Latest news bulletin | June 18th – Midday
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00:00President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen appears still on track to take
00:06a second term although EU leaders could not formally agree a deal on her position or the
00:11other top jobs that are due to be decided following the European Parliament elections.
00:16EU heads of state and government met in Brussels for the first time since the election to take
00:20stock of the results and discuss potential candidates for three top jobs, the President
00:25of the European Commission, the President of the European Council and the EU's foreign
00:29policy chief. Forerunners for the other two jobs include former Prime Minister of Portugal
00:34Anthony Costa and Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallis.
00:38Current President of the European Council Charles Michel told journalists there is still
00:41much more discussion to be had within the groups.
00:44It's just a good conversation. It goes in the right direction, I think, but there's
00:51no agreement tonight at this stage. The political parties are playing a role, it's natural,
00:58at such a critical moment. They made proposals and we'll have the occasion in the days to
01:04come to work further and to prepare decisions that we need to make.
01:09Well, expectations of an early breakthrough last night were deemed far too optimistic
01:13but Ursula von der Leyen is still in pole position to become President of the European
01:17Commission for a second time around. However, negotiations will be tough, particularly with
01:21her chosen coalition partners, the Greens and the Socialists, who will want guarantees
01:26from her that she is committed to the centre holding and not tempted to move to the far
01:30right towards groups that have grown in number and in stature. Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.
01:42After a week of twists and turns, the official campaign of the early parliamentary elections
01:46is open in France. The nominations are closed and the candidates who will try to win one
01:51of the 577 seats in the National Assembly were revealed. The voting system is a two-round
01:57majority system. Voters are called to the polls on June 30 and July 7 to elect their
02:04deputies. President Emmanuel Macron called for early parliamentary elections following
02:09the victory of the far right party of the national rally in the European elections.
02:17Last week was marked by intense negotiations to form alliances. The left parties rallied
02:22under the banner of the new Popular Front. On the right, the alliance of the liberal
02:29conservative Republican Party with the far right national rally has aroused controversy.
02:36Meanwhile demonstrations against the far right took place throughout France.
02:46More than 20 nations of NATO members are hitting the Western military alliance's defence spending
02:57targets this year, a record number according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,
03:05as Russia's war in Ukraine has raised the threat of expanding conflict in Europe.
03:11The United States military presence in Europe remains essential for the security and stability
03:17of the European continent. But Europeans are doing far more for their collective security
03:24than just a few years ago. They lead combat-ready battlegroups in the eastern part of the alliance.
03:33They have increased the readiness of their forces. They have strengthened NATO with highly
03:38capable Finnish and Swedish militaries joining our alliance.
03:43The increase in spending reflects the worries about the war in Ukraine.
03:56Anti-government protests have taken place in Jerusalem, with demonstrators calling for
04:00a general election and a deal to bring home the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.
04:08According to local reports, 100,000 people joined the rally, which saw clashes between
04:14police and protesters near the house of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
04:21More than 100 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas
04:26in November last year, but since then new truce deals have stalled.
04:32It comes as Israel's three-man war cabinet was dissolved by Prime Minister Netanyahu
04:38following the departure of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief who disagreed
04:43with the Israeli leader's handling of the war.
04:47The move has left Netanyahu more dependent on his ultra-nationalist allies, who oppose
04:52a ceasefire. That in turn could pose an additional challenge to the already fragile negotiations
04:59to end the eight-month war in Gaza.
05:08The law on nature restoration has been adopted by the European Union after months of negotiations.
05:16Meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, the environment ministers reached a qualified majority.
05:22The law aims to restore at least 20 percent of the bloc's land and sea areas by 2030.
05:29This is a relief for environmental organizations.
05:31It is historic because it will really set legally binding targets for member states
05:39to start restoring many degraded ecosystems from forests to freshwater ecosystems, to
05:46restore nature in cities, to restore pollinators, so it's really very important.
05:53The adoption, however, has caused a political stir. All eyes are on Vienna, which has shifted
05:59the balance of power between the capitals. Austria's ecologist climate minister has validated
06:04the law, making it possible to obtain a qualified majority, a decision that runs counter to
06:09the line taken by the Austrian chancellor.
06:12The head of the government, who comes from the central right, said that his country intended
06:16to abstain, a choice ultimately rejected by the minister.
06:24I know I will face opposition in Austria on this, but I'm convinced that this is the time
06:30to adopt this law.
06:35The vote puts an end to a long campaign of political contestation, led mainly by the
06:42EPP.
06:43It's not even a debate about nature restoration anymore.
06:48It's a law that is committed to dialogue in order to achieve a restoration of ecosystems,
06:55giving an opportunity for the set of economic activities that depend directly on the good
07:01state of conservation of nature to continue developing.
07:05In the long term, the law aims to restore all ecosystems in need by 2050.
07:11The member states will now have to submit their national plans for implementing these
07:15commitments to the European Commission.
07:22A first for a Portuguese director at Cannes, Miguel Gomes' Best Director Prize, one of
07:28the most important at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, comes for a director
07:33already used to the big stage.
07:36After Tabu and the Arabian Nights trilogy, Gomes' Grand Tour brought the prestigious
07:41award which he has cherished since he was a child.
08:06Set in 1918, Grand Tour depicts the story of a man who runs away from his fiancée, travelling
08:12through various countries in Asia.
08:14The film itself is the result of a long trip by the director with a small crew to the four
08:20corners of the continent.
08:22Miguel Gomes thus wanted to combine his experience with the experience of being a director.
08:29There are two possibilities in cinema.
08:31To record the world, to record the world as we know it today, to put a camera in a place
08:37and film what is in front of us.
08:40And on the other hand, to invent a world, to invent the world as we know it today.
08:49I tried to make a classic adventure film, but working from such different materials.
08:57I tried to make a classic adventure film, but working from such different materials.
09:05I made a copy of the film, a copy of the script, a copy of the screenplay, a copy of the
09:13Gomes hopes that the prize he won at Cannes will enable him to finance his next project,
09:30an epic film based on the Brazilian literary classic, The Interlands, by Euclides da Cunha.
09:42The company behind the plan of establishing Europe's largest lithium mine in Serbia is
09:47making a fresh effort to put it back on the table.
09:51In 2022, following massive protests, the Serbian government stopped the Jadar project.
09:57The company, Rio Tinto, recently published an environmental study claiming the mining
10:02project wouldn't impact the environment as feared.
10:07The publication of these drawings doesn't mean that the Jadar project will continue.
10:12If the Jadar project were to be implemented, the studies would be carried out in the regular
10:18procedure that is stipulated in the law and which includes a public hearing.
10:37The project is valued at nearly 200 billion euros.
10:41By publishing the working draft of the study, Rio Tinto says they hope to start a public
11:08debate on the environmental impact.
11:10Prime Minister Miloš Vučević has not announced the future moves of his cabinet, but emphasizes
11:15that lithium can be a serious advantage for Serbia.
11:18According to a Financial Times interview of Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vučević, the
11:43Serbian government has had a positive rethink for the project.