- 13 hours ago
Europe Today: NATO summit opens in Ankara under Trump pressure to boost defence spending
NATO leaders are gathering for a two-day summit in Ankara under pressure from Trump to increase defence spending. In France, Marine Le Pen will find out today whether she can run for the French presidency next year as a Paris appeals court decides whether to uphold her embezzlement conviction.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/07/07/europe-today-nato-summit-opens-in-ankara-under-trump-pressure-to-boost-defence-spending
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
NATO leaders are gathering for a two-day summit in Ankara under pressure from Trump to increase defence spending. In France, Marine Le Pen will find out today whether she can run for the French presidency next year as a Paris appeals court decides whether to uphold her embezzlement conviction.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/07/07/europe-today-nato-summit-opens-in-ankara-under-trump-pressure-to-boost-defence-spending
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:13Good morning, it is Tuesday the 7th of July. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today.
00:20Your morning digest of European news and analysis, live here on Euronews.
00:25Coming up, all eyes are on Ankara, where NATO leaders are gathering for a two-day summit.
00:31Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who's en route, leaders will discuss ways to increase defence spending
00:37and address the issue of potential US troop withdrawals from Europe.
00:41We'll cross life to the summit to speak exclusively to the Dutch Defence Minister.
00:46Meanwhile, French hard-right firebrand, Maïne Le Pen, will find out today whether she can run for the French presidency
00:52in next year's elections, as a Paris appeals court decides whether to uphold her embezzlement conviction.
00:59The 57-year-old National Rally leader has already run for president three times, finishing second to Emmanuel Macron in
01:05both 2017 and 2022.
01:08And on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup dream came to an end at the hands of Spain last night
01:14in a rather dull game.
01:15But in a match that captured the world's attention, the Belgian Red Devils brought their A-game, thrashing the United
01:22States 4-1.
01:23All eyes were on the US striker, Fuller and Balagoon, whose suspension had been lifted ahead of the match, despite
01:29his red card in the previous round.
01:31We'll get the view from a former UEFA advisor.
01:33But first, to Ankara, where all 32 NATO leaders are meeting for their highly anticipated annual summit.
01:39Relations between the US President Donald Trump and his NATO allies have been fraught, as Washington has hit out over
01:46Europe and Canada's refusal to join the war in Iran.
01:49The gathering also comes just as Moscow steps up attacks on Kyiv, and as Ukraine warned, it has no missiles
01:55left to intercept Russian ballistic missiles.
01:58For more, we can go straight to Ankara, where our NATO correspondent, Shona Murray, is standing by for us.
02:03Good morning, Shona. Just tell us, what is on the agenda today?
02:09Well, good morning, Maeve. And let me just first give an indication about the immense security apparatus that is taking
02:15place here in Ankara.
02:16It's something I've never seen before at any NATO summit, in any situation where I've been in, even when there's
02:22a threat of suicide bombs.
02:23The whole of the city is completely shut down. It's very difficult to get anywhere unless you're with a NATO
02:28official bus.
02:30Anytime you look to your left or your right, you have Secret Service, police, the army. It really is quite
02:35immense.
02:35It tells you about the volatility of the world, but also geographically where Turkey is located with a very long
02:41Syria border.
02:43And also, as we know, on several occasions, four occasions at least, the Turkish army had to intercept ballistic missiles
02:50coming from Iran.
02:51But just, I suppose, for a note of today, Donald Trump is on his route here to Ankara.
02:55He touches down around three o'clock.
02:57His first meeting will be with President Erdogan, the host of this summit.
03:02It is expected that there will be an announcement from Donald Trump that Turkey may rejoin the United States F
03:08-35 programme.
03:09They were suspended from that a number of years ago for security reasons.
03:13But that really kind of goes along with the nature of today, because today is a day of announcements.
03:17The several hundreds of billions of dollars worth of defence spending will be announced to, of course, impress Donald Trump,
03:24because, as we know, he's been railing against NATO allies for underspending for decades.
03:29And, of course, we'll hear a lot about what Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary-General, is calling Trump's trillion dollars.
03:35That is, one trillion dollars of spending from Canada and Europe over the past 10 years since the first Trump
03:41administration.
03:42Now, I'm joined, of course, here live in Ankara by the Dutch Defence Minister.
03:47Minister, you also will have a lot of announcements today, over three billion euros.
03:53Definitely.
03:54We are delivering on our pledge of last year for the 3.5% extra spending, because we think it's
04:00very much needed.
