EU's Kallas warns against Russia and China's growing alliance

Euronews

2 days ago

The world should be 'extremely worried' about Russia and China's relationship as North Korean troops fight alongside Russian soldiers in Ukraine, the European Union's foreign policy said on Saturday.
'When China and Russia speak of leading together, the change is not seen in 100 years and of revisions of the global security order. We should all be extremely worried,' Kallas said during the Shangri-La Dialogue, a global security conference in Singapore.
European and Asian security remain interconnected, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs stated while speaking on a panel about ensuring global stability.
'Our security is very much interlinked, and what we have to do for not the worst case scenario happening, is that we really need to defend the international law because that says it all,' Kallas explained.
'That is the umbrella that actually protects, especially the smaller states.'
Kallas spoke after US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth warned of increasing military and economic pressure coming from China.
In his speech at the conference, he reassured allies in the Indo-Pacific they would not be left alone, while insisting they contribute more to their own defence.
Hegseth said Washington would bolster overseas defences to counter what the US views as an increasing threat from China – particularly in its stance towards Taiwan.
China does not recognise Taiwan's independence. Chinese President Xi Jinping hasn't ruled out taking it by force. China regularly sends military aircraft and ships near Taiwan and currently has an aircraft carrier southeast of the island.
China's army 'is rehearsing for the real deal,' Hegseth said in his keynote speech. 'We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.'
He urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase their defence spending to levels similar to the 5% of their gross domestic product that European nations which are part of NATO are now pushed to contribute.
The head of China's delegation to the conference accused Hegseth of making 'groundless accusations'.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Bulgaria on Saturday, calling on the government to preserve the country's currency, the Bulgarian lev, and not enter the euro area.
In the capital, Sofia, and various other cities, demonstrations against the introduction of the euro currency began at around noon. The protests were organised by the ultranationalist Revival Party and several NGOs.
They believe that if Bulgaria enters the eurozone, prices will rise and the country's economic sovereignty will be limited, and want a referendum to be held on the issue.
"Revival Bulgaria has a will of the people and the will of the people now says categorically: we do not want the Bulgarian lev to be destroyed, we want to preserve the Bulgarian currency, we want to preserve the freedom of Bulgaria. And that is why we want such a referendum to be held," said the leader of the Revival party Kostadin Kostadinov.
Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev recently submitted a request to parliament to hold a referendum on whether the country adopts the euro as its currency.
In 2024, the European Central Bank said the country couldn't join the currency union yet because inflation in the country was too high.
The seven non-eurozone members of the EU are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden. They continue to use their national currencies, although all but Denmark - which has won an opt-out clause - are obliged to join once they meet the euro convergence criteria.
Bulgaria has set a target to join the euro area as of 2026.