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Europe Today: EU foreign ministers meet as Germany attributes drone attack to Russia
EU foreign ministers are meeting today in Ireland following Berlin's decision yesterday to attribute a drone incident in the country to Russia. Also on the show: EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič speaks exclusively to Euronews and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asks world leaders to end all wars.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/09/02/europe-today-eu-foreign-ministers-meet-as-germany-attributes-drone-attack-to-russia
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EU foreign ministers are meeting today in Ireland following Berlin's decision yesterday to attribute a drone incident in the country to Russia. Also on the show: EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič speaks exclusively to Euronews and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asks world leaders to end all wars.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/09/02/europe-today-eu-foreign-ministers-meet-as-germany-attributes-drone-attack-to-russia
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:13Good morning. It is Wednesday, the 2nd of September. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today.
00:20Your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:25Coming up with drone incursions on European soil, assassination attempts and sporadic acts of sabotage, the EU is on edge.
00:35For more on these so-called hybrid threats, NATO Secretary-General Mark Gurita will brief the Commission President, Ursula von
00:42der Leyen, at noon today.
00:43This as EU foreign ministers gather in Ireland for talks.
00:47Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General urges world leaders to bring both the war in Ukraine and the reigniting conflict in
00:56the Middle East to an end.
00:57Speaking on stage at the Shanghai summit, Antonio Guterres spoke exclusively to Euronews at a tense time for the world.
01:04Meanwhile, the clock is ticking to an October deadline between Brussels and Beijing to seal a deal on trade troubles.
01:13EU trade boss Mara Sefcovic will be meeting his Chinese counterpart soon.
01:17He sat down for an exclusive chat with our Maria Tadeo.
01:21But first, to Ireland, where the recent uptick in hostile activity in Europe is centre stage, as EU foreign ministers
01:28meet in Wicklow.
01:29So, Berlin's decision to formally attribute last month's drone attack to Russia has raised the stakes.
01:35Their talks come as Ursula von der Leyen sits down with Mark Rutte later today here in Brussels.
01:40For the latest, we can cross now over to the county of Wicklow, which is not far from the Irish
01:45capital, that's Dublin,
01:46where our correspondent, Shona Murray, is following the talks.
01:50Good morning, Shona. Great to have you with us.
01:52Just tell us, what are the other EU states saying about Germany's decision here?
01:57Well, good morning, Maeve, from a very wet and windy Wicklow.
02:00We're about to hear from EU foreign affairs ministers in the next few minutes.
02:05They're also joined by the Ukrainian, the Canadian, the British, the Swiss foreign affairs ministers.
02:10They'll obviously be very much talking about that German decision, very anticipated decision,
02:14to formally recognise Russia as responsible for that Leipzig airport attack.
02:19As we know, at the start of August, a drone laden with military-grade explosives was intercepted by German security
02:25officials at Leipzig airport.
02:28So far, there's been full solidarity all across Europe, the European Union, NATO and Canada for that decision by Friedrich
02:35Merz,
02:35the German Chancellor, to formally recognise Russia.
02:37It comes because there's been growing consensus across NATO that, for the last few years,
02:42there's been below-threshold hybrid attacks all across NATO territory, namely by Russia, by China, by other actors.
02:49But most countries have held back in recognising Russia as a response.
02:53Now, we know the Germans have closed the consulate in Bonn, the Russian consulate in Bonn,
02:57and also ended the lease of the Russian house in Berlin.
03:00And they've also vowed that there'll be extra sanctions.
03:02But we heard yesterday also from Kaya Kalas, the EU foreign policy chief,
03:07who said that what Russia is doing is state-sponsored terrorism,
03:10but also is engaging in much more violent kinetic acts against NATO.
03:15This is terror by design.
03:18In the Black Sea, Russian strikes on grain ships are deliberately putting global food supplies at risk.
03:26Russia is also hitting Europe with a wave of increasingly kinetic hybrid attacks.
03:34With this, Russia wants to scare us away from supporting Ukraine.
03:38They will not succeed.
03:40And meanwhile, Shona, as Foreign Minister, they're gathered there in Windy Wicklow,
03:44the NATO Secretary-General will be joining the Commission President here in her office for last-minute talks.
03:48Here in Brussels, what more do we know?
03:52Yes, so, of course, the two of them have decided to meet,
03:55given this development by the Germans, to say that this is really Russia's responsible for this.
04:00There's a direct confrontation now with Russia.
04:03Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission,
04:05has said that she will do everything to support the Germans all across Europe as well,
04:10because we've heard that, you know, there's a consensus again
04:13that what Russia is trying to do is divide the European Union and NATO amidst all of these attacks.
