- 27 minutes ago
اروپا امروز: کانادا از پیشنهاد «عضو همکار» اتحادیه اروپا استقبال میکند، اما گام بعد چیست
اروپا امروز معنای وضعیت جدید کانادا بهعنوان عضو اتحادیه اروپا و واکنشها به قانون جدید محدودیت شبکههای اجتماعی و چتباتهای هوش مصنوعی برای کودکان زیر ۱۵ سال را در بحران انرژی بررسی میکند.
لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2026/09/18/europe-today-canada-welcomes-eus-associate-member-offer-but-what-next
مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست
اروپا امروز معنای وضعیت جدید کانادا بهعنوان عضو اتحادیه اروپا و واکنشها به قانون جدید محدودیت شبکههای اجتماعی و چتباتهای هوش مصنوعی برای کودکان زیر ۱۵ سال را در بحران انرژی بررسی میکند.
لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2026/09/18/europe-today-canada-welcomes-eus-associate-member-offer-but-what-next
مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست
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NewsTranscript
00:13Good morning, it is Friday the 18th 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 as energy and fuel prices soar across Europe, EU finance ministers are meeting in Ireland
00:32in a bid to rein in the spiralling crisis. With winter fast approaching, Euronews' Shona Murray
00:39sat down exclusively with Ireland's finance minister Simon Harris. We'll be in Dublin with an update.
00:44Meanwhile, at least 20 people have been injured and energy grids damaged after Russia unleashed a
00:50fresh barrage of missile strikes across Ukraine. Poland's Donald Tusk heads to Kiev today just
00:56days after Russian drone strikes hit close to the Polish border. This, as President Donald Trump
01:02says he's reached a crossroads regarding the war in Iran and UN experts say there's no reasonable
01:07grounds to believe that the US committed war crimes inside Iran. Plus, Sweden's centre-right
01:13Prime Minister Ulf Christensen has announced his resignation after losing last weekend's
01:19parliamentary election. The move paves the way for left-wing opposition leader Magdalena Andersen
01:24to form a government, a task that could take months. But first, after receiving a rock star welcome in
01:31Strasbourg, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the invitation to make Canada the first ever
01:37associate member of the European Union. Though he stopped short of seeking full membership or ceding
01:42sovereignty. The big question, of course, is what would this new status for Canada look like and
01:47how it would differ from existing partnerships? To dive a little bit deeper, our EU correspondent
01:51Anja Skudens joins me now for analysis. Just tell us, help us digest this news that of course comes
01:57after a very long week. Yes, good morning, Maeve. A mammoth week for European citizens as well as
02:02newsmakers and it started well with a bang with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
02:07taking the floor of the hemicycle in Strasbourg using her agenda setting State of the European
02:13Union address to surprise us all with this invitation to Canada to become the first associate
02:18member of the European Union. And to give you a little bit of insight into how the sausage is made
02:23when it comes to journalism, us journalists usually get embargoed copies of important documents such as
02:29this speech and this invitation was not included. So this meant journalists like me, we leapt out of
02:36our seats when this was broadcast all around the world, but we're really left with digesting what
02:42this associate membership really means and we're expecting the journalists to get underway with
02:46that today. And tell us, how was the reaction in Canada? Yeah, so Canada has been widely supportive
02:53of this. The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, took to the floor of the hemicycle with his own speech
02:58in between selfies as well as thunderous applause. He took to the floor the middle power icon. He stated
03:05he welcomed this alliance, but he skirted around the details of what this actually meant, but it would
03:11be forged on a partnership strengthened by energy, defence, security and trade and a touch of civility.
03:17Let's take a listen to what he had to say.
03:19I also want to be precise about what I am not proposing. I'm not proposing a third block in
03:30order to become a great power rival only with better manners. We do not seek power to dominate
03:39others. On the contrary, we are pursuing resilience so no one, no one can control our open markets,
03:48impair our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity or undermine our freedoms, our democracies,
03:55our rule of law.
04:01Mark Carney there yesterday in the Parliament in Strasbourg. But Angie, beyond the hype and all
04:05the pictures of maple syrup, how will this work in reality?
04:08Yes, so that is really yet to be seen. Mark Carney stressed that it's up to the European Union to
04:12define what this relationship is. We're expecting that to be developed before an EU Canada summit
04:18scheduled in Montreal in late October. The ball really is with the European Union's court.
