In this edition of our weekly talk show, participants discuss the EU's attempts to reach strategic autonomy, the impact of Trump's tariffs on the global economy and the debate about how many seats the European Parliament should have.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Brussels, my love, our weekly talk show that dives into the highs
00:17and lows of EU politics, today from the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
00:22I'm Stefan Grobe, thanks for tuning in.
00:25Coming up this week, energy bars, water and medicine.
00:30The European Commission wants European citizens to have a 72-hour survival kit at home.
00:35Why? To boost their preparedness against potential crises like natural disasters,
00:41industrial accidents or cyber and military attacks.
00:45But that's only on an individual level.
00:47Politically, Europe is also taking steps to be more independent and gearing up on all fronts.
00:54Is it working?
00:56And the economic squeeze is real and it's getting tighter.
01:01Citizens all over Europe are feeling the strain on household budgets.
01:05Consequently, consumer sentiment is down to the lowest level in years.
01:10As inflation chips away at purchasing power, the prospect of a full-blown trade war is making things worse.
01:16The ECB warns that Donald Trump's actions could trigger a global recession with severe consequences.
01:24Are we prepared for this one?
01:27That's the question for our guests today, all members of the European Parliament, and here they are.
01:33From Croatia, Angeliana Zovko with the European People's Party.
01:38From France, Sandro Godzi with Renew Europe.
01:41And from Sweden, Evin Inseer with the Social Democrats.
01:46Welcome to all of you and thanks for joining us.
01:50But before we get started, let's take a look at how the debate about European independence is shaping up.
02:01Friedrich Merz, Germany's next chancellor, said it bluntly on the very evening of his election victory in February.
02:08His absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible to really achieve independence from the U.S.
02:21The openly hostile attitude of the Trump administration has abruptly accelerated the discussions on strategic autonomy advocated since 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron.
02:32No wonder that Merz and Macron are already best friends.
02:43From chip production to critical medicines, from securing supply chains to ramping up the military,
02:49Europe wants to stand on its own feet in the face of Russian aggression, Chinese assertiveness and American protectionism.
02:56The continent sees itself as a lone torchbearer of liberal democracy, a survivor of sorts.
03:06And Brussels already asks its citizens to have a survival kit ready for crises that may or may not come.
03:17When you heard about this survival kit, Juliana, what were you thinking?
03:21Do you think it's appropriate or is it kind of ridiculous?
03:26I think it's very appropriate to put in the European citizens' minds that they should be prepared and that they are not shielded by anyone.
03:38And so after the crisis that we had with COVID, I was also the reporter for EU rescue mechanism that prevented you was used at that time to provide the medicines when we had a big health crisis.
03:56I think that we had to learn from that episode, the menace that is going on and raging around our borders is leaving us exposed.
04:07At that time, I remember the journalists were ridiculing our efforts to put into the attention of the people that we should be prepared for big health crisis,
04:20even for the nuclear war, even for the nuclear war, and in order to have that, to have also the funds at the European level, you know, and to have a prepared equipment.
04:32But only when the COVID came, this happened.
04:35So I think it's quite realistic and it's good.
04:38OK.
04:38We are doing this communication strategy.
04:40I mean, what is the view from Sweden here?
04:42Is it practical, is it helpful to have sort of one pouch for all kinds of possible threats, like war, like a cyber attack, like a pandemic, et cetera?
04:56I mean, first and foremost, I would agree on that it is appropriate to ensure that all our citizens are equipped in case something would happen.
05:03Nevertheless, I also think that the state, the government, has a responsibility to ensure that the health care system is prepared, that the infrastructure is prepared.
05:15So, yes, individuals have a responsibility, but the government has even bigger responsibility to ensure that the whole society is prepared.
05:23Sandro?
05:25Well, I mean, it was a very good signal because the issue is to raise awareness of ordinary citizens.
05:31I mean, it is clear that we are in a period where we are much more exposed to extraordinary events, be it floods, be it cyber security attacks, et cetera.
05:41So, I mean, to send out this video and to try to spread around the continent a culture of prevention and preparedness, like we have in Germany, like we have in Switzerland, like we have in the United States.
