Latest news bulletin | February 2nd – Midday
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Transcript
00:00 Surprise at the summit. Unanimous approval of 50 billion aid for Ukraine.
00:07 The International Court of Justice has rejected almost all of Ukraine's claims Russia violated
00:15 international conventions surrounding financing terrorism and racial discrimination.
00:19 Discontent turned to violence in Brussels today as hundreds of tractors
00:25 arrived to join the farmers' protest on the day of the extraordinary EU summit.
00:29 Surprise at the special EU summit in Brussels. The heads of state and government agreed on
00:39 the 50 billion euros in EU aid for Ukraine after Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban
00:44 withdrew his veto. Ukraine will thus receive 33 billion euros in loans and 17 billion euros
00:51 in grants over the next four years. Orban had blocked the EU's decision at the last summit in
00:56 December. Prime Minister, was it easy to convince Orban? Was it easy? Easier than I expected.
01:02 At Orban's request the European heads of state and government adopted a mechanism that provides
01:09 for an annual debate on the implementation of the Ukraine funds but in which Budapest cannot
01:14 exercise a veto. Hungary had previously demanded that Brussels release over 22 billion euros for it
01:21 which had been frozen due to concerns about the rule of law and corruption.
01:24 The Commission President explained that this request had been rejected.
01:28 There is a law. There's a law on cohesion funds, there is a law on next generation EU
01:38 and there is a law on the conditionality mechanism and these laws have nothing to do
01:46 with the Ukraine facility and the midterm review. This was reassured today and therefore
01:54 the answer to your question is a simple no. The heads of state and government had previously
01:59 warned that the financing of Ukraine could be implemented without Hungary. Some other states
02:04 also called for the process of curtailing Hungary's voting rights to be accelerated.
02:08 Ukraine urgently needs financial resources in the fight against Russian aggression.
02:14 The release of EU funds must also be approved by the European Parliament in a fast-track procedure.
02:19 The European Union sealed a 50 billion euro aid package for Ukraine Thursday with President
02:34 Volodymyr Zelensky saying the EU's unity shows strength. It is also really important that this
02:45 decision was taken unanimously by all, all of you, all 27 member states and it is yet
02:54 another clear sign of your strong unity and support of Ukraine. Meanwhile, unfortunately,
03:02 the implementation of the European plan to supply one million artillery shells to Ukraine
03:07 is being delayed and this too is a signal of global competition in which Europe cannot afford to lose.
03:17 In December, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vetoed the financial aid package and
03:23 blocked its adoption. He had threatened to do the same in recent days.
03:28 Meanwhile, Ukrainians protested outside the European Council on Thursday,
03:37 calling for a ban on exports of liquid natural gas and aluminium from Russia,
03:42 while saying that Orban had put the entire European continent in danger.
03:46 I would rather put a message not to Viktor Orban but to other European leaders that they have to
03:52 rewrite the treaty, they have to take away the veto power from such countries.
04:00 Orban had previously been in a dispute with the EU over alleged
04:04 democratic backsliding, had some of its own funding withheld.
04:17 The International Court of Justice rejected almost all of Ukraine's claims Russia violated
04:23 international conventions surrounding financing terrorism and racial discrimination on Wednesday.
04:28 Despite large parts of Ukraine's case against Russia being dismissed,
04:35 a lawyer representing Ukraine said it was still a really important day.
04:39 So it is important that under both conventions there are violations by the Russian Federation
04:45 and this is the very first time when the Russian Federation is called officially, legally,
04:50 a violator of international law. So it is really a big value and we hope and we
04:54 really understand that it will be an important cornerstone for us to move forward with our next
05:00 cases, in particular in this court but not only in other courts in other jurisdictions.
05:05 On the front lines, an artillery unit of the Azov brigade in eastern Ukraine continues to
05:11 fire at Russian positions, but Ukrainian forces continue to grapple with ammunition shortages.
05:17 In Russia, President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on the economic development of occupied
05:24 Ukrainian territories on Wednesday. Despite international sanctions,
05:28 he urged Russian banks to start working in the occupied territories.
05:32 The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and other EU leaders,
05:39 the Belgian and Dutch Prime Ministers Alexander de Kruy and Mark Rutte,
05:42 made an impromptu meeting with farmers' unions on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels.
05:47 Earlier that morning, over a thousand tractors showed up outside the European Parliament
05:55 where angry farmers set bales of hay on fire and toppled a bronze statue.
05:59 Protesting farmers across Europe demand more income, they are also critical
06:06 of the EU's Green Deal policy to protect the planet.
