Tag: European politics

World population hits 8 billion: What does it mean for us?

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The global population reached 8 billion on 15 November 2022, according to the United Nations’ World Population Prospects 2022 report. 

This milestone presents both huge opportunities, but also considerable challenges for humankind. 

“[It] is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

In our latest episode of the Global Conversation, with the help of Friends of Europe, Euronews sat down with the United Nations Population Fund Executive Director, Natalia Kanem, and the European Commission Vice President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica to discuss what this all means for us.

Isabel da Silva, Euronews: The United Nations Population Fund has just published the State of the World Population Report. India overtook China as the country with the largest population. It will keep growing very fast. I would like to ask Madam Executive Director, which are the other findings that would you would like to highlight? 

Natalia Kanem, United Nations Population Fund Executive Director: “There are two things that I’ll say. One is the world population is reordering itself. We’re living in a period where there’s so much diversity. Some countries have a mean age of 50, others a mean age of 15. But my real point is that everywhere there seem to be these alarm bells going off. [The] world population [is] too big, [or] too small. Women will make their own decisions and we should support them in the fertility that they wish to have.”

Isabel da Silva, Euronews: Madam Vice-President, the European Union has only 6% of the world population and faces a declining trend, which will have a huge impact in terms of financing welfare and the pension system. Considering that the French population is so angrily reacting to reforms in these fields, what are the solutions?

Dubravka Šuica, European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography: “There are different ways to find a solution, as you said. [The] first one is that we want to use our cohesion policy in the best possible way, in order to create an environment for families to thrive. Then, I have to mention artificial intelligence and robotics, which is very important and can sometimes replace humans. But I don’t say that this is the only solution. And the third one is managing legal migration.

Isabel da Silva, Euronews: How can we integrate migrants in a way that is positive for them and for our societies?

**Dubravka Šuica, European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography: “**I think that solidarity is of utmost importance and we have to push for it. And I think that Europe is based on solidarity. So, we have to do more on this, prepare them (migrants) to integrate better when they come, [be it] with learning languages or different skills. Reskilling, upskilling. You know that we are now in the European Year of Skills and for the two transitions, digital and green, there are new jobs and it’s very important to have skilled people for new jobs, for new green jobs. So, this is something which should be done in advance before they come to our member states.”

Isabel da Silva, Euronews: How can we explain this anxiety about the fact that we are now 8 billion?

Natalia Kanem, United Nations Population Fund Executive Director:  “The population dynamics of the moment is a world of great movement. And when we look at the dynamics of what creates that movement, we see that there’s one axis of conflict and people feeling that their microcosm is unsafe. 

“Now climate is another push for people to leave where they are and seek a better life elsewhere. So, we need to look for climate solutions, and we also need to put peace at the centre. 

“The other piece of it is that this is the first time in human history when there’s so much divergence. In fact, two-thirds of us live in places where the population will decline looking towards the year 2050. But there’s still one-third of us in places where the population is growing very rapidly. There are a lot of women in developing country settings who still cannot get contraception.”

Isabel da Silva, Euronews: European women face, obviously, different challenges, but there’s still some discrimination in terms of access to the job market, in terms of wages. They also make up for, I would say, 90% of the workforce for health and social care. When we talk about women’s empowerment and respecting their rights, what is missing?

Dubravka Šuica, European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography:                “The Gender issue is a big issue in [the] European Union and we have to deal with it. Eight million European women don’t work at all, although they have their careers, they have their CVs, but they can’t work because they cannot afford either kindergarten or nursery home, for either their parents or for their kids. So we lack 8 million European women in our labour market because of this. We have to take care about the infrastructure, we have to care about this profession of caregiver, which, I must say, should be better respected, and should be better paid, because this profession is undervalued and we have to take care of this.”

Isabel da Silva, Euronews: But I would say that, maybe, other groups are also still overlooked. I would say people with disability and people with other issues. Even among elderly people who still want to be active in work, they find it hard to find a job or be able to contribute. Does there also have to be a mindset change?

Natalia Kanem, United Nations Population Fund Executive Director: “Exactly. And that is the point about the 8 billion and the infinite possibilities. If we ask the right questions, your imagination takes you to solutions that are workable. And putting people’s desires, what they want, at the centre has to be part of this equation. 

