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Europe Today: Η φον ντερ Λάιεν στη Λιθουανία, καταγγέλλει τη Ρωσία με φόντο την ένταση στη Βαλτική
Πριν από την επίσκεψή της στη Λιθουανία, η πρόεδρος της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής Ούρσουλα φον ντερ Λάιεν δηλώνει ότι οι δημόσιες ρωσικές απειλές κατά των βαλτικών κρατών είναι απολύτως απαράδεκτες.
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ : http://gr.euronews.com/2026/05/26/europe-today-von-der-leyen-heads-to-lithuania-condemns-russia-as-baltic-tensions-rise
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Πριν από την επίσκεψή της στη Λιθουανία, η πρόεδρος της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής Ούρσουλα φον ντερ Λάιεν δηλώνει ότι οι δημόσιες ρωσικές απειλές κατά των βαλτικών κρατών είναι απολύτως απαράδεκτες.
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ : http://gr.euronews.com/2026/05/26/europe-today-von-der-leyen-heads-to-lithuania-condemns-russia-as-baltic-tensions-rise
Γίνε συνδρομητής! ! Το euronews είναι διαθέσιμο σε 12 γλώσσες
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NewsTranscript
00:14Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:33Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
01:00Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
01:30Ursula von der Leyen has said Russia's public threats against the Baltic states are, quote,
01:35completely unacceptable.
01:37Her comments come as Russia says it will intensify strikes on Kiev,
01:42calling on foreign diplomats and civilians to evacuate the city.
01:45For more on what exactly is going on, we're joined here in the studio by our very own Ukraine correspondent,
01:51Sasha Vakilina.
01:52Good morning.
01:52Just tell us first about the importance of the visit of Commission President von der Leyen.
01:56It's very important for her to be there in the Baltics with a clear message that the EU is not
02:00going to back off under Russia's threats,
02:03which have been coming from Moscow regularly over the past couple of weeks.
02:06Just a few days ago, Russia's foreign intelligence service accused the Baltic states of Russophobia, threatening them.
02:14Then on Monday, Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, signed officially the bill that practically allows him to invade other countries
02:20under the false pretext of protecting Russian citizens and Russia's speaking population.
02:25Now, mind you, this is exactly the same false pretext which Moscow and Putin used in all of their invasions
02:31of Ukraine back in 2014
02:33with Eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, and in 2022 with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as well.
02:39That's something, these are the threats that we've heard already.
02:42Okay, Sasha Vakilina, thank you so much for that update.
02:45And for more on this, we can now cross over live to Kiev, where Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya joins
02:51us this morning.
02:52Good morning.
02:53Thank you so much for joining us this morning during your visit to Ukraine.
02:57And as you heard there, Russia has relentlessly been hitting Ukraine over the weekend with a massive missile and drone
03:02strike.
03:03What does this say, do you think, about any peace efforts to put an end to this war?
03:09Good morning, everybody. I'm talking to you from Kiev.
03:12It's my first visit, actually, to Ukraine, and it sends a very clear message that democratic Belarus is with Ukraine,
03:20that our people are allies, not enemies.
03:23And Ukraine defends today not only itself.
03:26It defends the entire region from Russian imperialism, and Belarusian understands this very well.
03:33Of course, we welcome all the efforts of all democratic world to bring peace and stability into our region,
03:38But this peace deal has to be just and long-lasting, not just, you know, short time for the Russian
03:46troops to regroup and start attacking again.
03:49And attacking again not only Ukraine, but also be our Western neighbours.
03:54And indeed, you say you're in Kiev this morning, but Moscow is calling on foreign diplomats and civilians to evacuate
04:01the city, warning of more attacks.
04:03What is the situation there on the ground?
04:05I know two days before it was a harsh attack on Kiev last night where I'd rather come,
04:12but I'm sure we at any moment can expect the next attack on Ukraine.
04:18It shows that Russia, you know, killing civilians, you know, ruining cities just to put pressure on the Ukrainian government.
04:26But I'm so inspired by Ukrainians, by Ukrainian people, civilians.
04:31They are so strong.
04:33They are not giving up.
04:35And, of course, it's a huge example for other countries, you know, that you have to give to support Ukrainians
04:42in all their aspirations for freedom.
