اروپا امروز: گفت‌وگوی یورونیوز با نخست‌وزیر لتونی؛ دیدار روبیو و لاوروف

euronews (بزبان فارسی)

اروپا امروز: گفت‌وگوی یورونیوز با نخست‌وزیر لتونی؛ دیدار روبیو و لاوروف  آندریس کولبرگس پس از فروپاشی دولت هم‌پیمان لاتویا بر سر مدیریت پهپادهای سرگردان، در ماه مه نخست‌وزیر شد. او در حالی با یورونیوز گفت‌وگو می‌کند که امروز مارکو روبیو و سرگئی لاوروف درباره پایان جنگ اوکراین دیدار می‌کنند.  لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2026/07/23/europe-today-latvian-pm-andris-kulbergs-speaks-exclusively-to-euronews-as-rubio-meets-lavr  مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست

Transcript

00:14Good morning, it's Thursday the 23rd of July. I'm Maret Gwynn and you're watching Europe Today,

00:21Euronews' morning show broadcast live here from Brussels. Coming up today,

00:26U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he will discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian

00:33Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov when they meet in the Philippines later today. U.S. broker talks

00:39between Kyiv and Moscow have stalled, but Rubio says there may be, quote, new conditions to bring

00:46both sides back to the table. We'll bring you more details. In other news, the European Commission

00:52has said it is preparing to accept new U.S. tariffs in the coming days as long as they

00:57do not exceed the 15% cap agreed under the EU-U.S. trade deal sealed a year ago. Trump

01:06is expected

01:06to announce fresh levies on goods allegedly made with forced labor. And the U.S. has signed a

01:13landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia expected to allow the Gulf country to develop its own

01:20civilian nuclear program. The U.S. Energy Department has described the deal as a peaceful cooperation

01:26agreement that will benefit American companies. But we start this morning in Latvia. Andrus Kulberg

01:34became the Baltic country's prime minister in May after the previous coalition government collapsed

01:40over its handling of stray drones. Latvia is, of course, one of NATO's frontline states bordering

01:47Russia on Europe's eastern flank and plays a leading role in supporting Ukraine. And prime

01:54minister Andrus Kulberg joins us live now from Riga. Prime minister, good morning. Really good

02:00to have you with us on the show. Good morning, Brussels. Yesterday, your armed forces in Latvia

02:08fired a warning shot and used tear gas to prevent migrants from crossing from Belarus. Do you believe,

02:16prime minister, that Minsk and Moscow are instrumentalizing these migrants in order to

02:22destabilize your country?

02:24I do not believe. I am sure. This happens since 2021. We're being tested, not just us. This

02:32this moment, it is us. It is any given moment. It is our neighbors, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland or

02:38Poland. Any of us are tested. This is a hybrid threat. This is a war threat. That's what Russia

02:44does. This is for sure, because we can see that it is not just asylum seekers, what somebody might

02:51think of. They are really men 18 to 25 with criminal past was all given visas from Belarus. This is

03:01all

03:01organized from the top level of Russian mob as well. So this is an organized threat towards us to find

03:10a

03:10weak link. And we all have to do all the measures, take all the measures to prevent that.

03:15And why, prime minister, do you think that this is intensifying now? Why is Putin deciding to target

03:23Latvia in this hybrid war at this moment?

03:26Because he's losing in Ukraine. Simple. He needs he needs to take attention somewhere else and have

03:33this action. Prime Minister, I want to move on to talk about drones, because the previous government

03:40there in Latvia collapsed amid criticism over its handling of incursions. What are you and your

03:46government doing differently to ensure Latvia is better prepared and protected against this threat?

03:52We're not simple. We're talking the truth. We're not giving any anticipations which cannot be met.

