- 2 giorni fa
Europe Today: ministri della Difesa Ue riuniti, corre la campagna elettorale francese
Oggi i ministri della Difesa UE si riuniscono tra attacchi ibridi in Europa; Europe Today analizza le minacce legate alla guerra russa in Ucraina, più anteprima del voto in Francia e interviste agli eurodeputati Terry Reintke e Juan Fernando López Aguilar.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/09/01/europe-today-ministri-ue-della-difesa-si-riuniscono-cresce-minaccia-russa-e-campagna-franc
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
Oggi i ministri della Difesa UE si riuniscono tra attacchi ibridi in Europa; Europe Today analizza le minacce legate alla guerra russa in Ucraina, più anteprima del voto in Francia e interviste agli eurodeputati Terry Reintke e Juan Fernando López Aguilar.
ALTRE INFORMAZIONI : http://it.euronews.com/2026/09/01/europe-today-ministri-ue-della-difesa-si-riuniscono-cresce-minaccia-russa-e-campagna-franc
Abbonati, euronews è disponibile in 12 lingue.
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00:14Good morning, I'm Maeve MacMahon and this is Europe Today, your morning dose of European
00:21news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:24Coming up, EU Defence Ministers flock to Ireland today for high-stake talks on the security
00:30of the continent.
00:31The EU is on high alert after the CIA chief made a surprise trip to Moscow recently to
00:39warn Russia not to attack the Baltics.
00:42We'll be crossing live to Dublin to speak to our correspondent Shona Murray.
00:46This as President Donald Trump, whose approval rating has slumped to its lowest level yet,
00:52has threatened to hit Iran hard after the two sides exchanged fire for the first time in
00:57weeks.
00:58Iran says it's not seeking war, but it will not remain passive in the face of this aggression.
01:06Meanwhile, the French President Emmanuel Macron has rocked up a trip to Sweden, where he sealed
01:11a 4.3 billion euro deal for the country to buy four French frigates.
01:17But back home in France, as politicians get back to work, the presidential election campaign
01:22is already in full swing.
01:25We'll be crossing live to Paris to our correspondent.
01:28And Hungary says it's met the conditions to unlock billions in EU funding.
01:33On hold for years due to democratic backsliding by the previous administration, around 10 billion
01:40euros could now soon be released.
01:41The EU Council President, Antonio Costa, will travel to Budapest tomorrow.
01:47But first, to Ireland, where EU Defence Ministers are meeting today amid an escalation of hybrid
01:52war attacks across the continent.
01:54Ministers are due to discuss increased threat levels on the continent linked to Russia's war
01:59in Ukraine.
02:00And their talks come just as a massive Russian missile and drone attack struck Kiev last night,
02:05killing four and wounding dozens.
02:07Our correspondent Shona Murray is in Dublin and joins me now.
02:11Shona, good morning.
02:12Look, the last few weeks have seen an upsurge in these attacks.
02:15Just tell us more.
02:18That's right, Maeve.
02:19That's certainly the backdrop of this meeting here in Ireland this week.
02:22We saw a few weeks ago a US intelligence assessment saying that the Kremlin may plan
02:30to attack NATO territory in a limited way in order to test NATO resolve.
02:34Then, as you mentioned there, we had John Radcliffe, the head of the CIA, visiting Moscow
02:38last week, which is emerging as he told the Kremlin and Putin not to attack NATO territory.
02:44Donald Trump, in the last few hours, has tried to play this down, saying this is a routine
02:48visit.
02:48It is not a routine visit for the head of the CIA to visit the Kremlin.
02:52The last time that actually happened was under Biden when they tried to persuade Putin not
02:57to attack Ukraine in the full-scale invasion.
02:59Then, in addition to that, of course, Maeve, we've seen a major surge, a significant surge
03:03in hybrid activity, non-kinetic normally all across Europe over the past year, and in
03:08particular the last few months, mainly drone incursions into places like Romania and other
03:12parts of the Baltics.
03:13But just a few weeks ago, at the start of August, German authorities intercepted an explosive-laden
03:19drone in Leipzig Airport.
03:21Now, this was military-grade explosives.
03:23There was three drones in total.
03:24The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in the last few days has said that he will formally
03:29attribute this to the Kremlin.
03:31That's the first time that's ever happened, because these attacks normally tend to be sort
03:35of below the radar and grey area, sort of a grey zone, so it's hard to apply attribution.
03:40But we're expecting over the next few days for Friedrich Merz to do that.
03:43That will be a real topic of conversation here in Ireland today and over the next few days.
