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00:00Hungary's President Orban visited France's President Macron to discuss EU-wide issues
00:05ahead of Hungary's position as President of the Council of the EU.
00:11Serbia and Kosovo talks are inconclusive once again, despite EU efforts.
00:22The clean-up's underway after flooding was caused by heavy rain that lashed parts of
00:26Italy and Switzerland.
00:30The group stage of Euro 2024 is over as Belgium, Georgia, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey qualify
00:38for the next round.
00:44Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has met with French President Emmanuel Macron
00:49in Paris just before Hungary assumes the Presidency of the Council of the EU on July
00:541.
00:57This meeting, a working lunch at the Elysee Palace, comes ahead of the European Council's
01:01appointments of new EU leaders.
01:04Key topics included support for Ukraine and the European defence industry, especially
01:08significant given Orban's historically close ties to Moscow.
01:13Macron's team sees this as a crucial opportunity to prepare for Hungary's upcoming Presidency.
01:18This visit was also politically charged as Orban recently criticised Germany's migration
01:25policy and the way the EU has allocated top jobs, excluding some other countries within
01:32the EU because of political and party affiliations, according to Orban.
01:40There's been no progress in talks in Brussels to forge an EU-backed agreement between Belgrade
01:48and Pristina.
01:50Speaking after meetings with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister
01:55Albin Kuti, Josef Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, said that the European Union
02:00will continue to put all efforts and capacity to normalisation of relations between Kosovo
02:06and Serbia.
02:07The leaders of the two countries were in Brussels for talks to implement a European Union-backed
02:12plan to normalise ties.
02:14The discussions were as expected, as difficult as always have been, and in the end they were
02:23not a trilateral meeting.
02:26Kosovo was not ready for this, Kosovo was not willing to do this trilateral meeting,
02:33Serbia was ready to do it, but you need two to dance tango, and we need two to sit around
02:41the table in order to continue the dialogue. This has not been possible today, today. Unfortunately,
02:50no progress in implementation of the agreement could be achieved today.
02:56Brussels has warned both Serbia and Kosovo that refusal to compromise jeopardises their
03:00chances of joining the bloc.
03:04Hilaria Salles, who was elected as a member of the European Parliament while in prison,
03:10has spoken at her first press conference.
03:13At the Brussels event, she appeared visibly nervous.
03:17The Italian had been detained on suspicion of attempted life-threatening bodily harm,
03:21but while jailed, the anti-fascist activists managed to gain a mandate for the Green and
03:27the Left alliance in Italy.
03:29That meant that she was granted immunity so she could be released from house arrest in
03:33Hungary.
03:34I will be committed to the detainees, I will be committed to the issue of immigration, which
03:43is a historical responsibility that we must take seriously. I will be committed to the
03:52juvenile condition, which is a very transversal area that goes from the precarious to the
03:59I hope that the value of solidarity can be a guide for the construction of a Europe that we want.
04:13According to the Hungarian prosecutor's office, the Italian teacher and anti-fascist activist
04:18was part of street attacks committed in Budapest in February last year during a neo-Nazi event.
04:24Salas maintains that she doesn't want to recuse herself from the proceedings.
04:28My intention is not to recuse myself from a criminal proceeding. My intention is to
04:39be tried according to justice, that is, in respect of fundamental rights, according to
04:43a fair trial, with equal treatment before the law, in respect of the principle of proportionality.
04:50The upcoming plenary session of the European Parliament will decide on the suspension of
04:55immunity, after which the proceedings against her could potentially continue. If Salas is
05:00found guilty in Hungary, she could be sentenced to up to 11 years in prison.
05:07As the UK prepares to hold a general election, the leading Conservative Party looks ready
05:12to lose to the opposition Labour Party for the first time in 14 years.
05:18A Labour victory would definitely be a step up for UK-EU relations. The EU will know that
05:25the Labour Party was fighting for the UK's continued membership of the EU. They know
05:32that. And they also know that the Labour Party doesn't have the same bizarre hostilities
05:39to the EU that the previous few governments have had.
