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Europe Today: Spanish FM on Euronews, Black Sea drone attacks, EU-China reset
Spain is under pressure on multiple fronts: war in Ukraine, a housing crisis, snap elections, and tension with Morocco over Ceuta. In an exclusive interview, Foreign Minister Albares tells how Madrid is coping. Plus: Drone attacks in the Black Sea, an EU-China reset, and Ireland's EU budget plan.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/10/14/europe-today-spanish-fm-on-euronews-black-sea-drone-attacks-eu-china-reset
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Spain is under pressure on multiple fronts: war in Ukraine, a housing crisis, snap elections, and tension with Morocco over Ceuta. In an exclusive interview, Foreign Minister Albares tells how Madrid is coping. Plus: Drone attacks in the Black Sea, an EU-China reset, and Ireland's EU budget plan.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/10/14/europe-today-spanish-fm-on-euronews-black-sea-drone-attacks-eu-china-reset
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:14Good morning, it's Wednesday, October 14th, you're watching Euronews and this is Europe Today.
00:22Coming up, in the latest spillover from the Ukraine war in the Black Sea,
00:2611 people are missing after two merchant ships were struck off the Bulgarian coast yesterday.
00:32The Bulgarian government summoned the Russian ambassador after drones struck a Ukrainian-owned cargo ship,
00:38while another vessel was also hit and sank.
00:42EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attacks,
00:45calling them another front of escalation of the Russian war in Ukraine.
00:49Germany, Italy and Belgium have called for a mechanism to halt new EU legislation
00:56deemed excessively burdensome for businesses as part of a broader push to strengthen the bloc's competitiveness.
01:03In a letter sent to European Council President Costa, seen by Euronews,
01:08Chancellor Merz and Prime Ministers Meloni and de Wever propose what they call an emergency break.
01:14The issue is expected to be discussed at tomorrow's new summits in Brussels.
01:19And the global economy could soon test the limits of resilience as emergency oil stocks run low
01:26and government budgets become overstretched, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
01:31In its twice-yearly world economic outlook,
01:34the IMF called for urgent action to tackle public finances amid rising debt levels and inflation.
01:41One bright spot? Global growth withstood the Middle East conflict better than feared over the past six months, the IMF
01:49said.
01:49Welcome to the program. I'm Stefan Grobe.
01:53War on Europe's doorstep, political uncertainty at home and tensions on its southern border.
02:00From Ukraine to a housing crisis and the uncertainty of snap elections,
02:04Spain is facing pressure on multiple fronts.
02:07And the focus is also firmly on Ceuta, as King Felipe visited the enclave this week amid renewed tensions with
02:15Morocco
02:16following this summer's unprecedented border crisis.
02:19So how is Spain responding?
02:21And can Madrid navigate these crises without weakening its position in Europe?
02:26Our Europe editor Maria Tadeo spoke with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez
02:32on the sidelines of the Warsaw Security Forum, and she started by asking him
02:37what triggered Donald Trump's sudden heavy pressure on Ukraine and its president, Zelenskyy.
02:43Only President Trump can answer to that question.
02:46What's important for us, for Europeans, is how we can advance peace, a real peace, a genuine peace,
02:54that will preserve the sovereignty of Ukraine, that will guarantee security for the Ukrainians and for the Europeans?
03:04That's the real question.
03:06And we will only get that by backing President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people.
03:11Minister, you also know that this is coming at a cost.
03:14Do you have the capacity to still pay out of pocket, or do you say we need to explore the
03:18Russian frozen assets?
03:19I have been very clear since the very beginning, I think we should use frozen assets.
03:23I've been since the very first day advocating for it, why we should put our taxpayer money when there is
03:30the frozen assets.
03:31So let's advance in and let's not forget what at stake right now.
03:35It's not only territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, but it's also the future of the security of Europe.
03:41Do you believe that the Prime Minister of Spain, therefore, on Thursday,
03:45will put on the table again the issue of the Russian frozen assets?
03:48We have been consistent with that policy and with many other countries.
03:52We have been always advocating for the use of frozen assets.
03:56Will Spain provide some of the patriot systems that you have in Spain to the Ukrainians?
