اروپا تودی: دومبروفسکیس هرگونه کاهش تحریم‌های روسیه را با وجود نگرانی از تورم رد می‌کند

euronews (بزبان فارسی)

اروپا تودی: دومبروفسکیس هرگونه کاهش تحریم‌های روسیه را با وجود نگرانی از تورم رد می‌کند  پس از کاهش پیش‌بینی رشد و هشدار درباره تورم، والدیس دومبروفسکیس، کمیسر اقتصاد اتحادیه اروپا، در «یوروپ تودی» می‌گوید این بلوک با وجود فشار برای کاهش اثرات بحران انرژی مرتبط با جنگ ایران، برخلاف آمریکا و بریتانیا، تحریم‌های روسیه را کاهش نخواهد داد.  لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2026/05/22/europe-today-eu-economy-chief-dombrovskis-rules-out-easing-russia-sanctions-despite-inflat  مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست

Transcript

00:14Good morning, it's Friday the 22nd of May, this is Europe Today and I'm Maret Gwyn bringing you

00:22the headlines and analysis to start your morning live here from Brussels. Coming up

00:27today after the EU downgraded its economic growth forecast and warned of a sharp rise

00:33in inflation yesterday, the EU's economy chief, Valdis Dombrowskis, tells this programme

00:38the EU will not ease sanctions on Russia as the US and UK have done to cushion the energy

00:45crisis caused by the Iran war. And the EU and Mexico are expected to sign a revamped trade

00:52and cooperation deal in Mexico City later today after a decade of negotiations. It adds

00:59to a string of trade deals clinched by the EU in recent months as it aims to diversify trading

01:04partners in a more volatile world. We speak to the European Parliament's Vice President,

01:10Javi Lope, from Mexico. Also, as the Cannes Film Festival wraps up this weekend, we ask whether

01:17this year's event has been the most politically charged to date, as debates over war, power,

01:24ideology and influence dominate the headlines. But first, to our top story this morning.

01:31The European Commission has lowered its growth outlook for 2026 and warned of a spike in inflation

01:38as the energy crunch continues to rattle the economy. Governments across the EU are taking

01:44different approaches to shield households and businesses from rising costs, while the International

01:50Monetary Fund has warned the bloc cannot simply subsidise its way through this crisis.

01:55For more on this, I'm joined on set by Iranews' Luca Bertuzzi. Luca, good morning, good to have

02:00you with us.

02:01Thank you and good morning to you.

02:02So, tell us first, just for a bit of context, Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, for

02:08example, has wrote to the Commission President von der Leyen asking for financial flexibility

02:13to tackle this crisis. Is she getting a response?

02:16Well, we're going to see a response soon, I think, because this is a very strong political

02:21message that Meloni sent to us for fiscal flexibility at a time of an energy crunch in

02:27Europe. She invoked political courage and said that the energy security should be treated as

02:34a European strategic priority alongside defence spending. So, Italy, let's keep in mind,

02:41it has among the highest energy costs in Europe, alongside Germany and Belgium. And the stakes

02:47are so high that Meloni said that if not enough of fiscal flexibility is provided, Italy might

02:53withdraw from the SAFE programme, which is the EU programme, to finance defence spending with low

03:00interest loans.

03:01And we also heard the Hungarian Prime Minister, Peter Maggia, suggesting the EU might need to

03:06contemplate buying Russian energy once again, once the war in Ukraine ends. What is the line

03:11that Brussels is taking on this?

03:14Yeah, and we'll hear more about this. But so far, the line has been a firm no. Still, European

03:21governments are facing increasing domestic pressure, as energy costs are taking a toll on the economy.

03:27And they might be tempted to ease sanctions on Russian relatively cheap energy imports. Ukraine's

03:36recent history, of course, has shown that energy dependence can be weaponised. Still, changing

03:42posture now for the EU would be a major shift after four years of war. But the pressure is mounting.

03:49We saw this week that the UK government has sparked a public backlash when it appeared to

03:55issue a waiver on sanctions for Russian gas and oil. London described it as a miscommunication.

