
By banning the Budapest Pride march, Viktor Orban is trying to divide his opposition
Justice Minister Bence Tuzson even wrote to the embassy staff from countries supporting the parade – including the French embassy – to remind them of the legal framework of the law on "child protection," which prohibits the representation of homosexuality to minors. Meanwhile, organizers and Budapest's opposition mayor, Gergely Karacsony, maintained that transforming Pride into a "municipal event" rendered the national police ban illegitimate.
Despite this uncertainty, the French government announced on June 26 that it would send its ambassador for LGBTQ+ rights, Jean-Marc Berthon, to Budapest on Saturday. He was expected to join some 60 MEPs from the left, green and centrist groups who had announced their participation in Budapest, in addition to the European commissioner for equality, Belgian social democrat Hadja Lahbib and dozens of national lawmakers from various European Union countries. The presence of so many political figures was set to turn this Pride into an unprecedented pan-European protest against Orban's increasingly authoritarian drift.
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Euronews
19 minutes ago
- Euronews
The possible countries that could host a Zelenskyy-Putin summit
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pursuing direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin almost since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has always refused. But with a recent push from Donald Trump, the possibility of a meeting is closer than ever. The question now is not only when, but where? The International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Putin for the abduction of Ukrainian children limits the choice of location as he risks arrest in any of the court's 125 member states if he steps foot into their territory. Some of them are ready to make an exception though and have promised not to arrest Putin if he comes for a meeting which could put an end to the war against Ukraine. Switzerland is a possible option. The country's foreign minister said the country would be ready to host Putin for any possible peace talks despite the ICC arrest warrant. Despite its neutral status, Switzerland is a signatory to the Rome Statute that founded the court but Ignazio Cassis said that provided Putin was coming for peace purposes, the country could receive him. "This has to do with our diplomatic role, with international Geneva as (the European) headquarters of the United Nations," Cassis said. French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly supports the idea of Geneva as a potential location for the talks following a White House meeting with European leaders on Monday. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker offered his country - also an ICC signatory - as a potential venue, saying Vienna supported any initiative leading to a just and lasting peace that protects Ukrainian and European security interests. "As proud host of (the) OSCE and many other International Organisations we stand ready to offer our good services," he said in a post on X. A country in the Middle East could be a solid compromise location. In March, Saudi Arabia hosted a US delegation for the talks first with Ukrainian and then with Russian officials. Qatar and the UAE are possible options Euronews' correspondent in Doha, Aadel Hallem, says despite being a relatively small Gulf state, Qatar has a seat at the international table and is frequently called upon to be a go-to mediator in several international conflicts. Those mediation efforts include Russia and Ukraine, specifically when it comes to the return of Ukrainian children, forcefully deported to Russia. Even when it was caught in the crossfire between the US, Iran and Israel in June, where missiles were intercepted in its airspace, Qatar was still relied upon to broker peace and de-escalate tensions. In 2020 Qatar hosted historic talks between US officials and the Taliban, which led to the Doha Agreement and eventually paved the way for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. More recently, Qatar continues to mediate talks between Israel and Hamas, which has led to several temporary ceasefires and delivered humanitarian aid into Gaza. Qatar believes mediation efforts are a core tenet of its foreign policy and a clear indicator of its soft power. Similar to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates has deliberately shaped its role as a diplomatic broker, a state able to move between rival powers while maintaining credibility with both, says Euronews correspondent in Dubai, Toby Gregory, adding that this strategy has extended directly to Russia's war in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Emirati officials helped arrange exchanges that brought home Ukrainian prisoners of war, along with children taken to Russia. It was a reminder that the Emirates can act where others have limited reach. At the same time, Abu Dhabi has preserved its dialogue with Moscow. Earlier this month, President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan travelled to Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin, a meeting that highlighted the trust both sides place in the relationship. The only meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin Since Zelenskyy became president of Ukraine in 2019, his direct communications with Putin have been limited as Russia had already been occupying Ukrainian territory in the east and in Crimea. The two presidents have had only two phone calls and a single face-to-face meeting, all in 2019. Zelenskyy and Putin met for the first and only time in Paris, during a Normandy Format Summit, in the presence of the leaders of Germany and France. Behind closed doors, the two reportedly discussed issues that still remain relevant now, albeit on an even bigger scale; a prisoner exchange and ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. In the spring of 2021, as Russia started massing troops near Ukraine's borders ahead of its full-scale invasion, Zelenskyy offered to meet with Putin "anywhere in Donbas," the eastern region in Ukraine which Russia has been trying to fully occupy and annex for over a decade now. Putin declined, denying that Russia was a part of the conflict and instead invited Zelenskyy to Moscow. The meeting never happened. As Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Zelenskyy again called for talks. Putin again rejected any dialogue on a presidential level, sending only a low-level delegation for the first attempted negotiations close to the Belarus border. Later, after the revelations of Russian forces' mass atrocities in Bucha - Ukraine's government says 458 civilians were killed - and other settlements around Ukraine's capital, Kyiv hardened its stance on communications with the Kremlin. Following Donald Trump's return to the White House, Ukraine's president renewed his push for direct talks with Moscow, now with the support of the US administration. In May, Zelenskyy made a surprise announcement that he was willing to meet Putin in Türkiye. Ukraine's president even travelled to Türkiye, but Putin didn't appear, instead sending a low-level delegation again. Actively trying to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow, Donald Trump has insisted that the meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin must take place. But the format remains unclear. One possibility is they will initially be bilateral, between Zelenskyy and Putin, and then include Trump later. That format could allow Trump to maintain his position of peacemaker in the case the meeting doesn't bring any tangible results. According to US media, Trump intends to leave Russia and Ukraine to organise a meeting between their leaders without playing a direct role for the time being, according to administration officials familiar with the situation, taking a step back from the negotiations to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But Trump reportedly told advisers that he does intend to host a trilateral meeting with the two leaders, but only after they have met first.

LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
EU secures lower US car tariffs in new trade deal, but fails to protect wine
Details of a US-EU trade deal published on Thursday, August 21, showed Brussels secured a tariff reduction for cars exported to the United States but failed to win a reprieve for its cherished wine sector. US President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clinched a framework accord in July for most EU exports to face a 15% US levy. However, many aspects remained unclear, as the European Union sought to win carve-outs for some sectors and Trump threatened higher tariffs on others. A joint statement on Thursday brought some clarity, although negotiations are not over, as the EU said it would seek more tariff reductions. The "maximum, all-inclusive" 15% rate would apply to the vast majority of European exports, including cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber, the EU said. "This is the most favorable trade deal the US has extended to any partner," EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic told a press conference in Brussels, explaining the levy will not come on top of existing tariffs. In recent weeks, Trump has raised the possibility of additional tariffs targeting specific sectors such as pharmaceuticals, which account for 20% of the EU's exports to the United States, and semiconductors. Bison and wine Sefcovic said he was confident that the rate for cars, which is lower than the current 27.5%, will apply retroactively from August 1, having received assurances on the matter from his US counterpart. However, this will happen only once the EU introduces legislation to eliminate its own tariffs on US industrial products, something Sefcovic said the commission was "working very hard" on. The 15% rate will also apply to wine and spirits despite a push by France, Italy and other wine-making countries to win a zero tariff exemption. "Unfortunately, here we didn't succeed," Sefcovic said, adding negotiations would continue. "These doors are not closed forever." The French wine exporters federation said it was "hugely disappointed." "We are certain that this will create major difficulties for the wines and spirits sector," said Gabriel Picard, the head of the wine and spirits federation FEVS. Christophe Chateau, a spokesperson for a group representing Bordeaux wine producers, described this as "bad news" – but better than the worst-case scenario, with Trump who had at one point threatened tariffs as high as 200%. "It further hinders the trade and export of Bordeaux wines to the United States," which is by far their largest market, Chateau told Agence France-Presse. French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said his government would seek "additional exemptions" in the trade deal. Under the agreement, the EU committed to significantly improving market access to a range of US seafood and agricultural goods, including tree nuts, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, pork and bison meat. On the other hand, a special more favorable regime will apply as of September 1 to a number of EU exports to the US, including "unavailable natural resources" such as cork, aircraft parts and generic pharmaceuticals. These would effectively face a "zero or close to zero" rate, the commission said. "This is not the end of the process, we continue to engage with the US to agree more tariff reductions, to identify more areas of cooperation, and to create more economic growth potential," said von der Leyen.


Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Will flying outside the EU subject French to stricter tax audits?
In a much-watched TikTok video, a French-speaking presenter claims that, as soon as a person boards an aeroplane from France to a country outside the European Union, they are signing up for an automatic tax audit upon their return. It is not clarified who exactly would be affected. "Starting on 1 September 2025, every traveller leaving the EU will be systematically reported to the French tax authorities via a new procedure," the author of the video states. The system is referred to by the author as the DVAD (Dispositif de vérification automatique des déplacements, or Automatic Travel Verification System). The video claims the measure was introduced by the French Interior Ministry and announced by reputable French media BFM TV and Le Parisien, which reportedly said passport data will be cross-checked with income declarations and bank transactions upon return. If a discrepancy is detected between a person's lifestyle and their tax forms, they will "receive a summons within 30 days to justify their income". Failing to do so could lead to a €10,000 fine, an immediate tax adjustment, and loss of benefits. Those most targeted would be those who "hide cash"—"fraudsters stashing cash in Dubai or Morocco"; however, the author said even people on holiday will be affected. It then cites franceinfo, saying the well-known media organisation reported that more than 12 million French people could potentially be affected each year. The video, which has been viewed 1.5 million times, was posted on the TikTok account PassionMondialeFR. In the comments section, outrage prevails. "Welcome to the new North Korea," one person said. Another user commented: "The next step is to give each person a counter to see how many hours they have breathed." Others argued the state didn't have the right to gather data in this way. However, the allegations made in this video are completely false. No official announcements No such measures have been announced by the Ministry of the Interior. Euroverify scoured its recent announcements, as well as those made on other ministry websites, and found no information related to these claims. This false measure has also not been reported on by the French media cited in the video, nor by any other media organisation. Additionally, were such a measure to be introduced, it is unlikely it would come from the Ministry of the Interior. While it does oversee the National Directorate of Border Police (DNPAF), it has no jurisdiction over tax matters. Tax matters and audits are, instead, the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. More specifically, they fall under the Directorate-General of Public Finances (DGFIP), which is the only authority competent for this type of measure in France. The Ministry of Economics and Finance, commonly referred to as Bercy in France, confirmed to Euroverify that the claims were incorrect and that the country has not introduced these measures. Additional proof can be found that the claims would not be legitimate when looking at other content shared by the same PassionMondialeFR account. Several videos feature AI-generated presenters. This was confirmed by AI detection tools. This trend of spreading fake news by using anchors who appear to have the same enthusiasm, energy and diction as real newsreaders, but are actually AI-generated, is becoming more widespread. Meanwhile, other videos published on the TikTok account claim that shopping for over €100 will have to be justified by low-income households, and that people in France can no longer withdraw more than €200 in cash per week without being automatically registered with the authorities. Online searches again showed that these are non-existent laws. Still, such messages are shared almost daily, and while some videos are watched a few thousand times, others have several hundred thousand or even over a million views.