04:24We know that from the EU officials that I've spoken to, however, they weren't totally consulted
04:29by the European Commission President when it came to this pitch. So we're expecting some heated
04:33discussions certainly underway. When this is proposed formally to Mark Carney with the terms
04:39of the relationship, it will then go to the Canadian Parliament for those lawmakers to vote on it.
04:44But what is really clear is that while these geopolitical tectonic plates continue to shift
04:49with increasingly bellicose US President Donald Trump with that trade war with Canada,
04:54we expect Canada and the EU to become closer. But that is yet to be seen what that exactly means.
05:01OK, Andra Scudin, thank you so much for that analysis. And now we can head to Dublin,
05:05where European finance ministers are gathering for two days of talks, joined in fact by their
05:10counterparts from Canada and the UK. This big announcement of a so-called associate membership
05:15for Canada, of course, top of the list today, along with spiralling petrol and diesel prices.
05:20Our correspondent Shona Murray is in Dublin for us this morning and joins us now. So tell us,
05:26Shona, what is being said about this prospect of a closer Canadian relationship?
05:32Well, good morning, Maeve. I mean, as Ireland is the president of the European Council,
05:36they were the first to welcome this. I mean, it makes sense. I think there's an acknowledgement
05:40across Europe that this is about the shifting nature of global politics, but also the transatlantic
05:45relationship of which the United States was the linchpin. But we know Canada is embroiled in a very
05:50disruptive trade war with the US. The EU has had its trade issues with the United States.
05:55We also even heard overnight that the United States is due to 25,000 troops from NATO territory. So
06:02the US is no longer the ally or the partner it once was. So therefore, it makes sense that Canada
06:09and the EU would move closer together as like minded organisations, countries and so on. So that
06:16does make quite a bit of sense. And there's also a feeling really that we don't know whether this is
06:23going to be rooted in law or what the negotiations will emerge like. But for the moment, definitely
06:28welcoming news, Maeve.
06:30And as you say, Shona, the Irish were the first to react. And you actually sat down exclusively with
06:34the Irish finance minister. What did he have to say?
06:39Well, that's right, Maeve. I mean, all the EU ministers are here in Dublin for an ECOFIN meeting,
06:45but also they'll be joined by their Canadian counterparts, their British counterparts. So there'll be
06:49a discussion really about the windfall profits that energy companies are making as part of the chaos,
06:55the ongoing chaos, particularly within the Middle East. And there's been calls by some European
07:00capitals for taxes on that so that the exchequers in each country can then deliver a little bit of
07:07appeasement when it comes to people's energy bills. That's high on the agenda. Also, the future of AI will
07:12be very much up for discussion, although no major breakthrough will be. But I caught up with Simon
07:19Harris, who's deputy prime minister and the finance minister of Ireland. And I asked him first
07:23about the negotiations with Canada.
07:26The actual meaning behind the phrase is something, quite frankly, yet to be determined, but it bothers
07:30us less because, you know, you can use whatever phrase you want. The good news here is that the
07:35state of the union made a real signal of intent to have a much closer relationship between Canada and
07:40the European Union. And I think we can't gloss over that fact. The fact is that the European
07:44Union, in the speech delivered by the president of the commission, where you really outline the big
07:48strategic projects for the time ahead, has identified a closer working relationship with
07:52Canada as a priority for the European Union. And then to see the prime minister of Canada,
07:56Mark Carney, respond in kind.
07:58Donald Trump has said it's a hostile act and he'll apply even more tariffs on both sides.
08:02This is not a hostile act towards anybody. This is a positive development for the European
08:07Union wishing to partner with Canada, which we already do, and areas of common interest.
08:11But of course, we'll continue to economically partner with the United States. We have a trade
08:14agreement with the United States. A lot of painstaking work went into that. We saw it advance
08:18even further in relation to Irish whiskey and the decision made by President Trump to remove
08:23tariffs from that last week. We need to build on that and find more opportunities. So this isn't
08:27either or.
08:28Can I talk to you about Aachenish, the plant here, the Russian-owned plant that exports aluminium
08:33to Russia. We know it also exports across Europe, but obviously there's a real concern that that is
08:41found then in the defence industry in Russia, which is obviously prosecuting this war against Ukraine.
08:47Will Ireland sanction that, even if it isn't formally as part of the sanctions regime?
08:52We don't cherry pick when it comes to sanctions. We stand with Ukraine. The European Union stands
08:57with Ukraine. Ireland is the president of the Council of the European Union stands with Ukraine.