05:53I mean, this kind of survival kit, I mean, being prepared, it is already existing as a communication and information campaign and awareness campaign in some European state and across the ocean.
06:05I think it was a very good message.
06:07Because the message was, of course, the union must do its part, the member state, the guy must do its part, but each of us can contribute to a collective prevention and response action.
06:19And each of us should be much more aware, because we are all exposed, unfortunately.
06:23Yeah, yeah.
06:23Well, I'm going to be devil's advocate here for a second, Juliana.
06:27Doesn't that survival kit instill a sense of drama, which might be contrary to a message of, you know, kind of relaxation and, you know, common sense, don't worry, something like this?
06:43I think it will be fooling people to say, don't worry if our citizens are not aware of the dangerous world we are living in nowadays, then we are not doing it right.
06:56We are investing heavily into defense, we are investing heavily in our critical medicine, we are talking about all the attacks that are being done on our critical as well strategic infrastructure.
07:14So, citizens are the part of the system, of the society, of course, the state institution should provide and should vote for the budget to have all this material available.
07:28But the training for the civil protection unit, it's on a voluntary basis as well.
07:34Communication should be there, but also citizens should take their responsibility to get engaged and to prepare themselves.
07:42One man was there, a man you all know, Viktor Orban, right, the prime minister of Hungary, who has criticized the survival kit as part of an EU war strategy.
07:55What do you make of this?
07:56Well, it's very evident that Orban is the puppet of Putin and has several times gone Putin's errands.
08:06And, of course, nobody in the European Union is encouraging to war.
08:12What we are encouraging is to respect for international law and the sovereignty and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and other European countries.
08:22But when we are in this serious situation where Russia is composing, is constituting a threat, we also need to be realistic to prepare, even though, of course, that shouldn't happen.
08:36Preparedness is one thing, but then expecting the war is another thing.
08:40So, preparedness, I think, is quite important.
08:42But it also should apply to the member states, the governments.
08:46Once again, also, I want to emphasize the importance of the government's understanding that we cannot cut down on the social welfare system, cut down on supporting the health care system, on infrastructure, and at the same time demand from everyday people to make themselves prepared.
09:04We need to have a whole system that is prepared.
09:08So, the preparedness should also include a well-functioning welfare system.
09:15Sandra, before I give the floor to you, we wanted to hear directly from the public, and we've asked people in the streets of Brussels what they thought about this individual preparedness.
09:27Here's what they told us. Take a listen.
09:28We are living with fear when we see what's happening in the world.
09:32So, me, I have my backpack, and we don't know what can happen.
09:37I have more important things on my mind.
09:39Three children, a job, your job, cats, dogs.
09:45At the moment, I don't think it's my priority.
09:48I wasn't really thinking about it.
09:50And actually, I think, like, the war is still far away from us, so I don't feel afraid.
09:56The idea of, like, war happening is definitely going to cause, like, shortages or something.
10:05So, I'll definitely, like, prepare.
10:07I don't think we can be prepared for emergencies, like war or something.
10:12And even if we have a rucksack or something, it will not save us.
10:17All right, Sandra, you've heard it.
10:18We can't be prepared for emergencies.
10:20Even if we have a rucksack, it will not save us.
10:23Is that just being realistic or overly fatalistic?
10:26This is exactly what I was meaning.
10:30I mean, it is clear that we need, really, an education to external events.
10:37Because, I mean, the reaction of, and I understand, the reaction of the United States is like,
10:41we are talking about a nuclear war.
10:43We are not talking about a nuclear war.
10:45But we are talking about the fact that because of climate change, because of digital issues, because of cybersecurity,
10:54we can be all exposed to events which are less and less extraordinary because they repeat themselves.
11:01How many times we have seen cities totally devastated by floods?
11:07And how many times we have seen that if we had installed a culture of preparedness before, maybe we could have saved life.
11:16So, I mean, this is exactly what we have to do because, I mean, first of all, it's not only a question of war.
11:21Second, the human being tend to think, well, it won't happen to me.
11:28It won't happen in my town.
11:29It won't happen in my region.
11:31And, in fact, we see that more and more it is happening.
11:34Of course, I mean, this is only part, this is the point of the iceberg.
