Europe Today: Trump claims Russia-Ukraine energy truce as AI slowdown rattles markets

Name: Europe Today: Trump claims Russia-Ukraine energy truce as AI slowdown rattles markets
Uploaded: 2026-09-15T07:07:56+00:00
Duration: 18 min 33 s
Channel: euronews (in English)

00:13Good morning, it is Tuesday the 15th of September. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today,

00:20your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.

00:25Coming up, tech stocks across Europe have fallen sharply after global AI leaders called for a

00:32slowdown in the pace of AI. After a former anthropic researcher warned that AI could

00:38ultimately threaten humanity, Brussels is reiterating the need for global rules on AI.

00:45We'll speak to the leading EU lawmaker, Brando Benefey, in Strasbourg. This as Brussels is

00:51stepping up its efforts to protect children online. The European Commission is set to unveil

00:56its EU Kids Act this week with plans that could force platforms like TikTok and Instagram to

01:03create safer accounts for younger users. It's part of a wider push to limit social media access

01:10for under-15s. We'll head over to Strasbourg and speak to the European Commission Vice President,

01:14Roxana Minsatu. Meanwhile, growing concerns over oil supplies to Europe and Asia. Saudi Arabia has

01:23shut a key oil pipeline following attacks, threatening a major route for exports to global markets.

01:30We'll bring you to Doha for an update from our correspondent, Adil Haleen.

01:34Meanwhile, France is pushing for EU countries to lift sanctions on one Uzbek-Russian oligarch

01:41as part of a prisoner release with Azerbaijan. The move is holding up EU efforts to renew

01:47restrictions against 2,600 people and companies for their role in Putin's war against Ukraine.

01:53This news comes just as the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, is getting ready to deliver her

01:58annual State of the Union speech tomorrow in Strasbourg. For more on this, I'm joined here

02:04on set by our political correspondent, Jorge Liberero, to discuss a little bit the hype and the

02:09very high expectations. Jorge, you know why this speech is important, because you're here in the

02:14bristless bubble, but tell our viewers why it is. Well, I think it's important by default, because it's

02:18the only big EU speech that we have every year. So the tradition began in 2010, so relatively new,

02:25to improve relations between the European Commission and the European Parliament. So it happens in mid-September.

02:31This is the start of the legislative cycle. The European Commission President goes to Strasbourg,

02:37addresses the Parliament, and basically sets the agenda for the next 12 months. So the speech is

02:42known for its duration, about one hour, and also its scope, because it covers multiple topics.

02:49It's a combination of announcements, new ideas, and also reflections on the state of Europe,

02:55our challenges, the direction we're going.

02:57And what topics should we look out for? I guess this sanction story will feature as well.

03:01I think this one for sure. I think support for Ukraine sanctions on Russia will be high on the

03:06speech, because we know, I mean, there's a new escalation that Russia is launching against

03:10Ukraine. The situation is very dire on the ground. We can also expect things about reforming the

03:17enlargement process. We can expect defence readiness after the strain of hybrid attacks we have seen

03:23across Europe, many of them attributed to Russia. And we can also see other topics, for instance,

03:28the social media restrictions for children that you mentioned at the beginning.

03:31We can expect, for instance, climate action after the devastating wildfires and the record-breaking

03:38heatwaves that we had this summer. We can expect migration to be there in the speech after the

03:43Ceuta border crisis. And of course, China, because we know there's a deadline looming in October to

03:49really rebalance the strait relations. And I have to say, there will be a section specially dedicated to

03:55our relations with Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be there in Strasbourg watching

04:00von der Leyen give this speech.

04:01And he'll be speaking then on Thursday, won't he? But I mean, many say this is the most important

04:05speech of her mandate. There's so much at stake for her. And of course, there's elections,

04:09major elections coming up in the next eight months.

