♪ brent: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, the gaping budget hole in europe being created by brexit after britain leaves the eu. who is going to fill the gap? the european commission wants major economies to contribute more to its budget, and it says it is ready to cut funding to countries who violate democratic freedoms. also coming up, not fit to fly. only four of germany's 130 euro fighter jets are ready to take off if and when a nato mission calls.

that is according to reports as the country titans its defense -- tightens its defense budget. and signs a breakthrough in armenia's political crisis. the ruling party says it will back this man, nikol pashinian, for prime minister, under certain conditions. plus, the challenge facing migrants coming to the united states. these families have made a harrowing journey to get this far, but for many, the real challenge is only beginning as they tried to cross the u.s. border to apply for asylum. ♪ brent: i'm brent goff. it's good to have you with us. tonight, europe is preparing to write a check to pay for life after brexit. today, the european commission unveiled an ambitious new budget to follow on from britain's

withdraw from the eu. spanning from the years 2021 to 2027, the budget is worth close to 1.3 trillion euros, an increase that has ruffled the feathers of member states who will obviously be asked to contribute more to european coffers. reporter: the eu has a pretty big budget hole to fill. britain's departure from the bloc will leave it about 12 billion euros less well-off a year. e man responsible for drafting up a spending plan says member countries will have to cough up more to fund investment in the following areas. >> migration, integration, border control and management. more development aid to tackle the causes that could underline the next decade of migration. cyber security. we need to invest in new areas to show that europe as a whole is capable of acting more efficiently and successfully

than each member country is on its own. reporter: the biggest spending hikes are planned in the areas of defense and security. the only major cut on the cards is to the agricultural budget, which the commission wants to slash by 5%. another proposal that has raised eyebrows is a plan to withhold funds from countries deemed not to be respecting the rule of law. >> we are proposing to strengthen the links between the european budget and respect for the rule of law. this is an indispensable prerequisite for financial management and for implementing the budget effectively. the new mechanism will protect the budget from risks arising from violations. reporter: the budget has to be approved unanimously by the remaining 27 member states. ideally before the european elections in may of next year.

brent: it is about numbers. one of the main issues with the next eu budget is of course that brexit budget shortfall. the overall budget breaks down to about 182 billion euros a year. that budget used to be shared between 28 member states, but britain, the eu's second-largest economy, is leaving and they are taking their budget contribution with them. under the new budget, that would have amounted to at least 12 billion euros annually. let's look at the numbers. would've of the main issues with the next eu budget is of course the wrecks it budget shortfall. -- brexit budget shortfall. it breaks down to around 182 billion euros a year. that used to be shared between 28 member states, but britain, the eu's second-largest economy, is leaving in the brits are going to take their budget money

with them. under the new budget, that would have amounted to at least 12 billion euros annually, 12 billion euros that the european union is not going to be getting from london anymore. to talk about that i'm joined by our correspondent in brussels, barbara wesel. good evening to you, barbara. so these are tricky numbers here. we have got no money from the u.k. coming in after brexit that but a bigger eu budget overall. so who is going to basically pick up the slack here? barbara: one country that is going to pick up the slack is of course germany. and berlin has already conceded and said yes, we are willing to put more money into the kitty. their in was about four billion to five billion additional eu budget contribution. paris has also already said yes, we're willing to pay somewhat more. it will not be quite as much,

but there will be a bit more coming from paris. so it goes around about those countries that pay into the european budget, and that they do not take out, like most of the eastern european countries still do and some of the southern ones. so it is a game of redistribution, and of course, behind this is a political message. the european commission, brussels, says we are shrinking in the way that britain is leaving us. however we are not leaving in tasks that we have for the future and we want to be politically strong. brent: exactly. we're not just talking about the number of euros here. we are talking about how these euros are going to be earmarked. the budget priorities are shifting, aren't they? barbara: absolutely. and that has needed to be done. that has talked about for years and years. the last budget, already there was talk. we need to spend less on agriculture. that, for instance, was one of the great bug bearers of britain. however, that is over, they are not at the table anymore.

