Europe Today: Sánchez under pressure as Europe backs Ukraine

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Europe Today: Sánchez under pressure as Europe backs Ukraine  Europe's five leading military powers meet in Berlin to discuss support for Ukraine and tougher sanctions on Russia, while US-Iran negotiations continue in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez faces pressure over a widening corruption scandal.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/24/europe-today-sanchez-under-pressure-as-europe-backs-ukraine  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:14good morning it's Wednesday the 24th of June you're watching Euronews and this is Europe

00:21today welcome to the program I'm Stefan Grobe coming up together for Ukraine against the

00:29backdrop of Europe seeking to play a greater role in efforts to end the war in Ukraine the leaders

00:35of Europe's five militarily leading states will come together in Berlin this afternoon

00:39the E5 meeting chaired by Germany's Friedrich Merz at the chancellery will discuss strengthening

00:46Ukraine's defense and sanctions against Russia joining Merz are the leaders of France Italy

00:51Poland and Britain despite the current political drama in London war or peace in Iran

00:58lower level negotiators are continuing to engage in what officials described as technical talks in

01:06Switzerland following the departure of the principles U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and the Iranian top

01:12negotiators the main sticking point what happens to Iran's nuclear capabilities we'll talk to

01:18Wendy Sherman who was Barack Obama's lead negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal back in 2015 war or peace

01:26in Lebanon while the U.S. and Iran hash it out at the negotiation table Israel still has none of

01:32it

01:32the country will continue its offensive on Lebanon until Hezbollah is fully dismantled not just disarmed

01:39Israeli finance ministers Bezalel Smutrich said this comes as criticism grows inside Israel over

01:47Washington's handling of talks with Iran we'll hear the latest from our correspondent in Tyre and what

01:54happened at the World Cup last night I will fill you in but first Ukraine as the war grinds on

02:02and

02:02uncertainty over future U.S. support lingers leaders of the European five that's Germany France Italy

02:09Poland and Britain are stepping up diplomatic efforts at a meeting in Berlin later today they plan to discuss

02:15support for Ukraine amid ongoing Russian aggression and to strengthen security in Europe during the event

02:22NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte plans to join online which aligns with preparations for the July

02:28NATO summit in Ankara for more on this I'm joined on set by our correspondent Sasha Vakulina good morning

02:36Sasha so bring us up to speed what are the exact topics this afternoon well the leaders are going to

02:43discuss some of the conclusions of the G7 summit in Avian in France when it comes to providing more support

02:51for Ukraine specifically of course when it comes to air defense now Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky

02:56said last night that what he wants to see is the exact planning and the schedule for the deliveries of

03:02the air

03:02defense as agreed at the G7 summit but also with Donald Trump of course pushing Europe to take more

03:10responsibility and to take more of the burden this will be another important topic because just over the past couple

03:16of days

03:16Ukraine and Germany agreed to develop anti-ballistic capabilities which is a huge development when it

03:24comes to Europe's role in the general you know security architecture and their capabilities not

03:29leaving that an anti-ballistic air defense with the US production only and of course you know the optics are

03:37very interesting for Kistama that might be very well his farewell meeting with the other leaders and

03:42we'll see how that goes and Volodymyr Zelensky is probably joining the conversation as well online

03:48yeah it's going to be an interesting atmosphere you mentioned Kistama on his way out and then the

03:55Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk who is embroiled in this you know escalation with Ukraine diplomatic

04:02escalation what do you make of this? Indeed you know we have to watch that meeting in Berlin very closely

04:07to

04:08see it going to be any contact between Tusk and Zelensky as well Ukraine recovery conference is starting

04:13tomorrow in Poland in Gdańsk after so much speculation Zelensky's office confirmed that

04:18he is not going to be in Poland and instead Ukraine's delegation will be led by Ukraine's

04:23Prime Minister now Yulia Svododenka herself tried to strike a very cautious tone and to focus on investment and

04:32business opportunities on the conference she just very briefly commented on her intentions as she's

04:39going to be leading this delegation saying Ukraine respects its partners and builds cooperation on the

04:45principle of mutual respect and that's it now at the same time Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is trying

04:54to sort this out and trying to find the way out of this very much escalated diplomatic crisis between

05:00Warsaw and Kyiv and he said he is not willing to add more fuel into that fire when he said

05:06given

05:06Poland's strategic security I will not have a hand in fueling these tensions it is in the long-term

05:12interests of Poland to build relations with Ukraine based on a vision of the future and indeed with Russia

05:18waging its war against Ukraine for over four years now both Ukraine and Poland don't have other options

05:24and other choice uh apart from coordinating and cooperating when it comes to security geopolitics and

05:30the mutual respect and relations between these two neighboring countries yeah hot temperatures outside as

05:37well as inside in Berlin Sasha thank you very much moving on to the other global hotspot the first round

05:44of

05:44negotiations between the United States and Iran and Switzerland has ended with encouraging progress mediators