04:45And meanwhile, in quite an unusual move, we've seen France issuing a warning to Belarus not to join Russia's war
04:51in Ukraine.
04:51But my question to you is, can Lukashenko be influenced by anyone except Putin?
04:57Lukashenko and Putin have a symbiotic friendship.
05:00They support each other.
05:01They use each other.
05:02And, of course, it's an illusion that they can be splitted.
05:07Lukashenko is serving to Russia's interests, not to the interests of Belarusian people.
05:11He's ready to betray our sovereignty, our independence, just to stay in power.
05:19So, please, don't think that Lukashenko can be splitted.
05:24He will fulfill all the orders of Putin.
05:27But he's doing this against the will of Belarusian people.
05:30Okay.
05:31And we have seen also Belarus and Russia carrying out military nuclear exercises the other day.
05:36But we'll leave it at that.
05:36Svetlana Tsikhanovskaya, thank you so much for joining us here on Europe Today from Kyiv.
05:42But now, for more insights into what kind of missiles were used by the Kremlin in these latest ferocious attacks,
05:47here's our Jakob Yanis.
05:51While most of Europe was unwinding over the long weekend,
05:54this is how millions in Kyiv spanned it.
05:58Russia unleashed a massive bombardment, one of the heaviest in a year,
06:02leaving nearly 90 civilians wounded,
06:05and severely damaging residential blocks across the capital.
06:08But this time, Moscow has deployed its experimental, nuclear-capable Orišnik ballistic missile.
06:13And traveling at nearly 10 times the speed of sound,
06:17its range puts virtually the entire European continent within reach.
06:21So should Europe be worried?
06:23Let's map out the mechanics together.
06:26Whether launch from Russia or fired from Belarus,
06:30the Orišnik flying roughly 3 km per second
06:32can physically strike Warsaw, Berlin, Paris or London in minutes.
06:37And now Moscow claims this weapon is impossible to stop.
06:41Because of its extreme speed,
06:43it is indeed incredibly difficult for current air defenses to shoot it down.
06:48However, military experts point out a key detail.
06:51It still flies in a predictable straight line rather than changing direction mid-flight,
06:56like a typical hypersonic missile,
06:58making it less of a superweapon than the Kremlin claims.
07:02But does Russia really need these massive missiles to rattle the EU?
07:06Not necessarily.
07:07Just last week, the suspected drone incrusions
07:10ground the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius to a halt,
07:13forcing the country's top leadership into underground bunkers.
07:17And it all serves as a reminder that in Europe,
07:20war isn't a distant headline.
07:22Moscow uses these cheap grey zone tactics
07:24to test European security.
07:26So what is Europe's response?
07:29Berlin is leading the charge,
07:30as Chancellor Friedrich Merz boosts Germany's defense budget
07:33to a historic 108 billion euros this year.
07:37And on the tech front,
07:38Anglo-German startup Hypersonica
07:40recently successfully tested Europe's first sovereign hypersonic rocket in Norway.
07:45But in modern defense,
07:46it is not about sheer power or distance.
07:49And as the classic philosophy goes,
07:51the greatest victories require no battle.
07:53The real strength of these advanced systems lies entirely in deterrence,
07:58ensuring they are never triggered.
08:00But while Europe is building weapons to prevent a war,
08:03Russia is already using them to fight one.
08:10Jakob Yanis there.
08:11Now moving on,
08:12the US and Iran say they are on track to finalize the terms of an agreement
08:16to end the Middle East conflict,
08:18which could include Lebanon,
08:19where Israel has been waging a war on Hezbollah since the 2nd of March.
08:23But now US forces have since carried out strikes on southern Iran
08:26in what they call our acts of self-defense.
08:29For more on this breaking development,
08:31we can bring in your news' Jane Witherspoon,
08:33who's in Dubai for us this morning.
08:36Jane, just tell us,
08:36what is the latest?
08:37Because the US are now attacking Iran,
08:38just as these talks get underway in Qatar.
08:42Good morning.
08:43Yes,
08:43the US is now using,
08:46including airstrikes,
08:47basically,
08:47into its negotiating arsenal,
08:49pretty much to prove that it has the upper hand.