“I also feel that it’s a time of great change in technology. It’s a time of great possibility to be able to use new methodologies that we have to invent. As you said, how can an older person, who can actively contribute, be in a situation that structures for their talents and their capacities? But most of all, I think it’s really important to look at the young generation’s desire to put the planet first, to connect all those dots across the Sustainable Development Goals, planet and future. So, this means that we have to plan more intelligently and ask better questions.

Isabel da Silva, Euronews: My last question is: will this vision also be a solution for the socially and economically depressed regions in Europe? You know, there’s a lot of dynamics in the urban areas, but a lot of rural areas in many European Union countries are getting very depressed in all sorts of ways.

Dubravka Šuica, European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography: “This is something which our president, von der Leyen, wanted to have in the treaties: Intergenerational solidarity because we think it is important. Without that, our societies won’t be fair, won’t be equal. 

“When we talk about rural versus urban, this is a big issue. 80% of Europe is geographically covered by rural areas and only one-third of our population lives there, which means there is huge potential in villages in the countryside, in rural areas. They are trying to invest and cover rural areas with 5G, with broadband, and internet. Without broadband internet, you can’t imagine future jobs. And this is the reason why digital skills are very important nowadays. When you mention older people, they have to be skilful enough, so we are promoting lifelong learning in order to make older people capable of coping with the new technologies and with new styles of life.”

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How the war in Ukraine has changed Europe

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The war in Ukraine has dramatically changed Europe. The question now is how to prepare for the future and ensure a leading geopolitical role.

We asked how the war in Ukraine is changing Europe to: Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition; Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement.

The three political leaders gathered for a debate about the future of Europe, Tuesday, organised by the Brussels-based think tank Centre for European Policy Studies, which celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition: Well, from the day of the invasion, I think Europe more or less changed by the hour. There are, you know, robust discussions between member states, between parties. But we get to solutions so much faster, and everyone has the willingness of coming on board for a common solution. It is as if we are changing the European DNA.

Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe: We condemned the aggression immediately in the morning of 24th (February), and in three weeks time we expelled the Russian Federation. So for the organization, it does changed completely the landscape and the way how we work. We put Ukraine and the support to Ukraine at the front and centre of what we do. But, you know, this war of aggression showed also, and exacerbated, some other problems that we had around Europe before the war and before the pandemic. With the war and with the pandemic, the backsliding of democracy in Europe has been exacerbated.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement: Europe can show its teeth. So now I see a consistency in European politics. I see bravery and I see decisiveness. And I really hope that Europe will still stay like this, because I think that we will have together a lot of challenges ahead of us. And the principled position of Europe is very important.

Isabel Marques da Silva, Euronews: Do you think there will be a second Cold War or can the West rebuild relations with Russia?

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement: I don’t think that any experts can see how the future of the region will look like, what will be the relationship with this Russia, with Putin’s Russia. Belarusians don’t have to deal with him at all. So, what I know for sure is that the war will not be over until Belarus is free. And let’s not forget this. Until (President of Belarus) Lukashenko is still in power, with the assistance of Putin, and violating the Belarusian people, there will be no security and stability in the region.

Isabel Marques da Silva, Euronews: So it has been a year. We don’t know how much longer it will last. But how should Europe prepare for life after the war, including to maintain a leading role in the international community?

Maria Buric, Secretary General of the Council of Europe: I think Europe is a champion of multilateralism around the globe. It has been one of the first (regions) after the two horrible wars to start thinking about new multilateral organizations that would help sustain the peace and assure peace and prosperity and economic advance for all of our member states. So, again, more than 75 years after the Hague Congress, we are certainly needing to rethink what we do well and what needs to be changed. But probably the way we work, the priorities, need to be rethought.

Isabel Marques da Silva, Euronews: Do you think Europe needs a permanent financial tool, or mechanism, to cope with these crises, one after the other?

Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition: If you want to deliver to your voters, to your citizens in your member state, you need to work for European solutions. And I think that part of that is that we become better and better in also finding European financing solutions. I think now, when we want to enable more aid from member states to businesses, we need to rethink how can we also have a European instrument to enable businesses to invest and to scale in Europe. We do not have to do things the same way always. We can be much more, I think, speedy in what we do and much more direct, also, from a European funding instrument.