03:59We immediately have, I appointed the defense minister professional, a professional not just from

04:06Latvia, but from the field in Ukraine, who has clear knowledge, clear experience of warfare,

04:13what is happening in Ukraine. So getting the best of the best solution for us. So we are,

04:19we signed the drone deal with Zelensky. This gives us access to the Ukrainian know how and implement the

04:26umbrella for our skies in the best possible way. Do you think that the EU more broadly is moving

04:32quick enough on this? Because we know that this is a threat across the eastern flank. We know that

04:38the European Commission here talking about a drone wall. Are you confident that those European

04:43initiatives will also work? They will work, but they have to be much faster in speed. You pointed

04:49it out really correctly. We are not up to speed. We are not just Latvia. We're investing five percent

04:57above five, actually six, above six, six percent in our defense, clear defense, not some buildings,

05:03real defense. But that is even not enough for the outside of European border. So eastern flank,

05:09we're defending all Europe, not just Latvia. So this is a matter which has to be whole Europe's matter

05:14for the defense. And this is an important point where we all have to be united.

05:19And Prime Minister, when it comes to supporting Ukraine, obviously squeezing Moscow's war chest

05:25is very important. Yet we have now Greece blocking the latest package of EU sanctions against Russia,

05:32as it seeks an exemption from the ban on Russian LNG. Does that frustrate you?

05:40Well, I've been quite vocal about it also in my speeches in our closed loop as well of the leaders.

05:48We have to understand what is the purpose of the sanctions? Why we are doing that? Why are we supporting

05:55Ukraine? This is number one question prior to anything else. Do we want Ukraine to win? Do we

06:01want to support Ukraine so that the bully gets its peace? Or what do we want? Or we want to

06:07earn money?

06:08So there's a choice. It's not both. So the sanctions has to be implemented. But above all,

06:16the best sanctions that work today are the long range Ukrainian sanctions deep into Russian heart,

06:23which is gas infrastructure, petrol station infrastructure. That is the biggest pride what Russia

06:29has. That's their only asset is selling gas. Now, the pump versus propaganda, Putin's propaganda is

06:37working because the pump is winning. The pump where people cannot put their gas into their cars.

06:43That is the deepest sanction and the deepest signal to the whole society.

06:48The latest sanctions package was also meant to include a full EU entry ban on Russian soldiers.

06:54Are you disappointed that this has been watered down in these negotiations?

07:00I am. I am. Because, well, first of all, this is sanction package 21. We should have done it in

07:07the

07:07first year, not in the fifth year. We're waiting. We're doing all that. Let's see how it works. No.

07:16If we want to win, we have to give it. Where was it? Remember, what happened in the first year?

07:20We said,

07:21oh, no, don't shoot over the border. It's going to cause a chaos. It's going to cause. What happened?

07:27Nothing much has happened. But the escalation with so many Ukrainians had to die just because we did

07:33not take the decision timely enough. So I think it's all in all our interests just to finally unite,

07:41push it through and give the Ukrainians the momentum to use the momentum what they have now.

07:46Okay. Prime Minister Andres Kulbergs, that's all we have time for, I'm afraid. But thank you so much

07:51for joining us. And we hope to see you again soon on Europe Today. Now we're moving on. The annual

07:58NATO summit earlier this month was hailed as a step towards a more balanced US-European relationship.

08:05It also reconfirmed Russia as an ongoing threat to the alliance. Today, US Secretary of State,

08:12Marco Rubio is meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

08:18This as the war on Iran shows no signs of subsiding. To discuss all of this, I'm glad that we

08:24can say we

08:24can bring in our NATO correspondent, Shauna Murray, who is live for us from the NATO headquarters in

08:30Brussels. Good morning, Shauna. Great to see you. The Ankara summit earlier this month, I know you were

08:36there, proved quite a positive moment for Ukraine. Is there hope now that the US might do more to

08:43pressure Russia?

