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00:00During a surprise visit to Kiev on Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended his
00:06country's refusal to send Ukraine Taurus long-range missiles, but stressed that his support for
00:12the country remains strong.
00:15With regard to individual weapon systems, we have a certain assessment whether it is
00:20right to provide them or not.
00:22This has something to do with the range and the necessity to control the target.
00:28And that's why we said no.
00:30But that doesn't reduce our support, which is very comprehensive.
00:34And it is important to me to say that it will also remain comprehensive.
00:39Scholz's visit is the first time in more than two years, and comes just weeks after Ukrainian
00:44President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized him for having a phone call with Russian President
00:49Vladimir Putin.
00:51Zelensky said that German air defense systems have saved tens of thousands of people in
00:55Ukraine, but also said support should increase.
00:59During the visit, Zelensky took Scholz to a military hospital where they spoke with
01:03wounded soldiers.
01:05He also showed Scholz through an exhibition of drone equipment, showcasing domestically
01:09produced drones as well as those created in cooperation with German companies.
01:17Hungary's foreign minister has reiterated Budapest's stance on peace during his twelfth
01:23visits to Moscow since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
01:28Peter Seattle, who has repeatedly visited Russia, a step that his European colleagues
01:34have avoided, met with Sergey Lavrov on Monday.
01:37Both leaders discussed the conflict in Ukraine.
01:40The visit to Moscow coincides with Hungary's rotating presidency of the European Union.
02:07In July, Prime Minister Viktor Orban traveled to Moscow and met with Vladimir Putin, sparking
02:13sharp criticism from the EU.
02:15Under Orban, Budapest has repeatedly pushed for negotiations with Moscow.
02:27French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government is hanging on by a thread.
02:31On Monday, Barnier decided to use the controversial Article 49.3 of the French Constitution to
02:37force the adoption of next year's social security budget.
02:41In retaliation, both the left-wing coalition, the NFP and the far-right National Rally Party
02:47have announced that they will be filing separate motions to topple Barnier's government.
02:52The confidence vote could come as early as Wednesday.
02:55So what happens now?
02:57Well, either the motion is passed by the majority, bringing down the Barnier government, or it could be
03:02rejected and the social security bill will then be adopted and then sent to the Senate.
03:08However, the first option currently seems like the most plausible one, considering all four parties
03:13in the NFP coalition have declared that they will be voting this motion.
03:18That's between 180 and 192 seats.
03:22The far-right and its allies have 141 seats.
03:26If all MPs from both groups vote to topple Barnier, well, they will have more than the 289 seats necessary to do so.
03:36And if the government falls, it will be the first successful no-confidence vote since 1962,
03:43back when Charles de Gaulle was president.
03:45Sofia Katsenkova, reporting from Paris for Euronews.
03:57Pro-European parties won Sunday's parliamentary general elections in Romania,
04:02but far-right parties achieved a better score than never before, which is more than 30% of votes.
04:10One of the arguments used by the right-wing during the campaign was that
04:14Romanians are not respected by the EU and the delayed late accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area
04:20was a proof of that.
04:23Since 2007, Romania is a member of the EU, and in January, 13 years after the beginning of the process,
04:31it finally became a full member of the free movement area.
04:37The Schengen story was actually very used by the sovereignist parties and the far-right,
04:44saying, listen, Brussels does not treat us as equal partners.
04:51And I think this also contributed to the whole general feelings against the EU.
04:57Since 2015, many member states have been temporarily closing their borders,
05:02referring to health or security reasons.
05:05The prevailing mood right now in the society is not, ha, we got it, but finally.
05:10Plus, some Romanians are kind of jokingly talking about saying that,
05:15well, right now Schengen zone is generally in trouble.
05:17A lot of countries are imposing border controls.
05:20It is now clear that Romania remains a pro-European country,
05:23despite a massive rise of anti-EU narratives that has influenced many citizens via social media.
05:29According to Globsec, 83% of Romanians support the country's EU membership,
05:33but more than 70% believe that Romania is not able to influence the EU decision mechanisms.