Isabel Marques da Silva, Euronews: We saw a lot of help to Ukrainian refugees. You know, member states open their arms to these people, but we see somehow a tendency for a Europe “fortress” regarding people coming from other regions of the world. What is the solution for this?

Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe: From the Council of Europe side, we immediately felt we need to give advice and counselling so that all these people who are fleeing do not fell into traps of human trafficking. In the vulnerable situation in which they found themselves, it’s very easy to be a target of traffickers. How to help those who may face sexual or other violence, being children or women mostly. So, it is very fortunate that, even during this war, the horrible war of aggression on Ukraine, the institutions continue working. The Parliament of Ukraine ratified the Istanbul Convention, which is the gold standard for protecting women against violence.

Isabel Marques da Silva, Euronews: Are European citizens closer to each other, with more solidarity between West and East?

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement: You know, grief usually unites, pain usually unites. And I see that people in democratic countries – who take democracy for granted – felt the Belarusian pain, they felt Ukrainian pain, and they for sure united in solidarity with our countries. And we see how, since 2020, people were helping our political prisoners, were helping refugees who had to flee Belarus because of repressions. And now how people are, you know, giving their houses for Ukrainian refugees, they are fundraising for weapons. Who could ever imagine that European people would fund-raise for buying armoured cars and for military equipment? They are doing it now because they understand that they are defended by our nations. And there is a moral obligation for every person, now, to contribute in our common victory.

Isabel Marques da Silva, Euronews: Do you foresee an aggravation of nationalism and protectionism in Europe and in the world, namely in China, in the United States?

Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition: I think we will be much more precise as to what poses a risk to us. So, I think we will be much more succinct, much more precise in saying “this is a no-go” and all of this trade is actually enabling both us and our trading partners. And we need to take that step because, otherwise, all trade becomes tainted and we become scared and afraid that this will be another future choke point. So we need a completely different degree of precision in where our economic security lies, so that we can act on it.

Thanks to the Centre for European Policy Studies

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‘Wars end on the battlefield’: Ivan Krastev tells Euronews

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A year of war on the European continent has altered its geopolitical landscape, driven leaders to rethink military power and economic independence, and has led to the dismantling of central Europe’s Visegrád Group alliance.

That’s according to Bulgarian political scientist, Ivan Krastev, who gave Euronews his thoughts on the consequences of Vladimir Putin’s aggression for Europe on the latest episode of the Global Conversation. 

Economic interdependence and military power

“The most important way the war changed Europe is that [it] basically forced Europe to see the world with different eyes,” Krastev began.

“In a certain way, Europe was seeing its old continent as a post-war [continent]. The idea that a major war is not possible in Europe anymore was at the basis of the way Europe is seeing itself in the world. And this is not true anymore.

“When the war started, Europeans were pushed to revisit some of their major policies. One was that economic interdependence automatically means no war, that if you trade a lot with somebody, you are never going to fight it. It turned out not to be true anymore. 

“Secondly, Europeans, we had managed to convince ourselves that military power doesn’t matter. And then we discovered that it doesn’t matter when you don’t have it. But otherwise, basically, it matters. And this changed everything from military budgets [to] the way the economy works so that you see in a period of one year, we basically have…totally different military budgets. We are not getting Russian gas and oil anymore. It’s such a radical change.”

A war of ‘identity’

With Russia having illegally declared the annexation of four eastern Ukrainian regions in September, and the mass naturalisation of residents in Russian-occupied areas, Euronews asked Ivan Krastev if he considered the conflict to be more complex than just an effort to conquer territory.

“It is an identity war. And this is an identity war because it was declared like this. Don’t forget, that [at] the end of the day, the war started with the essay that President Putin penned himself in the summer of 2021 when he said that Russians and Ukrainians are the same people. 

“He invaded Ukraine with the idea that the Russians and the Ukrainians are the same people. And Ukrainians are resisting to tell him that the Ukrainians and the Russians are not the same people.”

Ukraine looking West

Moscow has, on several occasions, cited NATO expansion eastward and Kyiv’s ambitions to join the alliance as a security threat as the justification behind the invasion of Ukraine. 