04:18Now, what's very interesting, as it did speak to NATO sources yesterday,
04:21is that Germany hasn't yet triggered what's known as Article 4 process at NATO,
04:26which is calling for a formal discussion amongst NATO countries
04:29to decide how best to respond to these latest attacks.
04:33That hasn't happened yet.
04:34It could happen over the next while.
04:35But certainly from a European perspective and a Canadian perspective,
04:38there's full solidarity with Germany.
04:40And we'll see, I suppose, how Russia wants to respond.
04:43Maeve?
04:44OK, Shona Murray, thank you so much for that live broadcast there.
04:46From Wicklow, now moving on in signs,
04:49the Middle East conflict is flaring up again.
04:52The US military has launched a new wave of attacks in Iran,
04:55and Tehran is responding.
04:57This comes as the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres,
05:00urges world leaders gathered in Bishkek
05:02to bring the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to an end.
05:06Speaking to Euronews on the sidelines of the summit,
05:09Antonio Guterres said the meeting was a rare chance
05:12to put the case directly to the people who could act on it.
05:14I think that what worries us more is the fact
05:19that we have conflicts that seem never-ending.
05:22It's true in relation to the Russia-Ukraine.
05:24It's true in relation to the Middle East,
05:26both from Gaza to the Iran-US confrontation.
05:30And a very important message is to say,
05:34it's time to stop this madness.
05:37It's time for peace.
05:38And some of the key actors of these processes are here.
05:43And so I believe that this message to be given here is very important.
05:50For more on this, I'm joined now by our Ukraine correspondent,
05:53Sasha Vakalina.
05:54Just tell us, Sasha, how exactly does he see this war ending?
05:57That's exactly the question.
05:59When he said about some of the actors actually being there in that room in Bishkek,
06:02he was referring to Russia's president, Vladimir Putin,
06:05who is indeed there in Bishkek.
06:07Now, when pressed by Euronius on how exactly Antonio Guterres sees this peace
06:11and what exactly he means when he says it is time to stop this madness,
06:15he admitted that what he says,
06:17it means Ukraine regaining its territory from Russian occupation,
06:21not only the territory occupied since 2022,
06:23but also the one from 2014.
06:25Maybe let's take a listen.
06:26This is high time for a ceasefire.
06:29And it is high time for a negotiation aiming at a just solution.
06:36And the just solution is for us a solution that is in line with the charter.
06:42It's in line with international law.
06:45It respects UN resolutions and respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
06:50But the reality, of course, Sasha, is there's no sign of a ceasefire.
06:54There's no sign of substantial peace talks.
06:56And we've seen the violence for the last seven nights in a row,
07:00I believe, in Ukraine, and especially in Kyiv.
07:01Absolutely.
07:02There is no sign whatsoever that there is any easing of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine,
07:07despite all the pressure and all the calls from Western leaders,
07:10specifically, of course, from Washington,
07:12with Trump administration remaining kind of the only mediator for any sort of peace talks.
07:17In fact, over the past couple of days, according to Washington officials,
07:20exactly this peace process was the reason why Russia's finance minister was,
07:24for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine,
07:27invited to the G20 meeting in the US, the move that was widely unpopular among the other officials.
07:33The European finance ministers angered them.
07:35There was reaction coming from the EU economy chief Valdis Dombrowski,
07:39and also from German vice chancellor, who said he confronted Russia's finance minister,
07:44Anton Silanov, over Moscow's war against Ukraine, saying that the war is raging.
07:50And as you said, over the past seven days, Ukrainians and also European officials
07:55have not had lots of sleep, lots of rest, with constant drone attacks.
08:00Moscow changing its tactics and using more of jet-powered drones.
08:03There was a harder to intercept.
08:05And people among those struggling with non-stop air raid alerts,
08:09with their lives fully disrupted, is also EU's ambassador to Ukraine,
08:14who went on X to express how her life has been over the past couple of days,
08:19saying, I do not sleep in my bed anymore, I fall asleep on a mattress in the bathroom.
08:23It is the safest place in my hotel room.
08:26The intensity of these attacks is becoming very difficult.
08:29People are exhausted.
08:31Cities are exhausted.
08:32The whole country is living under permanent stress.
08:35Now, in retaliation, in response, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky,
08:39said that Russia should expect its airspace, civilian airspace, including,
08:44to be effectively closed, as Kiev is about to ramp up,
08:49to step up its long-range drone campaign against Russia military sites.
08:55OK, Sasha Vaklina, our Ukraine correspondent, thank you so much for all those details.