04:01I never disclose what we are giving or not to Ukraine.
04:05This is a war and we have to keep the capabilities, you know, with discretion.
04:09But I can guarantee you that we have done as much as we can every time and we will continue
04:16to do it.
04:16Okay, so you seem to indicate there's something maybe behind the scenes.
04:19Let's talk about Spain.
04:20The polls will indicate, well, you're not going to be back in government.
04:24So why do this now?
04:25There is only one poll that is really worth to see.
04:28It's the date of the vote.
04:29That's the only one.
04:30All the others, they say many, many things.
04:32I've been in many campaigns.
04:34I've seen many elections in which the polls said one thing and the result said something else.
04:39So the president decided to ask the Spaniards for a clarification.
04:43They want that type of Spain run by the extreme right and a reactionary coalition that really don't care about
04:52the rights of the people
04:54or they preferred the current government that has put Spain at the highest economic growth and always protects the right
05:02of the people.
05:03It's up to them to decide.
05:05But your critics would say when you talk specifically about the housing, you have been in government for eight years.
05:10If there was a problem, there was plenty of time to fix it.
05:13And this issue is being weaponized.
05:15What credibility do you defend this line?
05:18With a guarantee that we do what we say, that we have been for eight years increasing all the rights
05:25of the people
05:26when it comes once again to increasing the minimum wage at a historical level, increasing pension rights that were frozen,
05:34increasing the scholarship, putting all the funding for public health and public education.
05:39We will do the same with housing.
05:41And because we tried to do it with the Congress and they didn't want it, we need more strength in
05:48the Congress.
05:49And that's the clarification that the president has asked for.
05:52But what makes you believe this is going to be an extreme right that is going to undo years of
05:57democracy?
05:57You would think Spain is a strong enough democracy to not be undone by an election.
06:01There is a risk for the rights of the people, for all their social rights, for the pension rights,
06:10for the public education and the public health.
06:14And at the same time, extreme right is always connected with forces abroad European Union that try to divide us,
06:22that try to divide Spaniards and Europeans to make us weaker and to weaken our democracy.
06:29And who are these forces?
06:30Are you saying Russia is behind?
06:33Who is paying?
06:34Who are these forces?
06:35Well, we know very well that Russian disinformation always plays a role.
06:39They want Europe to be divided.
06:42But there are different forces around the world that come from different...
06:46I'm the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
06:47Are you thinking Israel, perhaps?
06:50Many of them, many of them try to divide Europe because a Europe that is divided is a Europe that
06:57is weak.
06:58Vox, I see, seems to be doing very well in polls.
07:02And they seem to have capitalized on the question of migration and certainly the crisis that we've seen play out
07:08in Ceuta,
07:09which is still not a result.
07:10Most of the people that went into Ceuta illegally are already back.
07:15But many are still there.
07:16They are still there.
07:18But most of them have gone back.
07:20And we will continue working as we have done it today until Ceuta recovers total normality.
07:27Will you say we need to revisit our policy with Morocco?
07:30We want to have a good relation with Morocco based on the respect of sovereignty, of territorial integrity and the
07:39principles that we agree in 2022.
07:44Spanish forum is the Jose Manuel Alvarez speaking to Maria Tadeo.
07:49The Black Sea is becoming the next theater of Russian aggression, with two commercial vessels hit by drones off Bulgaria's
07:57coast yesterday morning.
07:58It's the latest in a string of attacks on shipping in the region, with officials surrounding the stretch of sea
08:05sounding the alarm.
08:06Joining me now in the studio is our defense correspondent, Angela Skugins.
08:11Good morning, Angela.
08:12Good morning, Stefan.
08:13What's the latest here?
08:14Yes.
08:15So in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a series of drones attacked two commercial vessels off Bulgaria's coast, sinking
08:22one.
08:22Eleven sailors are still missing.
08:25The Bulgarian prime minister, Ruben Radev, stated that this incident is absolutely unacceptable, while calling on support from allies while
08:32an investigation continues.
08:34Now, he stated he doesn't have clear or conclusive evidence to definitively point the finger, but clear logic would suggest
08:42that Russia stands to benefit from an incursion such as this.
