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00:00 EU leaders have pledged to meet Ukraine`s urgent defense needs as Russia ramps up its
00:05 offensive across the country.
00:09 Croatia`s ruling conservatives win at the polls, but will need support from far-right
00:16 groups to form a government.
00:23 EU leaders say they are working on the urgent needs of Ukrainian defense amid a wide-scale
00:28 rise in Russian military attacks across the country.
00:31 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined leaders via video link as part of a two-day
00:36 summit in Brussels, where he described the specter of Russian cruise missiles killing
00:40 Ukrainian civilians, including children.
00:44 He called on the EU to step in immediately to support Ukraine, the way countries intervened
00:48 to support Israel when it came under attack from Iran.
00:52 "It is not a question of months, it is a question of days and weeks. It is very important that
00:58 we deliver on our promises and I can reassure you that all the stakeholders, all the actors,
01:04 they are doing everything which is possible to speed up, to make more efforts. If it is
01:08 possible also to use more the stocks that are available, especially in the field of
01:15 the air defense systems."
01:17 EU member states also agreed on the need for restraint and de-escalation in the Middle
01:21 East, and for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian aid to reach starving people,
01:27 and for all hostages to be released.
01:29 "We call on all the parties to exercise the utmost restraint. This is a very clear signal.
01:36 And this is really our common position. This is a very clear signal that we want to send."
01:41 Brussels is aware of the threatening geopolitical situations in Ukraine and the Middle East.
01:46 But today they will be discussing something closer to home, how to revitalize the single
01:50 market and protect European economies amid a future of foreseeable tensions.
01:55 Seana Murray, Euronews, Brussels.
02:02 Croatia's ruling conservatives have won a hotly contested parliamentary election, but
02:07 without a majority will need support from far-right groups to stay in power.
02:13 The governing HDZ, led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, took 60 seats in the 151-seat parliament.
02:20 In his victory speech, he said his party will begin the tough process of talks to pull together
02:26 a parliamentary majority to form his third government.
02:33 "We will begin the process of forming a new parliamentary majority, the constitution of
02:40 the Croatian Parliament and the formation of a new government. Because only in this way,
02:45 in such a demanding and important geopolitical environment in which the world, Europe and
02:50 Croatia are located, we can have a quality future, both socially and economically, for the Croatian citizens."
03:02 A centre-left coalition headed by the Social Democrats and unofficially led by the populist
03:07 President Zoran Milanovic won 42 seats.
03:14 "The results are not what we all expected, but the results show that two thirds of the
03:21 Croatian citizens want change. Two thirds of Croatian people are not satisfied with what
03:28 is happening in Croatia."
03:37 The nationalist right-wing Homeland Movement Party came in third with 14 seats and is expected
03:43 to play a significant role in coalition talks.
03:47 The election, which brought a record 60% of eligible voters to the polls, followed a campaign
03:53 that centred on a bitter rivalry between the President and the Prime Minister.
04:00 Police in the capital of Georgia unleashed tear gas to break up a large demonstration
04:07 for the third night outside the country's parliament. Demonstrators protested against
04:11 a proposed law that would require media and non-commercial organisations to register as
04:16 being under foreign influence if they received more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
04:22 Opponents say the proposal would obstruct Georgia's long-sought prospects of joining
04:26 the EU.
04:27 "We think that civil society, journalism, media organisations are cornerstones to any
04:32 democratic society and we urge the Georgian government to heed warnings that this bill
04:38 is not in line with the European Union's norms and values and it certainly would negatively
04:42 impact Georgia's progress on its EU path."
04:47 Georgia's parliament has voted on Wednesday on the first reading to approve the draft
04:51 law.
04:53 Georgian President has said she would veto the law if it's passed by parliament in the
04:57 third reading. But the ruling party can override the veto by collecting 76 votes.
05:05 The United Arab Emirates has been lashed by heavy rain in what's been called a historic
05:12 weather event.
05:17 The amount of rain recorded surpasses anything documented since data collection started in
05:22 1949.
05:26 Homes across the country were flooded and flights disrupted at Dubai International Airport,
05:31 the world's busiest.
05:34 Rain is unusual in the UAE but does occur periodically during the cooler winter months.
05:39 But many roads and other areas lack drainage given the lack of regular rainfall.
05:46 Interest in the elections of the European Parliament is gradually rising according to
05:52 the latest edition of the Eurobarometer.