09:00Now, moving on, as an October deadline looms for the European Union
09:03to rebalance its record trade deficit with China,
09:07pressure is mounting on Brussels to deliver results.
09:10Yes, our chief Europe editor, Maria Tadeo, sat down exclusively with the man driving the negotiations.
09:16That's, of course, the EU trade commissioner, Mara Sefcovic, and she joins me now for more.
09:20Maria, we know that a team of European officials are actually in Beijing as we speak.
09:25What are they hoping to achieve?
09:26Well, yes, Maeve, they are in China and have been,
09:28but as I understand, they will come back today.
09:31And, of course, that will allow for a debrief on the big European question going into September,
09:36and that is what to do with China.
09:38Now, we've seen that 1 billion euro a day deficit, 350 or 60 last year.
09:43This is now for Brussels, not sustainable over time.
09:46There will need to be or they need a rebalancing by October.
09:51And that is exactly the question that I put to the man who's going to be at the driving seats
09:55in this very difficult talks.
09:57Of course, we have practically five to six weeks left.
10:01If there is no understanding, that could lead to retaliation from the European Union.
10:06And as I understand right now, there are two tracks to these talks.
10:09One is getting China to open up its market.
10:12But then the other point is very much about how to tackle the surge in deficit
10:16and this barrage of exports going into the European Union.
10:20The very heart of the European industry is at stake.
10:23And I was very struck by the words of Madov Sefcovic, who told me,
10:26this is not just a trade story.
10:28It is super political.
10:29But the question remains, how do you get China to change?
10:33And that's exactly the question that I put to him.
10:35Let's take a look.
10:36I think first and foremost, we want to convey clearly the message.
10:42And we made some very concrete proposals how to proceed to the issue of the deficit,
10:49which is in the realm of $360 billion, is best tackled if you work on it from both sides.
10:55So what can we do to increase our exports to China,
10:59but also how we can better manage the exports from China to the European Union?
11:04So this is what we are currently discussing.
11:07Of course, it's an issue which would require clearly more time than until October.
11:13But what I think it's very important for us to have by October, some kind of proof of concept.
11:18But when you say in October, what is that?
11:21Is that a firm deadline?
11:22Is that a cliffhatch moment?
11:23Is that the start of negotiations with something binding on paper?
11:27How do you know you have a deal?
11:29Will you be able to produce a biotoxy?
11:30I think that in my ideal scenario to come back from China with the positive news that we have understanding
11:37how to deal with the surging deficit in certain categories of the products.
11:41This is how we are going to deal with them.
11:43And therefore, I would propose to continue, you know, the negotiations on other sectors,
11:51which would kind of bring us into the realistic path of how to rein in the surging deficit.
11:57So how are you going to make them do that?
11:59Because this conversation has been going on for months and some would say for years.
12:02Action should have been taken five, ten years ago.
12:04How are you going to break this cycle?
12:06I think that, as I said, we have now unprecedented intensity of our negotiations.
12:11I think we never talked to our Chinese counterparts as frequently, as intensely as right now.
12:17And I clearly understood also from my Chinese counterpart, Minister Van Guentao, that this is also their preferred option to
12:24talk to the negotiator.
12:25They do not want an escalation.
12:26They have told you they do not want an escalation.
12:27Exactly.
12:28This is what we heard from them.
12:29But that's a great deal for them.
12:30They continue dumping and there's no escalation.
12:32But, of course, I told them that, look, if I will not bring tangible results by October,
12:37and this is something what was agreed mutually by Minister Van Guentao and myself,
12:41because he understands if I kind of come back and tell them that we have a nice talk and we
12:46continue talking,
12:47of course, this would be not something to the satisfaction of the European leaders and European also, you know,
12:53captains of the industry, because I told our Chinese counterparts that our discussion goes well beyond the trade,
13:01because now we're talking about future European industry, you know, how the European economy will look like in the future.
13:06And I would say in the end on about the European social model.
13:11So this is super political.
13:13And of course, every single prime minister, every single president of the European Union is very much concerned by this.
13:19And therefore, we have to bring the good political solution.
13:23And was there an understanding from the Chinese that this time you will have the instruments and you will have
13:30the political unity?
13:31Because this has not been the case.
13:33And that's partly the reason why, to me, it seems until now, China does not fear retaliation.
13:38They do not think you will do it.
13:39I think that at least my impression was that the fact that this is really an urgent call, that this
13:47is not, I would say,
13:48the situation like we had, I mean, before with half of the member states doing well, half of the half
13:55of them suffering,
13:56that it's really, I would say, unified European approach that this has to change, that we have to address this
14:02issue.