03:48So I caught up with the Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister, Maria Malmour-Stanegard, and I asked
03:52her about this.
03:53I really don't like the term hybrid threat, because it sounds like an environmentally friendly
04:00car when it's something completely different.
04:03This is extremely serious.
04:05We are in the most serious security situation since the Second World War.
04:10We take the drone incidents in Leipzig extremely serious, and we are in close contact with our
04:17German friends.
04:18So what are the implications of attributing this to Russia?
04:22Because we know these type of attacks, they're sort of the grey area.
04:25It's very hard to be 100% concrete about attribution, which is why the likes of Russia and China can
04:31get away with this.
04:32Well, we're not there yet.
04:34Like I said, we are in close contact with our German colleagues, and we take these incidents
04:41and it's extremely serious, but we will have to see what comes out.
04:46And I cannot disclose any information that has been handed to us.
04:50Okay.
04:51Just want to ask you about the unfreezing of Russian frozen state assets and using them
04:58to pay for Ukraine, Ukraine's defense reconstruction.
05:01That's back on the table now.
05:03Is that something that we'll be hearing about over the next few days?
05:05And do you hope that the Belgians might change their mind on this?
05:09Yes.
05:10So Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain have taken the initiative to take this back
05:16to the table, because what we see is that Ukraine needs more support.
05:21And to be honest, we are not providing enough support bilaterally and through the EU.
05:26And then what is left is the frozen assets.
05:29And I take Belgium's concerns very seriously, but I think it is also basically what my colleague
05:39Prevost said, that we have to make sure that we share the risks and that Belgium is not
05:47left alone with the risks.
05:48But Belgium was looking for full guarantees for any unintended consequences if things go
05:55wrong with this risk.
05:56Do you think the EU is willing to do that or are we in the same position we were in
06:00before
06:00Christmas?
06:01In my opinion, we cannot stay in the same position as we were before Christmas.
06:05We have to move on because this is what is fair to Ukraine.
06:09It's what is fair to the taxpayers.
06:15So, Maeve, the issue of frozen Russian state assets back on the table this week, from what
06:21I heard from the Belgian authorities, they haven't moved in their position.
06:24And of course, as you heard there, an increasingly more hostile security situation all across Europe.
06:30So, what a way to get back into September.
06:33Maeve?
06:34OK, Shona Murray, thank you so much for that live broadcast there from just outside Dublin
06:38Castle in Ireland.
06:39But now moving on, it's back to school today for students in France.
06:43But for politicians, the summer break ended much earlier.
06:47With presidential elections scheduled for next April, the political campaign is already
06:51gathering pace for the mood in the capital.
06:54We can cross now to Paris, where correspondent Estelle Nielsen-Julien is standing by for us
06:58this morning.
06:59Good morning, Estelle.
07:00Just give us an idea of where things stand today and why this is set to be such a monumental
07:05year for France.
07:08Well, good morning, Maeve.
07:09As you say, it's set to be an absolutely monumental year for France.
07:13In less than eight months, voters across the country will decide who next, what next, after
07:18a decade of French President Emmanuel Macron being in power.
07:22It's too early to say confidently what the polls mean.
07:26But at present, they are saying that there is a front runner.
07:29That is the National Rally Party's Marine Le Pen, followed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon from
07:34the far left, a France unbowed party.
07:37Between them, there's somewhat of a political vacuum.
07:40The question is, how will this be filled?
07:43Will parties form alliances?
07:46How will they organize themselves?
07:48Will they strike deals or not?
07:50Last week, seven key candidates participated in a debate organized by the MEDEF, France's
07:57most powerful business lobby, and they were grilled on questions about the economy, public
08:02debt and pensions.
08:04Mélenchon and Le Pen were, of course, there, but also MEP, Raphael Glucksmann, and two of
08:08are Macron's former prime ministers.
08:11That's Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal.
08:14But these may be some of these key contentors.
08:16But don't be mistaken.
08:18Candidacies are still rolling in over the weekend.
08:22We heard former prime minister Dominique de Villepin say that he wanted to be a candidate.
08:27And former president François Hollande is still maintaining the mystery around whether
08:32he will run or not.
08:34But, of course, candidacies will thin in time as primaries occur and unions take place across
08:42different blocks.
08:45Just to remind our viewers that to be an official candidate, a politician needs the backing of
08:52500 elected officials in France.
08:55And just briefly, Estelle, this election is huge as well for Europe.
09:00Yes, Maeve, it's certainly a huge election for Europe.
09:04And the candidates have very divergent policies when it comes to Europe.
