Latest news bulletin | April 18th – Evening
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 The EU foreign policy chief warns the Middle East is on the verge of a regional war.
00:11 Croatia`s ruling conservatives win at the polls, but will need support from far-right
00:16 groups to form a government.
00:20 EU leaders have pledged to meet Ukraine`s urgent defense needs as Russia ramps up its
00:25 offensive across the country.
00:35 The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has warned the Middle East is on the verge
00:40 of regional war.
00:43 He was speaking on the Italian resort island of Capri, where G7 foreign ministers are meeting
00:48 to discuss the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.
00:54 We have to ask Israel for restrained answer to the Iranians attack.
00:58 We cannot escalate, we cannot go step by step answering every time higher to a regional
01:07 war.
01:08 I don`t want to judge a rate, but we are on the hedge of a war, a regional war in the
01:13 Middle East.
01:17 Ministers are also discussing the two-year war in Ukraine, with Borrell urging Western
01:21 leaders to speed up military aid to Kiev.
01:26 A call repeated by U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
01:32 It is urgent that all of the friends and supporters of Ukraine maximize their efforts to provide
01:39 with Ukraine what it needs to continue to effectively defend itself against the Russian
01:43 aggression.
01:45 The U.S. and several European countries are discussing proposals to use the profits generated
01:50 from billions of euros of frozen Russian assets to help provide weapons and other funds for
01:56 Ukraine.
01:58 And those proposals have gathered steam as American efforts to secure military funding
02:03 have stalled in Congress.
02:12 Croatia`s ruling conservatives have won a hotly contested parliamentary election, but
02:16 without a majority will need support from far right groups to stay in power.
02:22 The governing HDZ led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic took 60 seats in the 151 seat parliament.
02:30 In his victory speech, he said his party will begin the tough process of talks to pull together
02:35 a parliamentary majority to form his third government.
02:39 "The political stability is solid.
02:47 Immediately before the formation of a new parliamentary majority and the constitution
02:53 of the Croatian Parliament and the formation of a new government, because only in this
02:58 way, in such demanding and important geopolitical circumstances in which the world, Europe and
03:04 the world is divided, will be able to achieve a positive outcome for the Croatian people."
03:11 A center-left coalition headed by the Social Democrats and unofficially led by the populist
03:16 President Zoran Milanovic won 42 seats.
03:21 "These results are certainly not what we all expected, but these results have shown
03:31 that two thirds of the Croatian citizens want change.
03:36 Two thirds of Croatian people are not satisfied with what is happening in Croatia, what is
03:44 happening in Croatia."
03:46 The nationalist right-wing Homeland Movement Party came in third with 14 seats and is expected
03:52 to play a significant role in coalition talks.
03:56 The election, which brought a record 60% of eligible voters to the polls, followed a campaign
04:03 that centered on a bitter rivalry between the President and the Prime Minister.
04:12 If Ukraine falls, it could lead to World War III.
04:16 That's the warning the country's Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal gave ahead of the US Congress's
04:20 long-stalled vote on foreign aid on Saturday.
04:25 Ukraine's President Zelensky maintains air defenses are a top priority after three Russian
04:29 missiles killed at least 17 people in Chernihiv on Wednesday.
04:33 "Today I highlighted all that is necessary for our further actions, for our defense,
04:39 of course, air defense and front.
04:42 This is a key priority.
04:44 Now is the time that everyone in Europe, in the free world, should use for strengthening,
04:50 for greater production of weapons, for greater supply of weapons, in general, for determination.
04:59 The normal life of the world is based on determination."
05:02 Moving to Prague, dozens of people gathered in front of the US, German and French embassies
05:06 on Wednesday, urging NATO allies to close the airspace over Ukraine.
05:11 They submit another warning from Sweden's foreign minister that Russia is sailing unseaworthy
05:15 oil ships through the Baltic Sea.
05:18 EU leaders say they are working on the urgent needs of Ukrainian defense amid a wide-scale
05:24 rise in Russian military attacks across the country.
