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Europe Today: Spain celebrates World Cup triumph as Burnham takes office in the UK
Two million people took to the streets of Madrid to welcome home their World Cup heroes last night. In the UK, Andy Burnham delivered his first address to the nation as Prime Minister, while in Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled a government reshuffle.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/07/21/europe-today-spain-celebrates-world-cup-triumph-as-burnham-takes-office-in-the-uk
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Two million people took to the streets of Madrid to welcome home their World Cup heroes last night. In the UK, Andy Burnham delivered his first address to the nation as Prime Minister, while in Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled a government reshuffle.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/07/21/europe-today-spain-celebrates-world-cup-triumph-as-burnham-takes-office-in-the-uk
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:13Good morning, it's Tuesday the 21st of July. I'm Marit Gwynne and you're watching Europe Today,
00:21your morning dose of European news and analysis broadcast live from Brussels.
00:26Coming up on today's programme, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has unveiled his new cabinet vowing sweeping political and economic
00:35reforms to restore stability in the UK and tackle the cost of living crisis.
00:40He also held first calls with US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. We'll have
00:48more analysis for you.
00:50Meanwhile, Donald Trump has warned Iran it will pay many times over for the killing of US service members over
00:58the weekend.
00:59Iran's president has meanwhile declared his country is in a, quote, full-scale war as hopes of a return to
01:06negotiations continue to fade.
01:09And in other news, as Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky continues to grapple with fierce protests over the sacking of the
01:17former defence minister,
01:19there are reports that the country's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Sirsky, could be dismissed imminently as a result of pressure
01:28from the demonstrators.
01:32But first, for our top story this morning, we're crossing to Spain, where the World Cup party shows no signs
01:38of stopping.
01:40Madrid was a sea of red and gold last night as almost two million people lined the streets to welcome
01:46home their World Cup heroes,
01:48with players celebrating on an open-top bus.
01:52Spain's latest World Cup triumph also cements their place as a dominant force in world football.
01:58They're European champions, Olympic champions, and now the first country ever to hold both the men's and women's World Cup
02:05crowns at the same time.
02:07Meanwhile, FIFA has opened an investigation into the Argentine team's post-match conduct.
02:14Midfielder Leandro Paredes was shown a red card after the final whistle after he took a hand to the throat
02:21of Spanish opponent Eric Garcia.
02:23As you can see, some violent scenes on your screens there.
02:26Remember, FIFA is already investigating Argentina over an incident involving a banner with a political message on the Malvinas or
02:35Falkland Islands as well.
02:37For more analysis on all of this, let's now bring in Jorge López Torrecia and Pablo Montaño.
02:43They're both Spanish football journalists.
02:46Great to have you both with us.
02:48Let me come to you first, Jorge.
02:49We get the sense that there's a real collective generational talent in this Spanish team.
02:56Do you think we're entering another decade of Spanish domination?
03:02I mean, there are certain points that allow us to think that way, not only because of after seeing that
03:09Spain was the most talented team during the World Cup,
03:11but also when you get to analyse the youth of the players, really the whole road that they have to
03:18come.
03:19They've just started their own careers.
03:21So there are certain points that get us to think that way.
03:26This is also going to be a very difficult road because, yes, there's also France, there's also Argentina, there are
03:31also other teams.
03:32So we could think that, and I think it's fair to think that way right after the World Cup, but
03:39I would rather wait and see.
03:41Very careful words there.
03:42Pablo, coming to you next.
03:44For you, what is it that made this team click?
03:47Because there was certainly a sense of teamwork here.
03:49And would you say there's something cultural to this Spanish winning streak?
03:55Yeah, I think it's the key thing about this Spanish national team is that there's no big stars.
04:02They have really big players.
04:04Lamin Jamal, Rodri Hernandez, Pau Koubarci.
04:07But the difference from all the national teams we saw in the World Cup, like France, that they had Kylian
04:14Mbappe or Argentina, same with Lionel Messi.