08:52but also,
08:53of course,
08:54pushing Iran into that deal that they want done on US terms,
08:58which is critical to President Donald Trump.
09:01Now,
09:01Iran are still to respond to last night's airstrikes.
09:06Meanwhile,
09:06in Qatar,
09:07they are firmly denying today reports of talks on releasing the billions of frozen Iranian funds,
09:14which,
09:14of course,
09:15is a key Iranian demand for peace.
09:18Meanwhile,
09:19US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said,
09:22that the deal with Iran is still being negotiated in Qatar,
09:27despite those US strikes.
09:30However,
09:30he did say that specific language in the deal may still take a few days.
09:36Okay,
09:37Jane Witherspoon,
09:37thank you so much for that update.
09:39And of course,
09:39we're reporting extensively on that on our website,
09:42uranews.com.
09:43But now we can move on to Hungary,
09:45where Prime Minister Petr Maillard is preparing to visit Brussels this week
09:49to seal a deal to unlock those 10.4 billion euros in recovery funds.
09:54They were,
09:54of course,
09:55frozen over the rule of law breaches during the previous government of Viktor Orban.
09:59For more,
10:00we can bring you now to Budapest and bring in our very own Zoltan Ziboshegi.
10:04Good morning,
10:05Zoltan.
10:05Ursula von der Leyen is calling for tax and pension reforms in exchange for this cash.
10:10But Peter Maillard is not so much in agreement.
10:13How will they work through these issues?
10:16Good morning,
10:17Europe today.
10:18So actually,
10:19the main promise of Peter Maillard during the campaign was to release these EU funds.
10:24And he emphasized several times that they will take home this amount of money till the last cent.
10:30Two days ago,
10:31he had a TV interview and he admitted that maybe it will be a little bit,
10:35difficult and they can't get the 100 percent.
10:39But at least they will try.
10:40In the same interview,
10:41he told that there will be no holiday for governmental and politicians,
10:48workers,
10:48you know,
10:49from the parliament.
10:50And they will work till the deadline.
10:53Because now the biggest enemy for the government is time.
10:56The deadline is 31st of August.
10:59And what we know so far,
11:00what we see so far,
11:02that Ursula von der Leyen and Brussels,
11:04of course,
11:04tries to help for the Hungarian government.
11:06But they emphasize several times that this is the deadline.
11:10They're not going to postpone it.
11:12And of course,
11:12there are 27 so-called super milestone.
11:16And they will not skip it.
11:18So there are some arguments between Brussels,
11:21how you already mentioned,
11:22the pension and tax reforms.
11:24But we need to look a little bit behind of this.
11:28Because for years,
11:29there were campaigns against Brussels from the PITES government.
11:32So even though people voted overwhelmingly for the TISA party,
11:40Peter Magyar has to act a little bit for them
11:42and show that he has power against Brussels.
11:46He can argue with them.
11:47He don't have to say yes for everything.
11:50So very probably,
11:52this is the broken point,
11:54what we see right now.
11:55And of course,
11:56we can't forget that still Hungary pays
11:59one million euros fine
12:02because of the migration policy of Hungary.
12:07So Brussels and Ursula von der Leyen
12:10sent here three really high delegations.
12:13They have the intention to agree with the Hungarians.
12:16But we have a lot of work to do in Brussels.
12:20Indeed, Sultan.
12:21Siboshegi,
12:21thank you so much for that update
12:23and for describing that tightrope
12:25that Peter Magyar will have to walk
12:27during his visit to Brussels.
12:28And now for the view
12:29from the former deputy mayor of Budapest,
12:31who now happens to be the president
12:33of the European Committee of Regions
12:35right here in Brussels.
12:36we can bring in Kata Tuto.
12:37She's just back from Spain
12:39where she received
12:40a very prestigious European prize
12:41from the Spanish king.
12:43So congratulations for that.
12:44And thank you for joining us here
12:45on the programme.
12:46But first, now that we have you,
12:47we have to talk about Hungary
12:48as the former deputy mayor of Budapest.
12:51Are you confident Hungary
12:52will get these funds from the commission
12:53and be able to take off
12:55that 27 super milestones
12:56that they have to reach?
12:59Nobody can be confident.