05:50from Qatar and Pakistan said for the view from an experienced diplomat Euronews's Maeve McMahon spoke to

05:56Wendy Sherman Barack Obama's chief negotiator on the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement she asked her about her

06:04thoughts on the long road ahead to a peace agreement I don't think that President Trump should have

06:12undertaken this war it has been disastrous not only for the people in the United States but for people all

06:18around the

06:18world and for people in Iran which is how he started all of this but their lives are worse not

06:25better

06:27so given where we are I think we are all glad that the Strait of Hormuz is opening I wouldn't

06:35say

06:35it is open really fully yet but opening I think it's um good that they are negotiating but what is

06:45really

06:45occurring is not clear because the United States is saying one thing and Iran is saying something

06:50else but better to have talks than not indeed it's better to talk and just based on your assessment on

06:57what we know so far on your understanding of the framework of deal what is your first takeaway if you

07:02like well my first takeaway is the MOU gives Iran quite a bit uh for not very much really it's

07:09to get

07:09the Strait of Hormuz open and get the world economy moving again uh for the United States to remove all

07:16oil sanctions after 40 years of sanctions is just extraordinary um it's quite a price to pay for

07:24getting the strait open I think that if the IAEA the International Atomic Energy Agency gets back into Iran

07:32even though Iran says that is not agreed that would be a very positive thing because you can't do

07:38anything in the negotiations or anything that you resolve without knowing that you can verify and monitor

07:45what the reality is and we need the IAEA on the ground to be able to do that I'm glad

07:51they're discussing

07:52Lebanon if they are indeed doing so uh Israel has said they are beginning talks with Lebanon um I think

08:00that the president of Lebanon has said that he requires Israel to leave uh all of their occupation

08:07of Lebanon there is a very long way to go in fact I think at the end of the day

08:11unfortunately Iran

08:13is in a stronger position not a weaker one does that mean Iran has essentially won this war I do

08:19think

08:20that Iran has certainly put itself in a stronger position they can close the Strait of Hormuz at any

08:27point that they want uh they have shown that they are resilient that a military effort alone cannot

08:34undo them uh which I've known for a long time um the only good thing that's come out of this

08:41is that

08:42perhaps that people have finally understood that diplomacy is necessary military action will not solve

08:49this problem and we see it's Steve Whitcoff and Jared Kushner the main negotiators here do you think

08:55they have enough understanding of the complexity of the issues well I think the problem is that to do

09:02this negotiation you really need a team of people you need nuclear physicists people who understand

09:08sanctions people understand currency uh intelligence assets uh lawyers um a whole manner a whole team

09:17and it doesn't appear that that exists now and you of course personally know the Iranian foreign

09:23minister you negotiated with him in the past on the Iran nuclear deal what cards do you think he'll

09:28play this time around well Abbas Arachi is very smart very capable very litiginous as all Iranian

09:35negotiators are every word matters um agreement on it matters uh details matter what I really fear

09:45is that we've put Iran in a stronger position to dictate the terms of peace in Lebanon and that is

09:52not good for Israel quite frankly that's not good for anyone uh among the Gulf states or in the region

09:58we've seen American taxpayers paying the price of this war but also here in Europe but Europeans not

10:04having much of a say in the negotiations any tips or advice for European leaders on what card they should

10:09be

10:09playing here I think continuing to have dialogue with the United States in whatever way you can with

10:15Secretary Rubio and others uh with any ambassadors or charges that are in place uh to make your

10:23interest known and how uh you might help as we all hope for more peace in the future and less

10:32horror

10:36Maeve McMahon there speaking to veteran US negotiator Wendy Sherman the path to peace is bumpy after

10:44two days of relative calm Israeli troops opened fire in southern Lebanon yesterday killing two people and

10:50wounding two the Israeli military said it struck armed terrorists while Hezbollah spoke of a blatant violation of the

10:58truce let's head over to Tyre now where our correspondent Eqbal Zayn has the latest for us

11:04from that theater of war good morning Eqbal so what is the situation on the ground this morning and how

11:11do

11:11people feel about the peace talks in Switzerland well life is returning slowly to the city of Sur although

11:18the destruction is massive and the airstrikes have left their impact everywhere yesterday I went to the

11:25street and I spoke to people to see their perception of the ceasefire and whether they think the war

11:31will return or not what I've seen is that people are cautious but there is more hope than we have

11:37seen

11:37in the uh previous rounds of negotiations and many believe that the Iranian efforts have paved the way for

11:44a ceasefire in Lebanon at the same time there is this concern about the Israeli uh refusal to withdraw

11:52from southern Lebanon and that this situation may become a prolonged and similar to the occupation

11:58that lasted until the year 2000 on the other hands other believe that the Israeli military might

12:04withdraw under military and uh international pressure uh let's take a listen from our perspective

12:12looking at the situation regarding the ceasefire well we don't see any stability

12:19we certainly rule out a resumption of the war and we hope god willing that the ceasefire holds