04:11Indeed, there are major elections coming up. And it's possible by the time that she gives her next

04:17speech next year in Strasbourg, the political constellation around her will be completely different,

04:22profoundly changed, perhaps. Especially everybody's keeping an eye on France, where the far right is

04:28polling first ahead of the presidential elections. And let me tell you, Maeve, the European Union has

04:35never seen a far right France. We don't know what a far right France can do, can say, and how

04:40much it

04:40can paralyze our political project of integration. So if I were von der Leyen, I would make the most of

04:47my

04:48time now before the window of opportunity closes suddenly next year. So keep an eye out,

04:54because this is a big, important moment for her.

04:57Well, and it's a very important moment, of course, for Euronews. And it's worth pointing out to our

05:01viewers that we will be bringing you a longer edition of Europe Today tomorrow morning from

05:058 to 10. We'll be live in Strasbourg alongside our very own Maria Tadeo with non-stop interviews and

05:11bringing you that live speech of Ursula von der Leyen. So do not miss that. But now to get a

05:16bit of the mood

05:16ahead of that much anticipated speech, we can head off to Strasbourg and bring in the Executive

05:21Vice President of the European Commission, that's Roxana Minsatu, who's responsible, of course,

05:26for social rights, skills and jobs. Good morning, Vice President. Thank you so much for joining us

05:32here live on Europe Today. Just tell us, what are you looking out for in this State of the Union

05:37speech tomorrow?

05:37As usual, the President will take stock of our progress in the past year. We have had so many

05:44challenges to deal with from cost of living to our energy security, our competitiveness,

05:51looking overall that security landscape here in Europe and the support that we give to Ukraine,

05:57looking at children's safety online. So we can expect to look at the steps that we have done as

06:04this Commission and what what we plan next for for the incoming year. And it will for sure be an

06:12inspirational message, one that will speak directly to each of the 450 million Europeans that will be,

06:19I hope, a lot of them listening to to the State of the Union speech.

06:23Well, that's a good point, because often this is a very policy heavy speech, not really focused on the

06:28millions of Europeans. But of course, we'll have to tune in tomorrow to have a listen. But today,

06:33of course, you're presenting the much anticipated Fair Labour Mobility Package Commissioner. That's the

06:38biggest proposal of your mandate. Can you just tell us in practical terms, what will change for

06:43European workers here? Yeah, it's it's a game changer. I expect looking at a simple sentence that

06:54wherever you choose to travel in Europe, to study in Europe, to work in Europe, your social rights and

07:00your skills and your qualifications can travel with you. And that's the cornerstone of the single market,

07:06but also the European social model. What we have seen in practice for decades in Europe and at the

07:13same time now as we speak is that maybe in order to to get your professional qualifications recognized,

07:20when you move from your home state to another EU state, you have to make a lot of trips to

07:26different

07:26institutions, you have to wait for months, sometimes more than a year before you can get into a profession,

07:32even though you have the training, you have to pay for that. It's also very complicated for employers,

07:39especially SMEs to get the talent that they need. I have met so many talented people that, you know,

07:46have wasted simply their skills, their training for months, for years, that have worked in underqualified

07:54jobs because they couldn't get their their skills recognized. So what we will do with this package is

08:00include digital AI, common frameworks through legislation, through regulations and directives.

08:07This will be a strongly legislative package so that it may we will make it faster and easier for EU

08:14nationals to have their diplomas recognized. We are looking at actually moving everything that we can

08:21into an app with all the technical background that is needed. But we're also going to look at social

08:28rights. So workers that are posted workers that are working cross border or that have moved from

08:35the whole state, they need to have a safe digital social security pass. And we are actually going

08:43to present what it will be all about. Okay, we'll keep a very close eye on that package. Executive Vice

08:50President Roxana Minsati, thank you so much for joining us this morning on Europe Today there from

08:55Strasbourg. Now, moving on, the US President Donald Trump has claimed that Ukraine and Russia have

09:00promised to stop strikes on energy targets as fuel prices continue to spike across the world. This

09:06comes after a weekend of Russian attacks that even struck a Ukrainian gas station just by the Polish

09:12border. For more, we're joined now here on set by our very own Sasha Vakilina. Good morning, Sasha.