13:00I think what we have to do
13:02as Hungarians
13:03and the Hungarian government
13:04and of course,
13:05all of the authorities,
13:06I'm still in the Budapest City Council.
13:08We have to do everything
13:10in our power
13:12to make it possible.
13:13This is what we can promise
13:15that we will do everything
13:17that the money arrives,
13:20both cohesion funds
13:21and both the recovery
13:22and resiliency funds,
13:24both the grants
13:25and both the loans.
13:26We have the projects ready.
13:28Budapest contributed
13:29a lot with a lot of
13:31green transition projects,
13:33energy efficiency projects,
13:35public transport projects.
13:38So,
13:39we try to do our best,
13:40but of course,
13:41it's up to cooperation.
13:42Indeed.
13:43And of course,
13:43apart from the recovery funds,
13:44as you mentioned,
13:45there's 6.3 billion euros
13:46in cohesion funds
13:48for regional development
13:49that are also frozen.
13:50What impact is that having
13:51on the ground there in Hungary?
13:53We are really suffering.
13:55I mean,
13:56Budapest is suffering a lot,
13:58but Budapest has been suffering
14:00in the past 16 years
14:04and especially in the past years
14:06when cohesion funds
14:07stopped arriving.
14:08Because, okay,
14:09what are we doing
14:10from cohesion funds?
14:11We are investing
14:12in public transport.
14:14We renovated the metro lines.
14:17We built water protection,
14:18flood protection system,
14:20clean water,
14:23circular economy elements.
14:25So,
14:26and of course,
14:26all of our regions,
14:28and it's not just
14:29the Hungarian regions,
14:30all of our European regions
14:33grow and get stronger
14:35through cohesion policy.
14:36It's a very important
14:37mainstreaming tool
14:38of the European Union
14:40because how it works,
14:41it's a decentralized
14:42investment tool.
14:43It is designed
14:45by the local authorities,
14:47by regions,
14:48implemented by the regions,
14:49and it
14:51helps grow
14:52in the common directions
14:54of digital transformation,
14:56climate transformation,
14:57social cohesion.
14:59It's a very important
15:00investment tool
15:01and we suffer a lot
15:02by not receiving it.
15:04And just looking ahead,
15:05of course,
15:05European Affairs Ministers
15:06are gathering in Brussels
15:07today for a big battle
15:09over the EU's
15:09long-term budget
15:10of 1.8 trillion euro.
15:12We know wealthy countries
15:13want to shrink it though.
15:15What's in it now
15:15for the regions?
15:16What's your stake here
15:17for the Committee of the Regions?
15:19The stake is really high.
15:21We have been very vocal
15:23on all of our concerns
15:25about the new budget.
15:26Okay,
15:26what is the big concern?
15:27That what we see,
15:28two things that concerns us.
15:31That there is a very big
15:32wave of centralization
15:34because of this crisis.
15:36Because this is what happens
15:37when there's a constant crisis.
15:39This is the instinct
15:40that you centralize power,
15:42you centralize resources.
15:43And this is what we see
15:44in the budget.
15:45So traditional,
15:47important European policies
15:49like agricultural policy,
15:51which is a food security policy.
15:54So it's not just
15:54a general agricultural policy.
15:56It is what provides
15:58Europe food security
15:59so farmers don't stop
16:01making food in Europe.
16:03And the other big policy
16:05is cohesion policy,
16:07which is a decentralized
16:08investment policy,
16:09which is designed
16:11by the regions.
16:12it's a European regional policy.
16:15What's in the new budget?
16:16That the proposal disconnects
16:19the cohesion funds
16:20from the single market,
16:22although they are
16:22attached together.
16:24Because the idea is
16:25that together
16:25we have the market.
16:27We grow together.
16:28We are stronger together.
16:30But how the world
16:32manifests itself,
16:33if there's no intervention,
16:35the strong would get stronger
16:37and the weak weaker.
16:38But we want convergence.
16:40We want everybody
16:41to grow together.
16:41this is why we reinvest
16:43part of the gains
16:45of the single market.
16:46This is cohesion policy.
16:47We fight for
16:48a strong cohesion policy.
16:48But of course,
16:49not everyone agrees with you.
16:50And that's why the battle
16:51is just getting started
16:52on that budget.
