tough compromises to amended by brussels in exchange for membership. a billion views from the. events that continue to change join me kevin owen for more on how you've helped make the first global news channel to reach. out to meet speak or language. programs and documentaries in arabic it's all here on. reporting from the world's hot spots fifty yard p. interviews intriguing stories are you. in trouble. because it. mr president welcome to r.t.m. thank you for talking to us it's been eight years since you took office looking back what have you managed to achieve during those first twelve months and how do you assess your work in general rules of the world it was a productive year for me and the serbian government for example we've successfully reduced crime we've also been trying to find a solution to the issue of serbs in kosovo a solution that would rest on two principles first should be able to live there in peace and second serbia will never recognize the independence of kosovo furthermore we want albanians to stop expropriating land and for serbs to stay where they are i t

can you tell us what the latest is out of brussels? >> we have just this various -- this very minute heard that a foreign minister told journalists that the meeting ended for today without the result. observers said that he was very shaken by that of element, because it means that, by the end of this week, all of the ae you sanctions will run out -- the ae you -- eu sanctions will run out. they have some 400 blue helmet un's folders on the ground in syria. they fear for their soldiers' safety. an end of the embargo means the rebels can be armed. >> no compromise. do you think there will be a last-ditch effort by britain or france? >> britain was one of the countries pushing for the move to arm the rebels. the embargo does run out by the end of this week. in diplomatic terms, it is a long time still. maybe the eu will come to a compromise and maybe it will find a solution where they can exclude a list of weapons that britain would be allowed to send to the levels -- rebels, which would allow the ae you to hold up the rest of the sanctio

his next stops are paris and brussels. >> how is mission europe going down? for more, we go to our chief political correspondent, melinda crane. tell us more about his reception. >> it was friendly. the chancellor definitely praised the steps taken so far and she welcomed and wished letta a lucky hand for the sake of europe and germany. she was quite firm and made it clear that germany would be sticking to their guns as far as the need for continuing to cut back on that and get finances in order. mr. letta also is saying that he does want the governor in harmony with germany saying that he would be asking the chancellor to share some of her experiences as to how to manage a grand coalition. she had one in her first term of office and he has one now. he was also staking out to rein saying he expects europe to be more proactive in terms of growth policy in the future. >> it sounds like he's not planning to deviate from the austerity course. >> there is recognition here that the italian coalition is fragile and there is recognition that berlin is looking increas

the european countries brussels which i'm especially critical of being competencies within the e.u. is itself the capital of a nation whose actual existence this question of will as belgium appears to be divided more than it is united would an independent bavaria remain within the e.u. would it keep the single currency so. definitely and we could have our own representation in brussels as an independent state same as the scottish who also wish to remain in the european union in case they succeed historically the very has always been an integral part of europe and it was becoming ever deeper involved with the rest of europe up until eight hundred seventy one when a single centralized german reich was established cemented by prussian military might and a sense this was a failure if anything the german reich was ill omened by virtue of its very origins is a state that was set up at the height of a war the franco-prussian war and proclaimed an enemy capital in the palace of a society in paris that was not a promising start as far as the prospect of a peaceful germany was consent to the

sorry for interrupting you yes brussels is under a lot of pressure now from all the e.u. countries but then on the other hand is it too early to blame brussels for all the mistakes i mean look at these countries that comprise the e.u. some of these countries would be world minnows on their own wouldn't they. i mean everybody is talking if we don't have the everything what collapse then a big war could could start these fairy tales i mean nobody wants we want all to live in peace but what we don't want is the. shift that we have we want direct democracy we want direct. regional leadership in the you and not somebody whom we cannot rule and whom we cannot vote for in brussels who is dictating us what we have to do and not i don't see any disadvantages if this is you as it is now will be torn. away will be destructed all right michael ross thanks very much indeed for your analysis here on r.t. and with a lot of hard feelings swirling around the e.u. one thing many seem agreed on is anger at brussels nine european countries are now in recession now with no end in sight member

