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00:00The EU is planning to boost defence spending, requiring an estimated 500 billion euros over
00:07the next decade.
00:10CDU leader Friedrich Merz vows never to work with the AFD following last week's migration
00:17vote controversy.
00:20The European Union is aiming to strengthen its defence capabilities, requiring an estimated
00:27investment of around 500 billion euros over the next decade.
00:32Defence spending has grown by 30% since 2021, but in the current geopolitical climate, the
00:38bloc believes this is not enough.
00:41On Monday, the EU27 met to explore new ideas, with the aim of incorporating some into a
00:47future European Commission document.
00:49When you ask what the leaders want in the white paper, certainly proposals for these
00:58three levels, how to create fiscal space, how to create common funds to common projects
01:06and finally how to mobilise private financing to strengthen our defence industry.
01:16Creating more fiscal space, or in other words, relaxing the economic rules that force countries
01:21not to take on too much debt, is one of the main ideas on the table.
01:26The key to this lies with the European Commission, which could allow countries to spend more
01:31on defence.
01:33For extraordinary times, it is possible to have extraordinary measures, also in the stability
01:39and growth pact, and I think we live in extraordinary times, so we will look as a commission deeper
01:45into using much more flexibilities, they are optional, possible with the stability and
01:50growth pact for defence investment and defence expenditures.
01:58At a time when relying on allies is crucial, the EU27 gathered at a summit alongside their
02:04partners, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
02:14Chair of Germany's centre-right Christian Democrats, Friedrich Merz, says his party
02:19will never work with the AFD, after being accused of breaking taboo by pushing through
02:25a motion on migration backed by the far-right party.
02:28I can assure the voters in Germany very clearly and very clearly, we will not cooperate with
02:39the party that calls itself the alternative for Germany, not before, not after, never.
02:48Merz and his party drew widespread criticism last week after he put forward a series of
02:54strict migration policies to parliament, one of which passed after it received support
02:59from the AFD.
03:02The move sparked protests across the country, with demonstrators accusing Merz of breaking
03:07Germany's unwritten post-Nazi promise to never pass any resolution with the support of far-right
03:13or nationalist parties.
03:16But Merz, who has been leading the polls ahead of the election on the 23rd of February, has
03:21rejected the criticism, claiming he is not seeking cooperation with the AFD, but merely
03:26putting forward tougher migration measures that are favoured by conservatives.
03:33US President Donald Trump has agreed to a 30-day pause on tariffs against Canadian and
03:38Mexican imports, after both countries agreed to take steps to strengthen border security
03:44and crack down on drug trafficking.
03:46The US and Mexican leaders announced the pause after what Trump described as a very friendly
03:52conversation.
03:53And they've agreed to put in 10,000 soldiers permanently, like forever, 10,000 soldiers
04:01at their side of the border and stop fentanyl and illegal aliens from coming into our country.
04:06They have a big incentive to do.
04:08Other than that, we've agreed to talk and consider various other things.
04:13We haven't agreed on tariffs yet, and maybe we will, maybe we won't.
04:17Later on Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reported a similar discussion with
04:22the US president, announcing that Canada would implement a $1.3 billion border enforcement
04:28plan and allocate additional resources to curb the flow of fentanyl.
04:34Announcement of the pause came just hours before the tariffs, which consisted of a 25
04:38per cent duty on all imports from Mexico and most from Canada, were set to go into effect.
04:44The threat of a trade war between the US and its two biggest trading partners had sent
04:49Wall Street into chaos on Monday.
04:51But after initially falling sharply, US stocks were able to mitigate their losses after Mexico
04:57said it had negotiated a one-month reprieve on the tariffs.
05:04Staff at the US Agency for International Development have been told to stay out of its Washington
05:09headquarters after billionaire Elon Musk announced that President Donald Trump had agreed to
05:15shut the agency down.
05:18A notice sent to staff early on Monday confirmed the closure, with around 600 employees reporting
05:25they were locked out of the agency's computer systems overnight.
05:30President Donald Trump has since defended his plans to shut down the agency, insisting
05:34it's rife with fraud and run by radical left lunatics.
05:38We just want to do the right thing. It's something that should have been done a long time ago.
05:43It went crazy during the Biden administration. They went totally crazy, what they were doing
05:48and the money they were giving to people that shouldn't be getting it and to agencies and
05:54others that shouldn't be getting it. It was a shame. So, tremendous fraud.