“Russia could have a legitimate argument when it comes that it also has its security interests. It can argue basically where [there] should be military bases or not,” Krastev admitted. “But the problem [lies in] what Russia was insisting and was saying: Ukraine does not have the right to be part of the West. The problem is who is giving Russia the right to tell the Ukrainians how they should basically define their own political identity? 

“Russia is a powerful nuclear state. And Ukraine was a kind of a small state [from] Russia’s perspective, a state that basically decided to give up its nuclear weapons at the end of the Cold War. So to believe that Ukraine was a major threat to Russia, it’s slightly, let’s put it, overdone.”

EU ‘shock’ and initial ‘unity’

When asked about his thoughts on how the European Union reacted to the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine last February, Ivan Krastev told Euronews that “When the war started, it was a shock. And I do believe it was exactly the shock of the world that nobody expected that pushed the European Union to do things which basically European leaders were not prepared to do just the week before it. 

“So from this point, it was the shock, the war that also explains to a great extent European unity in the first weeks. It also explains why the European public, which otherwise was unprepared for this war, suddenly reacted in a way very different than at least President Putin expected them to react.”

Since then, the European Union has financed weapons transfers to Ukraine and accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict. Through a series of sanctions, Brussels has sought to isolate Russia economically. But is this the right way to go?

“To be honest, what were the options that Europeans had? First of all, people are talking about escalation. Normally, you are not giving them weapons because you believe that if you’re not going to do weapons, Russians are not going to escalate on their own. The level of destruction [in] Ukraine coming from the Russian bombing is on the level of 1941, 1942. 

“So from this point of view, the questions that Europeans were facing is: should we be responsible for the Russian occupation of Ukraine or are going to give Ukrainians what they are asking from us? What people are doing or not doing very much depends on how you see the battlefield. In the beginning of the war, very few Europeans believed that Ukraine can resist and Ukraine can win. The moment when this changed, Europeans were much more ready to give to the Ukrainians weapons which otherwise they were not ready to give.”

Could NATO consider putting soldiers on Ukrainian soil?

When asked whether he thought NATO would involve itself militarily in the war in Ukraine, Ivan Krastev was doubtful, saying that “I don’t believe that both Western publics or Western leaders are ready to do this. And secondly, NATO joining the war means basically World War Three. 

“And I do believe both on the Russian side and on the NATO side, it is a very clear idea that this is not going to work for anybody. And don’t forget, in their history, Americans and Russians have never been fighting directly each other.”

Central Europe and future cooperation

The outbreak of war in Ukraine triggered strong responses in Central Europe, notably from Poland, which is one of the most active donors of humanitarian aid. Hungary, however, has tried to block EU support for Kyiv and recently vowed to maintain economic ties with Russia.

According to Krastev, the war in Ukraine has led to the collapse of the central European Visegrád Group – a political and cultural alliance between the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

“This was a war which for many East Europeans, particularly for the Baltics and the Poles, became their own war,” he explained.

“There were opinion polls, which I have been studying, which show that the major difference between East and West is that East fears occupation,[while the] West fears nuclear war. 

“But as a result of this war, basically the Visegrad Group does not exist anymore. Visegrad four became, to be honest, two plus one plus one. 

“On one side you get…Poland, for which this is about their own existential security. And you can see this is not just the position of the government, this is the opposition, this is the whole society. Basically, the position of the Hungarian government was: it’s not my circus, not my monkeys. We don’t want to do anything with this. And well, they supported most of the sanctions. At the end of the day, they made [it] very clear that they don’t support the common policy.”

Victory will be sealed ‘on the battlefield’

After one year of war in Ukraine, hostilities show no sign of slowing. But we asked the Bulgarian political scientist how and when he believed peace could be restored.

“The wars end on the battlefield. And these days, we know very much that war very rarely ends up with peace treaties. This is what we learned after the end of the Cold War, that most of them end basically with a certain type of exhaustion and… certain types of negotiations but do not end with [a] peace treaty. 

“From this point of view, I don’t know when it’s going to end and how it’s going to end, but I know something very important: that both on the European side and on the American side the problem is that the war should end in the way that we should not be afraid that it is going to start again in five or six or seven years in the way it basically it ended and started again after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.”