05:28 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined leaders via video link as part of a two-day
05:33 summit in Brussels, where he described the spectre of Russian cruise missiles killing
05:37 Ukrainian civilians, including children.
05:40 He called on the EU to step in immediately to support Ukraine, the way countries intervened
05:44 to support Israel when it came under attack from Iran.
05:48 "It is not a question of months, it is a question of days and weeks.
05:52 It is very important that we deliver on our promises and I can reassure you that all the
05:58 stakeholders, all the actors, they are doing everything which is possible to speed up,
06:03 to make more efforts.
06:04 If it is possible also to use more the stocks that are available, especially in the field
06:11 of the air defense systems."
06:13 EU member states also agreed on the need for restraint and de-escalation in the Middle
06:17 East, and for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian aid to reach starving people,
06:23 and for all hostages to be released.
06:26 "We call on all the parties to exercise the utmost restraint.
06:30 This is a very clear signal.
06:32 And this is really our common position.
06:35 This is a very clear signal that we want to send."
06:38 Brussels is aware of the threatening geopolitical situations in Ukraine and the Middle East,
06:43 but today they will be discussing something closer to home, how to revitalize the single
06:47 market and protect European economies amid a future of foreseeable tensions.
06:52 Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.
06:56 Russia's begun to withdraw its peacekeepers from Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, where they
07:01 have been stationed since the end of the war in 2020.
07:05 Azerbaijan said their presence was superfluous after the country regained full control of
07:09 the region last year.
07:10 The peacekeepers' duties had included ensuring free passage on the sole road connecting Karabakh
07:16 with Armenia.
07:17 But Azerbaijan began blocking the road in late 2020, alleging Armenians were using it
07:23 for weapons shipments and to smuggle minerals.
07:26 It said Russian forces did not intervene to prevent this.
07:32 Interest in the elections of the European Parliament is gradually rising, according
07:36 to the latest edition of the Eurobarometer.
07:39 The survey shows that 60% of EU citizens are either very interested or somewhat interested
07:45 in the June elections.
07:47 By contrast, 40% are not very interested or not at all interested.
07:53 71% of participants also say they are likely to cast a vote to elect their representatives
07:59 in Brussels, a 10-point increase since 2019.
08:04 The unpredictable state of global affairs appears to weigh heavily.
08:08 81% of citizens say the current international context makes voting even more important.
08:15 Also on voters' mind is the cost of living crisis.
08:18 The fight against poverty, public health and the creation of new jobs are the top three
08:24 priorities for Europeans.
08:30 Another highlight from the Eurobarometer is the perception of the Parliament itself.
08:34 40% of citizens say they have a positive image of the hemicycle, which is the only EU institution
08:41 directly elected.
08:42 Meanwhile, 40% say their view is neutral and only 18% say it's negative.
08:49 This marks the first time that the positive perception outweighs the neutral perception.
08:56 The Eurobarometer will be the last to be released before the elections, scheduled to be held
09:01 between June 6 and 9.
09:08 An attempt to stop the National Conservatism Conference in Brussels has drawn criticism
09:13 and condemnation.
09:15 On Tuesday, local mayor Emilia Kia 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 Kruy described that decision as unacceptable.
09:29 The order was later quashed by the Belgian Council of State.
09:33 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, 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
09:55 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 destabilize them because we of course know that the far-right drives on a victimization
10:45 discourse.
10:47 They always try to say that the establishment wants to prevent them from saying what they
10:54 think."
10:55 The incident has triggered fresh debate in Belgium about political tolerance.
11:00 Emir Kier had said some people attending the conference held anti-gay and anti-abortion
11:05 views.
11:06 Prime Minister De Kruy posted on X that banning political meetings is unconstitutional.
11:11 "In Francophone Belgium they go a bit further.
11:15 They also have what we call a 'cordon médiatique' so that also means that the representatives
11:21 of the radical right, the extreme right, are not allowed to speak in the classical media.
11:28 That is something that does not exist in the north of the country anymore."
11:32 The two-day event finished with a discussion on the future of conservatism in Europe and
11:37 the challenges that lie ahead.
11:39 (whooshing)
11:42 (whooshing)