with the eu defense industry. the new commission also about global and wants to leverage partners effectively. it raises the importance of lagging eu enlargement processes and prompt more effective engagement with this critical region. our analysis here today on the panel and in the publication that we are putting today, looks at not only priorities but what it means for u.s. policymakers our event todays brings together scholars and distributors for a vibrant discussion of what the changes make. in the end i want to express huge thanks to the foundation and give the floor to mr. martin head of the north american regional office because it's their support that made this event and the publication possible, martin the, over to you. [applause] >> well, thank you robin, thank you, the wilson center, i think this is a great corporation that -- cooperation that we would like to continue and great day to present the paper on eu and the commission because you might have read it, there was a breakthrough in the negotiation

eu -- in fuelling eurosceticism? ,, ., euroscepticism? the eu mission is to think _ euroscepticism?ink about _ euroscepticism? the eu mission is to think about how _ euroscepticism? the eu mission is to think about how to - euroscepticism? the eu mission is to think about how to help - is to think about how to help these transitions —— farmers transition away from the activities at their window and move towards higher productive, higher profitability activities. there is no point in protecting those industries from foreign competition when they are creating a great deal of cost for the rest of the european union. fascinating battle and — european union. fascinating battle and lots _ european union. fascinating battle and lots of _ european union. fascinating i battle and lots of negotiations ahead. one to watch a day. thanks forjoining us in claiming that for us. do stay are set —— is to stay with us here on bbc news to see how that goes. the fate of tiktok in north america could be decided this week. in a decision due today a federal appeals court is set to say whether or not they

so the eu and uk will be two of _ europe. so the eu and uk will be two of each _ europe.he eu and uk will be two of each other's - europe. so the eu and uk will be two of each other's most i be two of each other's most important trading partners. the message from the meeting will be one of improving ties for the remote mutual benefit of those economic areas.- the remote mutual benefit of those economic areas. what will those economic areas. what will those ties look _ those economic areas. what will those ties look like _ those economic areas. what will those ties look like in _ those ties look like in practice?— those ties look like in practice? those ties look like in -ractice? , those ties look like in ractice? , , ., practice? there might be some concessions — practice? there might be some concessions in _ practice? there might be some concessions in regard - practice? there might be some concessions in regard to - practice? there might be some concessions in regard to food i concessions in regard to food exports and farming products, but a lot of the potential of the

he's pledge today bolster eu nato cooperation and communication. right now very little communication especially the working level between the eu and nato and this is a great way to in terms of transalantic relations to keep the u.s. engage and having fruitful dialogue between eu and nato on shared security matters. >> and speaking of fruitful dialogue, i think that's a great segue to turn to the audience which i'm sure has several questions. yes. we have a microphone and if you can briefly introduce yourself. >> thank you so much. obviously not as big as what europe is facing but i'm curious, is there any space for, you know, joint -- instead of pushing away from each other in trying to solve our own industrial bases separately, is there any industry within the defense base that could be overlapped where there could be cooperation and then for eu enlargement in terms of the trans-atlantic partnership, what kind of role should the next administration play in wrapping up processes for the western ball kins. i know it's been years for countries like m

so...— eu negotiation, accession to the eu. so... the eu. 50... inaudible. we will the eu. so...o... inaudible. we will have to — the eu. so... inaudible. we will have to leave _ the eu. so... inaudible. we will have to leave it _ the eu. so... inaudible. we will have to leave it there i will have to leave it there thank you for giving us that context and helping us to understand what is happening in georgia a lot better. malkhaz toria georgian studies at harvard university. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. more allegations have been made about inappropriate behaviour by the masterchef presenter gregg wallace. it comes after he hit out in a statement on social media, saying claims about him have been made by "a handful of middle—class women of a certain age". his lawyers previously said the allegations are false. 13 women have complained about him to a bbc news investigation. figures show more than 20,000 migrants have arrived in the uk by crossing the channel in small boats since sir keir starmer became