Is the EU selling Ukraine a dream of full membership?

Ukraine was granted full EU-candidate status last year, and Kyiv said recently that it hoped to become a full member by 2026, with President Zelenskyy calling for a fast-track path to EU membership. 

Ivan Krastev told Euronews that while he thinks EU membership is unrealistic, the war has proven that EU policies can change quickly. 

“Listen, it is not realistic, but many policies that happened in the last year, if you’re going to ask me a year ago: is this realistic? I was going to tell you it’s not realistic. And the story is that [the] European Union is already so much involved in Ukraine that to believe that the relations are going to be back to where they were is also unrealistic. 

“So we’re going to have something new. And as a result of it, Ukraine is going to be different, and the European Union is going to be different.”

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Global Conversation: Sweden is next for the EU’s presidency in January

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From January 2023, Sweden will take the presidency of the European Union. The last time that happened was in 2009, and a lot has changed in the European Union dynamics and in the world since then. 

Euronews spoke to the Minister of European Affairs of Sweden Jessica Roswall to discuss the proposals for the next six months.

Support for Ukraine

Many problems have hit the European Union in recent years, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine created a complex web of problems. What will be your approach during the presidency, some concrete measures and actions that you might take regarding this?

“For the Swedish presidency, it will be a priority to keep the unity and to keep supporting Ukraine with all kinds of measures,” said Roswall. “Concretely, it’s economic, military, humanitarian, and also political help to handle this hard time. Also, of course, we have to keep up with the sanctions and so forth against Russia.”

Will the European Union be able to have the resources for that military (support) and for financial assistance in the reconstruction, as soon is possible?

“I think we have to (because) the Ukrainians are not only fighting for their freedom, they’re also fighting for our freedom.”

NATO

Security and unity. You mentioned that these are important topics for the Swedish presidency and the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has mentioned them several times. When do you foresee that Sweden, as well as Finland, will join NATO, especially considering Turkey’s obstacles to that?

“I don’t have an answer to that, but as soon as possible is our hope. Of course, we are doing this in close cooperation with Finland because this is a security issue for both of us. But I think that also the war in Ukraine has symbolised, or showed, that the security for Europe depends on staying together and we have to keep the unity in Europe.”

Sanctioning Russia

_The EU is now sanctioning Russia. It has another package underway. How far should you go with this strategy, considering the EU’s own interests and goals in terms of supporting Ukraine?
_

“Well, when it comes to Russia, I think the EU has shown really good unity by putting forward all these sanctions packages. And now we are discussing the ninth package. I think it’s important to put that in place and move forward as long as it takes. We have to move forward when it comes to sanctions and other pressures that we can make. And we also see high inflation. We have a lot of crises in parallel, in the EU and in the world. But we have to keep up the support to Ukraine and also to keep up the pressure on Russia.”

Energy crisis

_What is the price that European Union citizens are willing to pay, considering there are so many economic problems, that are mentioned a lot of times via strikes and demonstrations?
_

“All of our governments in all the member states are struggling to help their households and also the companies, to handle this winter and also to be prepared for the next winter. It will be, of course, of high importance for the Swedish presidency to handle all these questions. And so I think we have to do a lot of things, both when it comes to national arrangements. It has to be on a national level, not only at the EU level.”

So there’s all this discussion about capping prices, about joint procurement. What do you consider to be the easiest way to build consensus in terms of having a supply of affordable energy? I know, for instance, that you are also very keen on nuclear, but it’s not the same in all European Union countries.

“Well, energy is, for me, something very closely linked with the green transition, which is another priority for Sweden. I think that we need to talk about energy together with the green transition, but also to remember that energy is also connected to security. So we have these two legs to stand on when it comes to energy.”

Green deal

_The green deal is the motivation to support a sustainable future. But within the current crisis, how ambitious can the European Union be? Will it be able to compete with massive investments in energy transition, like the US or China are doing?
_

“So, the EU is putting a lot of money and effort into the green transition and I think that our industries are very good and at the forefront. I see that a lot in Sweden, and we can combine both green transitions with competitiveness and innovation. But we also have a lot of different measures within the EU: we have the Recovery Fund, we have the RepowerEU, that can actually help both people and companies to do this transition.”

