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Europe Today: Merz ismét nyomás alatt, Ukrajna eddigi legnagyobb csapása Moszkvát éri
Friedrich Merz német kancellárra nyomás nehezedik a CDU súlyos tartományi választási veresége és Ukrajna rekord moszkvai dróntámadása után. Az Europe Today-ben az USA–Irán feszültségei és Meloni burkatilalma is téma.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/09/21/europe-today-ismet-nyomas-alatt-merz-ukrajna-legnagyobb-csapasa-moszkvat-eri
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
Friedrich Merz német kancellárra nyomás nehezedik a CDU súlyos tartományi választási veresége és Ukrajna rekord moszkvai dróntámadása után. Az Europe Today-ben az USA–Irán feszültségei és Meloni burkatilalma is téma.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/09/21/europe-today-ismet-nyomas-alatt-merz-ukrajna-legnagyobb-csapasa-moszkvat-eri
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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00:14Good morning, it's Monday, September 21st, you're watching Euronews, and this is Europe Today.
00:22Coming up, following Russian strikes on Kiev, Ukrainian forces started their largest-scale
00:28attack on Moscow since the beginning of the war.
00:31More than 1,000 drones were launched, killing at least two people and damaging a major oil
00:36refinery, according to the mayor of Moscow.
00:38The attacks came as Russians headed to the polls for the first parliamentary elections
00:43since 2022.
00:44A vote that President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party is widely expected to win.
00:51The far-right in Germany continues its political rise.
00:54In crucial state elections in East Germany, the AfD party scored big gains, but not enough
01:00to seize power.
01:01The Christian Democrats of Friedrich Merz suffered heavy losses, which will only increase the
01:06political pressure on the Chancellor.
01:08In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD came in first, closely followed by the Social Democrats,
01:14and the CDU missing the 5% hurdle.
01:17The city-state of Berlin saw a win by the left, with the AfD ending up third.
01:23We'll go live to the German capital.
01:26Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced that the government is preparing a bill that
01:30would ban burqas and niqabs in school and limit the number of foreign pupils in each class.
01:36Italy hats to the polls next year, with competition intensifying to the right of Meloni's party.
01:42Several European countries, including France and Belgium, already banned face coverings in public places.
01:49And, as tensions are escalating in the Middle East, Iran has threatened Washington and its
01:55allies in the region with renewed strikes should the U.S. resume action against Tehran.
02:00The warning followed reports the White House was preparing fresh attacks on Iran.
02:05Meanwhile, U.S. embassies across the Middle East issued security alerts and President Trump cut
02:11short a visit to Camp David without explanation. We'll speak with our correspondent in Doha.
02:17Welcome to the program. I'm Stefan Grobe.
02:20The war in Ukraine shows no sign of abating. Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces launched massive
02:27drone strikes against Moscow and its region and also claimed territorial gains in a key area of Donetsk.
02:34This came after weeks of relentless Russian attacks on targets in Ukraine.
02:39Let's bring in Federico Borsari now, a fellow with the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the
02:45Center for European Policy Analysis, who joins us from Paris. Good morning and thanks for coming on.
02:52Thanks for having me. Good morning.
02:54So, Ukraine is hitting Moscow, attacking another refinery on the day of Russia's parliamentary election.
03:01How is Putin going to react? Should we expect another Russian offensive?
03:08I think we definitely should expect Russian further attacks in Ukraine.
03:13This has been ongoing for more than four years now, so I don't see any sign that Russia will try
03:22to negotiate
03:23or will try to diminish its pressure on Ukraine. We should expect more missile and drone attacks
03:31against Ukrainian critical infrastructure, against Ukrainian cities and villages.
03:37And also, we are approaching the winter, so there will be definitely an attempt by Russia to destroy and damage
03:47even more the power grid and the critical infrastructure of Ukraine in order to try to ban the population
03:55and diminish the willingness of Ukrainians to continue to resist.
03:59And what about Russian hybrid attacks on Western Europe? Will the situation deteriorate here too?
04:05We just had stark warnings from France, from President Macron and even from Marine Le Pen.
04:13Yes, I think the trend is that Russia is trying to increase the pressure also on European capitals and European
04:22allies.
04:28In this sense, I think the trend is clear. There is an increase in subversion, sabotage operations, hybrid attacks and
04:42cyber attacks as well.
04:43On the other hand, I don't see signs of a potential conventional attack by Russia, also because it needs significant
04:54preparation for that.
