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07:56Узбекистан
07:57The country where Usmanov
07:59Was born is also involved
08:01In this process and broker this
08:02Deal between France and
08:04Azerbaijan so you can see the
08:06Saga playing along and that's where we are now
08:09And what's the solution now
08:11On the table?
08:11That's the question so yesterday it was very intense
08:14Among ambassadors they spent the whole day
08:16Deliberating and a compromise was put
08:18On the table so this compromise
08:20Would remove indeed Usmanov
08:23М. Friedman from the sanctions list,
08:25so a concession to France and
08:27Slovakia, but as a counterpart
08:29it would extend the sanctions
08:31for an unprecedented
08:3336 months,
08:35three years. This has never been done before.
08:38But at the last
08:39minute, after hours
08:41of long deliberations, Latvia said
08:43I cannot give my green light.
08:45So unanimity is not yet possible.
08:47As we speak now, ambassadors
08:49are meeting again to try to find a solution.
08:51What is this thing with
08:53Latvia? What are they
08:55planning now? Well, it was very
08:57interesting because last night
08:59at midnight, the Latvian prime
09:01minister took to social media
09:03and posted a video explaining
09:05his position. We can see that
09:07on the screen. And he said that
09:09the situation was not simple,
09:11that Latvia cannot accept the
09:13offer on the table, and he said
09:15that he will work with Brussels and
09:17Paris, so the two, to find
09:19a suitable solution. He also
09:21said that he will convene an emergency
09:23meeting of ministers to discuss
09:25the situation. So that gives you
09:27a feeling of the high stakes for
09:29the country. I have to say, of course,
09:31that Latvia has elections
09:33next month, so any sign of weakness
09:35towards Russia can backfire against
09:37the government. You need to keep that
09:39in mind. So we'll see what happens today
09:40with Latvia, because as you said, the deadline
09:43is ticking very fast.
09:45Jorge, fascinating story
09:46for those who understand it.
09:49Our political correspondent, Jorge Libreiro,
09:51thank you for breaking it all down
09:52for us. And now we turn
09:54our eyes to the United Nations General
09:57Assembly again, where French
09:58President Emmanuel Macron met with
10:00US President Donald Trump last night.
10:03Let's cross to Paris now, where
10:04our correspondent Estelle Nilsson-Julian
10:07is standing by.
10:09Good morning, Estelle. Can you bring us
10:10up to speed on the latest?
10:15Good morning, Stefan. Well, last
10:16night, French President Emmanuel
10:18Macron welcomed what he described
10:20as productive talks with
10:22US President Donald Trump.
10:24Emmanuel Macron had promised to go into the
10:26meeting with total candor, and he
10:28appeared to have delivered that. The pair
10:30discussed Russia's war against Ukraine,
10:32as well as the ongoing situation
10:34in the Red Sea. Macron said he
10:36pressed Trump on the need to supply
10:38Ukraine with defensive weapons
10:40systems, but that they also
10:42reportedly discussed a
10:44possible moratorium between
10:46Ukraine and Russia on energy
10:48infrastructure, an issue he also
10:50raised with Ukrainian President
10:52Volodymyr Zelensky. And
10:54Macron is set to address the United
10:56Nations later today.
10:58Estelle Emmanuel Macron has had a
11:01busy time internationally, but
11:03things have also been heating up
11:05domestically. Now, on Friday, he
11:08shared an emergency meeting with
11:10leaders of France's political parties.
11:12Tell us what that was all about.
11:16Yes. So last week, Macron convened a
11:19national security crisis meeting with
11:22leaders of political parties across the
11:24spectrum, and he briefed them on a range
11:27of threats posed by Russia's war against
11:30Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East,
11:32but also on the impact of rising fuel prices
11:35in France. And after the meeting, Macron had a
11:39press conference where he warned of the
11:41intensification of Russia's hybrid warfare
11:44targeting France and Europe. And he also
11:48announced that he would work on a plan to
11:50protect France's critical infrastructure and
11:53defense industry sites in the face of this
11:55threat. It was, more generally speaking, last
11:58week was a tense week for Franco-Russian relations
12:01because Moscow seized the businesses and assets of
12:05several companies, including a French company
12:08Auchan, last Thursday, in a move which was an
12:12apparent retaliation against so-called unfriendly
12:15countries. And speaking to the press afterwards,
12:18Macron also said that he would back an emergency G7
12:22meeting amid growing instability and rising energy prices.
12:27And we saw the National Rally Party's far-right National
12:32Rally figureheads share quite a hard-hitting statement
12:36condemning Russia following the meeting. Is this a change
12:40of tune for the party?
12:43Yes, so many were surprised to see Jordan Bardella and
12:47Marine Le Pen issue a statement staunchly condemning
12:51Russia. They reacted to this news about Russia's hybrid
12:55warfare in Europe by stating that France would not be
12:58intimidated by Russia or accept any threats or
13:02destabilization. It was certainly some strong language
13:06considering that the National Rally has historically been,
13:09you could say, lenient towards Russia. In the past,
13:13Marine Le Pen has said she admired Russian President
13:16Vladimir Putin to some extent. She's also taken loans from
13:21Russia to finance her political activities when French banks
13:25wouldn't provide them. So we'll have to see how this line
13:28evolves over the course of the presidential campaign.