in brussels, they were under growing pressure. >> matthew price reporting for us from brussels. , u.s. senator john mccain, a leading advocate for greater american action, including arming the opposition, has made a surprise visit to syria to meet rebel forces. it comes amidst increased discussion centered around whether chemical weapons have been used by the assad regime. today, the french newspaper -- a french newspaper says it has first-hand accounts the toxic gas has beenoxic used against rebel fighters. i spoke with a reporter just a short time ago from paris. as far as we know, you are the first western reporter to have rself, you andyou your photographer, what you think are chemical attacks. what did you witness? >> what i have basically seen in a very specific place, which is a district of damascus, just between central damascus and the outskirts of the city -- this area being called joe barton -- called jobar -- i have seen all sorts of attacks, during which some onic components were spread the front line, from the army positions. i am very careful about the way i'm trying to

julia is in brussels. she rejoins us.there any trickery, anything left, julia, or do they need to dot the i's and cross the t's. >> i think it is a case of dotting the i's and crossing the t's. they're already implementing the reforms and measures. they're very hopeful they'll get the signoff. they're hoping to get signoff as well for the first tranche. some positive steps given the noise in the banking union. i spoke to the finance leader asking if they can give us any kind of idea when we'll see a full removal of those things. listen in. >> it's an issue of monitoring the situation, making the progress in all parallel areas. moving ahead and then being able to make towards that. we are eager and we want the support of our european partners. we are eager to do away with the restrictions. >> do you have any sense of the damage that it's doing right now? >> it was very damaging and it was something and is something that would suffocate any economy, that's why we worked hard and we have significantly relaxed the restriction

julia has gone to her regular perch in brussels. it's not the regular perch, slightly different. >> reporter: no. >> joins us now. clearly can't hear me, though, which is a bit of a shame. she has been talking to the president of the eu, mr. schulz. let's bring in while we wait for julie, the principal analyst at nomura, alastair, good to see you. >> i can hear you. >> you can hear me. that's a good start. look, how do you view the developments of british policies? the impact they've had is stark and everybody is scrambling around to bring forward or advance their plans. what hope does the british prime minister, david cameron, have of executing his policy, which is to be able to wait until 2017 for referendum, predicated on him trying to renegotiate some powers, repatriate powers back to the uk? >> well, as things stand, i think it's very unlikely we're going to see a referendum before the next general election, which is scheduled for the 6th of may 2015. first of all, of course, if mr. cameron wants to have a referendum thereafter

as it tries to move forward reporting from brussels i'm tossers cilia i'm a people not from the u.k. independence party says of the ra is never sign that it's time for britain to go it alone when you're in a recession and this country is in a double dip recession at the moment when you have huge amounts of youth unemployment when you have british people being put out of work when you have british people whose wages are being reduced significantly because oversaturation of the employment market it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to have an open border policy to the government and the totally false position on this they're making noises in. saying that they want to put even more restrictions in place but the problem that they've got about this country the. e.u. lauren basically tells us that it's another reason why we should get out of european union and get out now. there's also no unity in what is should be a powerhouse duets in europe germany and france at loggerheads following a meeting with chancellor angela merkel and president francois hollande in paris along consider that

our correspondent in brussels has more. >> interestingly, in his opening speech, the development aid commissioner said what he was expecting from mali was simply to engage. he said he wanted those in charge at the moment to be committed to help with the effort. in other words, they do not want to pour money into a black hole. if they commit to infrastructure services or investments, which the commission says will create 20,000 jobs, they want those on the ground in charge to make sure that the money goes to the right place, above and beyond obviously the checks that the commission and other aid donors would do in any case. that is all they have got to do, keep the faith and make sure they are justified on major infrastructure works which benefit everybody. >> later in the program, we will be taking a closer look at the hardship that many people in mali are facing. >> to iraq now, where a series of car bombs have hit the capital baghdad. medical services said at least six people have been killed. >> the blast took place in mainly shi'ite neighborhoods of the city. violence remains the

correspondent from brussels. from your perch, how does all this look? is europe finally hitting the bottom of this crisis? we have reports that france and the netherlands are both faltering as well. >> no, i think the crisis is nowhere near the end. what these figures do -- they polarized the debate, sharpen the debate between those on one side led by german chancellor angela merkel, who say austerity is the way forward, and those who say we are being squeezed too tight. people will look at these figures and say this is evidence that the commission is applying the squeeze too tightly. we need more room for growth. he said we must do whatever we can to boost employment and to unlock growth. he did not suggest for a minute directly that the austerity program that the commission is following in most of these countries is wrong, but he hinted as much by, as you have indicated, saying countries like france and others before them will be given more time to reach a gdp target figures. there is concern that this proves t