04:03But it's clear that the energy crisis is also biting the UK economy. Last month, we saw the CEO of

04:09Annie, Italy's largest energy company, saying that there should be a suspension on the ban on Russian

04:16gas imports. The Italian government has so far distanced itself from this position. But several key

04:24European countries are heading to elections next year, including Italy.

04:28Okay, Luca. And in fact, our Europe editor Maria Tadeo spoke to the Economy Commissioner

04:33Valdez Dombrowskis yesterday. And she started by asking him about this, about whether the EU

04:38would have to contemplate easing sanctions on Russian commodities as the US and UK have done

04:43done to ease the impact of the energy crisis on Europeans.

04:48Well, we already saw back in 2022 that Russia tried to use its fossil fuel supplies as a tool for

04:56blackmail and manipulation. And we paid a quite dear economic price for having this dependency

05:04from Russia. So therefore, there's no point of going back to this. We have diversified our supplies. Our

05:10largest gas supply is now Norway. Our largest LNG supplier is US and so on. So there's strategic

05:19decisions taken to move away completely from Russian oil and gas. And we have to follow it through.

05:26And but you rule out because it's very important that by the winter, by Christmas, the temperature is

05:31going down, that the EU will not take any measures easing sanctions on Russian energy at any level.

05:38Well, if anything, we need to strengthen sanctions against Russia, not ease, because actually Russia is

05:44a country benefiting from this conflict in the Middle East and those higher energy prices getting

05:49substantial windfall profits. So we should not facilitate it further. And it's worth noting that

05:58already now we started the process of refilling our gas storages. Well, it's currently goes,

06:05so to say, within the historical range of this time of the year. That's something we in any case

06:12need to do. We need to prepare ourselves for the next winter. But you don't feel blackouts. You don't fear

06:17that once again, as we talked about in 2022, there was a real fear that Europe would come to a

06:23halt. It will

06:23grind to a halt that the industry would not be able to operate because of a shortage of supplies. You

06:28don't

06:28expect that to be the case by the end of the year. No, we do not expect this to be

06:33the case now.

06:36Indeed, there was this risk back in 2022 or winter from 22 to 23 exactly because we were independent

06:44from Russian fossil fuel supplies. So we should not get back there. This week, the head of the Italian

06:50government sent a letter to the commission. By now, it's very clear that Georgia Meloni believes the

06:54commission is not taking her concerns seriously. She says that this is just as equally important

06:59energy to defense. What are you going to offer the Italian prime minister that is going to placate

07:04her anger? Because by now, it's clear they are not satisfied with the measures you provided.

07:08We are obviously now looking at policy options and also our fiscal policy response. But

07:17the main message in the case remains that the support measures need to be

07:22temporary and targeted. The ones which are not sustaining or increasing demand for fossil fuels. So

07:29on one hand, not just to perpetuate higher energy demand and thus higher global energy prices,

07:36because we are facing supply shock. So we cannot resolve it by stimulating demand. And second, we must keep in

07:45mind also more limited fiscal room of maneuver and also flexibilities already existing in our fiscal

07:54framework. We have a number of automatic stabilizers which can play out, which allows for, in a sense,

07:59certain fiscal buffer before even member states come with a discretionary measures. But we are doing

08:04this assessment and preparing it. So you're listening to her concerns? Well, we certainly are listening to the

08:11concerns of member states and looking appropriate policy response.

08:17That was the European Commissioner for the Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking to Maria Tadeo.

08:23Now, moving on, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar is pushing to revive the so-called

08:29Visegrad or V4 group, which brings together Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Magyar has

08:35even pitched expanding the group. Jakub Janis tells us more. Peter Magyar's first official foreign trip

08:43to Poland wrapped up yesterday. And now, when the diplomatic dust is settling, all eyes are now on

08:48the sudden resurrection of the group called Visegrad IV. And if you are a bit unsure what this shift

08:54actually means for Europe, or even what the group is about, let's break it down together.

09:00The V4 was set up in the early 1990s to guide these post-communist neighbors into the West.