08:47Well, good morning, Marit. Indeed, it was a step towards Europe really stepping up,

08:51bringing the establishment of NATO 3.0 with a lot of procurement, 50 billion euros in procurement

08:58for European capabilities. At the same time, as you mentioned there, it was a good day for Ukraine in

09:04Ankara because the United States allowed the licensing and manufacturing of crucial

09:09patriot defence systems. And today, Marco Rubio said he is meeting his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

09:15The jury's out as to whether this means that it's a definitive moment, because we heard also Marco

09:21Rubio saying that he won't be putting too much pressure on Lavrov. Lavrov also saying he's going to

09:26question Marco Rubio comments by US President Donald Trump, who said that the war in Ukraine

09:31is coming closer to an end. So to discuss this, I'm joined by Colonel Martin O'Donnell,

09:36who's the senior advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander of the European Forces here at NATO.

09:42Martin, that meeting today with Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov, do you hope something will come out of

09:48it because of what we've seen in terms of the signs of Ukraine being much better on the battlefield

09:53and Russia really on the back foot?

09:56Well, I think Secretary Rubio has said the meeting will comprise of a number of different things.

10:01We'll see what comes out of it in terms of peace. Of course, we all hope for and really want

10:06to see

10:06peace in Ukraine. The important thing to note, though, is until that point comes, NATO will continue to

10:11support Ukraine.

10:12Yeah, but do you think that it's possible because of that signal that Donald Trump gave

10:19the Ukrainians that they can manufacture and license Patriot defense missiles that the United

10:24States is sort of a bit annoyed that Putin has not in any meaningful way come to the table when

10:30it comes to peace, that maybe the US is giving a little bit more support in Ukraine than we've

10:34seen so far in the past couple of years?

10:35Yeah, I mean, President Trump has been pretty clear. He wants to bring about a peaceful end

10:40to that, to stop all of the killings. So then you see responses like you just described. And I think

10:46those are very, very positive movements towards peace.

10:52And on the Iran issue, because we know that the war there has started apace, and in fact,

10:56it was at the NATO summit that Donald Trump decided that the memorandum of understanding was no more.

11:01And that's not a good sign for NATO, because we know that Donald Trump was outraged that allies

11:06didn't support him in the initial days of the war. What do you think allies can do in defending the,

11:12I suppose, the United States if they want to, and also the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,

11:16because that's what everyone's very concerned about?

11:17Yes, I think it's not a good thing for anyone, right, that this is going on, that Iran has said,

11:23hey, we'll control the Strait of Hormuz. All the allies agreed at the NATO summit that you talked

11:31about, that the Strait of Hormuz must remain free, and free it will. And if NATO can play a role,

11:35we've said time and time again, we will. A lot of nations, bilaterally, multilaterally,

11:41have sent ships already to the region. Nations are also supporting the United States in other ways.

11:48Bulgaria, for example, their parliament met yesterday, decided to support the basing of

11:54U.S. refuelers. That was followed by a statement from a U.S. European command saying that they will

12:01support Bulgaria with United States assets in the region if anybody thinks that they can threaten

12:06the United States or NATO. So these are strong reactions. They are indeed, because the Iranians

12:11have responded to that and said that that might bring Bulgaria as a party to the conflict. So there is

12:17a threat that this war in Iran could explode even further. Well, look, we saw that when Iran fired

12:23missiles towards Turkey, right, a NATO ally, of course, NATO defended in all of those instances,

12:29and we will continue to defend against any threat posed by Iran or anyone else to this defensive

12:34alliance. Colonel McDonald, thank you very much for joining us this morning. And back to you in

12:38studio, Marad. Shona, thank you so much. And thank you also to your guests there. Now, the European

12:44Commission is rumored to be preparing to announce its first fine on Google under the Digital Markets Act,

12:51which is a set of laws aiming to rein in the power of big tech. This announcement could come as

12:57early

12:57as today. The move, of course, risks escalating tensions with the U.S. administration, which is

13:03critical of the EU's digital rules. Well, for more, I'm joined in the studio by our correspondent,

13:08Luca Bertuzzi. Luca, tell us first, what do we know about this expected fine on Google?

