.
01:31But first, to our top story this morning.
01:34The Baltics have been rattled by repeated drone incursions in recent weeks,
01:39the latest being an incursion into Lithuania on Wednesday.
01:44For more on this story, I'm joined on set by our EU correspondent, Angela Skugins.
01:48Good morning, Angela.
01:49First of all, bring us up to speed on what exactly happened in Lithuania yesterday.
01:54Good morning, Madden.
01:56So to put it bluntly, the Baltics are on high alert,
01:59tenterhooks regarding, as you rightly pointed out, what exactly happened.
02:02So at 10 a.m., civilians received a text message telling them
02:06that they should seek shelter immediately with their families.
02:10The airports were ground to a halt as well as civilian traffic.
02:14The Prime Minister and the President were also shuttled to a bunker underground
02:18while officials above ground scrambled to try and figure out what was going on in their skies.
02:24The security incident only lasted for one hour.
02:27At roughly 11 a.m., the alert was lifted.
02:30And our general understanding is that a drone entered Lithuanian airspace
02:34from the border along Belarus.
02:37But it's also really important to point out that this is not a freak incident.
02:41If we can take a look at this map here, we can see that there have been at least
02:44six drone incursion or suspected drone incursions since the beginning of May
02:49occurring over the skies of Latvia, Finland, Lithuania, as well as Estonia.
02:55We believe that most of these drones are Ukrainian in origin, however, have been pushed
03:01into European airspace by Moscow GPS jamming.
03:05And given all this, Angela, what happens next and what's been the reaction from Lithuania?
03:10Yes.
03:11So we know that the European Union have been trumpeting for at least a year that,
03:17according to national security services, that foreign agents such as Russia could be ready
03:22to attack the continent by 2030.
03:25This is why the EU have pumped a whopping €800 billion into beefing up the EU's defences,
03:31particularly that 3,500 kilometre border along the east.
03:37The big question here, however, is whether the EU can stay one step ahead of Moscow.
03:41We've seen that they've become incredibly creative when it comes to sowing panic,
03:46creating division within the Baltics, as well as the EU member states when it comes to supporting
03:51Ukraine.
03:52I managed to speak with the Lithuanian defence minister, Robertus Kaunas, this morning.
03:57And the first question I asked him was whether Moscow was successful creating the panic.
04:04Yesterday, Lithuania experienced a drone incursion into our airspace,
04:08but our armed forces rather detected the drone's type object, let's say,
04:15before it crossed into Lithuanian airspace.
04:19So we may be able to detect it earlier.
04:23NATO air police mission was activated.
04:26So two Portuguese fighter jets scrimmated to intercept the drone.
04:32It's important to emphasise, actually, how crucial that NATO air police mission is in the Baltic states.
04:42And here I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all NATO countries participating in this mission.
04:51People were alerted about the need to go to their shelters.
04:56And here no panic were detected.
05:00Everyone were calm.
05:02The response, I think, was timely.
05:07This is the new, actually, reality what Baltic states face.
05:11So we need to adapt because possible repeating of similar scenarios is very high.
05:20Well, NATO eastern flank countries, actually facing all NATO eastern flank countries,
05:26facing similar accidents.
05:28And NATO airspace has been violated multiple times in recent days.
05:35So we managed to react on time correctly, but we need to increase and enhance our airspace defence.
05:46Minister, you mentioned there that there was no panic.
05:49However, the Lithuanians that I've spoken to sound quite emotional recounting the stories of yesterday.
05:56How are you going to reassure them that Lithuania is safe?
06:01Lithuania is a member of NATO alliance.
06:04We have a strong commitment from our allies that we are not alone.
06:12And NATO air police mission is here.
06:15Additionally, we're investing a lot in our air defence capabilities.
06:20New radars are coming.
06:21Part of them are already in Lithuania.
06:25Interceptor drones.
06:27Air defence experts from Ukraine arriving to Lithuania to help us enhance our air defence capabilities.