, they have announced a plan they hope will help it stabilize finances without having to turn to brussels. >> slovenia is teetering on the edge. it's mostly state-owned banking sector has been crippled by billions of euros worth of bad loans, but the government does not have the money to rescue them. the government needs at least 4 billion euros and has come up with a new plan. >> we need to consolidate our finances. there are three ways we can do this. we can increase revenues. we can cut back on expenditures. or we can pursue a combination of the two. what we have decided to do is take the third option. >> 15 state-owned enterprises will be sold, including the country's second-largest bank in the capital's airport. value-added tax will rise from 20% to 22%, and a new property tax will be introduced in january. the government is also in talks with trade unions to make significant cuts to the public sector. the plant is now to be sent to brussels in the hope that it will be enough to reassure slovenia's european partners. >> on today's market action, while banks and shops were closed acro

i'm sick of living in brussels where a friend said it's like the inside of a milk bottle. in the olden days, milk came in bottles that got clouded up, and that's what it's like to live in europe's capital. we give it a go. on the basis, frankly, of no knowledge, not a huge amount of interest, we decided to accept the offer of a job, and i say "we," my family, i had very young twins then, just born in brussels, so we went off to the u.s., and, obviously, had a grim time just after the attacks of 9/11, the next year, and we thought we'd give it a go, and giving it a go turned into quite liking it, and quick liking it turned into liking it a lot, and liking it a lot eventually turned into loving it, and we had another child who was born in washington, d.c., so he's a u.s. citizen, and we stayed all of eight years, and developed this kind of relationship where our families now intertwined with the united states because we have a u.s. citizen in our midst, as she often remind us, and she was said to me once, i'm only staying with you, i'm going back to america where i belong. s

has more from the summit in brussels. the leaders from the e.u. and france as well as international donors are gathering today here in brussels to drum up and get aid and support for mali a country which has been dealing with the radical islamist militants as well as a political crisis for the last couple of years now now the french foreign minister law fabulous' had said that the aim of today is to raise some one point nine a billion euros a to give to the country in what he calls a quote unquote an effort to build democracy dialogue and development now we know that france has been very much involved in the country especially in the beginning of the year when it launched a military operation into the country saying that they were there to fight off islamist militants away from key cities now france is also in the middle of withdrawing some four thousand troops from the country however it does plan to keep about a thousand troops in says in what is seen as a long term a kind of posting in the country would this is in contrast to what has been told

and tough compromises demanded by brussels in exchange for membership. the civilized world produces more food than it needs. well people die of hunger in other countries. millions of victims every year. we're a meal is the most of the treasure. is flood or droughts to blame. that it was a bad year without a train. we couldn't plods anything but the one who would it all but there was great hunger. it was a good help comes too late and without good intentions. charity diplomacy and business want to take. a. clue. live. live. live. free. free. free. free. free live live. live. mr president welcome to r.t. and thank you for talking to us it's been eight years since you took office looking back what have you managed to achieve during those first twelve months and how do you assess your work in general. in the world and it was a productive year for me and the serbian government for example we've successfully reduced crime we've also been trying to find a solution to the issue of serbs in kosovo a solution that would rest on two principles first serbs should be

no you are a paris study it shows that fetal mortality brussels is at an alarming rate eleven point six per thousand babies die here now experts do say that one has to be wary of looking at the information presented in the study as brussels city is compared with other countries for example iceland that level is at a four point seven a portugal a four point eight a cyprus a four point two experts do also say that the infant mortality situation in brussels is a cause for concern it's an indicator of an increased poverty in some parts of the city on the poor neighborhoods in the migrant neighborhoods it's more than fifty percent unemployment and that in those neighborhoods of course the living conditions are very very healthy and that shows also the figures now this is in addition to a recent o.e.c.d. report which looks at countries with increasing the child poverty and belgium is among them and we also spoke to doctors who says that the problem here of infant mortality has to do with a lot of access to medical services people without papers. or fused into medical services because they hav