04:18Obviously, the Spanish biggest star is the whole team because they work like an engine, perfect engine because of the
04:27coach, because of the manager, Luis de la Fuente.
04:30They feel, as Luis de la Fuente, the coach says, as a family.
04:35They work as a club team during the whole season.
04:40And that's the principal and biggest key that they will fight and they will play for each other, for the
04:46colleague.
04:47And no matter how many minutes they play, they will do and give their best.
04:52And moving on, just to discuss Argentina a little bit.
04:55There was a debate before the match, as you've mentioned, as to whether Spain's teamwork could overcome Messi's sort of
05:02individual genius.
05:03He is, after all, said, well, to be by many the greatest in history.
05:07And that was certainly the case. The Spanish teamwork did triumph at the end.
05:11Jorge, where do you think this game has left Argentine football?
05:16How difficult will it be for this team to come back strong?
05:20I think that the main point now for Argentina is knowing which players are going to still be in the
05:26squad.
05:26Because for most of them, this was their last dance.
05:28And once they clear which other players are going to be in the new squad, there's this new wave of
05:37young talent captained by Nico Paz, which had a really strong season at Como.
05:42But once we know if this was Messi's last game, not only that, but also Leandro Paredes, Nicolás Otamendi.
05:50There were so many players that feel like this was their last match.
05:56Argentina's game plan throughout this whole World Cup was just trying to make the opponents as uncomfortable as they possibly
06:02could.
06:03And that led them to the final.
06:05They were not strong enough or they didn't have that confidence or that physical edge to top Spain.
06:13But I think there's a little bit more of a road to conquer for Argentina, considering that there's no World
06:21Cup in less than four years.
06:24So the main point now is knowing which players are going to be on that squad and who's going to
06:29be the manager.
06:30Because Scaloni also said that he doesn't know what the future holds.
06:33Indeed. And we saw a very emotional Scaloni in the recent days as well.
06:37Pablo, I know you're in London and there is also scrutiny over the image of the Argentinian squad sent to
06:43the world from this tournament.
06:45Including after the England match, you know, we saw that very political banner regarding the Islas Malvinas, the Falkland Islands.
06:52But also, of course, after the final where we saw quite violent scenes.
06:56We know FIFA now investigating some of the players who seem to be, you know, taking a hand to the
07:02throat to some players of the Spanish squad.
07:04What do you think of this?
07:07Has it cast a shadow over this tournament and kind of has been a sour ending to see that kind
07:13of behaviour at the end?
07:14I believe that there's many English fans that were supporting Spain in the final because what they saw and what
07:25we all saw in the semifinals against the English national team was really similar to what happened in the final.
07:34That's why we could read in the newspapers and one of the biggest media in the UK as the Telegraph,
07:44in Times, in BBC, that Argentinian players were told and said about them, that they were like criminals, that they
07:52were about Argentinian felony, thuggery,
07:56that they were quite tough because of their commitment and how they disrespect Spain in their celebration and they were
08:09so critical and that they didn't know how to lose because as you need to know how to win and
08:17I think Spain knew it, Argentina didn't know how to lose.
08:21They were world champions four years ago and we could see some of these ways of being in the Argentinian
08:30players and now we saw it again, but losing them that was the UK media, it's been so critical and
08:37so tough with Argentinian players.
08:39Okay, that's all we have time for. I'm afraid I'm sure we could continue speaking about this. Jorge and Pablo,
08:45thank you so much for your time this morning.
08:48To Germany next, where Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled he is open to reshuffling his government as he seeks to
08:56fill the vacancy left by his centre-right CDU party's parliamentary leader, Jens Spahn.
09:02Spahn was forced to step down last week. To explain why and what this all means for the Chancellor, let's
09:09bring in Sonja Issel, our correspondent who's standing by in Berlin for us this morning.
09:15Sonja, great to see you. Talk us through this controversy first. Why was Jens Spahn forced to step down?
09:25Good morning, Merit. Well, it was a fateful weekend for Friedrich Merz and the CDU.
09:30Like you already said, Jens Spahn, the leader of the parliamentary group, he had to step down due to a
09:36scandal.
