Latest news bulletin | October 15th – Morning
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00:00The EU's top foreign policy boss has criticised Israel over its recent attacks on UN peacekeeping
00:06troops in Lebanon.
00:07Josep Borrell's remarks echo the strongest condemnation voiced across the bloc regarding
00:12the Middle East.
00:13Speaking to reporters in Luxembourg, he said EU member states agreed to a statement demanding
00:17Israel stop attacking UNIFIL.
00:19It's completely unacceptable attacking United Nations troops and I want to remind everybody
00:28that it's not the Secretary General of United Nations who decides about this mission staying
00:35or not staying, it's the Security Council who has to take these kind of decisions.
00:41So stop blaming Secretary Guterres.
00:45Israeli troops forced their way into one of UNIFIL's bases in Lebanon over the weekend,
00:49destroying the main gate and injuring at least 15 soldiers.
00:53Borrell's criticism was echoed by Dutch officials.
00:56I've called the Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, yesterday and I have expressed
01:01that this is unacceptable and this should stop and it should be investigated as soon
01:05as possible.
01:07The IDF has also indicated that it would investigate itself these shootings and incidents.
01:16This has to stop.
01:17The incident took place after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the UN
01:22peacekeeping mission of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields.
01:33German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the
01:38six West Balkan states to Berlin on Monday as part of the 10-year Berlin Process Summit.
01:44The Berlin Process aims to bring countries such as Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia
01:49and Herzegovina, Albania and North Macedonia together to sign agreements to enable them
01:54to become full EU member states.
01:57Five out of six agreements were signed and restrictions on export from Serbia to Kosovo
02:02were lifted.
02:04Scholz underlined that the states could only join together despite some of them likely
02:08to meet conditions quicker than the others.
02:11He encouraged the states to help each other out.
02:14Montenegro is seen as the first promising country to be integrated to Europe despite
02:19the process beginning more than 20 years ago.
02:22Whilst Montenegro expects to meet all the requirements before 2028, Scholz said he hopes
02:27the whole process would be complete before 2030.
02:32But with Ukraine and Moldova's memberships to the EU being accelerated since Russia's
02:36full-scale invasion in Ukraine, it's likely to leave a sour taste in the mouth of the
02:41six Balkan states.
02:43Liv Stroud, in Berlin, for Euronews.
02:50China held large-scale military exercises around Taiwan and its islands in what it called
02:56a warning against Taiwan's independence.
03:00The drills come days after Taiwan's President Lai gave a speech on Taiwan's national day.
03:06He said China has no right to represent the island and declared his commitment to resist
03:10annexation.
03:13Taiwan's defence ministry condemns the drills as a provocation and say they are prepared
03:18to retaliate.
03:37China have increased its military exercises around Taiwan in recent years.
03:42In May, similar large-scale drills followed Lai's inauguration.
03:48China has previously said Taiwan's independence is a dead-end, and that annexation by Beijing
03:53is a historical inevitability.
04:01Poland is accelerating efforts to strengthen the defence of its borders with Russia and
04:05Belarus.
04:07Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Monday that construction of the so-called East Shield
04:11project will begin earlier than planned, by the end of this year instead of next.
04:17This project will increase military fortifications and other defence measures on Poland's eastern
04:22border over a length of approximately 800 kilometres.
04:27Construction is expected to last four years.
04:31Tusk was present at a training ground on Monday where the first exercises took place
04:35in testing elements of the project's new infrastructure, and emphasised that it is part of a combined
04:40effort with the Baltic states and Finland.
04:48It is a joint venture not only between Poland, because it is also connected with the Baltic
04:56states when it comes to the Baltic defence line and Finland.
05:01Tusk also said that he is to discuss European funding for the project in Brussels in the
05:06near future.
05:09The European Peace Facility was created before the Ukrainian war as an instrument to enhance
05:21the EU's ability to prevent conflicts, but the Russian invasion changed it all.
05:27Since then, the EPF has been used to partially reimburse member states for the weapons and
05:33ammunition donated to Kiev.
05:36But for more than a year now, Hungary has been blocking the transfer of 6.6 billion
05:41euros to Ukraine.
05:43These funds are supposed to help Ukraine to strengthen its defence sector and to provide
05:49of course ammunition to the country and all the support the EU can provide so that Ukraine
05:56keeps fighting this war.
05:58Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the funds have been growing.