09:01And there's a war taking place on the continent of Europe, and we must stand with Ukraine for as
09:04long as it takes. The issue, though, in terms of what is sanctioned or not is a matter in the
09:09first instance for the Commission to bring forward proposals. That's always been the approach we've
09:12taken in this country, sanctions at an EU level. I think it has served the collective European
09:17effort against Russia well. But we've been very clear, too. Illumina is not a product used in
09:23Ireland. It is, though, perhaps a critical supply chain for many parts of the European economy.
09:28The evidence is that the Illumina does make its way into Russia. I mean, Russia has a war economy
09:33anyway. So, you know, it does make sense that it would definitely be part of the war machine.
09:38Would it be something that Ireland would consider doing unilaterally?
09:41Ireland's approach to sanctions have always been to operate at a European level,
09:44and we've been consistent in relation to that. I think it would be rather odd for Ireland to adopt
09:48any other approach.
09:49We've seen spiralling prices when it comes to energy costs, diesel in particular. We heard Donald Trump
09:55say that part of the reason for the diesel high prices is Zelensky attacking Russian diesel
10:02infrastructure, not at all relating that to the war in Iran. Do you agree with that?
10:07No. I mean, the reason there's a major energy crisis in the world right now is because the
10:11Strait of Hormuz is closed. And the most pressing issue on the mind of all European finance ministers,
10:16and I think, quite frankly, most of our citizens across the European Union, and certainly here in Ireland,
10:20is energy prices. Energy prices at the pump, of course, in relation to diesel and petrol,
10:25prices on the farm in relation to things like green diesel. But now, as you come into the winter period,
10:30the cost of heating your home and the cost of energy in people's home too. And governments around the world,
10:36including in Ireland, are seeking to make interventions to assist people.
10:40But I always make the point, and would make it again today, the greatest economic intervention we could see
10:45is de-escalation in the Middle East. Your fellow finance ministers have asked you to look at a
10:49potential windfall tax for energy companies that are earning billions and while everybody else is
10:54suffering. Can you tell us where you are with that? Is it something that you support?
10:57Our energy company is making extraordinarily large profits on the back of this energy crisis,
11:03and they're not making those profits on the basis of being more enterprising or being innovative.
11:06This isn't about rewarding enterprise. They're making the profits because of the chaos that we're seeing in the
11:10energy markets as a result of the Strait of Hormuz being closed. So I will be working with colleagues
11:16in the first instance here in Dublin this weekend to have an initial conversation around a windfall energy tax.
11:25And sticking to that very topic, the World Economic Forum has published a new study circling out
11:30high energy costs as the biggest drag on European competitiveness with electricity prices two or three
11:36times more than competing economies. For more, we can head now over to Switzerland
11:40and bring in Andrew Caruana Galicia from the World Economic Forum. Good morning and thank you so much
11:46for joining us. Just tell us, based on your research, how can this major problem be addressed?
12:01We're having a little problem with the sound there, speaking to Andrew Caruana Galicia.
12:06He's the head of Europe and Eurasia at the World Economic Forum. We'll come back to him a little bit
12:11later
12:11in the programme. But now, moving on to the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen and the
12:17Tech Commissioner, Henne Verkunen, have officially unveiled their EU Kids Act, proposing block-wide rules
12:23to protect teenagers online, especially from AI chatbots. To hear if people in this town support the idea,
12:30our Adnan Leal took to the streets to ask them.
12:41And in just a minute, we'll bring you that report that our Adnan Leal was out on the streets asking
12:46people here in Brussels if they're in favour of it. We'll bring you that in just a minute. But now,
12:51actually, we can speak to Cecilia Bonnefeld-Dal, that is the head of Digital Europe,
12:56the Brussels-based group that represents Meta, Google, OpenAI, TikTok and Microsoft. Good
13:02morning. And hopefully we can hear you and see you clearly. And excuse me to our viewers for the
13:06previous technical hiccups. Just tell us, what does Digital Europe feel about this law? Are you for it
13:11or are you against it, this proposal, I must say?
13:15Good morning. And well, Digital Europe represent around 65,000 companies in 35 countries.
13:22And I can tell you that the digital community of the digitalising industries, we are all in favour
13:29of protection of children. I mean, we have seen around 10 member states already putting forward
13:36proposals on how to regulate this. You have both Malaysia, Australia already who has regulated this.
13:46And of course, protection of children is high on our agenda across the board. And really, an alignment
13:53of the European regulations will be absolutely key. We cannot have that if you live in Denmark,
14:00your protection as a child is different from the one in Germany and Spain. So it is an absolutely
14:06crucial moment for the Commission to put this forward and to align across the board on how we
14:12protect our children online. Of course, part of this law would shift responsibility to the tech
14:17companies themselves that you, of course, represent to protect children. Will they? Will they self-police?