04:55But I think many leaders across Europe and many intelligence services are converging on the fact that Russia is trying
05:05to increase the pressure
05:06and to see if there are ways to weaken European willingness to support Ukraine.
05:17All right, Federico Borsari from the Center for European Policy Analysis. Thank you very much for your insights.
05:25And now to Germany, where the latest political trend continues.
05:28In two more regional elections, the far-right AFD party made significant gains, though it did not come anywhere near
05:35gaining power.
05:36The parties represented in the federal government, Christian Democrats and Social Democrats are facing difficult times, even more difficult than
05:44before.
05:45Let's head straight to Berlin, where our correspondent Laura Fleischmann has the latest for us.
05:51Good morning, Laura. So what are the key takeaways from yesterday's elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania?
06:01Good morning, Stefan. And well, the results are very different, but they do share one common thread.
06:06And that is that the parties of the federal government here in Germany, the Conservative, CDU and the Social Democrats,
06:12the SPD, are losing ground.
06:14And at the same time, the parties at both ends of the political spectrum are gaining support.
06:19Here in Berlin, the left party won the election at around a quarter of the vote, with the CDU in
06:24second place at around 19 percent.
06:26And the SPD has been reduced to around 12 percent, which is a historic loss for them in the capital.
06:30The AFD had also some significant gains here in Berlin.
06:34And looking at Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, it has been a very tight race between the far-right AFD and the
06:39SPD until the very last second.
06:42Now the AFD came out on top, but they will likely not be able to form a government since they
06:47are lacking a coalition partner.
06:49Far behind are all the other parties, among them the CDU, which will no longer be part of the state
06:54parliament,
06:55since it didn't manage to take the 5 percent threshold.
06:59That is quite remarkable.
07:01I mean, Chancellor Mertz is in trouble.
07:03Just how big is this trouble?
07:07This was, of course, a devastating result for him and his party.
07:11He called it a disaster before he even knew that his party will no longer be part of the state
07:16parliament.
07:17Nevertheless, he wants to keep going and wants to push down on his reform cause even harder,
07:21even though it is responsible for a lack of support from voters.
07:24There has been quite a lot of tension within the CDU, with some party members calling for him to step
07:29down
07:30or for him to be swapped out for another chancellor.
07:32But as I said, he wants to keep going.
07:34And there is now a lot of pressure within his coalition partner, the SPD, as well.
07:38All right, Laura Fleischmann with the latest.
07:41Thank you very much.
07:42And we're staying in Germany.
07:44What do these election results mean for the country and for Europe?
07:48To find out, we're now joined by Sabrina Repp,
07:50a member of the European Parliament for the Social Democrats who hails from Mecklenburg, Western Pomerania.
07:56Good morning.
07:57Great to have you here.
07:59Good morning.
08:00Thank you very much for the invitation.
08:02So we're seeing the same trend that we saw in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago.
08:06The AfD scores big gains and the parties of the federal government are being marginalized.
08:11How much pressure can Friedrich Merz's coalition sustain?
08:15At what point is its collapse inevitable?
08:20Yes.
08:20So there is lots of pressure to the coalition in Berlin.
08:23And what we saw is when you are looking to the results since the European Parliament,
08:28since the elections of the European Parliament,
08:30there you can see, especially in the eastern part of Germany,
08:34a really much increase of the results of the AfD, over 30 percent.
08:39So it is not that something is, it is not that it is new.
08:44So we see it since the elections of the European Parliament.
08:48But now we see that lots of people lost their trust in the federal government.
08:55And these are the results also for the state parliament elections.
09:00Would the Social Democrats support the Christian Democrats replacing Merz by somebody else?
09:07So this is something we need to discuss because there is lots of pressure.
09:12But we need to really look, these are now our results for the local elections.
09:18And here it is the most important thing that we now stabilized the situation
09:23and that we can have a good coalition in the different federal,
09:29in the different state parliaments.
09:31And for that, we need to see how we can end up in this special situation.
09:37And then we can see what is going on in Berlin.
09:40But there is lots of pressure.
09:41And something that was really new is that Friedrich Merz gave an interview
09:46directly after they represent the results of the elections.
09:50And there you can see there is lots of pressure.
09:52All right, Sabrina Repp, Social Democratic Member of the European Parliament.
09:56Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
09:59In the Persian Gulf, the situation remains murky,
10:03despite the escalating rhetoric on both sides.