06:35But, Minister, you mentioned all of this technology to repel Russian drones.
06:40They're cheap.
06:42We know this.
06:43But how confident are you that Lithuania can repel real Russian aggression when and if it comes,
06:49we're talking about tanks rolling across the border?
06:54Our investment to our national defence needs is 5.38% of GDP.
06:59It's the highest volume among all NATO countries.
07:04So, we are doing our homeworks.
07:09That was Lithuania's Defence Minister, Rupertas Kaunas there.
07:13Now, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed a response following the incident.
07:19For more, I'm joined on set by our correspondent, Sasha Vakulina.
07:22Good morning, Sasha.
07:23First, tell us, what can the EU actually do in response to this threat?
07:28Well, the first thing Brussels tried to do was to reassure the Baltic states and Lithuania
07:33that the EU will stand up and respond and protect them.
07:36Let's take a listen, take a look at what the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had to
07:41say.
07:42She said, Russia's public threats against our Baltic states are completely unacceptable.
07:47Let there be no doubt a threat against one member state is a threat against our entire union.
07:54But, Meryl, these Russia's threats towards the Baltic states are not new.
07:59They are coming there for years and it is actually enough to just follow the official Kremlin statements
08:04or even Russian state-controlled media on daily basis threatening the Baltic states,
08:09threatening Brussels, threatening Berlin or even London very openly.
08:14Also, at the same time, just earlier this week, Russia's foreign intelligence agency issued open threats to the Baltics
08:22under the false claims of them allegedly providing their airspace for Ukrainian droves.
08:27Now, these claims have been categorically denied by both the Baltic states and Kyiv.
08:31And, Sasha, it seems that some countries are not only more vulnerable to this,
08:35but are also more prepared than others.
08:37Definitely. Some of them have done more of a homework, so to say,
08:41specifically starting from 2022 and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
08:46And one of these countries is Poland.
08:48Now, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that these attacks and this incident
08:54are part of coordinated provocation by Moscow.
08:58Let's take a listen to what he had to say.
09:04I have warned many months ago and also several weeks ago that the situation could escalate,
09:11not only regarding the Ukrainian-Russian war, but across the entire eastern flank.
09:16The Russian-Ukrainian war and Russia's aggressive policy towards Ukraine and its neighbors
09:20could soon lead to situations requiring a firm response.
09:31Together with Warsaw, stock warnings were issued also by Kyiv.
09:34Early on the 15th of May, President Zelensky said that their Ukrainian foreign intelligence
09:38also has the information that Russia is effectively trying to drag Belarus more into its war against Ukraine,
09:46but also against possibly other countries like the Baltic states.
09:51Okay, Sasha, thank you so much for that analysis.
09:55We're moving on now.
09:56The divisive legacy of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was under the spotlight this week
10:02when she received an European Order of Merit.
10:05But what impression is the current Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, making one year after he took the reins?
10:13Our Jakob Janis takes a look.
10:17One year into Friedrich Merz's chancellorship, the honeymoon is long gone
10:21and much of the damage is self-inflicted.
10:24He recently chose the bold strategy of scolding Germany's workforce for taking too many sick days,
10:31dismissing part-time jobs as a lazy lifestyle choice
10:34and even telling Germans to look to Greece to learn how to work hard.
10:39A staggering historical plot twist from a leader whose country spent years lecturing Europe on efficiency, isn't it?
10:45Huh, so what went wrong?
10:49A year ago, Merz promised a conservative pro-market renewal.
10:53But his center-right and center-left coalition is paralyzed by internal fighting.
10:57Germany's economic recovery has completely stalled with growth projections for this year,
11:02halved to just 0.5%.
11:04And voters are furious over high energy costs, heavy taxes,
11:09an upcoming 4 billion euro cut to the public pension system.
11:13And internationally, a public swipe at Donald Trump over Iran backfired badly,
11:18with the US president claiming Merz doesn't know what he's talking about.
