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Europe Today: Kanada üdvözli az EU „társult tagsági” ajánlatát, de hogyan tovább?
Az Europe Today Kanada új EU-társult tagságának jelentőségét és a dublini uniós energiaár-vitát vizsgálja, valamint az EU gyerekek nethasználatát korlátozó „Kids Act” fogadtatását mutatja be.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/09/18/europe-today-kanada-udvozli-az-eu-tarsult-tagsagi-ajanlatat-de-mi-kovetkezik
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
Az Europe Today Kanada új EU-társult tagságának jelentőségét és a dublini uniós energiaár-vitát vizsgálja, valamint az EU gyerekek nethasználatát korlátozó „Kids Act” fogadtatását mutatja be.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/09/18/europe-today-kanada-udvozli-az-eu-tarsult-tagsagi-ajanlatat-de-mi-kovetkezik
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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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,
00:56just days after Russian drone strikes hit close to the Polish border. This, as President Donald
01:01Trump says he's reached a crossroads regarding the war in Iran and UN experts say there's now
01:07reasonable grounds 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
01:42exceeding sovereignty. The big question, of course, is what would this new status for Canada look like
01:47and how it would differ from existing partnerships? To dive a little bit deeper, our EU correspondent
01:51and discussions 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
02:35our 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 that
02:46today. And tell us, how was the reaction in Canada? Yeah, so Canada has been widely supportive of
02:53this. The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, took to the floor of the hemicycle with his own speech in
02:58between 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, impair
03:49our sovereignty, threaten our territorial integrity or undermine our freedoms, our democracies, our rule
03:56of law.
04:01Mark Carney there yesterday in the Parliament in Strasbourg. But Angie, beyond the hype and all the
04:05pictures 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
04:13what this relationship is. We're expecting that to be developed before an EU Canada summit scheduled in
04:18Montreal in late October. The ball really is with the European Union's court. We know that from the
04:25EU officials that I've spoken to, however, they weren't totally consulted by the European
04:29Commission President when it came to this pitch. So we're expecting some heated discussions
04:34certainly underway. When this is proposed formally to Mark Carney with the terms of the relationship,
04:40it will then go to the Canadian Parliament for those lawmakers to vote on it. But what is really
04:45clear is that while these geopolitical tectonic plates continue to shift with increasingly bellicose
04:51U.S. President Donald Trump with that trade war with Canada, we expect Canada and the EU to become
04:57closer. But that is yet to be seen what that exactly means.
05:01OK, Andres Kudin, thank you so much for that analysis. And now we can head to Dublin, where
05:05European 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.
05:21Our correspondent Shona Murray is in Dublin for us this morning and joins us now. So tell us,
05:25Shona, 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, they were the
05:36first to welcome this. I mean, it makes sense. I think there's an acknowledgement across Europe that
05:40this is about the shifting nature of global politics, but also the transatlantic relationship
05:45of which the United States was the linchpin. But we know Canada is embroiled in a very disruptive
05:50trade war with the U.S. The EU has had its trade issues with the United States. We also even
05:56heard
05:56overnight that the United States is due to 25,000 troops from NATO territory. So the U.S. is no
06:03longer
06:04the ally or the partner it once was. So therefore, it makes sense that Canada and the EU would move
06:10closer together as like-minded organisations, countries and so on. So that does make quite a bit
06:18of sense. And there's also a feeling really that we don't know whether this is going to be rooted
06:23in law or what the negotiations will emerge like. But for the moment, definitely welcoming 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,
06:44but also they'll be joined by their Canadian counterparts, their British counterparts. So
06:48there will be a discussion really about the windfall profits that energy companies are making as part
06:54of the chaos, the ongoing chaos, particularly within the Middle East. And there's been calls by some
06:59European capitals for taxes on that, so that the exchequers in each country can then deliver a
07:06little bit of appeasement when it comes to people's energy bills. That's high on the agenda.