09:17So just tell us what exactly has President Donald Trump said and does do his words really carry weight?

09:22Well, they do certainly, but they did come as a surprise, not only to those who are covering the

09:26situation as journalists covering and following Russia's war against Ukraine, but even to the

09:30Ukrainian officials maybe, for whom that statement came in as a surprise, because for them, that was

09:34a rather idea proposal on the table, but not at all a done deal when President Donald Trump said that

09:41the deal is done. And he posted on his social media on Truth Social, Ukraine has agreed not to hit

09:47Russian energy targets. Russia has agreed to do likewise. The world's diesel price rise is mostly

09:52caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, not Iran. I think it's fair to say that, you know, it came as

09:58a surprise

09:58to everybody, whilst it was interesting to watch how it was taken and commented upon in Moscow with

10:05Russian officials saying that it was Ukraine promised not to target Russia's energy site, but there was not a

10:10single word about whether Moscow agreed to do the same.

10:13And how significant would it be if Ukraine did stop striking Russia's energy infrastructure and,

10:19of course, vice versa?

10:20Would be very significant indeed. This is something that Ukraine has been offering for months, this

10:24so-called energy truce. Now, it's important to differentiate the different strategies. Russia

10:29is targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, civilian energy infrastructure, trying to put pressure on

10:35the Ukrainian population specifically, and to force Ukraine into surrender. When it comes to Ukraine,

10:41Ukraine's strikes on specifically Russia's oil facilities have a different aim. They are there to

10:47to stop the money-making machine, the oil industry that is financing Russia's war against Ukraine.

10:53And those attacks had huge effect. Recognized also, according to Romanian presidents, our colleagues

10:59by Euronews Romania spoke exclusively to the president of the country, Niku Shordan, who spoke about

11:04that made. Let's take a listen.

11:09What we know for sure, right now, is that Russia's economy is suffering. And we also know that the

11:15Ukrainians managed to strike in depth, to hit logistics centers and refineries.

11:33The fact that, again, we are at a time when the society in the Russian Federation is feeling the

11:39effects of the war. This is new compared to a year ago. On the front line, things are almost unchanged,

11:46because drone technology makes any kind of territorial advance very expensive.

12:05But we do not see, in these conditions, we do not really see Russia's willingness to come to the

12:11negotiating table. So, therefore, we must be prepared for this war to continue for at least a year or two.

12:26Energy truce, therefore, may, would have a huge effect. But at the same time, it doesn't mean that

12:30Russia would stop attacking Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, like the Ukrainian railways and

12:34the train that was attacked on Sunday morning, two kilometers close to the Polish border. The train

12:40that is always packed, the train that you and I know so well when you travel to Ukraine. This

12:43remains one of those very, very few ways of traveling to and from Ukraine.

12:48Okay, Sasha Vaclina, thank you so much for that update there. And we can move on now to the Middle

12:54East,

12:54where a series of attacks carried out by Yemen's Houthis using ballistic missiles and drones wounded

13:00over a dozen civilians in southern Saudi Arabia. This is the Pentagon says they're facing a shortfall

13:05in ammunition as a result of the Qasi war in Iran. For the impact on how the latest unrest is

13:11impacting

13:11our pockets, we can head over now to Doha, where our Adel Khalim is standing by for us. Good morning,

13:17Adele. So look, we're seeing pressure on three critical energy routes at the same time. Just

13:21tell us, how serious is the situation and what does it mean for Europe?

13:27Maeve, it's very serious because these three pressure points are all connected and we may

13:31be seeing the formation of a perfect storm for global energy markets. You have the Strait of Hormuz

13:36on one side of the Arabian Peninsula, which is already extremely difficult for shipping.