11:38It is clear that, I mean, for example, in infrastructure, on the management of rivers, the government, the region, the town hall must do much more and much better.
11:48We have seen also that because there wasn't any good management of the side of the rivers, there have been dramatic, dramatic floods.
11:57So, I mean, we really have to enter into a new culture that depends on governmental action, publication, but also on each of us.
12:06Okay.
12:06Let's leave the kit behind and talk about the strategic autonomy that leaders are advocating.
12:12Frélius Mertz and Emmanuel Macron were our examples in the video.
12:16So, first, is their diagnosis correct and what should be done first now?
12:22The diagnosis is correct that the European Union needs to invest more into our strategic autonomy, I mean, if you say.
12:32What are the sort of the fields, the...
12:36Defense, defense, defense, defense, defense, the food, food supplies and medical supplies.
12:43Okay.
12:43And this is exactly what it is being done.
12:45The council has gone and has the same approach and agreement on these issues.
12:52And we can see that in Croatia we are heavily now investing into defense and also into changing our equipment from going from the eastern one to the completely western dependency on the equipment.
13:09We are entering the new phase of being solely responsible for as a member of the NATO and increasing our expenditure.
13:20But strengthening the European pillar of NATO doesn't mean that we can immediately go into strategic autonomy because strategic autonomy means that we have nuclear shield that is fully functioning.
13:33Can we rely on that?
13:34Just one country that still has a different way of deciding how to provide this nuclear shield.
13:42So, in my opinion, for the time being, we have to show our readiness to invest much more into European defense, and we are showing it.
13:53But in the long run, we still are dependent on the United States of America, and we want them to stay as a functional member of NATO who is really providing the most.
14:05Right.
14:05So, we've heard defense, food, medication.
14:08Is that on top of your priority list, too, Evan?
14:10Yeah, I mean, it's an important part of the priority list, but I think the priority list also needs to include other parts, as, for example, once again, the importance of ensuring we have a functional infrastructure, medical supply, for example, that we are not fully dependent on U.S.
14:32We also need, when it comes to strategic autonomy, we need to also look at the social media platforms, for example, right now, with the power that they have and who they are controlled by, both ensure that we enforce the legislation that we have, regardless who are the owners of the social media platform,
14:52but also looking into how can EU create its own platforms.
14:58So, I think when it comes to the preparedness and when it comes to EU becoming stronger, we need to see it from a broader perspective also.
15:07But first and foremost, the most important, I would say, is a united European union.
15:12And unfortunately, we see Orban in Hungary, but we also see Slovakia turning to the other side, so to say.
15:22Yeah.
15:22Sandro, do you agree?
15:24Well, I mean, in the last years, we have gone through a series of major, I would say, historical crises that they show that we are too dependent on the rest of the world.
15:37First, the health crisis, the COVID crisis, we discovered that we are dependent on pharmaceutical production on India or on China, and it is clear that we cannot, we have to regain autonomy on that.
15:51Then we had the aggression of Putin, the war of Putin against Ukraine, and we discovered that we are too dependent, some countries are too dependent for energy on Russia.
16:01So, it is clear that energy is another issue on which we have to diversify, and we have to become more autonomous.
16:07And now, we have discovered, finally, that after all, Emmanuel Macron was right in 2017, that for our security and defence, we cannot depend on the decision of American voters each four years.
16:20And we cannot depend on what it thinks the president of the United States of America, we have to become much more autonomous in the military defence field.
16:32That doesn't mean that we have to be alternative to NATO.
16:35It doesn't mean that we have to do something outside the transatlantic framework.
16:40Not that means that we have to become more credible, more effective within the transatlantic alliance, but also that we must give ourselves the mean to provide of our security, also when the Americans decided not to do so.
16:54And I think that, unfortunately, the very aggressive declaration of Donald Trump and of his vice president, Vance, are very clear, and they only have to push us to accelerate.
17:05So, I mean, the autonomy is manifold.
17:08The autonomy, one key aspect, one key focus of this strategy is the stockpiling of essential equipment and supplies, especially medicines.
17:17You've mentioned that, you've mentioned that already.