07:10Also, the future of AI will be very much up for discussion, although no major breakthrough
07:15in terms of what the negotiations will be. But I caught up with Simon Harris, who's Deputy Prime
07:20Minister and the Finance Minister of Ireland. And I asked him first about the negotiations with Canada.
07:25The 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
07:40and the 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 outlined the big
07:48strategic projects for the time ahead, has identified a closer working relationship with Canada as a
07:53priority for the European Union. And then to see the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, respond
07:57in kind. Donald 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 Union
08:07wishing to partner with Canada, which we already do, in areas of common interest. But of course,
08:11we'll continue to economically partner with the United States. We have a trade agreement with the
08:15United States. A lot of painstaking work went into that. We saw it advance even further in relation
08:19to Irish whiskey and the decision made by President Trump to remove tariffs from that last week.
08:24We need to build on that and find more opportunities. So this isn't either or.
08:28Can I talk to you about Aachenish, the plant here, the Russian-owned plant that exports aluminium to
08:34Russia? We know it also exports across Europe, but obviously there's a real concern that that is found
08:41then in the defence industry in Russia, which is obviously prosecuting this war against Ukraine.
08:46Will 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.
09:01There's a war taking place on the continent of Europe, and we must stand with Ukraine for as long
09:05as it takes. The issue, though, in terms of what is sanctioned or not, is a matter in the first
09:09instance for the Commission to bring forward proposals. That's always been the approach we've taken
09:12in this country, sanctions at an EU level. I think it has served the collective European effort
09:17against Russia well. But we've been very clear, too, alumina is not a product used in Ireland.
09:24It is, though, perhaps a critical supply chain for many parts of the European economy.
09:28The evidence is that the alumina does make its way into Russia. I mean, Russia has a war economy
09:33anyway, so it does make sense that it would definitely be part of the war machine. Would it be
09:39something that Ireland would consider doing unilaterally? Ireland's approach to sanctions
09:42have always been to operate at a European level, and we've been consistent in relation
09:46to that. I think it would be rather odd for Ireland to adopt any other approach.
09:49We've seen spiralling prices when it comes to energy costs, diesel in particular. We heard
09:55Donald Trump say that part of the reason for the diesel high prices is Zelensky attacking
10:01Russian diesel infrastructure, 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
10:10Strait of Hormuz is closed. And the most pressing issue on the mind of all European finance ministers,
10:16I 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
10:29period, the cost of heating your home and the cost of energy in people's homes, too. And governments around the
10:36world, including in Ireland, are seeking to make interventions to assist people. But I always make
10:41the point and would make it again today, the greatest economic intervention we could see is
10:45de-escalation in the Middle East.
10:47Your fellow finance ministers have asked you to look at a potential windfall tax for energy
10:51companies that are earning billions and while everybody else is suffering. Can you tell us where
10:55you are with that? Is it something that you support?
10:57There are energy companies 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
11:09chaos that we're seeing in the energy markets as a result of the strait of Hormuz being closed.
11:14So I will be working with colleagues in the first instance here in Dublin this weekend
11:18to 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
11:29circling out high energy costs as the biggest drag on European competitiveness,
11:34with electricity prices two or three times more than competing economies.
11:38For more, we can head now over to Switzerland and bring in
11:41Andrew Caruana Galicia from the World Economic Forum.
11:44Good morning and thank you so much for joining us. Just tell us,
11:47based on your research, how can this major problem be addressed?
12:00We'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
12:10a little bit later in the programme, but now moving on to the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
12:16and the Tech Commissioner Henne Verkunen have officially unveiled their EU Kids Act,
12:22proposing block-wide rules to protect teenagers online, especially from AI chatbots.
12:27To hear if people in this town support the idea, our 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
12:50actually we can speak to Cecilia Bonnefeld-Dal, that is the head of Digital Europe, the Brussels-based
12:57group that represents Meta, Google, OpenAI, TikTok and Microsoft. Good morning and hopefully we can hear
13:03you and see you clearly. And excuse me to our viewers for the previous technical hiccups. Just tell us,
13:08what does Digital Europe feel about this law? Are you for it or are you against it, this proposal, I
13:13must say?
