Latest news bulletin | April 1st – Midday - video Dailymotion

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00:00 Turkey's main opposition takes the lead over President Erdogan's party in nationwide local

00:07 elections.

00:11 Celebrations in Bulgaria and Romania as visa-free travel in the Schengen zone officially begins.

00:24 Polling stations have closed and votes are being counted in Turkey's local elections.

00:29 Early results showed the main opposition party retaining control over key cities.

00:35 The election is seen as a test of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity.

00:40 In Istanbul, the opposition Republican People's Party mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is leading the

00:45 race.

00:48 Erdogan is backing former urbanization and environment minister Murat Kurum for the post.

00:54 The president's pick for mayor of the capital Ankara is trailing the incumbent.

01:00 Erdogan's AK Party has been trying to win back voters in Ankara and Istanbul, which

01:05 they lost to the opposition five years ago.

01:08 Some 61 million people were eligible to vote in the election.

01:13 Security was stepped up across the country to prevent violence.

01:17 However, fights in several cities resulted in the deaths of at least two people.

01:26 Passengers from Germany arriving at Sofia Airport were greeted with Bulgarian flags

01:31 as the country marks its accession to the EU's visa-free Schengen zone.

01:37 Its inclusion means travellers can move more freely throughout the bloc without border

01:42 checks.

01:44 Bulgarian government and EU representatives attended a ceremony at the airport to mark

01:49 the milestone.

01:50 Outgoing Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov described Bulgaria's inclusion as a historic moment.

01:58 For now, though, the visa-free travel is restricted to air and sea journeys.

02:04 A veto by Austria means the new status doesn't apply for land routes due to concerns of an

02:10 influx of refugees.

02:12 Meanwhile, Romania is also celebrating its entrance into the zone.

02:18 The two countries hope to become full Schengen members by the end of the year.

02:27 Fifteen years have passed since the last update of a treaty of the European Union.

02:32 Entering into force in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon clarified the division of powers between

02:37 the EU and member states.

02:39 Since then, some have called for treaty changes in anticipation of the bloc's enlargement.

02:45 The EU needs to be made future-proof.

02:47 It has to become more agile.

02:49 It has to have more capacity to act, in particular if the EU is going to grow.

02:58 Institutional reforms would also aim to build on the EU's capacity to respond to contemporary

03:03 challenges.

03:04 We are dealing with a different international context and Europe needs to raise its capacity

03:11 to defend itself, to support Ukraine.

03:15 So the European Parliament, which gave the green light at the end of November to proposals

03:19 for reforming the treaties of the Union, proposed to create a defence union with military capabilities.

03:27 Proponents of reform argue the defence of the rule of law and democratic legitimacy

03:31 of the EU could also be strengthened.

03:35 One of the major weaknesses of the European Union has been over the past years that it

03:40 hasn't been able to protect the rule of law in all member states.

03:45 The expert recommends increasing budgetary conditions and improving Article 7 of the

03:49 Treaty of the European Union, which allows the suspension of a member state's voting

03:53 rights in the Council in the event of non-compliance with its fundamental values.

03:58 Triggered against Poland and Hungary, Article 7 never succeeded and has not yet achieved

04:02 its goal.

04:04 Digital and energy transitions, the fight against climate change and health crises are

04:08 all global challenges that require increased EU capacity for action, according to experts.

04:15 Europe needs to have a key role in improving global governance when dealing with climate

04:20 change.

04:22 When it comes to energy, experts and MEPs propose the creation of an integrated European

04:27 energy union to guarantee a stable, affordable and sustainable energy supply for Europeans.

04:34 And there are also calls for increased EU competence to ensure fair and impartial access

04:39 to healthcare within the EU or to conduct group procurement of vaccines.

04:44 However, opponents of these proposed reforms believe that these powers belong to member

04:48 states and many are calling for more national sovereignty.

04:51 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Latest news bulletin | April 1st – Midday

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