05:39A certain part of the Romanian population feel that they are kind of second-class citizens of the European Union.
05:46I think the battle is we are disillusioned with the West,
05:49because not everyone has benefited of our membership to the EU.
05:55You have people that are not living worse,
05:58but they don't feel that Romania has economical growth,
06:01because we have a lot of inequalities between the classes.
06:07Now is the time for negotiations in Romania to form a government.
06:11And in the meanwhile, this Sunday, citizens will vote for the second round of the presidential elections,
06:16where the ultra-nationalist anti-EU candidate Colin Djordjescu had a victory on the first round.
06:21He will face the conservative pro-European Elena Laskoni.
06:30With a walk in the park and the desire to bury the hatchet between the European Commission and the Council,
06:35this was the first working day for the new president of the European Council, Antonio Costa,
06:40and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who has a new team of commissioners.
06:48Their meeting with the president of the European Parliament, Roberto Mazzola,
06:51is the beginning of a solid partnership for Europe, they said.
06:57The College of Commissioners received final approval from the European Parliament last week,
07:01and Antonio Costa was elected by EU presidents and prime ministers on 27th of June.
07:08Although his team of office only began on 1st of December.
07:17Volkswagen workers have launched rolling two-hour strikes at plants across Germany
07:22in resistance to pay cuts and factory closures.
07:25Euronews correspondent Liv Stroud reports from Wolfsburg at Germany's Volkswagen headquarters.
07:30The sound of whistles and cries ring out across Wolfsburg, home to Germany's Volkswagen headquarters.
07:36Tens of thousands of VW workers across Germany have joined warning strikes on Monday morning
07:42after the company and unions failed to reach an agreement.
07:46The company plans to close at least three plants, slash tens of thousands of jobs, and cut pay by 10%.
07:53It blames the crisis on the troubled economy, rising wages, a lack of raw materials, and a slow transition to electric vehicles.
08:04With snap elections coming up in February, and the car industry very much the backbone of the German economy,
08:10it seems more than likely that Germany is going to vote for a change in leadership.
08:15Liv Stroud, in Wolfsburg, for Euronews.
08:22Thousands of workers at Germany's Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg began warning strikes on Monday morning.
08:29The Works Council slammed shareholders for prioritising billions of euros profit,
08:34as workers faced job insecurity and mass layoffs.
08:59The mood in Wolfsburg is sombre, as talks between the union and VW are set to continue next Monday.
09:30What about the future of the city? What about the future of the region?
09:33What about other regions that are affected? Our children, where are they going to learn?
09:38Where are they going to work in the future? It's very depressing.
09:41Nine out of ten VW plants located across Germany joined the strike as the car company plans to shut three plants,
09:48terminate thousands of employees, and slash wages by 10% in a bid to save cash as consumer demand for cars is stuck in neutral.
09:57But declining sales are not just hitting Germany.
10:00Italy, France and Belgium are also reporting a dramatic slump in sales,
10:05which could lead to a deeper crisis within the Eurozone.
10:09Liv Stroud, in Wolfsburg, for Euronews.
10:17In a revolutionary move, Belgian sex workers are now able to sign formal employment contracts
10:22and gain labour rights on par with other professions.
10:25The new law also establishes fundamental rights for sex workers, including the right to refuse clients,
10:31choose their practices and stop an act at any moment.
10:34I think the advantages of the new law are that you can now apply for loans more easily at the bank,
10:41you can also get insurance more easily, and that the pension will also be better for us.
10:52And if you are sick, we can also get our benefits.
10:58Hoping to clamp down on abuse and exploitation within the industry,
11:02the law means sex workers will now have access to health insurance, paid leave, maternity benefits,
11:08unemployment supports and pensions.
11:13My biggest fear is that the ladies will go home faster,
11:17that they will report an absence faster,
11:20even though they don't really have anything.
11:22Of course we don't know that, we can never say.
11:26I know that happens in all sectors, but I hope that won't be the case here.
11:32Yes, I hope so.
11:35Though some countries like Germany or the Netherlands have legalized sex work,
11:39none have implemented labour protections as comprehensive as Belgium.