17:19Something that is supposed to go into your survival kit as well.
17:23Does Europe have the necessary supply chains for that?
17:26We spoke to Elizabeth Kuiper from the European Policy Centre, and she had this answer for us.
17:32Take a listen.
17:32Critical medicines are medicines for which no alternative is available.
17:36And if you think, for example, about a very concrete product, which is antibiotics, which really are the cornerstone of modern medicines, and very few companies actually manufacture them in the EU.
17:46So, if we would run out of antibiotics, that would be very harmful for patients and healthcare systems.
17:50The aim of the Critical Medicines Act is to enhance resilience and security of pharmaceutical supply chain issues.
17:56And part of it can be done via, for example, investing in manufacturing capacities, but also investing in reforming procurement capacities and systems.
18:07And that is feasible, but I think we need to be careful when we speak about independence, because, after all, we're speaking about global supply chain.
18:15So, it's about openness, but probably we need to redefine openness and see with whom we can work.
18:20Yeah, she made an interesting point there with the independence versus a global supply chain.
18:26Is this where the strategic economy finds its limits, Evin?
18:31Yeah, well, you still need global partners, right?
18:34Yeah, definitely. I mean, independence doesn't mean protectionism.
18:37It means that we need the basis, the most important parts.
18:41But nevertheless, I mean, there are other partners also.
18:44We have Australia, we have Great Britain, we have Canada and many others.
18:47And hopefully, also, U.S. will come to its sense one day and Trump will be out of the White House so that we can continue having these important relations, the transatlantic relations that we have.
19:04But there are many other partners, also Japan, for example.
19:07We have Mexico, Brazil.
19:09So, yeah, strategic autonomy means strong Europe, but it does mean an isolated Europe.
19:15Well, we'll see, Trump, that might be a pious wish here after his latest remarks.
19:22Juliana, wouldn't independence also mean some sort of protectionism?
19:28And would that endanger global cooperation on issues like climate change and the fight against pandemics?
19:37Well, we must be aware of the new world order in making a multilateral world that we know.
19:45It has changed.
19:48And we must admit as well that without America contributing to that, we cannot, we won't be able to do much.
19:56I used to be, you know, I used to cover UN agencies.
19:59And the problems that we are facing with this fact sooner or later will hit us.
20:07But still, if we are trying to make all these trade agreements, but recently, who was the one who liberated the trade route in the Red Sea?
20:16It was Americans.
20:17And without, you know, without the criticism, we must, you know, accept the reality, build bridges with the United States, whoever is in the administration at this moment, to try to assure and to have this security.
20:34But also work without, like my...
20:36I want to ask Sandro, because we're running out of time here on this topic.
20:39Sandro, on this defense independence, it takes, I mean, Germany has put massive money on the table.
20:46The EU has mobilized a lot of money.
20:48All this takes years until we see the results of this.
20:52What I want to know is, does this come with a new role for Europe in the world?
20:59It must be.
20:59It must come with a new role for Europe.
21:01We must absolutely see this opportunity.
21:04I mean, we have to show sense of urgency.
21:06Sense of urgency is to continue to support Ukraine, to have a fair and long-lasting peace.
21:15But at the same time, we have to see what we want to be from here in 10 years.
21:20And we have to build up a new governance.
21:23We have to structure and make permanent our cooperation for defense security.
21:27We have to create a group of willing and able countries within the Union, which cooperate with UK, with Canada.
21:32This is exactly...
21:33We have wasted too much time.
21:35That's a great...
21:36Too much time.
21:36That's exactly the issue here right now.
21:39We have to finish this conversation here.
21:42We're going to take a short break.
21:44And when we come back, tariff terror.
21:47Is Trump tanking the global economy?
21:49Don't go away.
21:58Welcome back to Brussels, my love.
22:00Our guests are still Sandro Gozzi, Evin Inshir, and Juliana Zovko.
22:06The world economy is struggling to make sense of the latest salvo of Donald Trump's tariffs.
22:11And it's businesses and consumers everywhere who will likely foot the bill one way or the other.
22:17The European Central Bank renewed its warning of severe economic consequences.
22:22Goldman Sachs upgraded their U.S. recession risk to 35%.