10:06Is there really no perspective for a peaceful solution?
10:09The Iranian president and foreign minister were given visas by the U.S. government
10:14to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York this week.
10:17That could be a positive signal.
10:20Could be.
10:21For more on this, I'm now joined by our correspondent Adel Halim in Doha.
10:25Good morning.
10:28Good morning, Stefan.
10:30So, Adil, President Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
10:34What will the Gulf countries be listening for?
10:40Stefan, the big question is, what does President Trump say about Iran?
10:43Does he see a way out of this war through diplomacy?
10:45Or is more military action still on the table?
10:48Because right now, we're hearing both.
10:49Trump has again threatened Iran with more military action if there's no deal.
10:54But he's also said he's willing to meet Iranian President Masoud Pazeshkian in New York.
10:58And diplomatic channels are still open.
11:00Iran says it sent Washington its conditions for ending the war through Qatar.
11:04Those include ending the fighting, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and ending the U.S. naval blockade.
11:10And Tehran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until those conditions are met.
11:14Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakji is on his way to New York with a stop here in Doha for talks
11:20on the latest developments.
11:21So, there is a lot happening behind the scenes.
11:23Both sides are talking about diplomacy.
11:24But both sides are also saying the situation could get potentially worse.
11:28And Gulf countries will be listening tomorrow to see any indication on which direction U.S. President Donald Trump wants
11:34to go.
11:34And Donald Trump is also expected to meet Gulf leaders in New York.
11:39What will they want from that meeting?
11:43Well, I think the first thing is clarity.
11:45What is Washington's endgame?
11:46And what happens to security in the region when this war eventually ends?
11:50Because the situation became much more serious over the weekend.
11:53Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile targeting Riyadh on Saturday.
11:58And flames and thick smoke were seen near the city's main international airport.
12:03The Houthis are warning that their attacks on Saudi Arabia will continue.
12:07So, the stakes are very high here.
12:08Qatar's prime minister described the fallout from the war on Sunday as a, quote, earthquake, saying it had challenged assumptions
12:15on security and stability.
12:16So, the question for Gulf leaders is simple.
12:19Does Trump have a path out of this war?
12:21Or is the region heading for more escalation?
12:23And either way, what comes next?
12:26All right.
12:27Thank you very much, Adel Halim in Doha.
12:30And now to a different sort of conflict.
12:32In the city of Brussels, shootings related to drug trafficking have become routine over the past couple of years.
12:39There were over 100 in 2025 alone and more than 65 shootings so far already this year.
12:46Just a few weeks ago, one particular neighborhood saw three shootings in as many days.
12:51Many are already comparing Brussels to scenes from major U.S. cities.
12:56Really?
12:58Is Brussels starting to resemble Detroit or Chicago more and more?
13:02Now, who better to address this question than the U.S. ambassador to Belgium who joins me now on the
13:08set?
13:09Welcome, Bill White.
13:11Hey, Stefan.
13:11How are you?
13:12Nice to see you.
13:13I'm very good.
13:14Thank you so much.
13:15So, is Brussels looking more and more like Chicago?
13:19Do you still feel safe here?
13:20Oh, yeah.
13:22Well, I feel safe.
13:23It's not fair to ask me if I feel safe because I am very grateful to the Belgian federal police
13:30who are here in the studio with me.
13:33They're wonderful men and women who are serving their country.
13:37They are also very frustrated with the crime here.
13:41There are certain policies, of course, that we all know, as there were in major U.S. cities until President
13:48Trump came to town in Washington, D.C., where criminals really are not being properly prosecuted or put in jail.
13:57I actually went to visit the jail here.
14:00They renovated the beautiful Palais de Justice, and I went with my husband to visit, and we talked with the
14:06police officers.
14:07I actually went into the jail to see it's full.
14:11We have many, many, many illegal aliens in the jails here, but some good news, the Minister of Migration and
14:21the various countries from where these people have come from are moving quickly to extradite them back to their home
14:29country.
14:30That's a good thing because there will be more room in the jails then to put the real criminals who
14:35keep getting let out.
14:37We have a prosecutor here in Brussels who is the king's prosecutor, and he's doing a fantastic job trying to
14:43clean this up once and for all.
14:45What would be your number one recommendation to the Belgian authorities to fight drug crime?
14:51Yeah, I think they keep doing what they're doing.
14:53Minister Canton and the Minister of Defense.
14:56That's the Belgian Federal Police.