04:01We have a war on our continent.
04:04So, we are having different co-productions and coalitions and working together with countries such as Germany, Belgium, UK,
04:15making sure that we invest in marine ships, in air defence, in various different capabilities for ourselves.
04:23Indeed, and that has to happen because the United States has made significant announcements of withdrawing capabilities available to NATO.
04:30So, what harm do you think that has on NATO overall?
04:34I don't think it will do any harm, because I think that a strong Europe that is willing and able
04:39to deliver,
04:40to make sure that it invests in defence spending, makes a stronger NATO.
04:46So, I think that what President Trump is asking, it is not new.
04:51Previous presidents also asked the same thing about NATO members.
04:55Please step up.
04:56Don't rely on one ally.
04:57And I think that he's rightful to do so.
04:59And if you look at me, I'm the Minister of Defence in the Netherlands,
05:03and I think that I have to be responsible for the security and safety of my people within the alignment
05:08of the NATO.
05:09So, it's very important that I also deliver, make sure that we invest, and make sure that we are a
05:14strong partner.
05:15And, of course, this summit has been described by Mark Rutte as a crucial summit because of this.
05:21But would you say that this is really the start of the Europeanisation of NATO?
05:25Europe really taking control of NATO in some ways?
05:29Well, I think we should be able to be strong partners.
05:32That is the key.
05:33So, the U.S. will, of course, be one of the most important allies, such as Turkey, very strong armies,
05:40a lot of spending.
05:42But, you know, Europe has to deliver as well.
05:44So, last year in The Hague, we promised a lot.
05:47But it's only worth those promises if you really deliver.
05:51So, today, I hope that I will see that from my colleagues and colleagues who are not delivering.
05:56I will be talking to them as well, because this is, we should, we have to do this together, united.
06:01As you well know, we have a war on our own continent.
06:04We have an enemy facing us, Putin.
06:07And it's very important that we are also able to stand up.
06:12What we will hear from Donald Trump, undoubtedly, is his severe anger over what he says is NATO allies abandoning
06:19the United States when it comes to the war in Iran.
06:21Now, we know that Germany and the U.K. did give the U.S. plenty of basing rights and access
06:26to military bases.
06:26But that sort of, that doesn't really matter to Donald Trump.
06:29He is very annoyed at NATO.
06:30What do you expect from today?
06:31How will you respond?
06:33How will you placate him?
06:34Well, I think it's crucial that we all have a cool and calm head, because, you know, we should be
06:42united.
06:42We have enemies against us.
06:44And those enemies fear us with reason, because united we stay strong.
06:48So, whatever today and tomorrow will happen, you will hear from me only this message.
06:54We need to be united.
06:56We need solidarity.
06:57We need to deliver.
07:00So, just stay calm and make sure that you do your job.
07:03In a word, do you think that the tide is turning in the war in Ukraine?
07:07Do you think that that's why Donald Trump is also being a bit more supportive, because he likes to back
07:10the winner?
07:12I don't know what the reason might be, but I think it's very important that we support Ukraine.
07:16You are completely right.
07:17There is a window, there is a momentum right now.
07:20And Ukraine is doing such a good job in standing firm, protecting, and also not only its own country, but
07:27the rest of Europe.
07:28So, I hope that many other countries will also not only pledge, but deliver for Ukraine.
07:35The Netherlands has been doing so since the beginning of the war.
07:38We are in the top three or five countries in the world supporting Ukraine.
07:41And I hope to see many more colleagues adding up, making sure that they have the car productions on drones,
07:48the pill packages.
07:49I can continue.
07:50Exactly.
07:50We'll see an awful lot about it today.
07:52But Minister Zacharias, thank you very much for joining us on Euronews.
07:55Back to you in studio, Maeve.
07:56Thank you so much, Shona Murray there.
07:58And to your guest, the Minister of Defence for the Netherlands.
08:01And now we can head to France, where a Paris court is due to decide whether Marine Le Pen can
08:07stand in the 2027 presidential elections.
08:09It's a ruling with potentially far-reaching political consequences and one being watched very closely here in Brussels as she
08:15stands accused of misusing EU funds.
08:18For more, we're joined in the studio by our French correspondent, Maya de la Boum.
08:21So, it's a big day for Marine Le Pen.
08:24Just remind us, what is at stake and what does this mean for her political career?
08:28Yes, Maeve, it's a big day for France today.
08:30We will know if Marine Le Pen can run in the next presidential election in 2027, so a year from
08:38now.