Border controls

Your coalition government has the support of an extreme-right party that, as in many other countries, defends a kind of “European fortress” model. What are your proposals in terms of border management and also processing the cases of people that want to enter the EU, with respect to human rights?

“I think that most parties in Sweden think that we need to have the (EU) Migration Asylum Pact in place. So, for the Swedish presidency, it’s important to move the negotiations forward. This is a hard negotiation because there are a lot of member states that think differently about this. So this will be a difficult (topic) to negotiate. But we have to and our ambition is to move forward in a lot of those different (legislative) acts that are combined in the migration pact.”

Rule of Law

_Despite the new compromise this week, Hungary still has some EU funds frozen until it implements some judicial and anticorruption reforms. Will this be a good strategy in terms of having those two countries, and maybe others, come to the liberal democratic style of governing?
_

“For me, the EU values and rule of law are of (high) importance. These are fundamental values that we need. That’s the reason why we are a Union that people in other countries want to connect to because we have these values. So, we have to defend them every day. During the Swedish presidency, and every presidency, we have to defend them. We have different tools in the toolbox. And now we see that one of them, the conditionality mechanism, was actually put into force. And that is a very good sign. I think that is the strategy to move forward, we should continue using the different tools in the toolbox.”

_So you think that the European Commission is doing good work in using this mechanism as a central tool for having the rule of law respected within the union borders?
_

“Yes, exactly. I think that we can see that we actually can use these different tools that we have.”

_My last question before finishing. What do you think of the corruption scandal that is involving the European Parliament? Is this an isolated case or maybe the tip of the iceberg in terms of other institutions that are in the European Union?
_

“I cannot answer that. I think it’s a serious accusation, but we need to see the investigations (conclusions). But we always need to discuss corruption and how we can work against corruption.”

To watch the full interview please click on the player icon above.

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EU Environment Commissioner urges more action to save biodiversity

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It is an almost invisible crisis that threatens our food security, our health and the quality of the atmosphere in which we live. The collapse of biodiversity threatens to wipe out one million living species.

Euronews spoke to the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius to discuss the deal recently agreed by the EU institutions which bans products linked to deforestation, and ask how it will impact people’s daily lives and what it will mean for biodiversity.

“Now Europeans will know that when buying chocolate, coffee in the stores, they will know that these products don’t come from deforested land”, said Virginijus Sinkevičius. “I think this is our pride and this is our credibility to ensure that…our consumption patterns here in Europe do not drive forest losses around the globe. But we also have a credible legislation which ensures that our trading — or to say our consumption — does not drive the processes.”

Biodiversity should be at the centre stage of international concern because of the UN’s COP15 summit in Montreal, that the Commissioner will be attending. But it doesn’t appear to be attracting as much attention as the COP27 climate conference that just took place last month. 

“I think it’s not a lack of interest, but maybe more of a lack of awareness and understanding. With climate, we are probably ten years ahead of where we are with biodiversity policies”, Sinkevičius explained.

“Climate is much easier to negotiate and understand. First of all, you have this overarching goal of 1.5 degrees, which everyone on the street can relate to and understand very well. Secondly, I think the Paris [Climate Agreement] helped increase awarness of the climate a lot because it was a historic agreement. So there is always additional attention from the media, from policymakers, and from civil society who want to know if we are delivering on those huge promises that we have made, which gave them hope”, he added.

“So I think all of that combined is there. For biodiversity we are not yet there. We still need an overarching goal, something similar to 1.5 degrees. Societies still don’t understand what biodiversity is. Everyone might have a completely different opinion, and I think too often people think it’s just about environment. To be honest, it’s about humans, first of all, and the health of our planet”, the European Commissioner for the Environment told Euronews.

In the face of so many current crises, Euronews asked Commissioner Sinkevičius for his thoughts and concerns about the potential for climate fatigue. 

“You can [be fatigued], and you can be tired of [the climate]. Sometimes it looks like it’s not getting immediate attention, but the problem hasn’t disappeared”, he replied.

“COVID-19 had a tragic impact on our society with the number of deaths, but we were lucky to have a vaccine. Now we have a situation of war, which, of course, draws our immediate attention. But you also have a pressure on our economy with energy bills rising up with inflation increasing. But one day there will be a peace treaty, hopefully sooner rather than later.”