09:09Le Pen, who once advocated for Frexit this time around, is calling for a drop in France's
09:15contributions to the bloc.
09:17And she's also calling for many of the EU's norms to be scrapped.
09:21Mélenchon has said that he wants to get rid of EU laws that don't suit French citizens.
09:26And he also peddled a very controversial proposal to scrap a large chunk of France's public debt
09:33held by the Bank of France on behalf of the European Central Bank.
09:37But there are, of course, pro-European candidates such as Raphael Glucksmann, who believes that
09:42it's at the European issue that issues, European level, sorry, that issues such as Chinese competition
09:49and regulating big tech companies should happen.
09:53But for a fully accurate picture, what we're waiting for is the party manifestos to be able to break down
10:00the finer details of candidates' policies.
10:03OK, Estelle, Nelson, Julian, thank you so much for that primer on what's set to be a very interesting eight
10:08months.
10:08But now, moving on, the EU institutions are bruised after Iceland rejected to kick-start
10:14negotiations to join the Club of 27 in a tight referendum last weekend.
10:19It's a huge blow to Brussels' hopes that geopolitics and security fears could lure rich countries
10:24to the bloc.
10:25For reactions now, I'm joined by Terri Reinke, German MEP and co-president of the Greens.
10:30Good morning, Terri.
10:31Lovely to have you with us.
10:32Good morning.
10:33This is a big, it's a bad story for Europe.
10:35It's a huge blow.
10:36Is the EU just not attractive anymore?
10:40First of all, I'm, of course, unhappy about the outcome of the referendum.
10:45I would have wished for another result.
10:47I would have loved Iceland to become part of the European Union.
10:50However, I would not make this a big question about whether the European Union is an attractive
10:56bloc because we can see that there are a lot of countries that want to join the European Union.
11:00When we look at the Western Balkans, when we look at Ukraine, Moldova or Georgia, for example,
11:06I think that the specific situation in Iceland we have to look at, they're already a member
11:10of the European Economic Area.
11:13So they're already applying, for example, single market legislation.
11:16I think the question of fisheries played a very important role in the discussion in Iceland
11:21before the referendum.
11:22And I think maybe the lesson learned that we should take, which I think was also what we learned
11:28from the Brexit referendum, is that European politicians should maybe have been more active
11:33in the debate and taken part in it and also advocating for joining the European Union to make it.
11:40Was that a mistake not to get more involved?
11:42I think looking back now, maybe we should have taken a bigger part in this discussion,
11:47because I think at the end of the day, we also have to go into other countries and advocate
11:53for what is good about being part of the European Union.
11:56Iceland is already having some of the positive outcomes.
11:59But from a geopolitical, from a security point of view, I think it would have been good to start
12:03further negotiations.
12:05And is the Commission President too weak?
12:06I mean, her response was so muted.
12:08In reaction to this referendum outcome, we got a three-line outcome, a three-line statement.
12:14For me, the lesson learned of this, again, is that we should take a more active role in debates
12:20like this.
12:20We should not just, you know, highlight them as domestic discussions.
12:25Whether Iceland is joining the European Union or not is something that has an impact on the
12:29full European Union.
12:30So I think for future moments like this, whether there will be a debate in Norway or wherever else,
12:35European politicians should take a role in the debate and also be bold enough to say,
12:40we have an opinion about this and we are happy to discuss with you.
12:43And we just heard about the French elections.
12:45We have big elections as well with state elections in eastern Germany this week where the AFD could
12:49win.
12:50Yes, we have a very critical election happening in Sachsen-Anhalt this Sunday and it will be
12:58tight.
12:58And whether the Greens are going to join the parliament in the end, we are tied to the
13:03threshold, will probably define whether the AFD, so a fascist far-right party in Germany,
13:09can win an absolute majority in Sachsen-Anhalt.
13:11So we are putting everything into a strong campaign so that the democratic forces will
13:16prevail in this election.
13:17Okay.
13:17A story we'll be keeping a very close eye on here in your news, Terry Renke.
13:20Thank you so much for joining us here on Europe Today.
13:23But now, moving on in a sign that the passport-free area Schengen is under major stress, Italy
13:30and Spain have extended border controls for another 15 days due to the mass irregular migration
13:35crisis in the Spanish city of Ceuta just one month ago.
13:40For the view from a Spanish socialist MEP, I'm now joined by Juan Fernando López Aguiar,
13:45who's been following the migration debate closely for more than a decade here as an MEP in the
13:49European Parliament.
13:50Juan Fernando López Aguiar, welcome to Europe Today.
13:52Good to have you with us.
13:52Thank you for having me.