06:03In total, the EPF amounts to 17 billion euros now, from which more than 11 billion is reserved
06:10for Ukraine.
06:12This money comes from the contributions of EU member states, and it is not part of the
06:16EU budget.
06:18But for the money to flow to Ukraine, member states have to approve it unanimously, and
06:23Hungary opposes it.
06:27Hungary, and particularly Orbán, has been very publicly vocal that he is against providing
06:32for providing more support to Ukraine, and of course he also plays the game in relation
06:37with what happens in the US politics because he is a very friendly, with very friendly
06:43relations with Donald Trump, and he apparently does not, you know, wants to block all the
06:48support to Ukraine.
06:49So just in case Trump comes back to the office, Trump is not also signed up to contribute
06:53to providing more loans to Ukraine.
06:57That is why European Union officials and diplomats are exploring a new plan to bypass Hungary's
07:02held veto.
07:04The plan will allow member states to make financial contributions to the EPF on a voluntary
07:09basis, rather than a mandatory one.
07:12The discussions are ongoing.
07:19The European Commission wants Chinese online marketplace Timu to clarify what it is doing
07:24to prevent the sale of illegal products on its website.
07:29Timu is among a group of companies, such as Amazon, Apple and Shein, that have received
07:34requests for information from the European Commission.
07:39The company has until the 21st of October to reply to the Commission's questions.
07:45For months, Timu has been obliged to comply with the European Digital Services Act, as
07:50it was designated a very large online platform with more than 45 million EU users in May.
07:58The Association of European Retailers warns of unfair competition.
08:05I think as a consumer, you should be able to trust that the products that you buy online
08:10are safe, that your rights are respected.
08:12And I think this is where we see the problem, that these players don't respect the rules
08:19and that in the end, you know, you might think as a consumer you have a deal, but then, you
08:24know, you might not have the product repaired.
08:28There might be some kind of high levels of chemicals in there, which is bad for your
08:32health.
08:33It might be, you know, made with forced labour.
08:38In a statement provided to Euronews, Timu says it's cooperating with the European Commission's
08:43request.
08:45Consumer safety is a top priority and we welcome feedback from all stakeholders, a company
08:51spokesperson said.
08:55But if Brussels decides the shopping platform does not comply with the legislation, it may
09:00impose a financial penalty.
09:03As France and the EU grapple with a severe car industry crisis, French President Emmanuel
09:08Macron inaugurated on Monday the 90th edition of the Paris Motor Show.
09:13It's one of the most important events within the automobile industry.
09:17And just to give you a few numbers about this crisis that is hitting France and the EU,
09:22the Paris Motor Show was held on Monday.
09:24It's a very important event for the French automotive industry.
09:29And just to give you a few numbers about this crisis that is hitting France, particularly
09:33new car registrations have been plummeting within the country these past few months,
09:38reaching their lowest level in 20 years.
09:41And we're seeing similar trends across Europe, minus 18 percent in new car registrations
09:47in August.
09:48And major players within the French automobile industry, such as, for example, Michelin,
09:54have even paused production at some of their specialty tire factories in France.
10:00The French president did mention this difficult moment for French and EU carmakers due in
10:05part to the ferocious competition from Chinese rivals.
10:10He did say on Monday that it is necessary in times like these to protect France.
10:15It's normal to put in place tariffs, he said, alluding to the EU commission's plan to heavily
10:21tax cheap electric vehicles that are produced by Chinese carmakers and that have been flooding
10:28the EU market and driving the prices down.
10:31Sofia Katsenkova, reporting from Paris for Euronews.
10:40A NASA spacecraft blasted off on Monday on a quest to explore Jupiter's moon, Europa,
10:46and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.
10:50It will take Europa Clipper five and a half years to reach Jupiter.
10:55Scientists are almost certain a deep global ocean exists beneath Europa's icy crust,
11:01and where there is water, there could be life, making the moon one of the most promising
11:06places out there to hunt for it.
11:09Europa Clipper won't look for life itself, as it has no life detectors.
11:14Instead, the spacecraft will zero in on the ingredients necessary to sustain life,
11:19searching for organic compounds and other clues as it peers beneath the ice for suitable conditions.
11:25If conditions are found to be favourable for life at Europa, it opens up the possibility
11:31of life at other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond, according to scientists.
11:36With an underground ocean and gazers, Saturn's moon Enceladus is another top candidate.
11:44NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology