00:02Hungary has lifted its two-year-long veto on Ukraine's bid to join the European Union
00:08on Wednesday evening, allowing the process to enter its next phase of negotiations.
00:14The breakthrough which ends the veto allows Ukraine and Moldova to formally open the first
00:20cluster of negotiations, known as Fundamentals. It took place during a meeting of ambassadors
00:26in Brussels, several diplomats told Euronews. For the past two years, Ukraine and Moldova,
00:33which are informally coupled as candidates, were being blocked by former Hungarian Prime Minister
00:38Viktor Orban. The change was only made possible after Orban was defeated in the polls by Peter
00:44Medjar. Medjar noted that he remained opposed to fast-tracked accession, a view widely shared by
00:51other member states, wary of endangering the integrity of enlargement. The intergovernmental
00:57conference, which marks the formal starting point, is expected to take place on either
01:02the 15th or 16th of June in Luxembourg.
01:09The European Commission has presented on Wednesday a sweeping tech sovereignty package to boost
01:16homegrown technologies and reduce dependency on American and Chinese companies. The digital
01:21market is dominated by U.S. giants such as Google, Microsoft and Apple, and Chinese conglomerates
01:28such as Alibaba and TikTok owner-by-dead.
01:32We live in a world where geopolitics and technology go hand in hand. Those who champion technological innovation
01:39will shape the future. And we must ensure that Europe plays a leading role in this. Today,
01:46we simply rely on non-EU providers for over than 80% of our digital products, services and infrastructure.
01:55And this is a huge problem for Europe's security of supply.
01:59The main target of the Commission's proposal is the cloud sector, which provides the physical
02:04infrastructure underpinning most digital services. The draft law introduces four different levels
02:11of digital sovereignty that public authorities must consider when purchasing cloud services,
02:16depending on how sensitive the use case is.
02:20The highest tier, covering sectors such as defence and healthcare, would effectively bar non-European
02:26companies from winning public contracts. The aim is to prevent a so-called kill-switch scenario,
02:32the risk that a foreign government might simply cut off access to hospital or fighter jets.
02:39Europe also needs to catch up on chips, the fundamental components at the heart of almost every electronic device.
02:46After the first CHIPS Act, which aimed at bringing semiconductor factories back to Europe through state subsidies,
02:53the Commission is trying again, this time focusing, on stimulating demand for European chips,
02:59and the assumption that supply will follow.
03:05A drone attack on the UAE's Baraka nuclear plant last month was potentially more dangerous
03:12than the situation at Ukraine's Zaporygia facility, according to International Atomic Energy Agency
03:19Director General Rafael Grossi. Grossi said that it was due to the reactors being in operation at the time.
03:27Hitting a nuclear power plant is an extremely serious and irresponsible
03:35act. You can draw parallels, maybe, with what is happening in Zaporygia between Russia and Ukraine.
03:43And the difference there, although it's a very serious situation, and the IEA is working there,
03:49and it's a very delicate problem that we have in our hands. The reactors are in what we call shutdown.
03:57So they are not running, they are not operating. Baraka is operating. So this makes it potentially even more dangerous.
04:08Grossi added that the attack is among the most significant nuclear safety concerns currently facing the international community.
04:16As UAE Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation,
04:23Hamad Al-Kabi described the attack as a serious escalation and a violation of international law.
04:30The fact that the plant's been targeted and attacked is an unacceptable and it's clear violation of
04:38international law. There was no radiation release. There was no failure of any systems. Attacking a nuclear
04:45power plant is not a scenario you plan for every day in terms of potential scenarios for nuclear accidents. But
04:54it's
04:55reality now. UAE authorities previously said that they were determined the attack came from Iraq. The
05:03incident will now be discussed at a special session of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna. Baraka is the
05:10Arab world's first operational nuclear power plant and one of the largest in the world by output.
05:20Donald Poles, the former director of Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie,
05:24sparked controversy last month when he announced a surprise move to steel magnate Tata Steele
05:29as chief sustainability officer. But the switch was quickly brought to an end when Tata Steele announced
05:36his dismissal on Tuesday after just one day on the job. The turnaround came after it was revealed that
05:42Poles had been a member of a far-right pro-apartheid student movement in South Africa in the 80s and
05:48early 90s. Poles had previously gained attention for his prominent role in a high-profile court case
05:54that Milieudefensie had brought against fossil fuel giant Shell, which was overturned in an appeals case
06:00last year. The original case against Shell ordering it to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
06:05was the first such ruling against a company and the world. Milieudefensie expressed deep disappointment
06:11in Poles when he announced the switch to Tata Steele, one of the Netherlands largest polluters.
06:17Tata Steele is facing its own legal battle in the Netherlands after residents in the city near its
06:22largest factory sued the company for 1.5 billion euros for health problems caused by the factory,
06:28as well as a fall in house values. It has also received a 2.4 million euro penalty for excessive
06:35emissions
06:36of hydrogen fluoride and heavy metals. Poles had justified his move to Tata Steele as a logical next
06:43step, arguing that industrial sustainability could also be driven from within.
06:51Bolivia's political crisis deepens as the country's defense and education ministers resigned on Tuesday,
06:58after weeks of protests demanding President Paz step down. The protests and around 100 roadblocks have
07:06left cities such as La Paz and El Alto isolated. Food, medicine and fuel shortages are worsening.
07:14The initial optimism surrounding Paz, who came to power with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump,
07:21has given way to deep economic uncertainty. Workers, farmers, miners, transport workers and teachers
07:28denounce the rising cost of living and the elimination of subsidies. Meanwhile, the government
07:34accuses former President Evo Morales of encouraging the demonstrations while operating from hiding.
07:41Although Paz has attempted to ease tensions by cutting his own salary in half, international
07:47polarization and public discontent continue to grow. The opposition is now considering a recall
07:54referendum to determine whether the president should remain in office.
08:03A hospital in Neuilly-sur-Marne in France has integrated donkeys as part of a special therapy
08:10program for people living with conditions including anxiety, depression, autism or schizophrenia.
08:16Staff say the animal can help improve emotional regulation, communication, social interaction
08:23and self-esteem. Meanwhile, patients regain confidence and feedings of self-worth.
08:31When we take a medicine that keeps us, it's exactly the same. It's really an animal medicine.
08:43It doesn't surprise us. We don't think about anything. It makes me great. We have a feeling of well-being
08:52that is really important.
08:55Meanwhile, others say the program helps reduce loneliness. The sessions for the patients are free
09:02of charge and funded by France's public health system. The first donkeys arrived at Villevras
09:07Hospital in 2016 and since 2022, the animal therapy program has had official status as a healthcare unit
09:16in the hospital. Meanwhile, staff would like animal therapy to be formally recognized by the psychiatric
09:22community as a complementary form of care. The program has expanded to include guinea pigs,
09:29chickens, doves, goats, turtles and rabbits.
09:44The CIRCLE collective is born 10 years ago. So this year is a special year because it's going to be
09:50the
09:50dance birthday of the first CIRCLE video. The idea is to film the DJs but not in a club but
09:57more
09:58more connected to the DJs in a beautiful, unexpected or incredible location all around the world.
10:04So yeah, that was the first idea of CIRCLE and then different things have been added to the concept.
10:09The festival has been something really logical to the concept. We found this amazing location which
10:15is the Airspace Museum where all the elements and the aesthetic of the location are connected very well.
10:32This place is so magical, it's so cosmic. So I think when I was choosing the tracks to play today,
10:38I even like the sounds that I put in the playlist before arriving here, it is not what I played.
10:43No, it asks for something different, something more like expensive, cosmic. I'm glad I had some tunes to play.
11:07With CNES, we developed a concept to announce the festival in the space. So it's been announced by
11:15Sophie Hadlow during her last mission. We have three stages dedicated to the music and another stage
11:21dedicated to the conference where we can discuss about the synergy between the space, the stars,
11:26the music. I mean, this is a metaphysical discussion. It's very interesting.
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