08:46Now, if we take a look at this map over here, we can clearly see that this is just one
08:51incident in a string of recent drone incursions.
08:55The first occurring on Monday last week, a cargo vessel off Romania's coast attack, two individuals dying as a result.
09:02The following day, two more vessels attacked off Bulgaria's coast, and this latest incident occurring one week later,
09:10clearly demonstrating that what was once a rarity in the region is certainly becoming a reality.
09:17Now, you've described the problem.
09:19Are there any possible solutions on the table?
09:22Yes.
09:23So EU heads of state will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a new hybrid warfare playbook.
09:29But the real question here is whether it can be developed with enough teeth to truly push back against these
09:34incursions.
09:35Of course, the EU also has a Black Sea strategy, as well as an eastern flank drone initiative.
09:41But we're really waiting to see the implementation come here.
09:45Now, I spoke to a military official from Moldova.
09:49Of course, this is a landlocked country, but it has seen 94 confirmed drone incursions since Russia's full scale invasion
09:55of Ukraine in 2022.
09:56And I started by asking him what societal impact these drones are having on the people of Moldova.
10:04Luckily, we don't have any casualties within civilian personnel.
10:11We do have some effects towards the local infrastructure in the area next to the impact,
10:17because those drones are coming with an amount of explosives upon them and having a significant impact towards the morale
10:27of the civil society
10:29and, of course, a safe and secure environment within the region.
10:35All right, Angela Skugins, thank you for your reporting.
10:39Europe and China are trying to reset their increasingly difficult trade relationship.
10:44But the tensions are far from over.
10:46From Chinese electric cars and massive industrial overcapacity to rare earths and access to each other's markets,
10:54Brussels is demanding more reciprocity from Beijing.
10:58And behind the trade dispute lies a much bigger question.
11:01Can Europe reduce its dependence on China without damaging its own economy?
11:06A few days ago, EU Trade Commissioner Sefkovic returned from talks in China that showed some progress.
11:12Yesterday, I spoke to Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee,
11:18and I asked him whether this positive beginning was enough to call it a breakthrough.
11:24At the moment, we are discussing 16 points, and now we have an agreement on more or less three of
11:31them.
11:32So there is really now the beginning, and there's a chance to have a more or less comprehensive agreement,
11:40perhaps in March next year.
11:41So I guess it's really a starting point.
11:44Of course, it's good.
11:45So I'm quite sure that now China is a little bit more flexible than perhaps one year ago
11:52because of the economic situation in China.
11:54So they need the export market to the European Union,
11:58and therefore it was possible to start the negotiations.
12:01So a good starting point.
12:03Let's see how it will be developed.
12:05Is China negotiating in good faith?
12:09My experience is that if you have an agreement or an understanding with China,
12:16and it is really hard to get it, no doubt about it.
12:19I have really some experience in the past.
12:23If there is an agreement, if there is a clear rule, they are staying to this rule.
12:28Of course, they have their strategic interests, but it's not a secret.
12:32If you are reading the 12th, 13th, 14th, and now the 15th five-year plan,
12:37everything is written down.
12:38Perhaps the difference to the European Union is,
12:41of course, we are also sometimes writing something down,
12:44but they are doing what they are writing down.
12:48So China appears to have offered concessions on hybrid cars and rare earths.
12:55What has Beijing actually committed to and what still needs to be negotiated?
13:03Yeah, in the hybrid car, of course, there was a curve with a really dramatic increase.
13:10And now we have stopped the curve and we limit the import for around about 360,000 cars a year
13:20for four years with 6% increase per year.
13:25So this leads some, or gives some time for the European manufacturer.
13:30Then on the rare earths, we have a specific way for getting access,
13:36a European way that's also good.
13:38And the third agreement, don't forget,
13:41we have a cut of tariffs from China in a volume of 225 million.
13:49What is the one concession from China you would demand from Beijing
13:55before calling this a successful deal?
14:00Of course, there are a lot of other items.
14:03So the access to the Chinese market is limited for several reasons.
14:09By the way, for public procurement,
14:11there is an additional 20% price for foreign of us.
14:17We have some problems to get investment located and so on.
14:23So there are a lot of issues where we should discuss on that detail.