But, he explained, “for the biodiversity crisis, for the climate crisis, there won’t be a vaccine or a peace treaty. So we have to advance those policies. Sometimes they might not receive immediate attention. Sometimes they might be very complicated. But I think we have already proven many times that the 2019 decision to introduce the European Green Deal has been the correct one. And even now in the background of war and the energy crisis, we see that the solution is the Green Deal, and the development of renewables, and ensuring that the projects are actually put out as fast as possible.”

When asked what are the EU’s goals for this COP15, Commissioner Sinkevičius said, “we need a global agreement, we need a deal. But it has to be ambitious. So it has to have a 30 by 30 goal, which I think can be equal to 1.5 degrees or the Paris momentum, where we had agreed to protect 30% of land territories and 30% of marine territories.”

“That’s not going to be enough. Secondly, of course, we need to ensure at least 20% of nature restoration efforts will be deployed by the year 2030 and by the year 2040. Overall, by 2050, we need to stop human induced biodiversity loss and that has to be our overarching goal. Last but not least, funding. Funding will be, as always, a tricky question, which will require lots of emphasis from all parties. But I think what’s most important is to ensure that we don’t have a gap with regards to the funding and implementation of the goals agreed, because we are already two years behind. We’re talking about the framework up to 2030, which had to be agreed post-2020.”

During the COP27, the financial rift between the global North and global South was one of the conference’s major talking points. Euronews asked Virginijus Sinkevičius for this thoughts on this.

“Inevitably, that split is going to be there. And as always, one side will be saying that if you want us to do more, you need to put more on the table. On the other side, we have a situation where the economic situation is very different than what we had two years ago. So it’s very difficult to put additional money on the table. I’m proud that the EU again will have a credible position. We pledged that we will double our spending for biodiversity and we have done that. I’m also very thankful to France and Germany, who did so as well. We need other developed countries, of course, to step it up. But what’s very clear, and we have to be realistic, is that there will never be enough money raised. But what we have to do is to use it effectively”, he replied.

When asked how much money is needed and where this money would come from, Commissioner Sinkevičius admitted that, “it’s difficult to say how much money is needed, and there are different estimations. And as I always say, it still probably wouldn’t be enough.” 

“There are countries who are calling for €100 billion per year. I think, at this moment, that is absolutely unrealistic. Because if you look where the money comes from — the countries’ pledges and countries’ funds, or EU funding, they come mainly from the development budgets.”

“We have to ensure that using the current funding mechanism, we also tap into a possibilities from other sources: philanthropists, investment banks, especially international ones. I think they, and the private sector have to play a crucial role in adding additional funding. So there is a potential of additional funding. I think the current funding mechanism can be open for that, and that will be also one of the topics we discuss during the negotiations”, he concluded.



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Does Europe’s long-term peace and security depend on enlargement?

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The guest on the Global Conversation is Olivér Várhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement. The interview took place in Brussels ahead of the EU Western Balkans summit and the discussion covered all aspects of the EU’s enlargement process.

The first question by Euronews journalist Sándor Zsiros was why the Western Balkans enlargement should be a priority for Europe during the War in Ukraine and an energy crisis.

“If Europe wants to create its long-term peace, security, and prosperity, it has to enlarge. Because if the region surrounding is not part of the European Union, it is clear that the vulnerabilities of these regions will only increase.” Replied Várhelyi. “I think if there is one positive outcome of this war if there is any, is that it is a clear reinforcement of the need to enlarge the European Union.” 

There is an upcoming EU Western Balkans summit in the Albanian capital Tirana, and Várhelyi explained why he felt this was important and that many shared challenges lay ahead, including tackling the current energy crisis. 

“We need to keep the Western Balkan partners fully involved and included in our debates.” He said. “For example, the energy crisis in Europe doesn’t have borders, and the migration pressure on the Western Balkan route is also pressure on Europe.”

One candidate country is Serbia, which is failing to align with the EU sanctions regime against Russia. This poses the question, can they keep their candidate status and have an opt-out from the EU sanctions?