22:27And stock markets around the world are experiencing one bad trading day after the other.
22:33So, everything is at stake here.
22:36Inflation is on the rise.
22:37Consumption is showing signs of weakness.
22:39And consumer sentiment is slipping.
22:42All this stemming from Trump's tariff policy.
22:45How much worse can it get, Sandro?
22:48It can turn into very bad and nasty tension across the Atlantic, which doesn't make any sense.
22:57What Donald Trump is doing doesn't make any sense.
23:00With the tariff that he has announced, we risk to lose 1% of our wealth as European, and the Americans are going to lose 0.5%.
23:09It doesn't make sense, the escalation that he's looking for.
23:13And I understand that in Washington, I've been in Washington.
23:16In Washington, they are obsessed with China.
23:18They say that the big competition for Washington is against Beijing.
23:22And they start hitting their best historical lies with other Europeans.
23:28This is absolutely, I mean, wrong.
23:31It's a major mistake.
23:32And also, they do not want to negotiate with the only actor who can negotiate on our behalf, which is the European Union, the European Commission.
23:40This is what Donald Trump must understand.
23:41He sees the European Union as an obstacle.
23:44He says that the EU was born to screw the U.S., which is historically false.
23:49They don't like the Europeans.
23:50They hate the European Union.
23:51They hate the European Union because they see the European Union as the only obstacle to their imperialistic logic.
23:57What do our consumers here need to be aware of in the weeks and months ahead?
24:04The consumers will suffer because of this tariff war and the tariffs that are imposed.
24:12But what we are aiming for is focus on strengthening single market, European single market, and redirecting also our trade.
24:22Some countries will suffer more than the others who were focused on trading with the United States of America.
24:29And although the trade is at the European Union level, the approach that Trump has towards certain countries will affect more the economies of the certain countries.
24:40But what we need to do at this moment is also to focus on the trade agreements and the partners that we are now having this agreement with, like-minded partners,
24:53and also strengthening our single market and redirect our trade.
24:56I mean, we've heard Osa von der Leyen this week speaking at a parliament saying that we are the number one economic bloc in the world.
25:05We have the biggest population, and we have also a massive arsenal of tools.
25:10Is that the language Donald Trump understands?
25:14And is this the stance that you hear in this building as well?
25:19Unfortunately, that's true.
25:20Trump has shown in many cases that he only knows the strong language, and when he feels some kind of weakness in a language, he's prepared to go all the way.
25:31That's also the sense that I feel that most of the people here in the parliament also feel, even though Trump's allies on the far-right side have grown after the last mandate,
25:42most of us, or at least us, pro-democratic and pro-European forces, have that stand.
25:49But what I just want to emphasize also is that the logic of Trump is ludicrous.
25:55And we see already that some people in the U.S. are reconsidering why they even voted for Trump.
26:02At the same time, I also want to highlight the importance of the responsibility that the companies here in the European Union also need to take.
26:12In Sweden, we have right now a huge discussion on that the CEOs takes out a lot of profit still in the middle of this crisis and stakeholders,
26:24where everyday people are being affected.
26:26So the whole society here also needs to take responsibility.
26:29CEOs cannot continue and stakeholders take out profits while everyday people are being affected by the crisis.
26:35We spoke to Philipp Geisel, chief strategist at Financial Group BNP Paribas 40s, about the escalating trade war and its consequences.
26:45He believes that what is happening now could also have a positive side.
26:49Take a listen.
26:51It's an irony that it's the American markets and the American economy that's hurt more than the European one at the moment.
26:57Now, of course, it's also hurting our markets.
26:59But if you look at the longer-term picture, I believe this is maybe the kick in the butt that Europe needs in order to get its act together.
27:06And I think what's on the table in Germany today, and they're going to do, it's a Marshall Plan.
27:11It's like money that they put in for the reunification.
27:14So that's very important.
27:15Of course, a lot of other things are needed, like more innovation, less regulation, maybe a capital union, what have you.
27:22But this is a very important first step.
27:24And I think maybe when we look back at this moment, 10, 15 years from now, maybe this was the point that, yeah, things started to improve for Europe.
