Latest news with #RadioSchuman
Euronews
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
How connected is the EU to its capital, Brussels?
Commissioner for Brussels Alain Hutchinson, credited for building bridges between the EU and its capital, tells Radio Schuman how the once weak ties blossomed into a strong synergy that benefits both. He argued that Brussels, including its public administrations, is more open to accommodating expats, while Eurocrats have started to break out of their bubble. In this episode, we also look at a NATO Parliamentary Assembly in the US state of Ohio as the Trump administration casts doubt over US' defence of NATO allies in Europe. And finally, which countries in Europe get harmed most by the import of fake goods? Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Lauren Walker. Audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas. The show is taking a break to brainstorm over bringing you even better content. Thank you for your continued support, and stay tuned!
Euronews
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Verifying claims France asked Telegram to ban Romanian Conservatives
Radio Schuman spoke with water and drought expert Niko Wanders as much of Europe is buckling under a prolonged period of drought. He voiced "serious" concerns regarding water scarcity in Europe in the longer term, and discussed what people can do to mitigate the problem. We also look at a meeting between European foreign ministers and those from the African Union as the EU seeks partners elsewhere in the face of the uncertain transatlantic relationship. And finally, how do Western Europeans feel about their countries developing independent nuclear weapons? This episode of Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Lauren Walker. Audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas. Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has alleged that France's intelligence chief asked him to "silence" Romanian conservative voices by banning them from his messaging app ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off, triggering a wave of disinformation online. Durov made the claims on social media the morning after Nicușor Dan, a pro-European Liberal, beat ultraconservative George Simion to the Romanian presidency in a tense second round vote. Simion has since requested that the Romanian Constitutional Court annul the second-round result, citing 'irrefutable evidence' of meddling from France, Moldova and others. Durov has said he would be willing to "testify" in favour of Simion's claims. Euroverify reached out to Telegram asking for confirmation of the authenticity of Durov's statements and evidence of his allegations, but did not receive a reply. No evidence has yet emerged to suggest Durov's claims are true, and France has categorically rejected the allegations. In a statement, the French Foreign Ministry described the claims as "completely unfounded" and a "diversionary maneuver from the real threats of interference targeting Romania." France's foreign intelligence service, known as DGSE, has also strongly refuted the claims. But DGSE acknowledged it had been in contact with Durov "on several occasions" to remind him "of his company's responsibilities, and his own personal responsibilities, in terms of preventing terrorist and child pornography threats." Last August, Durvov, who is Russian-born but holds French citizenship, was detained by French authorities amid a probe into allegations of fraud, drug trafficking, organised crime, promotion of terrorism and cyberbullying on Telegram. He has since been under strict legal control and is forbidden to leave France without authorisation. Telegram was founded by Durov and his eldest brother Nikolai in 2013, and has been championed by journalists and activists for its strong encryption and security. But the app has recently come under scrutiny for the spread of illegal content. French and Belgian prosecutors are currently teaming up to probe Telegram's role in allowing the spread of illicit content, including child abuse images and terrorist propaganda. The app has dodged being subject to the European Union's strictest rules under its digital rulebook, the Digital Services Act (DSA). Telegram claims it has fewer than 45 million active monthly users in the EU, the threshold for being closely monitored by the European Commission. Romania's presidential election was re-run in May after it was dramatically annulled back in November when a little-known ultra-nationalist with mystical leanings, Călin Georgescu, won an unexpected first-round victory. The Romanian Constitutional Court declassified intelligence reports that claimed a "state actor," believed to be Russia, was behind Georgescu's successful TikTok campaign. No undeniable public evidence has yet emerged to firmly confirm Russia's hand behind Georgescu's campaign. Georgescu was barred from the re-run, sparking controversy and outrage among his supporters at home and abroad. US vice-president JD Vance was among the prominent voices lambasting the Romanian Court's decision, in a blistering speech at the Munich Security Conference in February. Last December, Euroverify detected and debunked TikTok disinformation campaigns falsely accusing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of personally intervening to cancel the vote. While the European Commission has opened a probe under the Digital Services Act (DSA) into TikTok's alleged role in Georgescu's campaign, there is no evidence to suggest the EU executive had any stake in the domestic judicial decision to annul the November vote. Analysts have warned that Romania is particularly vulnerable to disinformation and foreign interference