14:23I mean, protection of children online cannot be only one person's responsibility or one party's
14:31responsibility. It is a joint responsibility on public and private sector. And of course, we already have
14:39a lot of different protections in place. What is important now is that we find the right balance
14:45and that we actually get it to function. The biggest risk is really that if you are a child or
14:51parent,
14:52that you have to interpret 27 different national rules and you end up being confused about what is
14:59allowed and what is not allowed. And then, of course, we need to be totally sure that we are not
15:04inventing something that we already have. We already have extensive platform regulations,
15:10the AI Act, the data protection in GDPR, the DSA, the AI Act and the GDPR, of course. So the
15:19Kids Act
15:20really have to find that extra layer on top that is needed to give the right protections for children.
15:27And just last week, we heard that AI could wipe out humanity. How do you react to these comments?
15:34Well, I think we should say AI is a tool. And as any other tool, we need to find the
15:41right balance
15:42of how we use that tool. And AI is also the only way that we can do online protection or
15:48that we can
15:49do cyber protection from big cyber attacks. It is the only way that we can cure cancer or make important
15:57optimisation of what you're going to talk about in a second, the energy grid. So AI is basically a
16:04ticket to a lot of good things. But there are things that, of course, we need to look at how
16:09to avoid those risks. So without AI, there is also no online protection of children.
16:15Okay, Cecilia Bonifield. Dal, thank you so much for joining us. And as you kindly pointed out, we will
16:20now continue to discuss the energy grid and the impact it's having on our pockets. Andrew Cairana-Galithia
16:26from the World Economic Forum is on the line there and can hopefully join us now. Just tell us,
16:31how can this issue be addressed, Andrew? We know that European gas prices are also currently four times more
16:36than in the United States.
16:48And unfortunately, we're still having difficulties crossing over to speak to Andrew Cairana-Galithia there
16:53from, of course, the World Economic Forum, the organisation that represents the annual Davos Summit
17:00that takes place, of course, every year in January and sets the agenda for the year.
17:06His report is, of course, available online to read at euronews.com and digs deep into the fact
17:12that two years after Mario Draghi came out with the report, only 15% of it has been implemented.
17:18Another, of course, major point in that is security. And I'm still joined here on set by our Angie
17:23Scugins, who covers security and defence for us here at Euronews. And it's just back, in fact,
17:27from Latvia last week, where you covered that summit. And this week, Angie, in that State of the
17:32Union speech, we saw a big focus on security, on defence, and also this idea of potential security
17:38structure that could be created, with many MEPs complaining that that could actually rival NATO.
17:43Your thoughts?
17:44So what I've picked up from my conversations with defence officials and the chatter that I've seen
17:49online is that there's a real risk of duplication here. We don't want Ursula von der Leyen's pitch of
17:54the European Security Council to rival NATO. NATO has been around for decades. It's got some very
18:00powerful members such as the United States. They don't want this structure to potentially impede
18:05on the decision-making processes of NATO and to rival NATO without the United States, which is
18:10arguably the most powerful player when it comes to NATO. We also have seen so many groups set up
18:16with the task of ensuring Europe's defence and security. We've got the Coalition of the Willing,
18:21the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. Will another group rival all of these and also
18:26blunt the efficacy of these organisations? The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
18:32last year also unveiled a huge amount of defence projects. We're talking about the drone wall
18:39initiative, which was arguably a bit of a flop. We've seen so many drones enter Europe's airspace.
18:44So the real question here is whether all of these initiatives, including the European Defence
18:50Council, whether it can meet up to the hype or the promise of what von der Leyen has
18:56has met, has stated, but that is truly yet to be seen. And we're expecting some more commentary to
19:02come through from those experts as well. And that's always the problem, isn't it,
19:07with those State of the Union speeches? In one way, she has to promise a lot, but then,
19:11of course, implementation is always key. And particularly when it comes to announcements coming
19:16out from the United States with the 25,000 troops that are going to be withdrawn, taken back from
19:23the European continent. Okay, Angela Scudins, thank you so much for your reporting. And,
19:27of course, everyone here at Euronews, which was a very busy week. But that does bring this edition of
19:31Europe Today to an end. Thank you so much for your company. As always, any points or comments on any
19:36of
19:37the stories we're covering for you here, or any stories that we've missed, you can reach out,
19:40Europe Today at Euronews.com. That is our email address. Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
20:10Bye.
20:15Bye.
20:19Bye.
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