but agriculture spending is supposed to be cut. however, we always see the same phenomenon once the budget talks begin. already paris is howling in protest, saying no, we can't have that, our farmers need the money, our prices will rise if they don't get the subsidies from brussels, and so on and so forth. so it is very difficult to redistribute, but theoretically and politically it really needs to be done. the european union needs to look to the future, to research, to artificial intelligence, and not sort of put money into the soil and into the kettle on european countries. brent: we are talking about 27 states here that all have to approve this budget. can we talk about that being an easy process moving forward, and can we talk about winners and losers? barbara: we can of course talk about losers. farmers will be among the losers. some eastern european countries will be among the losers because they have received so much

regional aid, structural aid throughout the last years. many of them do not need that anymore. so many highways and bridges have been financed by european funds. there must be an end to that. that is the one aspect. and of course certain industries, universities and institutions will be gaining research budget. however, on the other hand, this is the starting shot of the great carpet bazaar of the european union. there will be so much haggling and fighting and slamming of doors and all-night negotiations. it is the mother of all fights in the european union. and in the end, of course, there will be a compromise, but it will be very hard. brent: my goodness. if we listen to you we may actually get scared. barbara wesel on the story tonight in brussels. as always, thank you. here in germany, the country's government has presented its

budget for the current year, and it is set to spend 38.5 billion euros on its armed forces. that may sound like a lot, but the defense ministry is up in arms saying it needs far more to modernize germany's fighting forces, as pressure grows on the country to fulfill its obligations to nato. reporter: a german euro fighter taking to the air. something of a rare sight these days. germany possesses 128 of the jet warplanes, but only four are reportedly mission-ready. that could leave the country unable to fulfill its commitments to nato. germany needs to modernize its armed forces, the bundeswehr, but there is no consensus on the cost. the conservative defense minister says she needs an additional 12 billion euros by 2021 to get the military back in fighting shape. but she is only receiving 2.5 billion extra. she has taken the extraordinary

step of filing an official letter of protest. in a terse statement, she played down the conflict but stressed germany's military responsibilities. >> germany has to make its contribution here, not just for security in germany, but for our common european security as well. here, too, germany's voice is needed. reporter: but finance minister olaf scholz's priority is a balanced budget, not a state-of-the-art bundeswehr. the social democrat argues that military expenditures have been growing recently. >> let me show you a chart of how defense spending has developed in the last few years. you can see the huge rises that have occurred. as far as defense spending is concerned, things have really turned around. reporter: germany's military expenditures have gone from 33

billion euros in 2013 to a projected 42 billion for 2019. but that still leaves germany well short of the nato target that members should spend 2% of their gdp on defense. and the bundeswehr says far more money will be required to keep its troops ready for action. brent: here are some of the other stories now that are making headlines around the world. global military spending has risen to its highest level since the end of the cold war. that's according to the swedish institute for peace research. most of the entries came from higher outlays in asian countries, especially china, india and saudi arabia. russia saw the biggest decrease in spending, down 20% from last year. u.s. president donald trump has made his first visit to the state department for a swearing-in ceremony for new secretary of state mike pompeo. pompeo was officially sworn in last week after being confirmed

by the senate. he has promised to restore what he calls the department's swagger. palestinian president mahmoud abbas has been widely condemned for making anti-semitic comments. he suggested that the genocide of european jews by the nazis was because of the jew's role in money laundering. the u.n. has described his remarks as deeply disturbing slurs. officials in the u.s. say at least five people have been killed after a military cargo plane crashed near an airport and the southern state of georgia. the c-130 aircraft was on a training mission carrying national guard members from puerto rico. it is not yet known what caused the crash. tonight, armenia's ruling party has agreed to support an opposition candidate for prime minister. that apparent turnaround comes after a day of strikes and

street blockades in the capital yerevan. opposition leader nikol pashinian late today called for an end to the strike. they say they will support a candidate nominated by one third of lawmakers and at the party would not offer its own candidate. the moves have prompted celebrations on the streets of the capital. we want now to go to yerevan and our nick connolly standing by. is the ruling party, i mean, it looks like it is doing a 180 here. is it? nick: that is what people here on the streets have in telling us that they believe has happened. they say the governing party has been shocked by the numbers that have come out on the streets and are still out on the streets behind me celebrating the success of today's strikes and today's sit ins. having said that, we have seen this before.