11:22And with the planned withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany,
11:27vital long-term security agreements look now a bit shaky.
11:31And according to the recent survey,
11:33Merz is now the most unpopular democratically elected leader in the world.
11:37And a staggering 76% of Germans disapprove of his performance.
11:42But to be fair to Merz, his job isn't easy.
11:45His coalition holds a tiny parliamentary majority of just 12 seats.
11:50And with his CDU party dropping to just 23% in the polls,
11:54he looks more and more isolated,
11:57allowing the far-right AFD to take the lead ahead of critical state elections this autumn.
12:03Merz has always been seen as a man of business.
12:06He promised the German people he would get the economy back on track.
12:09But so far, he's offering them nothing but economic tough love and longer working weeks.
12:14And if his voters do not see economic results soon,
12:18they will send Merz into retirement.
12:20And given his notorious comments about how glad he was to escape the Amazon
12:24after last year's climate summit in Brazil,
12:27it is safe to assume he won't be choosing to spend that time off in Berlin.
12:37Jakob Janis reporting there.
12:39Now, today, NATO foreign ministers are in Sweden
12:43for a two-day meeting ahead of the leader summit in Ankara in July.
12:47On the agenda, the urgent need to ramp up the production of weapons.
12:52Also high on minds is the US decision to cut its commitment to the alliance,
12:58even in wartime.
13:00Our correspondent, Shauna Murray, is here with me.
13:02Good morning, Shauna.
13:03Good to see you.
13:04First, tell us more about what the US is actually announcing and how it may impact NATO.
13:10Indeed.
13:10So we know that over the past few weeks, we heard Donald Trump saying he's removing 5,000
13:14troops from Germany.
13:15Instead, he cut a brigade that was due to deploy to Poland.
13:18So that's not what this is.
13:19He's not removing soldiers per se from NATO territory.
13:22You still have around 70,000 or so.
13:25What this is, is the United States shrinking the pool of resources available to NATO during a time
13:31of war or an invasion.
13:32So essentially within NATO, we have this framework called the NATO force model that deals with
13:37deterrence and defense capabilities, particularly in times of war.
13:41The United States is saying we're taking away some of what can be activated if there was an
13:46invasion.
13:46So this is a structural and quite fundamental.
13:49Take a listen to J.D. Vance, vice president.
13:52We're not talking about pulling every single American troop out of Europe.
13:55We're talking about shifting some resources around in a way that maximizes American security.
14:01I don't think that's bad for Europe.
14:03That's encouraging Europe to take more ownership.
14:06The United States cannot be the policeman of the world.
14:09Now, he's saying that they're shifting it around, but they actually are reducing it and
14:12shrinking what can be available.
14:14But I think the point that he also made there is important is that the European allies have
14:19stepped up in capabilities in these areas.
14:21So Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, is saying that we've engaged with the United
14:25States about this.
14:26So there won't be capability gaps per se.
14:28But it is a fundamental shift, Marit.
14:30And at the same time, Shauna, concerns that the U.S. has been burning through weapons stockpiles
14:35and that could potentially leave gaps for Europe.
14:38Well, the estimation is about a billion dollars a day has been spent on the war in Iran.
14:42And what's happening is the United States is, like you said, expending or burning through
14:45very highly critical munitions, including Patriot air defense missile systems, which are very
14:51expensive and very hard to produce.
14:53The knock-on effect could be that the Europeans, which are purchasing a lot of these weapons
14:58for use on the battlefield in Ukraine, that they won't be available because the production
15:02can't keep up with the pace of the usage in Iran.
15:06And as we see, the Iran war has not really shown any signs of abating.
15:10So the problem right now, well, right now we know the deliveries are being made to Ukraine
15:14more or less.
15:15But within the next few months, if this war continues, that won't be the case.
15:19So here at Sweden today, you'll hear from Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, saying
15:22that the production needs to be ramped up even more.