09:06But beyond geography, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary are bound by the same massive central

09:11European automotive and manufacturing supply chains. But also a shared goal to protect billions in EU

09:17cohesion funding. And their most significant political impact came over 10 years ago in 2015,

09:23when their coordinated resistance forced Brussels to abandon mandatory migration quotas. And what's

09:30interesting, this is no longer the poor relation of Western Europe. Central Europe enters this new

09:36chapter with economic strength. Just look at the data. Last year, Poland led the continent with a

09:42booming 4% real household income growth, while Germany lagged at 0.6%. And Austria's household income even

09:50declined. And this wealth flip gives the region confidence. Magyar is even pitching a bold plan to

09:56merge the V4 with Austria, with reports suggesting Vienna is receptive to a Benelux-style alliance.

10:03But let's be realistic. Can this block actually deliver anything tangible? Critics point out that the

10:09V4 group has historically struggled to look beyond its own internal divisions. And in the past,

10:14cooperation was derailed by fears of revived Austrian hegemony. And even today, old bilateral disputes

10:20between neighbors like Slovakia and Hungary still cause friction. And acting as one voice in Brussels

10:26will not be seamless. And while the countries aim to cooperate on a regional energy and transport

10:32infrastructure, geopolitical fault lines remain. Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia, unlike Poland, are opting out of

10:39the EU's 90 billion euro loan package for Ukraine. So will potential divisions stop this block from

10:44making a real impact? Only time will tell. But with Magyar finally in default, it turns out the

10:51three musketeers were just waiting for their fourth.

10:59Now, for more on this, I'm joined by our Hungarian correspondent, Sandor Szyros. Sandor, good to see you.

11:04And tell us, what's Magyar's strategy here? What is he trying to achieve?

11:09Well, as mentioned, it was his first visit to Poland. And he had two messages. First of all,

11:15he said that he's conducting foreign trips in a very different way. It was a big show what he did.

11:22He went on a commercial plane, then he took the train. He did a lot of selfies on the streets

11:29of Warsaw.

11:30So it's a different feeling after Orban. And the political message was that he wants to revive

11:36Polish-Hungarian ties, which were stuck during the Orban era. There was a lot of diplomatic tensions

11:45because of Orban's ties to Russia. And he wants to revive also the Visegrad IV, which is a key in

11:52central European cooperation. In Warsaw, he also said that, you know, maybe this group should extend

11:58beyond these four countries, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, and Poland, to Austria, and to even

12:05further, let's take a look of what he said.

12:11I am personally ready and consider it important to extend the cooperation of the Visegrad IV,

12:17whether with our Scandinavian friends or with Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, or the Western Balkan

12:24countries that have not yet joined the EU. The heart of Europe beats in central Europe today.

12:36It's really ambitious, Sándor, but realistically, can this

12:39block become a powerful one also here in Brussels?

12:43We will see it in the coming years. The big problem for the Visegrad IV right now is that,

12:48you know, 10 years ago, they had one major common topic, migration. They were fighting against the

12:54mandatory relocation quotas of the European Union. Now, you know, this issue is completely mainstream.

13:01And what connects these four countries is, you know, infrastructure, economy, business. And

13:09there is one thing that could potentially unite them is to fight against the Green Deal of the

13:16European Union and to preserve car industry, which is really strong in all of those countries.

13:22Okay, Sándor, we keep an eye out for that, of course. Thank you.

13:26Now, moving on later today, the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, will receive the president of the

13:31European Commission and Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, for the eighth EU-Mexico

13:36summit. They're expected to ink a revamped trade deal to replace the previous pact struck 25 years

13:43ago. It's set to slash tariffs on a range of goods, including agricultural products. Also in Mexico is

13:49Javi López, the European Parliament's vice president, who has been part of these negotiations. I spoke to

13:55him in an interview and started by asking him what the deal offers for both sides.