09:36That scandal being that he recently became a father with his husband through a surrogate in the U.S.
09:43Now, the big problem is surrogacy is illegal in Germany and Jens Spahn is one of the main supporters that
09:50wants this procedure to stay illegal within the country.
09:53Now, the fact that he went to the U.S. to use surrogacy to start his own family caused a
09:59major backlash within the opposition parties, within his own party.
10:03People called him a hypocrite. And the pressure just kept on building until Friedrich Merz in the end had to
10:09ask him to step down.
10:11And so, Sonja, what does all of this now mean for Merz and also for the shape of his government?
10:21Well, the pressure is on for Friedrich Merz now. He has to refill this position as soon as possible because
10:28we have very important state elections in Germany in about two months.
10:32And he already said that he might be open to some drastic steps. He might be open to reshuffling the
10:38whole government just to fill this one position,
10:41which again shows us how important the role of a parliamentary leader really is in Germany.
10:47And there are several names being thrown around at the moment, one of them being Alexander Dobrindt.
10:53He is the interior minister at the moment.
10:55The other one is Thorsten Frey. He's the chancellery minister.
10:58So both of them already have a very important role within the government.
11:01And if Merz chooses either of them, he will have to replace them as well.
11:06Like I already said, this whole thing couldn't come at a worse time as well because we have these very
11:11important state elections in September.
11:14And it is now very much a big scandal.
11:19And Friedrich Merz would probably rather focus on these elections because the CDU is not in a very good position.
11:25If you look at the polls, the far right AfD, they are at around 40 percent in some of these
11:30states.
11:30The CDU is only at around 20 percent.
11:33So Friedrich Merz would probably rather focus on these elections.
11:37Instead, he is dealing with a major personnel crisis.
11:41OK, Sonia, thank you so much for that analysis for us from Berlin.
11:44And we'll keep an eye out on that developing story here on Euronews.
11:49But now we're heading to the UK where Andy Burnham walked through the black door of No. 10 Downing Street
11:55yesterday
11:55and delivered his first address to the nation as prime minister.
11:59In that speech, he promised to be a circuit breaker for Britain,
12:03pledging a new political and economic direction after years of instability.
12:12Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again.
12:21And that is our challenge, to make politics work, to make it work better.
12:28I know people at home are fed up with politics.
12:32I hear you.
12:34And I want to be honest with you.
12:36We have not been good enough.
12:38And we need to be better.
12:41Burnham also later in the day unveiled his new cabinet.
12:44John Healy, who recently resigned as defence secretary in protest over defence spending plans,
12:51becomes chancellor of the Exchequer.
12:53West Rieting, who also resigned as Starmer's health secretary,
12:57is also back in government and becomes the new defence secretary.
13:01For more on all of this, I'm joined now by Professor Tony Travers from the London School of Economics.
13:07Very good to see you this morning.
13:09First of all, could you just share with us your view on this new Burnham cabinet?
13:15What does it say about his vision for this next government?
13:20Well, the people he's chosen include many have been in this government
13:25since his predecessor, Keir Starmer, was elected in 2024.
13:30And some of them have a history going back even to the Tony Blair,
13:34Gordon Brown era of British politics when Labour was in power up to 2010.
13:38So it's a balance between those with some experience and bringing in new people,
13:44loyalists really to Andy Byrne and some of whom have also been in the Keir Starmer government.
13:50So I don't think it's a tilt particularly to the left, I mean, or the right within British politics.
13:56What it is, is an attempt to reassure the markets with the appointment of John Healy,
14:00as you say, the former defence secretary, as the chancellor of the Exchequer,
14:04that's the UK's finance minister, and West Streeting, who had, as you say,
14:09resigned as the defence secretary with Ed Miliband as foreign secretary.
14:12So it's recognisable to politicians in Europe and beyond,
14:16people they will know, but in different jobs.
14:19Indeed. And in terms of the message that Burnham is now sending
14:23to international partners, including in Europe,
14:25What does it say to them bringing John Healy into number 11 after he had, of course,
14:31previously resigned in protest over low defence spending plans?