06:10 "We had a very constructive, a very good meeting. We listened to the main
06:16 complaints and worries and concerns of the farmers. It's very important that we find
06:21 common solutions. We share the goals, for example, the protection of nature because
06:26 we all live in nature and with nature and the best ambassadors for nature are the farmers themselves."
06:31 Farmers also complain about severe administrative burdens brought about by the EU's Common
06:37 Agricultural Policy. They also complain about low prices for grain and wheat.
06:42 Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander de Kruy says the current Belgian EU Presidency
06:46 is putting this issue high on the agenda.
06:48 "What we see is they want to be a partner in the climate transition.
06:53 They've done a lot of efforts up to now, but obviously they are confronted with
06:57 what you could call a lasagna of measures that all come at the same time."
07:02 In addition, farmers have concerns about the EU's future trade deals with South
07:06 America in particular, which according to them, would facilitate beef imports from
07:10 countries with lower regulatory standards. Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.
07:15 After almost five months of Israeli shelling, Palestinians in Gaza continue to load the
07:24 dead bodies of their relatives onto trucks. So far, nearly 27,000 lives have been claimed,
07:31 according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The World Health Organization has said it
07:36 faces great difficulty reaching hospitals in southern Gaza.
07:39 "During a UN mission on Monday, WHO delivered medical supplies to Nasser Medical Complex.
07:48 Other missions to deliver fuel and food were denied. Yesterday, we made another attempt to
07:55 get food to Nasser, but due to delays about 500 meters from the checkpoint, the food was taken
08:02 from the trucks by crowds who were also desperate for food."
08:07 The UN aid agency UNRWA reports that Israeli strikes have forced it to abandon its shelters.
08:13 "In the last few days, UNRWA has had to move its operations out of Han Yonis city,
08:18 out of the western part of the city. We've lost a health clinic, major shelters,
08:23 facilities that were supporting the people of Han Yonis."
08:26 Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the UN's Palestinian
08:32 Refugee Agency must be shut down. Some of their members have recently been accused
08:37 of participating in the 7th of October Hamas attack on Israel.
08:41 Meanwhile, thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in tents in Rafa, near the border
08:49 with Egypt, as the Israeli military is now focusing on the site of the Gaza Strip.
08:54 Climate activist Greta Thunberg has appeared in court in London at the start of her trial
09:03 on public order offences. She has been charged in relation to her participation at a protest
09:09 against an oil and gas industry conference in London in October. Police arrested the
09:14 Swedish campaigner under a controversial law that allows them to impose limits on the number
09:18 of people taking part in public assemblies. Several other people were detained at the
09:24 same demonstration outside the London hotel where the conference was taking place.
09:28 The trial is expected to last two days.
09:30 Kosovo authorities on Wednesday said they will impose the use of the country's currency,
09:39 the Euro, and abolish the use of the Serbian diner.
09:42 This will have most effect in the north of the country, where most of the ethnic
09:48 Serb minority lives. Kosovo's central bank governor has announced the new rules will
09:54 come into force as of this Thursday. The decision has sparked concern among
10:00 Western powers, fearing more tension in Kosovo's relations with Serbia.
10:04 The CEOs of Meta TikTok X and other social media companies went before the Senate Judiciary
10:15 Committee to testify as lawmakers on Wednesday. As children's advocates and lawmakers said
10:20 companies are not doing enough to protect them, parents who lost children to suicide
10:26 silently held up pictures of their dead children. Mark Zuckerberg personally apologized for the
10:32 suffering of the families. Sexual predators' addictive features and suicide are just some
10:37 of the few issues young people are dealing with on social media.
10:43 A strike by security staff has severely impacted operations at most of Germany's main airports.
10:50 All departures from Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart were cancelled even before the
10:55 industrial action began. Unions have called for a walkout at 11 airports around the country.
11:01 Only Munich and others in Bavaria have not been impacted. This is the latest stoppage
11:07 in a long-running dispute between workers and management, primarily over pay.
11:12 Further negotiations will take place next week.
11:15 Norway has been hit by one of its most violent extreme weather events in more than 30 years.
11:25 Storm Ingen lashed the Nordic country with high winds and driving rain. The region around
11:31 Trondheim was particularly hard hit, with the authorities warning people to stay indoors.
11:36 A number of buildings, including a gym and a hotel, were badly damaged as gale winds rolled
11:42 in from the coast and towards the north. Thousands of households are without electricity in Nordland,
11:48 Proms and other areas.