just last weekend before we arrived in yerevan, it seemed they were implying slightly less explicitly than they have today that they would support pashinian, but they would not get in his way. then yesterday we had that nail-biting session in parliament that went on and on and on. and late in the evening they finally denied him the votes, the seats that he needed to become prime minister. that is a created this huge disappointment and shock here. i think it is not over yet. we still have to wait for tuesday and see what kind of tactic and brinkmanship is still ahead. brent: nick, i know it is very loud there where you are. do you think that the ruling elite in parliament, are they prepared to loosen their grip on power to help defuse the tensions in the country? nick: that's obviously the million-dollar question. it would seem extraordinary that

20 years of republic party rule would end so quickly. having said that, the resignation of the previous prime minister took everyone by surprise. so really these last few weeks have been full of surprises for even the local people who had not seen this coming at all. but it does now seen that these numbers, these tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands say pashinian is historic for armenia. a country of just 3 million people. given this proven ability to really paralyze yerevan, no streets are working, the airport was closed. that they will have to eventually fold, but with conditions that they are trying to do some behind the scenes deals right now to at least try and maintain some of their influence, presumably some of their assets. but that is not something they are going to be sharing with us. brent: but we will be there when and if there is change. our nick connolly in the

armenian capital tonight. nick, as always, thank you for a much. in the u.s. come officials have begun processing a small number of asylum applications from a group of central american migrants camped out just across the border in mexico. the migrants travel across mexico back in march, aided by political activists. u.s. president donald trump has described mass migration as a threat to national security. he has called the caravan a provocation. he has warned that they could be denied entry. dw's clare richardson is at the border tonight. clare: these are some of the faces that have invoked the regime of president donald trump. the reasons he has threatened to mexico and called for thousands of troops to be sent to the border. they have set up makeshift camps in tijuana, mexico. >> as you know, we're sending

many, many national guardsmen down to the border. most of them are already there. that is having a big impact. clare: poster from honduras. they say the united states -- most are from honduras. they say they left their homes because they have reasons to fear for the safety. >> they killed my father. >> because of death threats. that is what forced me to leave. one of the men pulled out a gun, pointed at me, and said if i did not give him what he wanted, he was going to kill me. clare: they traveled together for over a month by foot, bus and train. they saw safety in numbers and what could be an arduous and dangerous journey. >> it was ugly, tiring, and boring. >> it always hurt my feet when i

was walking. clare: they have traveled some 3500 kilometers all the way from near mexico's southern border with guatemala. when they arrived at the u.s. border hoping to request asylum, they got stuck. with the right papers it is just a short walk across this bridge to the u.s. in california. what more than 100 people who say they fled terrible danger in their own countries are stuck here on the mexican side of the border. the u.s. said that -- but the u.s. blocked their entrance by saying the processing center is full. the united states is bound by law to hear the cases. yet although they often face military, criminal and sexual violence, most people coming from central america lose in the end. organizers hope that will not be the case here. >> they are hoping they will be

granted asylum so they can live their lives free of the violent conditions that put them at risk. clare: their future is a test case for the trump administration's anti-immigrant policies, to see whether his fiery rhetoric is enough to stop the u.s. from helping those fleeing prosecution. brent: helena is here. all eyes on u.s. interest rates. helena: they are not going anywhere right now. the u.s. dollar falling slightly after the federal reserve decided to keep those rates unchanged. the u.s. central bank made the announcement following a two-day policy meeting. it means the lending rate will remain between 1.5% and 1.75% for now. at least two hikes are likely to be announced before the end of the year. our financial correspondent jens korte is with us from new york

now. jens, the fed not changing a lot there, saying inflation was moving upward. tell us more about the move and when we can concretely expect it. jens: well, most investors on wall street believe that the next rate increase is coming at the next fed meeting in june, and that the federal reserve might pause in the august meeting than a grand -- again increase in september, then we would have to wait to see if there would be a third increase shortly before the year comes to an end. that is at least the projection for now. we did not see a lot of the prices in this fed meeting. the federal reserve did acknowledge inflation is on the rise, that we have seen decent economic growth here in the u.s. but the market actually did get a bit nervous after this fed meeting, losing a good 130 .0

the wednesday session. helena: we have seen robust job growth in previous quarters. how's it looking this time around. jens: we got the jobs from the private sector. the big job report will be coming out on friday. in the private sector, on one side we saw that job growth cooled a little bit compared to march, but still we saw the sicth consecutive -- sixth consecutive month that at least 200,000 jobs were created. it is not a surprise that at this high level it will not be easy to achieve those 200,000 plus job growth month-to-month. overall a very solid jobs report. it is very likely we will see wages increasing. we will see by how much, but certainly wages are increasing. commodity prices keep rising.