brussels and the e.u. leaders do have a certain amount of leeway in the goshi actions with these territories party yes the issue is so much wider and it has to be tackled at a g. twenty level and o.e.c.d. level a un level much it's much bigger than york alone and how big is the tax evasion issue in terms of the u.k. when you say the tax evasion issue do you mean in terms of the the how big how high on the agenda how big is the bulk of the problem is. the problem is certainly very big it is costing the u.k. . in the tune of tens of billions a year the estimates do vary but it's certainly considerable and considering that the government is implementing the spirity policies cutting public services and raising taxes on british citizens i think it's certainly important that this tax gap is now closed how far with this in terms of if david cameron was able to stamp out the tax evasion issue how far would this go in improving britain's economic fortunes i think it would make a considered room prudent to britain's

prime minister david cameron is due in brussels this week to debate tax policies in the u. but at home he's facing mounting questions over whether britain should even be involved in the blocs matters cameron's conservative party has issued a draft bill on an out referendum which says it must be held before the end of twenty seventeen so far opinion polls suggest a majority are likely to vote for an exit well so take a look at the latest figures here. well right now almost half of those surveyed forty six percent and would say yes to leaving the e.q. in almost the same amount say the vote should be held now while only twenty nine percent are ready to wait until camera's chosen date which is twenty seventeen the rising u.s. catholic mood is fueling worries that foreign investors are being put off by the uncertainty u.k.i.p. party leader nigel farage says it's another reason the u.k. should hold the referendum sooner what would have been really damaging to the u.k. economy is if we'd been stupid enough to join the euro zone but thank goodness we said no otherwise we'd be in a

prime minister david cameron is due in brussels this week to debate tax policies in the e.u. but at who is facing mounting questions over whether britain should even be involved in the blocks matters cameron's conservative party has issued a draft bill on an in out referendum which says it must be held before the end of twenty seventeen well so far opinion polls suggest the majority are likely to vote for an exit let's take a look at a survey by the us parameter polling center well back in two thousand and seven they found almost half the u.k. population that's what you nine percent that didn't trust the european bloc and with m t sentiment growing in recent years a survey in twenty twelve revealed that sixty nine percent of those who took part where you are skeptic well that's feeling worries that foreign investors are being put off by the uncertainty that any exit could result in major trade losses the leader of the anti e.u. ukip party nigel farage says the u.k. should hold a referendum soon. well what would have been really damaging to the u.k. economy is if we'd been stu

>> hello from brussels and a very warm welcome to "european journal." here's what's coming up in today's show -- irresponsible -- dealing with earthquakes in italy. dangerous -- right-wing slogans on the rise in hungary. and unbelievable -- the power of the church of cyprus. northern italy is an earthquake- prone region, so to the people in northern italy, it is a familiar feeling when the ground starts to trimble, the plates and cups on the shelves start to rattle, and their own four walls suddenly start to not feel safe anymore. one year ago, when region was hit by a quake so severe that houses collapsed and people were killed. although the government promised aid to rebuild the area, people have been left more less alone for construction work. >> this giant breakfast side has just about survived the earthquake. a -- this giant brick facade. the cathedral has become a symbol for the destruction caused by the earthquake that struck the region's last year. only firemen are allowed to enter the building. they are working to make it safe, as part of it co

>> hello from brussels and a very warm welcome to "european journal." here's what's coming up in today's show -- irresponsible -- dealing with earthquakes in italy. dangerous -- right-wing slogans on the rise in hungary. and uelieble -- the por of the church of cyprus. northern italy is an earthquake- prone region, so to the people in northern italy, it is a familiar feeling when the ground starts to trimble, the plates and cups on the shelves start to rattle, and their own four walls suddenly start to not feel safe anymore. one year ago, when region was hit by a quake so severe that houses collapsed and people were killed. although the government promised aid to rebuild the area, people have been left more less alone for construction work. >> this giant breakfast side has just about survived the earthquake. a -- this giant brick facade. the cathedral has become a symbol for the destruction caused by the earthquake that struck the region's last year. only firemen are allowed to enter the building. they are working to make it safe, as part of it could cr