08:38And so, today is really the verdict from an appeals court that will confirm a sentence that has already been
08:47imposed on her in 2025.
08:48If you remember, Marine Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, to a €100,000 fine,
08:55and most importantly, to a ban for her to hold public office for five years, which means she couldn't run.
09:02So, Marine Le Pen, what she did is she appealed this verdict.
09:05And now, this Paris court, this appeal court, is supposed to confirm or not this verdict.
09:11And we will know today at 1.30 if Marine Le Pen can run in this presidential election.
09:17The sentence is linked to a case of embezzlement of EU funds.
09:21And if the decision goes against her, we know Jordan Bardella is waiting in the wings, right?
09:25Absolutely.
09:26This, if the verdict confirms that Marine Le Pen cannot run for the next presidential election,
09:31it really opens the way for Jordan Bardella, who is Marine Le Pen's political heir, or his protégé, let's say,
09:38who is very well positioned right now to really enter the race, and he's a very successful candidate.
09:45We have seen him very high in the polls.
09:48He's even, according to the latest poll, is having a slight lead over Marine Le Pen.
09:54He is seen clearly as the natural heir, but the problem is he's also seen as a very young candidate.
10:01He's only 30 years old, and he's still very inexperienced.
10:05And this, by contrast, Marine Le Pen is clearly, you know, we've seen her, as you said, entering the race
10:11three times.
10:12She's very experienced.
10:13She has been in politics for many, many years.
10:16She has taken the lead over the party since 2011.
10:19So, she is the natural candidate.
10:21But we will see in the days to come, because we know this is imminent,
10:26that Jordan Bardella will probably announce his candidacy very soon.
10:30Okay, all eyes on that hearing.
10:31The verdict will be read out at 1.30 central European time.
10:34Maida Le Boom, thank you so much for that.
10:36But now, moving on with the summer holiday season officially underway,
10:40the European Commission is scrambling to ensure the EU's new entry-exit system
10:44doesn't cause chaos at European airports.
10:47Our Jacobianos takes a look at the latest Brussels headache.
10:52If you hold a non-EU passport, Brussels has a brand new welcome package for your next European summer holiday.
10:58The biometric entry-exit system was designed to log your face and fingerprints in around 70 seconds to catch over
11:05stairs.
11:06But try telling that to traveling families trapped in a sweating airport terminal.
11:11And as the holiday season peaks, the grand vision of smart EU borders has collided with a physical breakdown,
11:17risking the travel plans of millions.
11:19So, welcome to the premium queuing experience.
11:25The automated network is now live across 29 European nations.
11:29And since the rollout, the digital net caught 40,000 border refusals and identified 1,000 security risks.
11:37To Brussels, these figures prove the database works by instantly flagging visa over stairs and fake documents.
11:44But here goes a problem.
11:46Biometric collection is triggering a systemic operational crisis.
11:50Industry lobbies report waiting times at border control reaching up to 5 hours during peak periods.
11:57And warn these delays put over 40 million arrivals and 45 billion dollars of tourist spending at risk.
12:04This bottleneck hits just as European hubs prepared to handle 40 million more passengers than they did in May and
12:11June.
12:11So, who's to blame for the chaos?
12:14It looks like national capitals failed to prepare.
12:17Many airports lack border guards, digital kiosks and basic infrastructure.
12:22And the rollout is a fragmented mess because some capitals bought the equipment while others struggled to do so.
12:29And the EU system forces guards to collect fingerprints from every first-time arrival.
12:34Which in turn creates an instant dead stop at the gate.
12:37The European border agency Frontex admits the chaotic biometric registration could take up to two years to stabilise.
12:45But hey, look at the bright side.
12:48You now have roughly 700 days to practice your queuing technique and even enough time to learn a local language.
12:59Now, moving on, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a potential sell-off in US assets
13:04are the two biggest risks facing the Eurozone economy.
13:07That's according to fresh analysis from the European Stability Mechanism,
13:11which warns the shocks could tip the euro area into recession and push inflation as high as 5%.
13:17The Luxembourg-based institution was set up in the wake of the Greek debt crisis
13:21to provide financial support to Eurozone countries in times of distress.
13:26For more, we're joined now by the ESM's Chief Economist.
13:28That's Wolf Strauch.
13:30Good morning.
13:30Great to have you with us.
13:31Good morning, Maeve.
13:32So this is quite a gloomy outlook you're presenting here.
13:35Tell us more about your findings.