around key ballots. Romania's foreign, interior and defence ministries have accused Russia of orchestrating a propaganda campaign that claimed French troops stationed in Romania had been dressed in Romanian gendarmerie uniforms to interfere in the country's election. Belgian authorities have formally requested the European Parliament to revoke the immunity of several MEPs in connection with an investigation into alleged corruption and influence peddling associated with the Chinese technology company Huawei. The request pertains to five parliamentarians: three affiliated with the European People's Party (EPP), one representing the Socialists & Democrats (S&D), and one from Renew Europe. A probe into the allegations commenced two months ago following searches carried out in the offices of the European Parliament. The Belgian Prosecutor's Office has filed charges against eight individuals, alleging suspicions of money laundering, involvement in an organised criminal enterprise, and active corruption. The accusations against the MEPs pertain to their alleged involvement in corrupt practices in return for lobbying efforts on behalf of Huawei and endorsing legislation advantageous to the company. While the complete list of MEPs involved in the investigation has yet to be released, a number of parliamentarians came forward and confirmed that a request to revoke their immunity was filed. Italian lawmaker Salvatore de Meo (EPP), Maltese MEP Daniel Attard (S&D) and Bulgarian parliamentarian Nikola Minchev (Renew Europe) have all confirmed they were targeted by Belgian authorities. 'This is related to the investigation into my former assistant. The Belgian prosecution has not made any specific accusations against me, but wants to check whether anything improper may have taken place,' said Minchev. Minchev says that he attended a football match, and the tickets were sourced by an individual affiliated with his former assistant, who had links to Huawei. The Bulgarian MEP denied any knowledge of who provided the tickets and has in turn requested that his immunity be lifted himself. 'The Belgian authorities want to verify whether anything inappropriate occurred. That's why I'm calling for my immunity to be lifted as quickly as possible, so the matter can be clarified and it becomes clear that I have nothing to do with any unauthorised or illegal activity." European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected to officially announce the names of MEPs under investigation in the opening of a plenary session on Wednesday.
Euronews
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Why Europe should be worried about the ongoing drought
Radio Schuman spoke with water and drought expert Niko Wanders as much of Europe is buckling under a prolonged period of drought. He voiced "serious" concerns regarding water scarcity in Europe in the longer term, and discussed what people can do to mitigate the problem. We also look at a meeting between European foreign ministers and those from the African Union as the EU seeks partners elsewhere in the face of the uncertain transatlantic relationship. And finally, how do Western Europeans feel about their countries developing independent nuclear weapons? This episode of Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Lauren Walker. Audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas. Belgian authorities have formally requested the European Parliament to revoke the immunity of five Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in connection with an investigation into corruption and influence peddling associated with the Chinese technology company Huawei. The request pertains to five MEPs, three affiliated with the European People's Party (EPP), one representing the Socialists & Democrats (S&D), and one from Renew Europe. A probe into the allegations commenced two months ago following searches carried out in the offices of the European Parliament. The Belgian Prosecutor's Office has filed charges against eight individuals, alleging suspicions of money laundering, involvement in an organised criminal enterprise, and active corruption. The accusations against the MEPs pertain to their involvement in corrupt practices in return for lobbying efforts on behalf of Huawei and endorsing legislation advantageous to the company. The request to revoke immunity has been confirmed by a few EU officials. While the full list of MEPs involved in the scandal has yet to be released, a number of the parliamentarians came forward and confirmed that a request to revoke their immunity was filed. Italian lawmaker Salvatore de Meo of the EPP, Maltese MEP Daniel Attard of the Socialists and Bulgarian parliamentarian Nikola Minchev of Renew Europe have all confirmed they were targeted by Belgian authorities. 'This is related to the investigation into my former assistant. The Belgian prosecution has not made any specific accusations against me, but wants to check whether anything improper may have taken place,' said Minchev. Minchev says that he attended a football match of which the tickets were sourced by an individual affiliated with his former assistant, who had links with Huawei. The Bulgarian lawmaker denied any knowledge of who provided the tickets. 'The Belgian authorities want to verify whether anything inappropriate occurred. That's why I'm calling for my immunity to be lifted as quickly as possible, so the matter can be clarified and it becomes clear that I have nothing to do with any unauthorised or illegal activity." European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is expected to officially announce the full list of MEPs involved in the scandal in the opening of a plenary session on Wednesday.