13:54You're a member, of course, of Pedro Sánchez's political family.
13:58Is he being too defensive on this story?
14:01What could he have done better?
14:03Well, certainly it's a critical situation.
14:07Not only migratory, it's humanitarian and most importantly national security.
14:11We are facing a hybrid situation, yes.
14:14But the government is responding and certainly it's facing difficulties, which are only obvious.
14:21But they're responding too little too late.
14:22No.
14:23That's what the locals in Ceuta said.
14:24No, no, I can't agree.
14:25I can't agree.
14:26Ceuta, to begin with, is the only, with Melilla, terrestrial border of the European Union with
14:31the African continent.
14:32The most unequal terrestrial border on earth.
14:35Second, there's a particular situation in which we have seen the population, the size of a population
14:44of Ceuta over the external border, but swimming by the sea over the harbor with the ground of a ruling
14:57of the Supreme Court
14:58which says that those people entering by sea cannot be returned to the country of transit of origin.
15:05They have to be handled as migrants or asylum seekers.
15:08So it's a situation that we've got to face.
15:10And we've got to do it according to law.
15:12Who is to blame for the situation?
15:14Because we're seeing last night, Pedro Sánchez said it's disinformation fueled from Russia and Israel
15:19that's also created so much.
15:21It should be thorough investigated, that's for sure.
15:23And it's only obvious that it couldn't happen without some overlooking of Moroccan authorities.
15:30That is only obvious.
15:30And common sense says so.
15:33But the thing is that the government has to act based on facts and evidence.
15:39But most importantly, it has to combine rule of law, the implementation of the EU laws to begin with,
15:46and, of course, ensuring national security, because we're facing international security issues here.
15:53And that's why you've called on Frontex for help.
15:55That's also a bit of an admission of defeat.
15:57Absolutely.
15:59It's the response of European institutions' offer of increasing their presence in that particular very special terrestrial external border
16:10of the EU with Africa, of Spain with Morocco.
16:15But having said this, I must doubt that it's also obvious that the response has to involve European authorities.
16:22There are a number of contradictions which are obvious to the human eye.
16:28One contradiction is that Spain has to combine its response with Morocco with cooperation with Morocco.
16:37You need Morocco to handle the situation.
16:40And second, you also need the European Union to scale up,
16:43because if you want to reassess the bilateral relation of the EU with Morocco,
16:49it takes the whole of the European Union because we have a strategic association with Morocco.
16:53Are you too reliant on Morocco, perhaps?
16:56Well, it's impossible to ignore a neighbour.
16:59And you have a neighbour in Morocco.
17:02Spain has, and the whole of the European Union has.
17:05That is why the European Union has linked itself with Morocco through an association which it calls strategic.
17:12But the thing is that if we are to keep up that strategic association with Morocco,
17:17we need to ask for Morocco to behave.
17:20But for our viewers watching that chaos unfold some month ago with almost 80,000 irregular migrants landing in Ceuta,
17:29where is the migration pact that we've been discussing and implementing?
17:33Precisely.
17:34It's miserable that after all the bother, all the energy, all the work that we put into the adoption of
17:41the Migration Association Pact,
17:43based on two principles, shared responsibility and binding solidarity,
17:47we have seen that in this situation, solidarity has been missing.
17:51It's only regrettable.
17:53Because Spain has paid solidarity with the Baltics facing Russia,
17:57with Poland facing Russia in Kaliningrad, with Finland facing Russia,
18:02some of them also facing Belarus Lukashenko.
18:06We have paid solidarity with Italy in Lampedusa.
18:09So it's absolutely intolerable that we have seen no solidarity from Italian government in a situation as such.
18:16Well, precisely on the contrary, the Italian government is using this for political gains.
18:19And as we see, Schengen is fizzling out, perhaps.
18:22The thing is that Schengen is bound by rules.
18:25Schengen is not a convention, as we call it.
18:28Schengen is EU law.
18:29There is a Schengen governance code, which says that Schengen, which is free movement,
18:33can only be suspended on the grounds of necessity, proportionality,
18:37communicated to the European Commission and under the oversight of the European Commission.
18:43So it's bound by law.
18:46And it's also certain that certain cannot be suspended by a member state to another member state.
18:53Okay, Juan Fernando, Lopez Aguirre, thank you so much for coming into this morning here on Europe Today.
18:58For more on that story, of course, you can take a look at euronews.com.
19:01And any comments for us, reach out, europetoday at euronews.com.
19:05That is our email address.
19:06But once again, thank you so much for tuning in.
19:08Take care and see you soon here on Euronews.
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