Latest news bulletin | June 18th – Midday - video Dailymotion

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00:00President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen appears still on track to take

00:06a second term although EU leaders could not formally agree a deal on her position or the

00:11other top jobs that are due to be decided following the European Parliament elections.

00:16EU heads of state and government met in Brussels for the first time since the election to take

00:20stock of the results and discuss potential candidates for three top jobs, the President

00:25of the European Commission, the President of the European Council and the EU's foreign

00:29policy chief. Forerunners for the other two jobs include former Prime Minister of Portugal

00:34Anthony Costa and Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallis.

00:38Current President of the European Council Charles Michel told journalists there is still

00:41much more discussion to be had within the groups.

00:44It's just a good conversation. It goes in the right direction, I think, but there's

00:51no agreement tonight at this stage. The political parties are playing a role, it's natural,

00:58at such a critical moment. They made proposals and we'll have the occasion in the days to

01:04come to work further and to prepare decisions that we need to make.

01:09Well, expectations of an early breakthrough last night were deemed far too optimistic

01:13but Ursula von der Leyen is still in pole position to become President of the European

01:17Commission for a second time around. However, negotiations will be tough, particularly with

01:21her chosen coalition partners, the Greens and the Socialists, who will want guarantees

01:26from her that she is committed to the centre holding and not tempted to move to the far

01:30right towards groups that have grown in number and in stature. Shona Murray, Euronews, Brussels.

01:42After a week of twists and turns, the official campaign of the early parliamentary elections

01:46is open in France. The nominations are closed and the candidates who will try to win one

01:51of the 577 seats in the National Assembly were revealed. The voting system is a two-round

01:57majority system. Voters are called to the polls on June 30 and July 7 to elect their

02:04deputies. President Emmanuel Macron called for early parliamentary elections following

02:09the victory of the far right party of the national rally in the European elections.

02:17Last week was marked by intense negotiations to form alliances. The left parties rallied

02:22under the banner of the new Popular Front. On the right, the alliance of the liberal

02:29conservative Republican Party with the far right national rally has aroused controversy.

02:36Meanwhile demonstrations against the far right took place throughout France.

02:46More than 20 nations of NATO members are hitting the Western military alliance's defence spending

02:57targets this year, a record number according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,

03:05as Russia's war in Ukraine has raised the threat of expanding conflict in Europe.

03:11The United States military presence in Europe remains essential for the security and stability

03:17of the European continent. But Europeans are doing far more for their collective security

03:24than just a few years ago. They lead combat-ready battlegroups in the eastern part of the alliance.

03:33They have increased the readiness of their forces. They have strengthened NATO with highly

03:38capable Finnish and Swedish militaries joining our alliance.

03:43The increase in spending reflects the worries about the war in Ukraine.

03:56Anti-government protests have taken place in Jerusalem, with demonstrators calling for

04:00a general election and a deal to bring home the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

04:08According to local reports, 100,000 people joined the rally, which saw clashes between

04:14police and protesters near the house of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

04:21More than 100 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

04:26in November last year, but since then new truce deals have stalled.

04:32It comes as Israel's three-man war cabinet was dissolved by Prime Minister Netanyahu

04:38following the departure of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief who disagreed

04:43with the Israeli leader's handling of the war.

04:47The move has left Netanyahu more dependent on his ultra-nationalist allies, who oppose

04:52a ceasefire. That in turn could pose an additional challenge to the already fragile negotiations

04:59to end the eight-month war in Gaza.

05:08The law on nature restoration has been adopted by the European Union after months of negotiations.

05:16Meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, the environment ministers reached a qualified majority.

05:22The law aims to restore at least 20 percent of the bloc's land and sea areas by 2030.

05:29This is a relief for environmental organizations.

05:31It is historic because it will really set legally binding targets for member states

05:39to start restoring many degraded ecosystems from forests to freshwater ecosystems, to

05:46restore nature in cities, to restore pollinators, so it's really very important.

05:53The adoption, however, has caused a political stir. All eyes are on Vienna, which has shifted

05:59the balance of power between the capitals. Austria's ecologist climate minister has validated

06:04the law, making it possible to obtain a qualified majority, a decision that runs counter to

06:09the line taken by the Austrian chancellor.

06:12The head of the government, who comes from the central right, said that his country intended

06:16to abstain, a choice ultimately rejected by the minister.

06:24I know I will face opposition in Austria on this, but I'm convinced that this is the time

06:30to adopt this law.

06:35The vote puts an end to a long campaign of political contestation, led mainly by the

06:42EPP.

06:43It's not even a debate about nature restoration anymore.

06:48It's a law that is committed to dialogue in order to achieve a restoration of ecosystems,

06:55giving an opportunity for the set of economic activities that depend directly on the good

07:01state of conservation of nature to continue developing.

07:05In the long term, the law aims to restore all ecosystems in need by 2050.

07:11The member states will now have to submit their national plans for implementing these

07:15commitments to the European Commission.

07:22A first for a Portuguese director at Cannes, Miguel Gomes' Best Director Prize, one of

07:28the most important at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, comes for a director

07:33already used to the big stage.

07:36After Tabu and the Arabian Nights trilogy, Gomes' Grand Tour brought the prestigious

07:41award which he has cherished since he was a child.

08:06Set in 1918, Grand Tour depicts the story of a man who runs away from his fiancée, travelling

08:12through various countries in Asia.

08:14The film itself is the result of a long trip by the director with a small crew to the four

08:20corners of the continent.

08:22Miguel Gomes thus wanted to combine his experience with the experience of being a director.

08:29There are two possibilities in cinema.

08:31To record the world, to record the world as we know it today, to put a camera in a place

08:37and film what is in front of us.

08:40And on the other hand, to invent a world, to invent the world as we know it today.

08:49I tried to make a classic adventure film, but working from such different materials.

08:57I tried to make a classic adventure film, but working from such different materials.

09:05I made a copy of the film, a copy of the script, a copy of the screenplay, a copy of the

09:13Gomes hopes that the prize he won at Cannes will enable him to finance his next project,

09:30an epic film based on the Brazilian literary classic, The Interlands, by Euclides da Cunha.

09:42The company behind the plan of establishing Europe's largest lithium mine in Serbia is

09:47making a fresh effort to put it back on the table.

09:51In 2022, following massive protests, the Serbian government stopped the Jadar project.

09:57The company, Rio Tinto, recently published an environmental study claiming the mining

10:02project wouldn't impact the environment as feared.

10:07The publication of these drawings doesn't mean that the Jadar project will continue.

10:12If the Jadar project were to be implemented, the studies would be carried out in the regular

10:18procedure that is stipulated in the law and which includes a public hearing.

10:37The project is valued at nearly 200 billion euros.

10:41By publishing the working draft of the study, Rio Tinto says they hope to start a public

11:08debate on the environmental impact.

11:10Prime Minister Miloš Vučević has not announced the future moves of his cabinet, but emphasizes

11:15that lithium can be a serious advantage for Serbia.

11:18According to a Financial Times interview of Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vučević, the

11:43Serbian government has had a positive rethink for the project.

Latest news bulletin | June 18th – Midday

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