14:29Then, of course, we have our legislation, the foreign subsidies regulation.
14:34There are some trade acts in China which forbid the cooperation
14:40between Chinese companies and the European authorities.
14:45Also this, I guess, has to be changed.
14:47So there has to be trust in using the economic figures
14:52and also regarding investment obligations inside the European Union.
14:58So there are a lot of items which should be discussed
15:03and led to an agreement.
15:05So perhaps this is really the starting point,
15:10not even the half of the way.
15:12It's just the starting point.
15:14And I hope that we can work on it.
15:16I'm quite hopeful.
15:21Bernd Lange, Chairman of the International Trade Committee
15:23of the European Parliament.
15:26Negotiations on the next long-term European Union budget
15:29are entering the final stretch.
15:31As it happened, Ireland presently holds the rotating presidency
15:34of the Council of the EU
15:36and presented a compromise on the size of the bloc's next seven-year budget
15:40ahead of tomorrow's EU summit.
15:43The proposal suggested chopping 141 billion euros
15:47off the 1.7 trillion euro draft on the table.
15:52Well, it did not go down well as Dublin has been in line
15:56for a kicking from all sides since the idea was published.
16:00Are the cuts too small or too big?
16:03That's the billion euro question.
16:05Joining me now is the Irish Minister of State
16:08at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Neil Richmond.
16:11Good morning.
16:11Great to have you on.
16:13Good to be here.
16:13So one could argue that when you make everybody unhappy,
16:16you did a good job, but that doesn't get us any closer
16:21to an EU budget.
16:24How far apart are the positions within the EU Council?
16:29I think what we've been able to achieve in the last week
16:31is a demonstration of what is actually realistic.
16:35We were able to take the Commission proposal
16:37and over an intense number of months
16:39had four different meetings at ambassador level,
16:42three different meetings at ministerial level,
16:44and scores, dozens of bilateral meetings
16:47between our Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne,
16:50our Prime Minister, with their counterparts across the Union
16:52to produce something that member states
16:54is reflective of the really broad opinion of member states.
16:58So I think certainly leaders will discuss this this week
17:01and we very much hope that we'll be able to hand over
17:03this document at the end of our presidency in December
17:05and move to a very clear situation
17:08of a strong European budget that, despite all the claims,
17:10is still 30% bigger than the last EU budget.
17:14And I think that's been lost a lot
17:15in the commentary of the last number of days.
17:17What would you say is the weakest point of your proposal?
17:21I don't think our proposal has a weak point
17:23because as presidency, we've acted as an honest broker.
17:26We are a net contributor as a member of state,
17:29but we strongly believe in cohesion and investment in the Union.
17:32We've benefited from that.
17:33We've been able to take very clear priorities
17:35when it comes to security, competitiveness,
17:37overseas development assistance and make sure that a proposal
17:41that is still an increase on the last budget
17:43that can still provide a European Union budget
17:45that is ambitious to achieve our aims is on the table
17:48and we now move it over to leaders
17:49and we fundamentally think an agreement can be achieved at TRILOC.
17:53You mentioned that security and defence
17:54are supposed to be Europe's new priorities.
17:58Why should Europeans believe that
18:00when your proposal reduces spending actually in these areas?
18:04But it's a massive increase on the last European budget
18:07and a lot of people get focused just on the Commission proposal.
18:09It's very, very important when you look at that as just a proposal.
18:12You look at what the actual spending was
18:14under the last budgetary terms.
18:16Obviously, Europe is a considerably different place now
18:18and this actually has real investment.
18:20But in addition to that, we've also seen legislative advancements
18:23over the last number of years which put security and defence.
18:26And security and defence isn't just binary.
18:29Real investments in official development assistance is key to security.
18:33Investment in our CAP and our food is key
18:36because food security is going to be a huge battle too.
18:39Well, you have time for one very short question.
18:41And you mentioned it, you want to get this done by the end of the year
18:44before the French presidential election next year.
18:47Is this realistic, yes or no?
18:49Absolutely.
18:51Perfect.
18:51Thank you so much, Irish Minister of State, Neil Richmond.
18:54Thanks for your time this morning.
18:56And that does it for us today.
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