13:31All right, Estelle, Nisson, Julia in Paris. Thank you very
13:34much. Moving on. The European Commission is facing calls to
13:39help fund offshore migrant return hubs as part of its next
13:43long-term budget. A recent overall of the EU's migration rules
13:46allows governments to set up migrant detention centers in countries
13:51outside the bloc. But questions remain over who pays the bill.
13:55For more, I'm now joined by our correspondent, Merit Grin.
13:59Good morning, Merit. Why don't you just fill us in here?
14:02What's going on?
14:03So, Stefan, for context, there are five EU countries now.
14:05These are Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark
14:08in talks on setting up these return hubs. So these would essentially be
14:12detention centers for migrants who have no rights to stay in the EU
14:17outside the bloc's territory, so in foreign countries. And this was
14:20made possible by a new overhaul of EU rules, as you said. Now, these
14:24countries' migration ministers are due to reconvene in Munich over
14:27the weekend. They already met in Copenhagen earlier this month. They're
14:30fleshing out these plans and reports that they have also been in
14:34contact or in discussions with countries such as Rwanda and Uganda. But
14:38these are unconfirmed reports, no confirmation on where these hubs will
14:41be set up. So this comes, Stefan, as we know, migration becoming a very
14:46divisive and decisive as well, factor ahead of a big year of elections in
14:51Europe next year. We know about the rise of AfD in Germany in recent
14:56regional elections. We also know the Theuta crisis have catapulted this
14:59to the top of the agenda. And we see right-wing parties in Europe increasingly
15:03hardening their stance on migration for fear of losing votes to parties
15:07further to the right. We saw Georgia Meloni in Italy over the weekend
15:10announced that she would be banning, for example, the burqa and the niqab in
15:14Italian schools, seen as a response to the rising support for the party of
15:18Roberto Banaci, which is further to the right. Now, Italy, as you'll remember,
15:22are already trialling a similar system of detention centres in Albania. But there
15:26have been questions over the cost of these centres, also over their efficiency.
15:31They've also been mired in legal problems. And there is a question now, if EU countries
15:35do move ahead with setting up these hubs, who pays, Stefan? And I spoke on this with
15:41Greece's Deputy Foreign Minister, Tassos Hativassiliou, excuse me for the pronunciation.
15:48And he told me that he in fact sees an opportunity here for Brussels to pay up as for these
15:54innovative
15:55solutions, he said, which could include these return hubs, for Brussels to pay up out of its
16:00next EU long-term budget, which is currently under negotiation. Let's take a listen.
16:06First of all, an effective migration system means effective return system. This is why we have to
16:12find innovative solutions to address this very difficult and important challenge. Otherwise,
16:17no returns means invitation to illegal migration to the European Union. So, yes, we try to define what
16:25those innovative solutions could be along with other governments of the European Union. It's too early
16:30to define to you what are we thinking about. But at the same time, we need to do two things.
16:35First of all,
16:35to discuss it with third partners, I mean entities or countries outside the European Union. And secondly,
16:42to find all those funding mechanisms in order to make our ideas real.
16:47But we know that it is very difficult to get countries of origin to accept their nationals back. And this
16:55continues to be a problem. So, how is the return hubs really a solution? Isn't there a risk here that
17:01these migrants will become trapped in some kind of limbo if countries continue to refuse to repatriate their
17:07nationals? But we need to give incentives to third countries in order to cooperate with us. For example,
17:13when you have a country outside the European Union that receives millions or billions of euros as an
17:19assistance tool, then they have to accept the agreements they have signed and receive their
17:26nationals back. Otherwise, how could we continue working with them? And apart from that, we need to
17:33move towards new agreements with third countries. Let us discuss about legal channels of migration. Otherwise,
17:40these migrants are going to define who is going to enter the European Union and not the European
17:45countries. We have to change it forever. This has come to the top of the political agenda again,
17:49given what happened in Theuta recently. Do you think that then the EU needs to reconsider these
17:56deals that it has with third countries and there needs to be some kind of repercussions on these countries
18:02when they are not receiving their nationals back in the way that they should? My personal view is that we
18:08have to redefine those agreements in a way. I mean, when a country receives huge EU funding for a
18:15reason, that means that this country has to accept the rules of the game and respect the agreements they
18:21have signed. This is why I'm talking about giving incentives to third countries in order to cooperate
18:26with us in the near future. I must ask you again, just on the return hubs, because you mentioned the
18:31financing, that this will become a priority, but there needs to be money. And there's a question
18:37over whether states, many cash-strapped states, will be able to fund this. Should the EU be coming
18:42forward with funding for these return hubs?
18:46If we decide to implement any innovative ideas, that means that Europe has to find the adequate
18:52resources. To my opinion, MFF could be a solution to the problem. You know that there is a third hitting,
18:59the global Europe. Therefore, we could use some resources from the third hitting of the MFF in
19:03order to finance migration, and as I've told you before, to support the external dimension of this
19:10issue. So we are here to discuss and find solutions along with the other EU member states.
19:14Are you disappointed that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen didn't make an announcement
19:19on this in her recent State of the Union speech? Would you have hoped to hear her say, yes, the
19:24EU and
19:24the European Commission can dedicate resources to this? No, I'm satisfied and we're satisfied with
19:29what person von der Leyen has said. I think that we're all on the same page. But you would like
19:34the
19:34Commission to come forward and propose funding for these hubs? If we decide to do so, I think that
19:39the Commission would follow the path. But again, it's too early to see what's going on now.
19:46And that's it for today. Thank you for watching. I'm Stefan Grobe. See you tomorrow.
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