12:26I belong to a generation that has known many wars I was born in 1983 and since then I have

12:32lived

12:32through three wars waged by Israel this enemy only pulls out by force

12:38so Iqbal the situation in Lebanon is so volatile partly because Hezbollah refuses to disarm do you see that

12:46happening anytime soon when we talk about the disarmament of Hezbollah there is always uh those questions

12:54about whether it's by force or negotiations or in south of Litani only or all over Lebanon and south of

13:01Litani Hezbollah has previously linked its heading over its weapon to a full Israeli withdrawal from the

13:08Lebanese territory as for all of Lebanon it has linked it to a defense a national defense strategy

13:15which he says that the government has failed to provide uh but um also for the implementation

13:23of the disarmament the Lebanese army as you know is tasked to do this but the Lebanese army has its

13:31own challenges because it have it have so far avoided to go into this confrontation with Hezbollah to

13:38protect and preserve the civil peace and on the other hand to predict its own unit what I've seen when

13:44I

13:44talk to people is that there's always uh there is also a clear polarization among people because

13:50many of the southern people feel that the Lebanese state and the Lebanese army have abandoned them so

13:56I think this file is very critical at the moment and will need and will not be solved in the

14:02short term

14:02and needs a national responsible and a long dialogue all right Iqbal Zain thank you very much for that update

14:12let's go to Spain now where Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces the heat and I'm not talking about the

14:18scorching temperatures allegations of corruption involving close allies and top members of his

14:24socialist party have triggered a political storm with the opposition accusing him of presiding over a

14:30culture of influence peddling and demanding early elections Sanchez denies any wrongdoing and insists he's the

14:37target of a campaign aimed at bringing down his government for more let's head let's head over to

14:44our correspondent Cristina Tukier in Madrid good morning Cristina so Pedro Sanchez is due to appear

14:51before congress today how serious is this moment for the prime minister and for the socialist party

14:59good morning from Madrid this is without a doubt one of the biggest political crises

15:05that a prime minister Pedro Sanchez has faced since he came to power on Monday one of his former close

15:12allies former transport minister Jose Luis Avalos was sentenced to over 24 years in prison in a

15:19corruption case and let's not forget it is not the only case surrounding the Spanish prime minister

15:24at the moment in his close political and personal circle several people are facing corruption charges

15:31including his brother and his wife now these allegations are very serious for Pedro Sanchez who has built his

15:38whole political career around transparency democracy and fighting corruption so it is expected today that he in

15:46congress will try to persuade his coalition partners to maintain his government in power and to try to show them

15:56that he is

15:57still a trustworthy leader leader leader yeah you mentioned it what what should we expect from his appearance in congress

16:04and could these

16:05scandals threaten the survival of his government

16:09they absolutely can so today uh we are expecting sanchez and his ministers to try to make a separation between

16:18these cases and the socialist party

16:21uh they will try to argue that these are uh these corruption cases are because of individual actions

16:27that the party has uh taken the necessary measures and that they are not a symptom of a systemic corruption

16:35in the socialist party which is exactly what the opposition has been saying uh from the very beginning um

16:42so this is a very big problem for sanchez who is also facing this week two votes one in the

16:47senate one

16:48and the congress um even though they're not legally binding they're very telling um as they will show

16:53whether or not he still has support from his coalition partners and the parliament and uh the senate so this

17:00week will be crucial for pedro sanchez uh as he is facing uh a lot of uh political turmoil

17:07wow that's all i can say christina ticca in madrid for us thank you for helping us understand

17:13this situation and now it's time for the world cup

17:24disano ronaldo wrote himself into the football record books as portugal thrashed uzbekistan five to

17:31zero the 41 year old became the first player ever to score at six world cups and now trails early

17:38golden boot case setter leonel messi by three goals it was portugal's first win at this tournament

17:43putting them all but through to the next round big disappointment in england the three lines drew

17:49a blank in their second game against ghana despite an almost 80 percent wall possession

17:55remember england was seen as one of the top favorites before the tournament well that status

18:00seems to be diminished now the 0-0 was rather a reality check by stubborn ghana and left group l

18:07in the

18:07balance largely because croatia beat panama 1-0 and remained in contention for a last 32 spot win on

18:15saturday against ghana would confirm courageous place in the knockout phase on the other hand

18:20panama's second defeat means they are eliminated from the tournament and finally colombia went to bed

18:27with a 1-2-0 victory against congo that means they are through to the knockouts and have a top

18:32spot in

18:33group k in their own hands while congo will likely need a win to progress as one of the best

18:38third

18:39place teams six games on the menu tonight and early tomorrow morning among them switzerland against

18:44canada scotland versus brazil and the czech republic against mexico that does it for us today thank you

18:52for joining us this morning if you want to continue the conversation send us your questions or comments

18:57via our email address europe today at euronews.com in the meantime stay with us for more of the latest

19:04news live here on euronews i'm stefan grobe take care and see you tomorrow

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