13:41Saudi Arabia has an alternative, the East-West Pipeline, which allows oil to move across the

13:45countries through the Red Sea, avoiding the Hormuz altogether. But that is now shut due to recent

13:49drone attacks. And we now understand it could take three to five weeks for it to repair. And that's

13:53significant because it was pumping up four million barrels of oil per day. And then on the other side,

13:58you have the Bab al-Mendab, the gateway from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. The Houthis have been

14:04advancing there, taking two strategic islands. So essentially, the main route, the main alternative,

14:08and the Red Sea are all under pressure at the same time. And Europe is clearly concerned.

14:13European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the attack on Saudi Arabia.

14:17And she said, we will continue working with our partners for safe, free navigation through the

14:22Strait of Hormuz and for stability in the Middle East. We all have a stake in this. Now,

14:26oil prices rose 2% on Monday. And if this continues, Maeve, that can eventually filter through to fuel

14:32prices, transport costs and inflation. Okay, Adele Halim, thank you so much for that live

14:38broadcast there from Doha. Now, moving on almost one week after a former Anthropic employee said

14:44there's more than a 10% chance that AI could kill us all within a decade. Several of those leading

14:49AI companies have raised the voice of alarm. OpenAI and Elon Musk are now open to, quote,

14:55slowing down their developments. For the view from the EU, we can bring in now the Italian MEP,

14:59Brando Benefey, who's in Strasbourg this morning. Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us.

15:05Just tell us, what's your view here on these latest comments around the AI tech boom? Are you worried as

15:10a regulator?

15:14I think we need to be worried because these are real risks that exist, the risk of loss of control.

15:21We should not underestimate them. And also, we should not overestimate them in the sense that

15:28we have the technical capabilities to put guardrails, to slow down the pace in a way that is safe.

15:36We need the political will to do it. And I want to underline that the European Union already has

15:44legislation to actually act in this sense, to investigate the risks of the most powerful models.

16:06So we have been leading the effort globally on safety. And now everybody's talking about it. Now,

16:17we need the political will to actually put this in place, to actually put this in place,

16:21to actually work with the powers we have given the public institutions. And we need international

16:26cooperation. We need the US, we need China, we need the European Union to work together.

16:31On US, I mean, we heard last night, President Donald Trump saying this is a hoax,

16:35these latest warnings. Do you think we really need a, it's time for a global rule book, one rule book

16:41on AI?

16:43Well, I want to be clear. We have in a few months, a vote in US that will change the

16:53political balance. And I

16:55think that President Trump will need to take that into account. His reactions for now are, we can say,

17:04a bit in another direction than the leaders of the main companies, but also of prominent voices on AI

17:14regulation from academics like Professor Bengio to Senator Sanders that have said it clearly, we need

17:21a global treaty on this. And I want to insist that the European Union has the power to lead on

17:28that.

17:28I hope that President von der Leyen will say it very clearly during the State of the Union speech,

17:34that we are already paving the way for a safer AI development from the EU side. And we should join

17:42forces for this. We need global cooperation. And the EU has to raise its voice on the global stage.

17:49Okay, well, the role of AI in our lives, of course, here in Europe will feature, I'm sure, a lot

17:53in that

17:54State of the Union speech that will be delivered tomorrow in Strasbourg by the European Commission

17:58President Ursula von der Leyen, Brad van der Leyen, speaking just there from Strasbourg. Thank you so much for

18:02joining us. And thank you for tuning in to us this morning here on Europe Today, here on Euronews. For

18:08more news and

18:09analysis, you know where to go, euronews.com. Or you can download our app. You can also reach out to

18:14us, drop us a line,

18:15europe today at euronews.com. That is our email address. But as always, thank you so much for

18:20tuning in. Take care and stay with us here on Euronews.

Europe Today: Trump claims Russia-Ukraine energy truce as AI slowdown rattles markets

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