16:54Cate tutto,
16:54we'll have to leave it there.
16:55Thank you so much
16:56for joining us here
16:57on Europe today.
16:59But now moving on
17:00to other news.
17:01In a speech
17:01that has gained traction
17:02worldwide,
17:03Pope Leo has declared war
17:05on artificial intelligence,
17:06warning of the dangers
17:07surrounding the emerging technology
17:08and the threats
17:09to society that it poses.
17:11For more on why,
17:12the Catholic Church
17:13is getting involved here.
17:14We're joined here
17:14by our correspondent,
17:15Angela Scugins.
17:16So what spurred these remarks
17:18from the Catholic Church, Angela?
17:19Good morning, Maeve.
17:20So this could be
17:21an act of divine intervention
17:22or something a little bit
17:23more choreographed.
17:25Pope Leo XIV
17:26released his major manifesto,
17:28something called
17:28the Encyclical,
17:29on May the 15th.
17:31Now, 145 years ago
17:33to that date,
17:34a former Pope Leo
17:34published his own letter
17:36which clarifies
17:37the position of the Vatican,
17:39the Catholic faith,
17:39to its billions of followers.
17:41Now, his letter
17:42railed against
17:42the Industrial Revolution
17:43and the harmster society
17:45it posed.
17:46Now, this Pope Leo
17:47warned of the major
17:48technological advancement
17:50facing the 21st century.
17:51AI.
17:52In this letter,
17:53he warned against
17:54the dangers posed to AI,
17:56particularly when it comes
17:57to the battlefield,
17:58warning that it can make
17:59war easier.
18:01What is very interesting
18:02is that the CEO of Anthropic,
18:04a major AI company,
18:06was in the Vatican
18:07on Monday
18:07listening to this speech.
18:09It's important to point out
18:10that Anthropic
18:11is in a major legal battle
18:13with the US government
18:14regarding its application
18:15on the battlefield.
18:16But let's take a listen
18:17to Pope Leo
18:18regarding his statements.
18:20I've listened
18:20to scientists
18:21and engineers,
18:23to political leaders
18:24and public officials,
18:25to parents
18:26and teachers.
18:27From this listening,
18:29matured a disturbing conviction
18:31expressed in
18:32Magnifica Humanitas.
18:34Artificial intelligence
18:36needs to be disarmed,
18:39freed from logics
18:41that turn it into
18:42an instrument of domination,
18:44exclusion,
18:45and death.
18:47And the Pope also
18:48likened AI to slavery,
18:50Angela.
18:50Tell us more about
18:51this particular statement.
18:52Yes, so in the 42,000-word document
18:54he wrote,
18:56if technology promises
18:58emancipation,
18:59yet it produces new forms
19:00of global subordination,
19:02the fight against new forms
19:04of slavery,
19:04it is a decisive test
19:06for the ethical discernment AI.
19:08What is clear
19:08is that the pontiff
19:09wants to be on the front foot
19:10when it comes to calling out
19:13AI's potential relationship
19:14with slavery.
19:15We're talking about
19:16content moderators
19:17that have to sift through
19:18a large swathe
19:20of disturbing imagery
19:21as well as the children
19:22that are often sent
19:23to collect critical
19:24rare earth minerals
19:25that produce things
19:26like our smartphones
19:27and our laptops.
19:28What is clear
19:28is that the Vatican
19:29wants to be on the front foot
19:31when it comes to AI,
19:32stating that this should be
19:34a tool that serves humanity
19:35and not the other way around.
19:36But of course,
19:36it's making regulators
19:37here in Brussels
19:38a bit nervous
19:38as they try to regulate
19:39but also find a way
19:40to make this continent
19:41more competitive
19:42in that field.
19:43Andrzej Skudan,
19:43thank you so much
19:44for joining us
19:45and thank you of course
19:46for tuning in to us
19:47here this morning
19:47on Europe Today.
19:48Any comments
19:49on any of the stories
19:50we're covering
19:51or anything that we're missing,
19:52do reach out to Europe Today
19:54at euronews.com
19:55but in the meantime,
19:56stay with us here
19:57on Euronews
19:57or visit euronews.com
19:59for more news and analysis.
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