14:02And then I'm trying to do it through, I would say, the negotiations, but they have to bring us very
14:08concrete results.
14:09Otherwise, of course, there will be a strong political movement to push for, I would say, harsher, harsher measures.
14:17Yes. And let's go into the final point, which is the Canadians.
14:21Canada is now in an unprecedented trade war with the United States.
14:25Tariffs through the roof both ways.
14:28And just very quickly, given the situation that they're in, this is going to hurt the Canadian economy.
14:32There's no doubt about that.
14:33The tariffs now are going through the roof and there's no idea or limit to the escalation.
14:38Do you feel the EU should intervene, try to mediate?
14:44You talk about a good relationship.
14:46They are going to feel the pain.
14:47I don't think that we are in a position to mediate.
14:52But at the same time, I know that they have such a close economic relationship that despite of current tension,
15:00and sooner or later, there will be attempts to resolve it.
15:03Of course, I'm not in the file, but I know that this is very important for both partners.
15:10But we clearly are highlighting one thing for us.
15:15The tariffs are taxes.
15:16Taxes are paid in the end or by the economic operators or by the citizens.
15:22And we clearly are stating in all our trade negotiations, we clearly support free and fair trade with lower or
15:30no tariffs at all,
15:31because we believe it's best for the citizens, best for the business and best for economic development.
15:38Now, moving on, Romania is set to lose more than 700 million euros in EU funding
15:45after the government in Bucharest failed to deliver reforms demanded by Brussels.
15:50A deadline set for August the 31st has now passed, creating a bitter dispute among political forces and unions
15:56over proposed reform of public sector salaries.
16:00For the view from Bucharest, we can bring in now Dragos Pizlarud,
16:03Minister of Investments and European Projects of Romania.
16:07Good morning, Minister.
16:07Thrilled to have you with us here on Europe Today.
16:10So tell us, you've missed that deadline.
16:12The government has been in crisis for months, sliding further into economic abyss.
16:16Could this have been avoided?
16:19Absolutely.
16:20This is an important reform.
16:21Thanks for having me to explain a little bit about the background.
16:24This was part of the RRF, of the recovery program,
16:29that is the biggest intervention of the union to recover after the pandemics.
16:35And the government had time from 2021 onwards to prepare that particular reform.
16:42Because of the election context, the parties in power at that time,
16:46especially the Social Democrats, have avoided to propose any draft legislation on that.
16:53And even in the coalition government that we had since June 2025, they failed to do that.
16:59So basically, we entered in a last-minute attempt to save it.
17:03And still, the costs, the political costs were considered higher than the hefty amount,
17:08770 million, that we had in the RRF.
17:11There was a split in the pro-European coalition, two parties.
17:16So the EPP and Renew going for, adopting it, and the S&D and the Hungarian Minority Party against.
17:25So what would be your message then to decision-makers here in Brussels?
17:29Can these EU funds still be salvaged?
17:31I mean, let's look at the half-full, half-empty part of the glass.
17:36Romania right now has managed to save the recovering resilience plan
17:42because we started last year from less than 47%,
17:47and now we are pretty sure that we are going to get over 90% of the grants
17:52and over 95% of the loans.
17:55So there is a good image about how we handle the RRP.
18:00But, of course, the main lesson here is that we don't need to avoid these kind of reforms
18:07when we have such an opportunity.
18:09It will be far more difficult to adopt it.
18:12That's one thing.
18:13Second, for respecting Romania's commitments in terms of budget deficit reduction and so on,
18:18this would have been a very important piece of legislation.
18:22Right now I'm relying on the wisdom of the political class to adopt still such a legislation
18:28because it's needed, but it will be much more difficult to adopt it outside the recovery process.
18:33And just a reminder of yours, why you desperately need these 700 million euros,
18:37why they're so important for the Romanian economy.
18:39I mean, it's very important.
18:41This was one of the measures that could contribute directly to reducing the budget deficit
18:46while allowing investments.
18:48Just to clarify how it operates, we had investments in schools, in hospitals, in highways and so on,
18:56and all these investments could have actually added another 770 million available for the budget to compensate them.
19:05Right now we need to finance it from the budget, and that would actually be with an extra cost.
19:11Okay, Minister Dragos Pislaro, thank you so much for being our guest this morning here on Europe Today.
19:16And thank you so much for tuning in.
19:18That brings this Wednesday's edition to an end.
19:20Thank you so much for your company.
19:21As always, reach out to us if you have any comments or feedback.
19:25EuropeToday at yournews.com.
19:27That is our email address.
19:28For more analysis, though, do check out our website.
19:31Take care and see you soon.
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