On this point, Várhelyi was most forthright. “I don’t think that they have an opt-out on sanctions. Don’t forget that Serbia still has to finish a dialogue on the Belgrade-Prishtina dialogue to get to an agreement on the modalities of the coexistence. And this is why vulnerabilities in Serbia are much higher when it comes to exposure to Russia. One should not forget that Serbia has been voting with us throughout the UN General Assembly votes condemning Russia for all the acts carried out in Ukraine. To me, this is a very strong political message when it comes to sanctions.”

The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue towards the normalisation of the relations referred to in Várhelyi’s answer was picked up by Euronews journalist Sándor Zsiros, who asked what the end of this could be.

“The end of this would be a recognition of Kosovo as an independent state by Serbia.” Replied Várhelyi. “But for this to happen, the road is still long.”

Replying to the question of when it would be possible for the EU to lift the Schengen visa regime for the citizens of Kosovo, Várhelyi said, “We are anticipating a decision next month. I hope we can finally provide this facility for Kosovo, the last country or entity in the region that does not enjoy this yet.”

Attention was then turned towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the point was raised that their separatism is a real danger. As Várhelyi had recently met with Milorad Dodik, the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, the question was asked about whether he is a reliable partner to have a European path for Bosnia.

“Well, yes, politics is always about personalities as well, but not only.” Said Várhelyi. “And if all goes well, we will see a swift picking up of functioning by the new institutions. I think this is very good news. And in that, one has to acknowledge also the contribution of the president of the Republika Srpska.”

Following this response was an issue regarding the questioning of the democratic integrity of Serbia by NGOs. Whilst agreeing that there was still work to do in Serbia, Várhelyi was also quick to point out that progress had been made in the country. 

“Major reforms have been delivered, like the referendum on the court system, a major amendment of the constitution in relation to the judiciary, and the Programme for Media Freedom.” Asserted Várhelyi, adding, “If Serbia goes faster on the rule of law area, we should be able to move faster with them on accession negotiations as well.”

Sándor Zsiros then pointed to criticism of Várhelyi from some European Parliament MEPs regarding democracy and rule of law in the Western Balkans. But Várhelyi played down such accusations and said, “First of all, it was my proposal that has put front and centre the rule of law issue.” Adding,  “This sounds more like a political game than a real and founded criticism.” He also said that he saw himself as a “neutral player” in the enlargement process.

On the issue of North Macedonia, and its 17-year wait to start negotiations for accession to the EU, as well as Bulgaria’s part in attempting to block them, Várhelyi was clear that together with the French presidency, a “political and legal framework” had been established through which it would now be possible for the two countries to “overcome difficulties”. Adding, “Needless to say in the Balkans these kinds of issues are always recurrent.”

He also said, “Under the Copenhagen criteria having good neighbourly relations, has always been a criterion. And don’t forget that any enlargement requires the unanimous support of all the member states, because this is not a foreign policy issue.”

Sándor Zsiros then asked Várhelyi about growing scepticism towards support for a European perspective in some Western Balkan countries. In his response, Várhelyi said that he was not surprised by this as the previous commission had originally been opposed to enlargement and had effectively, “turned its back” on the Western Balkans and its neighbourhood. Something which he described as “major political mistake.”

But he was also quick to praise the track record of the current commission on this issue saying that first of all it had, “dragged enlargement out of the ditch.”  Secondly, he said it had been put back at the “top of the political agenda”. And thirdly he said that it looked beyond the “institutional Brussels bubble focus,” and instead concentrated on the issue of “real integration on the ground.”

He went on to say, “We have put on the table a robust, substantive economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans that is mobilising €30 billion, which is one-third of the GDP of the whole region.” He said this would help address the issues of infrastructure for trade routes in the region, tackle the energy crisis, and help to establish renewable energy supplies. He added that through regional cooperation another third of the GDP could also be additionally created.

“So we have a plan,” Várhelyi added. “You will see the roaming. You will see the highways emerging. You will see new energy projects coming up where Europe is going to be in the lead.”

Finally, he would not be drawn on the question to name the country he thinks will become the next member of the EU and when. But he did tactfully reply, “I do hope that we will have at least one country who will finish its accession negotiations by the end of my mandate.”

Watch the video above to view the interview in full.

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