05:55 This survey shows that 60% of EU citizens are either very interested or somewhat interested
06:02 in the June elections.
06:03 By contrast, 40% are not very interested or not at all interested.
06:08 71% of participants also say they are likely to cast a vote to elect their representatives
06:15 in Brussels, a 10-point increase since 2019.
06:20 The unpredictable state of global affairs appears to weigh heavily.
06:24 81% of citizens say the current international context makes voting even more important.
06:31 Also on voters' mind is the cost of living crisis.
06:35 The fight against poverty, public health and the creation of new jobs are the top three
06:40 priorities for Europeans.
06:46 Another highlight from the Eurobarometer is the perception of the Parliament itself.
06:51 40% of citizens say they have a positive image of the hemicycle, which is the only EU institution
06:57 directly elected.
06:59 Meanwhile, 40% say their view is neutral and only 18% say it's negative.
07:06 This marks the first time that the positive perception outweighs the neutral perception.
07:12 The Eurobarometer will be the last to be released before the elections, scheduled to be held
07:18 between June 6 and 9.
07:23 The European Union is considering extending sanctions against Iranian drones and missiles
07:30 after Tehran launched a massive attack on Israel this weekend.
07:36 The announcement followed an emergency meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers over the tense
07:41 situation in the Middle East.
07:43 "The region doesn't need a whole war embracing the whole region.
07:51 And the world neither.
07:56 And the people in Gaza neither.
07:58 Because if there is a regional escalation and the whole region is in war, then the war
08:03 in Gaza will not stop.
08:06 And the suffering of the people in Gaza will increase."
08:10 The EU already has restrictive measures against Iranian drones.
08:15 The proposal is to extend these measures to Iranian missiles and ban regional allies from
08:20 delivering Iranian drone attacks.
08:23 However, more sanctions might not change anything.
08:29 Additional sanctions against Iran will likely have limited impact because since the Trump
08:33 administration broke the Iran nuclear deal, the country has basically become a pariah.
08:40 And since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it tilted totally in the Russian camp.
08:44 So it is already so isolated from the West that there is little more that the West can
08:48 do in terms of sanctions vis-a-vis Iran."
08:52 EU member states are split on declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist
08:57 organization.
08:59 EU foreign ministers will meet again on Monday to further discuss the extended sanctions.
09:06 An attempt to stop the National Conservatism Conference in Brussels has drawn criticism
09:13 and condemnation.
09:15 On Tuesday, local mayor Emile Kier ordered police to shut it down to preserve public
09:20 safety three hours after it had begun.
09:24 Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Kroo described that decision as unacceptable.
09:29 The order was later quashed by the Belgian Council of State.
09:33 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, French politician Eric Zemmour and the UK's Nigel
09:38 Farage were among those attending the far-right event.
09:42 In a post on X, Farage said the shutdown order was made to silence free speech.
09:47 "We rented a place in Budapest and just several hours prior to the meeting it was said that
09:54 unfortunately it's not available anymore.
09:58 And then we looked for another one and they said that if the runner of the place would
10:05 supply us with some beer and some food, he will be out of the business.
10:11 So the same kind of pressure technologies which you have experienced here was very common
10:17 in the second part of the 80s in Hungary."
10:20 Some analysts say the move to suspend the conference could bolster support for the far-right.
10:27 The event draws together advocates of national sovereignty.
10:30 "Of course this action can be considered as something that can rather help the far-right
10:38 than destabilise them because we of course know that the far-right drives on a victimisation
10:45 discourse and they always try to say that the establishment wants to prevent them from
10:52 saying what they think."
10:55 The incident has triggered fresh debate in Belgium about political tolerance.
11:00 Amir Kheer had said some people attending the conference held anti-gay and anti-abortion
11:06 views.
11:07 Prime Minister De Kruy posted on X that banning political meetings is unconstitutional.
11:12 "In Francophone Belgium they go a bit further there.
11:16 They also have what we call a cordon mediatique.
11:19 So that also means that the representatives of the radical right, the extreme right are
11:24 not allowed to speak in the classical media.
11:29 That is something that does not exist in the north of the country anymore."
11:33 The two-day event finished with a discussion on the future of conservatism in Europe and
11:38 the challenges that lie ahead.
11:40 (whooshing)
11:42 (whooshing)