06:01Demonstrators gathered outside the USAID headquarters in protest against the move, while Democratic
06:06lawmakers vowed to act, slamming the agency's shutdown as illegal.
06:11Les demandes formulées sur de nombreux bancs pour l'éducation, pour l'écologie...
06:17Will the French Prime Minister François Bayrou's recently appointed government survive a no-confidence
06:23vote?
06:24After forcing this year's long-overdue budget plan through Parliament without a vote on
06:29Monday afternoon, Bayrou now faces a no-confidence motion as early as Wednesday.
06:35A total of 288 votes are needed from MPs to successfully topple the government.
06:41And for the moment, it's the hard-left France Unbowed Party that said that they will be
06:46putting forward two separate motions, one against the budget plan and another one against
06:51the social security budget.
06:54As a reminder, Bayrou's predecessor, Michel Barnier, was ousted in December after the
07:00far-right and the left-wing coalition, the NFP, joined forces. However, this time, the
07:06Socialist Party, part of the NFP, said on Monday that it has chosen not to vote against
07:12Bayrou just yet.
07:14The far-right National Rally Party told us that they're still hesitating, but that they
07:17will make a decision by Wednesday afternoon.
07:21And without this crucial socialist vote, well, it looks like Bayrou might be able to
07:26survive a confidence vote this week, meaning that the budget plan could be adopted as early
07:33as end of February.
07:35This contentious bill plans to cut an eye-watering EUR 30 billion and raise taxes by EUR 20 billion.
07:44France has been under pressure from the EU for its public deficit reaching 6% in 2024,
07:52more than the double the percentage allowed by Brussels.
07:57Sofia Katsenkova reporting from Paris for Euronews.
08:03The revival of US President Donald Trump's demand to acquire Greenland has cast a light
08:08on long-standing difficult relations between Copenhagen and Nuuk, as well as reignited
08:14calls for independence.
08:16It's also laid bare the country's importance as a semi-autonomous Danish state loaded with
08:21critical minerals, a highly lucrative fishing industry and a vital Arctic location.
08:27Melina Abelson is chair of Greenland's largest company, Royal Greenland.
08:32It's a state-owned fishing company representing over 95% of Greenland's exports.
08:37She says Greenland will work with other countries based on equal footing.
08:42I think the Greenlanders are also very worried.
08:44The news poll just came out that also said that no one really wants to be bought by the US.
08:50I mean, the whole abrupt way of coming forward and saying that I want to buy Greenland, it's
08:55like we're not for sale, we're not playing Monopoly here in this world.
08:58Actually, we are a people living in here, living in Greenland.
09:02So I think the whole way of talking about that is just not the way we would like to
09:08talk with an allied partner.
09:11Elections are due to take place in April, where the future of Greenland as an independent
09:15state will no doubt take centre stage.
09:17However, what's not clear is exactly what independence means and whether the EU is to
09:22be invited to play a significant role in Greenland's future.
09:26A delegation from the Renew Group in the European Parliament met with members of the government
09:30as well as private and public industries and academics.
09:34They say Europe will stand by Greenland and respect its citizens' future aspirations.
09:39I do understand the desire to have more autonomousy, but I also want to make clear that even Denmark,
09:49even France, even Germany, no country nowadays can really talk about we can do everything
09:55on our own.
09:56We need to stick together.
09:57I wouldn't say that Denmark has been letting Greenland down, but probably we have not paid
10:02enough attention.
10:03And at least I do recognize the fact that, you know, being more eye to eye in the way
10:09that we talk together, I do think there's something there to be worked on.
10:14Both the government here in Greenland and the EU are treading carefully when it comes
10:18to Trump's demands.
10:19They realize that America's overtures to resource-rich Greenland is spurring on the independence
10:24movement.
10:25Moreover, they're deeply concerned that an ally is threatening to take over territory.
10:31Shona Murray, Euronews, Nuuk, Greenland.
10:37Hundreds of people scrambled to leave the Greek island of Santorini by ferry on Monday
10:42after an increase in seismic activity raised concerns about a potential powerful earthquake.
10:49Local officials said six tremors whose magnitude exceeded 4.9 on the Richter scale were recorded
10:55on the island and off the coast of Amagos Islands.
10:59Authorities banned access to some seaside areas.
11:20The frequency of the quakes has worried residents.
11:24According to the University of Athens Seismological Laboratory, more than 280 earthquakes were
11:30recorded across Greek islands over the past three days.
11:34Santorini, a premier tourism destination, draws more than 3 million visitors annually
11:40to its whitewashed scenic villages.