13:14Good 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 of
13:30protection of children. I mean, we have seen around 10 member states already putting forward proposals
13:37on how to regulate this. You have both Malaysia and 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,
13:59your 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
14:40a lot of different protections in place. What is important now is that we find the right balance and that
14:46we
14:46actually get it to function. The biggest risk is really that if you are a child or parent that you
14:52have
14:52to interpret 27 different national rules and you end up being confused about what is allowed and what is
15:00not allowed. And then, of course, we need to be totally sure that we are not inventing something that we
15:05already have. We already have extensive platform regulations, the AI Act, the data protection in GDPR,
15:13the DSA, the AI Act, and the GDPR, of course. So the Kids Act really have to find that extra
15:22layer on top
15:23that 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 an
15:56important optimization of what you're going to talk about in a second, the energy grid. So AI is basically
16:04a ticket to a lot of good things. But there are things that, of course, we need to look at
16:08how to
16:09avoid 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,
16:20we will now continue to discuss the energy grid and the impact it's having on our pockets.
16:24Andrew Cairana Galicia from the World Economic Forum is on the line there and can hopefully join us now.
16:31Just tell us, how can this issue be addressed, Andrew? We know that European gas prices are also
16:35currently four times more than in the United States.
16:47And unfortunately, we're still having difficulties crossing over to speak to Andrew Cairana Galicia
16:53there from, of course, the World Economic Forum, the organization that represents the annual
16:59Davos summit that takes place, of course, every year in January and sets the agenda for the year.
17:06And his report is, of course, available online to read at Euronews.com and digs deep into the fact that
17:12two 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
17:22Angie Scugins, who covers security and defense for us here at Euronews.
17:26And it's just back, in fact, from Latvia last week where you covered that summit.
17:30And this week, Angie, in that State of the Union speech, we saw a big focus on security,
17:35on defense, and also this idea of potential security structure that could be created,
17:39with many MEPs complaining that that could actually rival NATO. Your thoughts?
17:44So what I've picked up from my conversations with defense officials and the chatter that I've seen online
17:49is that there's a real risk of duplication here. We don't want Ursula von der Leyen's pitch
17:54of the European Security Council to rival NATO. NATO has been around for decades. It's got
17:59some very powerful members such as the United States. They don't want this structure to
18:04potentially impede on the decision making processes of NATO and to rival NATO without
18:08the United States, which is arguably the most powerful player when it comes to NATO.
18:13We also have seen so many groups set up with the task of ensuring Europe's defense and security.
18:19We've got the Coalition of the Willing, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Will another
18:24group rival all of these and also blunt the efficacy of these organizations? The European
18:31Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last year also unveiled a huge amount of defense
18:37projects. We're talking about the drone wall initiative, which was arguably a bit of a flop.
18:41We've seen so many drones enter Europe's airspace. So the real question here is whether all of
18:47these initiatives, including the European Defense Council, whether it can meet up to the hype or the
18:54promise of what von der Leyen has has met, has stated, but that is truly yet to be seen. And
19:00we're
19:00expecting some more commentary to come through from those experts as well.
19:05And that's always the problem, isn't it, with those State of the Union speeches? In one way,
19:10she has to promise a lot, but then, of course, implementation is always key.
19:12And particularly when it comes to announcements coming out from the United States with the 25,000
19:19troops that are going to be withdrawn, taken back from the European continent.
19:24Thank you so much for your reporting. And of course, everyone here at Euronews,
19:28which was a very busy week. But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end. Thank you
19:33so much for your company. As always, any points or comments on any of the stories we're covering
19:38for you here or any stories that we've missed, you can reach out europetoday at euronews.com.
19:42That is our email address. Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
19:45Euronews.
20:13Euronews.
20:15I'm not going to do it.
20:17I'm not going to do it.
20:19I'm not going to do it.
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