14:58That's the military.
15:00They're on the streets in front of the synagogues and at the train station.
15:04I went there the other day, and they're doing a great job.
15:06The crime there is coming down.
15:09You have a new minister president in Brussels, Boris Deliais.
15:14They are focused on this.
15:16They know it hurts business.
15:17It hurts tourism.
15:18It hurts, of course, their own citizens first and foremost.
15:23I know you love Belgium.
15:25You love the Belgians.
15:26I do, yeah.
15:27I'm going to ask you this question about that survey that came out during the summer,
15:32that now more than half of Belgians believe that the U.S. is a bigger threat to global security than
15:38China.
15:40Why do you think that is?
15:41Oh, I don't know.
15:42I think it's because of fake news.
15:45The news here in Belgium is very negative on President Trump.
15:49It really disappoints me.
15:51I had a nice talk with the man who owns most of the stations here,
15:56and I said the last time I did a survey, it was 90% of the media on President Trump
16:02is negative.
16:03I will tell you one thing.
16:05In the United States, our GDP is going through the roof.
16:09It's 4.3% and rising.
16:11In Europe, it's fairly stagnant.
16:15The economy is surging.
16:18Unemployment is way down.
16:20We have $19 trillion in new investment.
16:23With President Trump encouraging NATO to come to the 5%,
16:27you'll have $1 trillion now.
16:30$1 trillion.
16:31It's the Trump trillion that you'll be able to spend in Europe.
16:34That will be millions of jobs over the next 10 years.
16:38That those funds will be spent to build a stronger defense for NATO and for Europe.
16:45If I may, I mean, President Trump doesn't always make it easy for Europeans to like the U.S.
16:53I mean, there are his attacks on European leaders, the tariffs, there's the anti-European rhetoric in general,
17:01there's NATO, there's Greenland, all these things.
17:04Does that make your life more difficult here, representing the U.S.?
17:08No, not at all.
17:08In fact, you mentioned Greenland.
17:12It's been resolved.
17:13So everybody here who was worrying and calling me and coming to see me,
17:18I told everybody to relax, take a deep breath.
17:20It will all be fine.
17:22And yesterday, it was announced that it's all fine.
17:26President Trump was looking to secure the strategic importance of Greenland
17:30to the safety and security of the United States.
17:32If the United States is not safe, it certainly cannot help Europe if Europe is attacked.
17:38Because if America is not safer, stronger, more prosperous, it cannot help anybody or be a good partner.
17:45So I think the criticism is really unfair.
17:48I hate it.
17:49I will tell you that.
17:50I wish people knew President Trump the way I do.
17:53I've known him for 32 years.
17:54He's a fantastic human being.
17:57He's a great father.
17:58He's a great grandfather.
17:59And he's a great friend.
18:00And he's a great president.
18:01I would say he's the best president the United States has ever had.
18:05With the EU-USA trade deal being signed, you will see hundreds of billions of dollars moving forward.
18:12So we're across the street from the EU.
18:14They signed a historic trade deal.
18:16I'm talking about $50 billion of LNG coming into Belgium.
18:20I'm working on $10 billion of U.S. financing for nuclear power plants.
18:25I'm also talking about getting global entry for Belgium so they don't have to wait on any lines when they
18:30go to the United States.
18:32And on October 2nd, I will announce this with you first.
18:35We have three World War II veterans, 101, 102, and 103,
18:42coming to visit the Henry Chappelle Cemetery.
18:46Where one of the men is visiting his brother-in-law who's buried there for the first time.
18:51I love your enthusiasm, Ambassador.
18:54But I've got to ask you this.
18:55What good does it do attacking America's closest allies almost constantly?
19:01And not, for example, Vladimir Putin?
19:04Oh, that's not fair at all.
19:06President Trump is not attacking its closest allies.
19:10He is in a longstanding, I would say it's like a marriage, it's a longstanding, I'm married 26 years.
19:17We do have arguments.
19:19This is normal.
19:21In loving relationships, sometimes you have to do a little tough love.
19:24And tough love is actually very effective.
19:27I understand where this is going.
19:29I think he's doing a great job.
19:30All right.
19:31Thank you so much, Ambassador Bill White.
19:33Thank you so much for coming on.
19:34All the best.
19:35And that does it for us today.
19:37Stay tuned for more news throughout the day here on Euronews.
19:40Thanks for watching.
19:42I'm Stefan Grobe.
19:43See you tomorrow.
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