15:24And before the war in Iran, it was pretty bad.
15:27So it could get far worse, Marit.
15:29Okay, Shauna, we'll keep an eye out, of course, on that meeting happening in Sweden during
15:33the day.
15:34But we're moving on now.
15:36The European Union is banning nudification apps, which use AI to undress individuals without
15:43their consent.
15:44Our Europe editor, Maria Tadeo, spoke to the EU's Commissioner for Tech, Hena Virkunen,
15:50and started by asking her if she had concerns that the move could prompt criticism from the
15:56U.S.
15:57When it comes to that kind of notification apps, we clearly we are banning them in the
16:02European Union.
16:03So it's part of our AI Act and trial of negotiations.
16:07We concluded two weeks ago with the co-legislators that we decided that we are banning that kind
16:12of notification apps in the European Union.
16:14Do you fear any backlash just finally on this from the U.S. as a result of this?
16:18Keeping in mind, however, no one has consented to this.
16:21I think that these are very common concerns globally now when technology is taking bigger
16:26role, that what kind of risks it's also posing.
16:29And many countries are looking towards Europe, that what kind of measures we are taking here,
16:33because with our Digital Services Act, with our Digital Markets Act and with our AI Act,
16:38we have really also set the global benchmark that we want, that we have digital environment,
16:43which is safe and fair and democratic.
16:45And we are enforcing these rules.
16:47And at the same time, we want to encourage innovations and investments in this area,
16:51but we want that people can trust those technologies.
16:55And you can see Maria's full interview with Commissioner Virkunen on Euronews.com.
17:00But now, several European countries have expressed outrage after Israel's National Security Minister
17:07Itamar Ben-Gavir shared a video showing him taunting activists from an aid flotilla
17:13headed for Gaza, among them European citizens.
17:18Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, has reacted.
17:22She said,
17:22It is intolerable that these protesters, among whom there are many Italian citizens,
17:28are subjected to this treatment, which violates human dignity.
17:32We demand an apology.
17:34Now, earlier this week, the Israeli government had accused the flotilla of breaching international law
17:39and of being a, quote, PR stunt at the service of Hamas.
17:44But Ben-Gavir's actions have attracted rare criticism from the Israeli government,
17:49including the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
17:53who said,
17:54Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters
17:59from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza.
18:03However, the way that Minister Ben-Gavir dealt with the flotilla activists
18:08is not in line with Israel's values and norms.
18:13Well, our correspondent, Vincenzo Genovese, spoke to MEP Benedetta Scuderi in Strasbourg,
18:19where the European Parliament sits this week,
18:21and asked for her reaction.
18:24We're seeing these horrible videos of the activists being beaten,
18:29being forced to be on their knees,
18:31being basically tortured with a minister of a state
18:36that we have a lot of relationship with, shouting at them.
18:40So, as Europe, we need to have a strong stand.
18:43That means that we really need to stop the association agreement with Israel,
18:48according to Article 2,
18:50because there's a clear violation of human rights for Palestinians,
18:54and there's a clear violation of any kind of law and legality
18:57that is now starting to affect also European citizens,
19:01and this is unacceptable.
19:03And that brings today's episode to an end.
19:05Thank you so much for starting your day with us here on Europe Today.
19:09And if you have tips, feedback, or questions for us,
19:13do get in touch.
19:13We'd love to hear from you.
19:15You can email us at europetoday at euronews.com.
19:18We'll be back again tomorrow with more news and analysis for you.
19:22See you then.
19:45We'll be back again tomorrow with more news and analysis for you.
19:53We'll be back again tomorrow with more news and analysis for you.
19:56We'll be back again tomorrow with more news and analysis for you.
19:59We'll be back again tomorrow with more news and analysis for you.
19:59We'll be back again tomorrow with more news and analysis for you.
20:00We'll be back again tomorrow with more news and analysis for you.
20:02Grazie a tutti.
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