apparently, brussels believes so and is today expected to signal a change in policy.he u.s. economy is healing causes a sell-off in u.s. treasuries. yields hitting their highest point in more than a year. ♪ bonjour ♪ je t'adore ♪ c'est aujourd'hui ♪ ♪ et toujours ♪ me amour ♪ how about me? [ male announcer ] here's to a life less routine. ♪ and it's un, deux, trois, quatre ♪ ♪ give me some more of that [ male announcer ] the more connected, athletic, seductive lexus rx. ♪ je t'adore, je t'adore, je t'adore ♪ ♪ ♪ s'il vous plait [ male announcer ] this is the pursuit of perfection. ♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ♪ [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients to nurses to the right machines while dramatically reducing waiting time. [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ] [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. lets you jump backwards and forwards in time to capture the perfect shot. blackberry z10 with time shift. built to keep you moving. see it in action a

what is coming up in the next half-hour -- tax fraud takes center stage at an eu mini summit in brussels. leaders search for the missing trillion. >> has a lot and syrian forces are reported to of taking control of a strategic reddens -- rebel stronghold that leaks damascus with syrian ports. >> and the anniversary of richard wagner's birth. how germany is celebrating the controversial composer. >> in a period of record recession and unemployment, the eu has decided to aggressively go after a reported one trillion euros in tax loopholes lost in loopholes. >> leaders backed by the european parliament have agreed to halve the edge -- the figure by 2020. they have also set a deadline to end banking secrecy. >> luxembourg's prime minister smiled for the cameras but had to make major concessions. after initially resisting, he agreed to share other information. now his focus is on negotiating a similar agreement with switzerland. >> what we are planning to do with the automatic exchange of information is again unprecedented. unprecedented. we could not speak in those terms on those issues two

. >> european foreign ministers are in brussels discussing whether to lift the arms embargo on armed rebels in syria. britain and france want to ease sanctions so weapons can be supplied to opposition fighters. some officials have warned the move could jeopardize a proposed peace conference in geneva. >> we are in touch with people the opposition groups and will try to find a way forward. on the arms embargo and specifically, this will be an opportunity for states to discuss how they want to go forward. there are strong views in favor of trying to find a way europe can demonstrate it is united and has a strong position to take forward. to continue.erable we have to have the agreement on the policy. we have tried on previous occasions to make sure there is still a common e.u. policy. if we cannot have one in the future, each country and will have to ensure it has its own sanctions or it will have to be reconstructed for the future. we're looking for common ground in this meeting. of course it is preferable to keep the policy together if we can. >> peter is in brussels with more. >> br

what is coming up in the next half-hour -- tax fraud takes center stage at an eu mini summit in brussels. leaders search for the missing trillion. >> has a lot and syrian forces are reported to of taking control of a strategic reddens -- rebel stronghold that leaks damascus with syrian ports. >> and the anniversary of richard wagner's birth. how germany is celebrating the controversial composer. >> in a period of record recession and unemployment, the eu has decided to aggressively go after a reported one trillion euros in tax loopholes lost in loopholes. >> leaders backed by the european parliament have agreed to halve the edge -- the figure by 2020. they have also set a deadline to end banking secrecy. >> luxembourg's prime minister smiled for the cameras but had to make major concessions. after initially resisting, he agreed to share other information. now his focus is on negotiating a similar agreement with switzerland. >> what we are planning to do with the automatic exchange of information is again unprecedented. unprecedented. we could not speak in those terms on those issues two

seven goes on happy with the brussels deal but this had been delegation insists that was the most bad grade could get at this time why is it so important to solve this matter now do you think serbia could wait and get a better deal. time is not on the side of serbs in kosovo it's on the side of the albanians they enjoy overwhelming support the serbian population in kosovo is declining they've been living in these terrible conditions for thirteen years we have to convince them that this is the only possible solution at the moment my idea is to form a serbian autonomy that would be totally independent from prishtina they have an independent budget take care of their own security they have serbia nor enforcement serbian courts education and health care if we recognise. kosovo's unique status and find a way to include it in our constitution they would then we would ask pristina to recognize a unique status of the serbian community to recognize its right to function independently it's a defacto situation in northern kosovo right now but it's not legalized everyone to texas and we fear that

the cash strapped european union is mounting a crusade against the continent's banking hubs brussels declares open season on account privacy tax evaders a light with even those outside the union pressured to change their rules but have more on that later. but first moscow's efforts to launch direct negotiations between the conflicting sides in syria is now receiving support from the united nations secretary-general ban ki moon is the latest in a string of high profile figures to visit russia to discuss the syrian civil war