14:00First, after 10 years of negotiation and after 10 years without summits at the high level that we will have

14:06it tomorrow, we are able to modernize the global agreement with Mexico after 25 years working in with the

14:15current agreement. With this, we are doing more on trade, especially in predictable trade with highest

14:23standards. But also we are reinforcing our geopolitical alliance with one G20, a giant, culturally,

14:30demographically, economically. And in a world where all of the rest actors are using trade as a coercive

14:41force, we are working for predictable trade agreements.

14:45So is it fair to say this agreement is more than anything a reaction against the unpredictability,

14:51perhaps, of Trump's America? We know both Mexico and the EU have been targeted by aggressive trade

14:57policies from the US. And is that going to work? Because some would look at the agreement that the

15:03EU has signed with the US, the trade agreement, and would say, well, actually, Trump is calling the

15:09shots. No, I think we are working in the right direction. We are working in the direction of

15:13diversification of our economic relations in the world, trying to reduce dependencies,

15:19also dependencies coming from the United States. This is the reality, risking our dependencies in trade,

15:25also in security. And on that, we are having a group, a mix of important association agreements.

15:32We have Mercosur, that it's a game changer with the region. We have the modernization of

15:36Mexico, and also we will have India. And it's three big examples of this offensive

15:43foreign action, foreign policy that we are having.

15:46You mentioned Mercosur, and obviously that was a big step forward. But could you argue also that

15:51the EU has been a little bit slow to deepen ties with Latin America? And we're now seeing,

15:56of course, President Trump trying to reassert his fear of influence over the Western Hemisphere.

16:01Has the EU been a little bit too negligent in the relationship?

16:05It's true that it was during a lot of years not in the radar of the priorities of the EU,

16:09and we were extremely focused on our neighbors. Also, we had good reasons to do that. But at the

16:15same time now, after the Ukraine war, I will say, but after the arrival of Trump too, to the White

16:22House, we are forced to think more strategically and act more mature in the world. And our relations

16:27with Latin America, especially our strategical relations, it's the biggest partner in the world where we can

16:33work together for a multilateral dialogue, working with the same agenda, climate change,

16:40gender equality, inclusive growth, also defending international law and the chapter of the United

16:47Nations. And on that, we are working with these association agreements that are key to reinforce

16:53our real game changers in the region.

16:59Now, as the Cannes Film Festival draws to a close, the red carpet has this year become a battleground

17:06over politics, ideology, and artistic freedom. Artists have been weighing in on issues from the war in

17:12Gaza to gender roles. A feud has also erupted over the influence of conservative billionaire

17:18Vincent Bolloré over Canal+, French cinema's biggest funder. For more, we can cross over to Cannes now

17:25and to Jada Yuan, a journalist and writer who is at the festival. Jada, great to see you and to

17:31have

17:31us on Europe Today. I guess politics always permeates into this festival. And I would say perhaps that

17:39this year has been no exception. Absolutely. It is one of the most political I've been at. I would say

17:49last year was also incredibly political. Robert De Niro came out in his opening speech called Trump,

17:55America's Philistine president. But the difference is that every single day when something screens and

18:05the Canal+, logo comes up, the audience will boo, even if it's a gala premiere.

18:11And of course, on that, Jada, Canal+, there's been a big dispute. 600 prominent figures from the film

18:18industry writing an open letter against the conservative billionaire, who's its main shareholder.

18:24And this is creating quite a stir. Yes. And it's also because the CEO of Canal+, here at Cannes,

18:32after that letter came out, basically said that they would blackball anybody who was on that letter.

18:38So they said they will blackball all of these 600 artists, including Julia Binoche.

18:45And yeah, the controversy just continues.

18:52Okay. Well, Jada, we'll keep an eye out on the action from Cannes over the weekend. Thank you so

18:57much for joining us this morning on Europe Today. And that's it from us for today. And for this week,

19:03we'll be back on Tuesday next week, as we're taking a break on Monday. Remember to get in touch with

19:08us

19:09with your questions and feedback. Email us at europetoday at euronews.com. And in the meantime, have a great weekend.

19:27As for now, we'll see you in the meantime and we'll be back on Tuesday next week.

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