14:37Well, clearly he's there to convince the markets and the bond markets in particular,
14:43that a Burnham government is not going to break the so-called fiscal rules in the UK.
14:48It's not going to increase borrowing and do anything that will alarm the money markets.
14:53So I think that's the signal that's being sent there.
14:55There's a lot of discussion who would be in this position.
14:59I think beyond that, what they're trying to do is to give a bit of a sense
15:04that there'll be more popular changes that will affect people.
15:08So, for example, a cut in value-added tax on fuel next winter,
15:13but costed in a way that doesn't, as I say, make the markets think this government
15:18will be less fiscally responsible than its predecessor.
15:21And, Tony, very little in Burnham's first speech, really, on foreign or European policy.
15:28He did have a call with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last night,
15:33and they've both vowed to work towards a summit on UK-EU relations later this year.
15:40Do you expect Burnham to give this reset with the EU the same dedication,
15:45the same energy as Keir Starmer previously did?
15:49Oh, I think he'll probably give it more energy.
15:52I think more in favour.
15:55When he was mayor of Greater Manchester, he made a number of statements that were much,
16:00much closer or suggesting a much closer relationship between the UK and the EU.
16:05Then I think Keir Starmer was really quite cautious about it, didn't want to upset public opinion.
16:10Public opinion has moved on to some extent.
16:13There's now a majority polling shows for a closer relationship between the UK and the EU.
16:19So it'll be interesting to see how far Andy Burnham is prepared to go,
16:23and, of course, how far will the EU be prepared to go.
16:26It'll be a negotiation.
16:27But I think this signals a slightly closer relationship between the UK and the EU
16:33than Keir Starmer would have wanted.
16:35OK, Professor Tony Travers, that's all we have time for this morning.
16:39But thank you so much for sharing your insights with us on Europe today.
16:44Now we're moving on again to Budapest,
16:48where there is a little bit of a reshuffle, we might say, there as well.
16:53So yesterday, just hours after Prime Minister Peter Maggia
16:58publicly called on chess icon Judith Polgar to become the country's next president,
17:04she politely declined that invitation,
17:07saying the responsibility of healing a divided Hungary was simply too great for her.
17:14An interim president is now in post,
17:16and that's, of course, after the Orbán-appointed president previously resigned
17:21that was under pressure from Prime Minister Maggia,
17:24who'd been campaigning to remove him from office.
17:27Now, I believe we can now cross over to our correspondent,
17:32Soltán Sipošegi, who is standing by for us in the Hungarian capital of Budapest this morning.
17:38Soltán, really good to see you.
17:40And maybe tell us first,
17:42what do we know so far about this interim president who's now in post,
17:45and when will she eventually have to be replaced?
17:50Good morning, Europe.
17:51So in the Hungarian politics, nothing looks like as it seems,
17:55because it wasn't actually a resignation,
17:58just Tomáš Šujok, the ex-president,
18:00realized that he has no other choice than signing the 17th Amendment of the Constitution.
18:08So it ended his term.
18:11The House Speaker automatically, according to the Constitution,
18:15steps forward as a president,
18:17and Agniesz Forshofer's career is skyrocketing,
18:21because just two years ago,
18:22he wasn't elected even to the assembly of a small countryside town.
18:27She joined the TISA party in 2025,
18:31and now, a week ago, she was a House Speaker,
18:35and now she is a president.
18:36But just an interim for 30 days,
18:40the government is searching for another interim president, actually,
18:45because they promised that they will change.
18:50And very, very briefly, Soltán,
18:53how much of a knock to Madja?
18:55I believe we've lost Soltán there.
18:59But thank you so much for your time this morning.
19:02I'm sure we'll bring you more on that story from Budapest in the future on Euronews.
19:05But that's all we have time for this morning.
19:08Remember, we'll be back at the same time and the same place tomorrow.
19:11So we hope to see you then.
19:13Take care and see you soon.
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