so there is a certain inflation picture here in the united states that for sure could cause the federal reserve to act in bit more aggressive than originally planned. helena: we will keep an i on how that uptick continues. jens korte, thank you. cambridge analytica, the british firm at the heart of the facebook data collection scandal, has announced it is immediately ceasing operations. beacon sultan to group says it is declaring bankruptcy in the u.s. and britain. they were propelled into the limelight after it appeared its app collected dater on millions of facebook users. it used that information to influence the 2016 u.s. presidential election. facebook lost the trust of many users over the scandal and have since tightened privacy restrictions. growth in the eurozone is staging a start --#.

-- sharp slowdown. in 2017 the economy expanded by a steady 0.7% in the second quarter through the end of the year. but initial results for the first quarter of this year reveal a slump to 0.4%. now, last week the european central bank warned that protectionist dangers were affecting the monetary blocks recovery. it is made up of the 19 eu member states that use the euro as a currency. portugal is seeing strong economic growth, and it's an attractive place for investors in many sectors, especially in the property market. a building boom is lifting lisbon. the portuguese capital has been down in the doldrums. property prices are rising. reporter: while lisbon is known

for his beauty, its property market was ignored for a long time. that has changed. in recent years investors have been pouring money into lisbon's real estate sector. in 2015, investment and commercial property more than doubled from the previous year to 876 million euros. in the levels have remained relatively high since. real estate prices are also rising in the portuguese capital. for the city's historic center they increased 67% between 2017 and 2008, according to local real estate experts. so affordable housing is harder to find, and some residents are becoming more marginalized. in 2015, the authorities cleared slums on the outskirts of lisbon. while that may have offered a better view, locals were not given a better view. portugal's property boom is also leaving many behind. helena: that to brent now, in a

shocking -- and a shocking report on the air we breathe. brent: a new study has revealed that 7 million people die each year from diseases caused by air pollution. the study also shows that poor countries. the brunt of these deaths. while air country has improved in european cities, low income cities in asia and africa has seen the air become more contaminated. reporter: air pollution. an visible threat that infects -- invisible threat that affects almost everyone in the planet. the world health organization has described the situation as unacceptable. >> nine out of every 10 persons around the world are breathing in air that is not respecting the recommended guidelines for air quality. so it is going beyond. that is very dramatic.

reporter: while few have access to fewer air, air quality -- to pure air, -- 90% of air pollution deaths of the -- occur in low income areas. and the gap is widening. while air quality generally improved between european and u.s. cities, it worsened in poor areas like southeast asia. bustling cities are a major risk factor as people around the world continue to move to urban areas. but the world health organization norms that indoor pollution is also a major killer, accounting for around half of fatalities. >> 3.8 million deaths are associated with the fact that many people around the world are still relying on very pollutant fuels for cooking or heating or lighting their houses. reporter: strides have been made

recently in green technology, but they mainly benefit the developed world. the world health organization will hold the first conference on air pollution in october to hasten change at a global level. brent: here's a reminder of the top story we're following. the year. commission has unveiled plans for an expanded budget after the u.k. leaves the eu. the proposal has angered major economies who have to contribute more to europe's budget. after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. stick around for that. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

(soft music) - [narrator] china is the second largest economy in the world, and it's expected to replace the us as the top economy in less than a decade. beijing is increasingly looking beyond its borders toward investments in asia and across the world. their ambitious plans could make china the epicenter of global trade. washington must find new ways to adjust to china's global expansion. china: the new silk road. next on great decisions. (soft music) - [announcer] great decisions is produced by the foreign policy association in association with thomson reuters. funding for great decisions is provided by