13:37From the perspective of the European Stability Mechanism,
13:40euro area resilience is coming under strain.
13:42And we see on the one hand that geoeconomic and geopolitical risks are rising.
13:47And you have security threats.
13:50You have energy price disruption.
13:52You have financial market volatility and fragmentation in the trading system.
13:56And on the other hand, you see that this leads to higher demands on governments,
14:01while the fiscal space is shrinking.
14:03And that is what we mean when resilience is coming under strain.
14:08Governments need to create fiscal buffers and they need to create growth.
14:11So many of our viewers will be worried this morning about this risk of a potential recession.
14:16How high is it?
14:18The point is, as a crisis resolution mechanism, you ask what happens if things go wrong, not what will actually
14:25happen.
14:25When you ask the second question, what will happen, you do a forecast.
14:29We do a scenario analysis.
14:30And as you said before, if we have two shocks, a meltdown of U.S. assets and a re-escalation
14:36of a conflict,
14:37yes, then the risk is high that we will have a recession.
14:40And that is what we point out in order to be prepared for a crisis, not because we are predicting
14:45the crisis.
14:46And is the eurozone stronger now than it was for these potential kind of shocks?
14:51The shocks that we will maybe seeing is indeed the Middle East conflict.
14:56And that leads to higher energy prices and uncertainty.
14:59And on the other hand, a meltdown in U.S. assets.
15:02That would imply that we have faced tighter financial conditions.
15:06So what should consumers be doing and thinking now?
15:09We think that governments mainly should be prepared.
15:13And that means that they have to get growth going.
15:16And that will help also the consumers.
15:18And just finally today in Ankara, billions are being pledged for defence.
15:22Can European countries afford this?
15:24Well, European countries could create a win-win situation here.
15:29And we have looked in depth into the defence spending.
15:32And when you actually create a situation where defence spending spills over into the civilian economy,
15:37then you can recover 53 cents for each additional euro spent through taxes and higher growth.
15:45Okay.
15:45Vosch Traug, Chief Economist at the European Stability Mechanism.
15:48Thank you so much for coming in to us and being our guest.
15:51But now it is time for the FIFA World Cup segment.
15:59Well, a very late goal from Spain ended Portugal's 2026 World Cup rodeo and could also mark the end of
16:06Cristiano Ronaldo's remarkable international career.
16:08The superstar had tears in his eyes at the final whistle as he came to terms with the sobering consequences
16:14of this defeat.
16:16And meanwhile, all eyes, of course, were really on the controversy-riddled match of the US against Belgium.
16:22The Red Devils, as I'm sure you've seen, prevailed in a convincing 4-1 victory, taking to social media as
16:28well to suggest you cannot overturn this.
16:30That was a blatant message to President Donald Trump, who'd called the FIFA president previously to allow for the top
16:36US striker, Foller and Billigan, to play that game.
16:38Let's take a listen to Donald Trump before the game.
16:40Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who's highly respected. I asked for a
16:47review because I didn't think it was a foul.
16:50And, you know, again, I'm good at this stuff. I didn't think it was a foul. I thought it was
16:54two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.
16:57That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that, you know, would be different.
17:02Now, in the end, Foller and Bellagoon played but did not score.
17:06But the decision to exempt the US striker from the one-match ban after his red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina
17:11did create an international outcry from the European Football Association, UEFA, and also the EU Commissioner for Sports, Glenn Michalif.
17:18For an expert view, we spoke to William Galliarch, the former UEFA president advisor.
17:23It's completely against the rules and the status of FIFA, not only because there is obvious political interference in the
17:34decision that should have been made by an independent body within FIFA.
17:38And that is quite a scandal, frankly, but also because it violates all the rules.
17:49The fact that FIFA accepts the fact that the president of the United States can interfere and decide about the
18:05game,
18:05about the tournament, about the management of FIFA, is completely unacceptable.
18:12Definitely, the fairness of this competition is threatened.
18:18And meanwhile, tonight, the final two spots in the quarterfinals will be fought out between Argentina and Egypt and also
18:25Switzerland against Colombia.
18:26Enjoy the games because that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.
18:31Thank you so much for your company.
18:32As always, if you have any views on any of the stories we're covering for you here,
18:36EuropeToday at Euronews.com.
18:38That is our email address.
18:39Thank you so much for tuning in.
18:41Have a lovely morning and see you very soon on Euronews.
19:00Thank you so much for joining us.
19:33Thank you so much for joining us.
19:56Thank you so much for joining us.
Comments