13:14Yes, indeed, Maret. We have been hearing about this fine for a few days now, and it's rumored as

13:21imminent as early as today, even though we have no details about the total amount that is expected in

13:29the range of billions of euros. This is the culmination of a two-year investigation into Google

13:37and accusation that the tech company is favoring its own services in search results and preventing

13:46app developers to communicate with users outside its app store and with alternative payment system. Now,

13:54the European Commission has been criticized for being too slow in cracking down on big tech companies,

14:01taking years to conclude investigations only after the damage was already done and the competition

14:09squeezed out of the market. This is precisely what the Digital Markets Act is trying to avoid

14:16by bringing in a set of ex-ante rules meant to prevent Google and similar dominant companies to prevent

14:27European companies to compete in the same markets. This is the first investigation for Google and it

14:35might be a testing bet for how Brussels is capable to make digital markets dominated by tech giants more

14:44contestable. Indeed, and also the timing of this one is quite notable because tensions with the US are quite

14:52high. So how could this impact that US-EU relationship? Well, indeed, there is never a dull moment in transatlantic

14:59relationship with Donald Trump in the White House. And as we heard before, Washington is preparing fresh

15:08tariffs as the current regime will expire in a few days. In the past, sanctioning American companies has

15:17proved controversial even inside the Commission with senior officials working on a trade deal with

15:22the US pushing to delay fines. In this case, Brussels seems determined to go ahead nevertheless,

15:30but many will wonder how Washington will react. Indeed, Luca. Thank you for that. And as mentioned,

15:36that fine rumoured to be imminent. Now we're moving on. As efforts to enlarge the European Union gain

15:44political momentum, attention is now turning to how future enlargements will be financed. The cost

15:51of Montenegro's accession is already being debated as part of negotiations of the EU's next long-term

15:57budget. Meanwhile, some countries, including Germany, are pushing for a major overhaul of the bloc's

16:04enlargement rules. Euronews' Lena Roche sat down with Germany's Minister of State for Europe, Gunther Krichbaum,

16:11and started by asking him about Germany's recent proposal to allow candidate countries, notably Ukraine,

16:18to join the bloc in stages before completing all the required reforms.

16:24First of all, it is a common proposal from France and Germany, and we want to give more credibility

16:32to the enlargement process. What does it mean? At the moment, we are negotiating with all these countries

16:37countries since a couple of years, more than 10 years. So ordinary people, they lose the faith.

16:43That means, ah, well, they think this European Union, in reality, they don't want us. So giving back

16:50more credibility means to organise it step by step by step, not like a height-jumping competition like it

16:58was done in the years, all the years before, because it is not helpful. When I talk about a height

17:07-jumping

17:07competition, that means the bear is laying on one meter fifty. But in reality, this archi communitaire,

17:14which is symbolizing this bear, is not any longer like in former times on one meter fifty, but on two

17:21meters, because the whole archi communitaire changed. And this means it is more complicated for these

17:28concerned states to jump over it. In reality, it means to organise it step by step by step, not to

17:36substitute a full membership, but it is the case that we have to find a better approach and a better

17:44way to achieve it. And this is now why they propose this gradual integration. And this is important,

17:52because after I each step, ordinary people and citizens, they will recognise an added value. So this is

18:00important and means to find here association membership, with a membership in the council, with a membership in the

18:12European Parliament, with a status as an observer, and so they can join. And at the same moment, we are

18:19giving a message

18:20also to other countries like Russia, like China. These states belong to us, to the European Union.

18:28And what about the costs of the EU enlargement? Can the EU net contributors even afford this anymore?

18:35Well, all this will be managed in the multi-annual financial framework. So we have a budget in the

18:43European Union. And for this purpose is also the money which is inside this financial framework in this budget.

18:54So of course, also in the future, it will be guaranteed.

19:00That was Euronews' Lena Roche, speaking to the German Minister of State for Europe, Gunther Krichbaum in Berlin.

19:07And that brings today's programme to a close. Thank you so much for your company again this morning.

19:12Remember, we also want to hear from you. Send us your feedback to Europe Today at Euronews.com.

19:18And in the meantime, take care, and see you tomorrow.

19:49We'll see you tomorrow.

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