27:31So short-term, yes, volatility, but maybe, yeah, there is progress as well.
27:35He's raising two interesting points here, Sandro.
27:37First of all, the kick in the butt argument.
27:39What do you make of this?
27:40So we need a moment like this to get our act together.
27:45I make a proposal, if you allow me.
27:47Let's give the Charlemagne prix for the good Europeans to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
27:52Because they are the new founding fathers of the European Union.
27:56They're really putting the Europeans confronted with their need and responsibility.
28:02It is time to act.
28:03We have wasted time, I was saying, on defense.
28:06We have wasted time on investment.
28:08We need European public goods.
28:10We need a strategy of private and public investment.
28:14We have been discussing with the Germans for at least 10 years, I was still a minister, the union of investment and savings.
28:22And the Germans have always blocked for their banking system.
28:26Now it's time to act.
28:27So, I mean, if Germany wakes up because they woke up with Putin on energy, they are waking up now with Trump on security.
28:36If they wake up also on the need of union of capital investment, I think that we take some bold step towards a real union.
28:43And, again, kick in the butt and 15 years from now we'll be happy about this.
28:48Juliana.
28:49No, but absolutely.
28:51We should never complain about somebody else if we have not understood so far that we cannot live in a la-la land where everything is perfect.
29:00We have perfect social security.
29:03The state is providing for everything.
29:05I mean, this is how the old socialist system have dissolved.
29:10And I think the predator system, what Trump is representing, shows you that the world is in jungle, where you have to prepare your citizens.
29:21It's a jungle.
29:22Yeah, I hope not.
29:24All right.
29:25So much for the escalating trade war.
29:27The latest on this topic, as always, in our news, TV or digital.
29:31For now, thanks to our guests and to our viewers.
29:34Stay with us.
29:35Hello and welcome to Brussels, my love.
29:45Our weekly talk show here on Euronews.
29:47I'm Stefan Grobe.
29:49My guests are three members of the European Parliament.
29:51Evin Incier, a social democrat from Sweden.
29:54Juliana Zovko, a Christian democrat from Croatia.
29:57And Sandro Gozzi from France, representing the Liberal Renew Group.
30:02Let's imagine, for the sake of argument, Elon Musk was an EU citizen and marauded through EU institutions with his chainsaw, massacring staff and budgets.
30:13How many EU employees in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg would he fire?
30:17Which agencies would he close or which services would he abolish as unnecessary?
30:23Would he take an axe to the European Parliament's daycare center, for example?
30:27Now, speaking of the European Parliament, could Musk find what he's looking for here?
30:34After all, the European Parliament has seats in Strasbourg and Brussels, as well as a secretariat in Luxembourg.
30:40Is that too much of a good thing, Juliana?
30:43I'm quite critical on this matter, and I'm well known for...
30:48Critical, meaning you're...
30:49No, I think that we should have, we should show more efficiency and although to be in line with the, you know, with the time we are going through and also the need to cut down the bureaucracy.
31:03So bureaucracy should not replicate itself.
31:06We are there to help businesses, businesses are paying and working citizens are paying for our salaries and Brussels, when they say they hate Europe, they don't hate Europe, they hate Brussels.
31:19And this is what we are, as elected politicians, we are feeling when we are going to our constituencies.
31:25They are asking us, what is going on?
31:29I mean, how are you helping our businesses?
31:30How are you helping our SMEs to thrive?
31:34And we are working hard as a political group, as well, to deliver, to show that the European Union is competitive and that we are not into bureaucracy anymore.
31:44But on this double seat, Evan, Brussels, Strasbourg, of the European Parliament, I mean, this is something that is part of the treaty.
31:53It was fully incorporated in 1997.
31:55We have to live with it.
31:57It's law.
31:58I mean, there have been repeated initiatives ever since, also from inside the parliament, to change this and to abandon one seat.
32:09And that's where the problems start usually.
32:12What is your take on this?
32:13Well, I'm totally, very clearly against having these two seats and three also if we include Luxembourg on it.
32:21And I think that the more realistic or the better would be to have one seat, both from an economical perspective, from an environmental perspective and from an efficiency perspective.
32:34So there are no arguments at all to maintain this moving carousel.