05:46Despite calling for a re-referendum in 2019, Stammer has publicly hardened his approach
05:52and ruled out any return to the single market or customs union.
05:56I think the reason, yeah, is that they don't want to name things which could be lightning
06:01rods for criticism from the Conservatives or from certain elements of the more Brexit
06:06supporting press in the UK. So I think they probably do have more ideas up their sleeve,
06:12but I'm not sure the party necessarily has decided exactly which ones it itself wants
06:17to go for in power. I think it will depend to some degree on the size of any majority
06:22it has. If the majority is smaller than expected, only 20 or 30 seats maybe, they'll be less
06:28willing to take political risks.
06:30When it comes to NATO, the Labour Party are as committed to the pact as their Tory predecessors.
06:36They have promoted a security pact between the UK and the EU, although the details on
06:40this remain vague. Experts have said that a Labour victory will largely mean that the
06:44new party will attempt to come to negotiations with a clean slate and make themselves more
06:49present in negotiations with the EU.
06:52I think Labour are really going to focus on demonstrating their presence in Europe, and
06:57they are a different type of operation to the Conservatives. If you look at their rhetoric,
07:01there's a lot focused on meetings and presence and public engagement. That's really what
07:05this security pact is actually all about.
07:09If the Labour government make it into power, they could be set to negotiate a tricky renewed
07:13role for the UK in the European Union, having to appeal to both Brussels' requirements and
07:19large portions of its electorate who voted for Britain to leave the EU to start with.
07:26Four more talks on Moldova's accession to the European Union are underway.
07:32Now we start to have a really democratic and free society and we want to maintain that.
07:38And the European Union will make sure of that.
07:43The discussions are being held as historic. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in early
07:492022, the country applied for EU membership. Neighbouring Moldova, the poorest country
07:56in Europe, followed shortly after. The war sparked many Ukrainians to flee to Moldova,
08:03like Ola from near Odessa. She says being part of the EU is what's best for her daughter.
08:26But Moldova remains much under Russian influence.
08:57Kenya's President William Ruto has said he won't sign into law a controversial tax bill
09:04which sparked protests in Nairobi. The announcement comes a day after protesters stormed parliament
09:12in the biggest assault on Kenya's government in decades. Police clashed with demonstrators
09:18after Nairobi's city hall was set on fire and several people were shot dead.
09:25President Ruto called the events treasonous.
09:34Heavy rain that came from Ireland has been whipping the north and centre of Italy with
09:38temperatures struggling to get above 20 degrees Celsius, at six or seven degrees below seasonal
09:45norms. The most affected storm areas were Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, southern Piedmont,
09:52Tuscany, Umbria and March. There was a red alert for river levels around Moderna and
09:56Piacenza, while mountain refuges in Piedmont were cut off by heavy snow.
10:03The high temperatures are being forecast to return to Italy following the bad weather
10:07that has plagued the country.
10:14Clean-up crews and business owners were inspecting the damage after sudden storms lashed south-western
10:20Switzerland overnight, sending torrents of water through roads and temporarily halting
10:25air traffic at Geneva airport. In the lakeside town of Morse, a creek overflowed, inundating
10:30the streets with tan-coloured flood water.
10:40The first phase of Euro 2024 is over. In Group F, debuting Georgia advanced to the round
10:48of 16 after an incredible 2-0 victory over Portugal. Turkey qualified 2 as they beat
10:562-1 the Czech Republic, who have been eliminated. Portugal finished the group first despite
11:04the defeat. In Group E, a 1-1 draw between Romania and Slovakia was enough for both to
11:12reach the final 16.
11:15Belgium qualified as the runner-up despite failing to beat Ukraine. Incredibly, all four
11:24teams finished the group level with four points each. Ukraine, however, were eliminated as
11:32they placed last on goal difference.
11:36Euro 2024 will resume on Saturday with the first two games of the knockout stage, Switzerland-Italy
11:43and Germany-Denmark.