Euronews
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Europe's struggle to prepare for armed aggression
Radio Schuman spoke with Euronews reporter Alice Tidey about where the European Commission's proposal to "rearm Europe" stands two months after it was unveiled. The call to arms was announced amid growing fears of a rapid US military withdrawal, exacerbated by the recent statement from the US NATO ambassador that the country will start European troop removal discussions later this year. So, how quickly can the EU move to defend itself? What steps is the bloc taking? And what else is needed to make ambitions reality? We also look at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels today, which is set to include talks to review ties with Israel. Finally, where in Europe has the tax burden on workers increased, and decreased, the most? This episode of Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Lauren Walker. Audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas. A sham announcement from the Turkish government is circulating online, urging Indian tourists to refrain from cancelling or postponing their trips amid New Delhi's hostilities with Pakistan. The announcement says that the vast majority of Turkish people are unaware of the conflict between India and Pakistan, that Indians are still warmly welcome to the country, and that they will be safe throughout their stay in Turkey. It's been shared on social media against the backdrop of a Turkish boycott in India, which includes calls to boycott travel to Turkey and the severing of ties with Turkish businesses and universities, after Ankara was quick to back Islamabad in the conflict. Various Indian media outlets even picked up the supposed government statement and reported on it as if it were authentic. It has also made its way to the Greek side of X, with some claiming that it shows the Turkish tourism industry is panicking, and that holidaymakers should consider travelling instead to Greece, which they say is a more stalwart ally of India. However, several clues show us that the announcement is fake, beginning with the fact that it's supposedly been shared by the "Department of Tourism". No such department exists: its real name is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The difference may be subtle, but it's one that an official government announcement would get right. The alleged announcement doesn't appear on the list of recent official press releases issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the picture of it shared on social media looks nothing like any of those authentic statements. Additionally, no reputable Turkish news organisation appears to have reported on it. EuroVerify reached out to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism but did not receive a request for comment. Nevertheless, the Indian boycott against Turkey is very much real, after reports that Pakistan used Turkish drones against India as the countries clashed following the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. Five armed terrorists killed 26 civilians there on 22 April, targeting Hindus in particular. Indian police claimed that two of the militants were Pakistani nationals, and the government accused Pakistan of supporting them. The latter firmly denies any involvement in the incident. Turkey was among the countries that backed Pakistan after India responded to the attack with military action, prompting calls to boycott the country alongside Azerbaijan, which also voiced its support for Islamabad. Indian travel sites say that cancellations of trips to Turkey have shot up over the past week, with some companies even outright discouraging travel there.
Euronews
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Can the EU and UK turn the tide after years of bad blood?
Radio Schuman spoke with Euronews correspondent Shona Murray ahead of the highly-anticipated EU-UK summit taking place in London today. In anticipation of this gathering, the tone was elated, with high hopes of a defence pact and closer ties. However, in recent days, some hurdles were hit. So, what are the main sticking points? And overall, how significant is this meeting? In this episode, we also take a look at the European Humanitarian Forum taking place in Brussels today, in the wake of the West's sweeping cuts to humanitarian aid. And finally, what are Europe's most crowded tourist destinations? Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Lauren Walker. Audio editing by David Brodheim. Music by Alexandre Jas.