32:40It's not only a question of money, which is very little.
32:43It's a question of history and of symbol.
32:46Strasbourg is a symbol for the European, of the reconciliation after two world wars.
32:51Strasbourg is the original capital of a region which has shifted between France and Germany.
32:56And I don't know how many times.
32:59And I think that also we have to, I mean, always recall to the citizens the history from which we come.
33:05And the other point is why we want to centralize everything in Brussels.
33:09I'm very surprised.
33:10Especially, I mean, our colleague from Sweden.
33:12The Swedes are always so reluctant about centralization.
33:16Oh, my God, the European Union is taking away from Sweden, our best democracy in the world.
33:24And then they want to centralize everything in Brussels.
33:27Why?
33:28I mean, we can...
33:29Uniting diversity means also being decentralized with the institution of the Union.
33:34And, I mean, we talk about 100 million euro per year.
33:38You know how much it costs the secret Paris?
33:41Now you're sounding like Elon Musk.
33:43Let me sound like Elon Musk.
33:44No, I mean...
33:44You started with Musk and giving the Musk argument.
33:48I don't think we need Musk to highlight and address this issue because this has been a long, ongoing discussion about the seats.
34:00But for me, it's not about centralization because I'm not talking about the agencies.
34:05The agencies shouldn't be in one place.
34:07They could be in different member states.
34:09And it should be because all the member states need to have a connection to the European Union because the European Union is the member states.
34:16But when it comes to the specific parliament, I do not see any sense of having several parliaments.
34:22We don't have it in Sweden.
34:23France doesn't have several parliaments in France, as far as I know.
34:28In Croatia, I cannot imagine there are...
34:29No, we don't have even...
34:30Belgium has a lot, right?
34:32Yeah, but I'm talking about national parliaments.
34:35So that's a crucial problem.
34:37But my point is that we should reduce bureaucracy, not reduce seats.
34:41I'm very francophile, and I think that we should keep a seat in Strasbourg because that's very symbolical.
34:48And it's politically important to send a message that this is reconciliation, city of reconciliation.
34:56And we must remember the war and how the European Union was made.
34:59We know that there was a discussion maybe that the seat is in Rome in the beginning, after the Treaty of Rome.
35:05So Brussels is perfect, but Belgium is a perfect example.
35:09Brussels has a bad image for all our citizens.
35:12Just, you know, they're always blaming Brussels.
35:14So we should also publicize more that we are also in Strasbourg and in Luxembourg.
35:20But bureaucracy should be reduced.
35:22We should cut all these unnecessary commissions and, you know, bureaucratic procedures.
35:30This is how we could save more.
35:31Maybe reduce the agency would be a good idea because nobody knows that the agency are in the member states.
35:40People say people derive this as a traveling circus every month.
35:43But I must say, and I'm affected by this as well, I come here once a month for a few days, and I like it.
35:50I like Strasbourg.
35:51And I think it's part of the European, you know, political and cultural reality that we're sort of, that we have several centers of policy and opinion making.
36:03I think we can actually cherish culture in different ways also.
36:07It doesn't just need to be through having the seats in several different places.
36:11But we also need to be, have in mind that it is, it costs.
36:16It's taxpayers' money we are talking about.
36:18So if you want to be efficient, we need to have that included.
36:21It's also, from an environmental perspective, not good at all.
36:25And efficiently, work-wise efficiently, I do not see any advantages from that perspective also.
36:31So I fully subscribe to that.
36:33We need to cherish our history.
36:35But I can promise you that very few people in Sweden would know this historical link to Strasbourg.
36:43No, don't underestimate the knowledge of history of your own city.
36:49That's getting really heated, but it was a great conclusion.
36:51And finally, we've seen some action here.
36:55We've reached, unfortunately, the end of Brussels, my love.
36:59Thank you all for watching.
37:02And many thanks to our panel here in the Parliament.
37:05If you want to continue the conversation on any topic, write to brusselsmylove at euronews.com
37:11or contact us on social media.
37:15That's it for this edition.
37:16I'm Stefan Grobe.
37:17Thank you for watching again.
37:19Have an excellent week.
37:20See you soon.
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