she the first uk chancellor to attend an eu finance meeting since britain left the eu in 2020.y far the uk's biggest trading partner. almost half of britain's exports of goods and services went to the eu last year. since brexit, though, exports have fallen sharply — they are now 11% below their level in 2019 before the uk formally left the eu. our economics editor faisal islam is in brussels for us. tell us more about this reset that we are expecting.- that we are expecting. good afternoon — that we are expecting. good afternoon from _ that we are expecting. good afternoon from brussels, i afternoon from brussels, michelle. the finance minister rachel reeves as you said is here in brussels for what she calls a milestone. she says she wants a more normal trading arrangement with the eu, from that which the still newish labour government inherited from their predecessors in the conservative party. to that end, she is right now addressing that meeting of european finance ministers and it is very warm words, we are hearing, we have continually heard warm words and what they call a

services within the eu.he eu. . ., , ., passenger services within the eu. ~ ., , ., ., passenger services within the eu. who is travelling, and why? in this eu. who is travelling, and why? in this age _ eu. who is travelling, and why? in this age of — eu. who is travelling, and why? in this age of video _ in this age of video conferencing and zoom and all that sort of stuff that you got used to in the pandemic, why do people physically need to make this trip? i people physically need to make this tri - ? ~ people physically need to make this tri? ~' �* people physically need to make this tri? ~ �* ., this trip? i think you've got --eole this trip? i think you've got people travelling _ this trip? i think you've got people travelling for - this trip? i think you've got people travelling for the i this trip? i think you've got. people travelling for the same reasons that they always travelled, theyjust are travelled, they just are travelling travelled, theyjust are travelling slightly differently now. we see t

trump suggesting that eu will face -- the eu will face terrorists -- terrorists.ing in on the debt ceiling is a story we will break down. futures are pointing lower, ftse 100 futures slightly less bad. markets readjusting after a split and futures .2 loss to after a soggy day. inflation date or later today, looming shutdown of course deadline and the clock is ticking. we have seen the steepest curve since 2022. 455, we had verbal intervention. the dollar strength continues currently, down 3/10 of 1%. bitcoin down having crossed 108 earlier this week. challenging, yeah, of course. here to tell us more is and d leach from bloomberg's energy storage team. hundred dollars per kilowatt hour, price parity, how close are we? >> we are at 115 and when we dive into eb batteries it is 97. different price points may make vehicle models the same price. china was saying 64% of dvds are cheaper driven by low battery prices and slowing demand. tom: that is reflected in sales. what about storage and -- and developments there? >> storage has been growing so we sewer -- saw an upta

uk exports of goods and services to the eu were £356 billion last year.t half of all uk's exports. meanwhile, imports from the eu account for over half of the uk total, worth {a66 billion last year. since brexit, exports have fallen. they are now 11% below their level in 2019 before the uk formally left the eu. now with the threat of us tariffs under donald trump and the increasing competition from china, there is a feeling on both sides that a closer relationship is beneficial. i'm joined by a former negotiator for the european commission, ignacio garcia bercero, is at the bruegel institute in brussels. good to have you on the programme. rachel reeves is saying she wants a reset as is the uk prime minister. what is brussels saying? i the uk prime minister. what is brussels saying?— brussels saying? i think brussels _ brussels saying? i think brussels from _ brussels saying? i think brussels from my - brussels saying? i think brussels from my point| brussels saying? i think l brussels from my point of brussels saying? i think - brussels from my point of v

if they're willing to keep up with eu rules and regulations.the previous government. but is it thinkable to the current government? she didn't rule that out. other things that are emerging and were mentioned to me actually also talking ahead of this meeting from other finance ministers, the spanish finance minister, carlos quipo, for example, telling me that they would put on the table things like youth mobility. this was ruled out by labour in opposition, but some sort of exchange youth experience exchange or something like that may be on the table again in order to help these sorts of conversations. let's speak to yale selfin, vice chair and chief economist at kpmg. thank you forjoining us. we will pick up on some of those details that was hinted at in there, but firstly, your broad response to the speech? that ou is response to the speech? that you is the _ response to the speech? that you is the most _ response to the speech? that you is the most important - you is the most important trading partner when you look at the volume of trade, it

known as the eu—mercosur trade deal, it would reduce tariffs and other trade barriers between the euay, creating a market of around 700 million consumers. but it's already been 2a years in the making and faces steep opposition from countries like france and poland, who are worried by a potential flood of agricultural products hitting their own producers. joining me now is stefan legge, economist at st gallen university. how significant what a deal be for trade between the two sides of a market of 700 million people, and which parts in that market would gain the most? i would look at this potential deal from two perspectives, would look at this potential dealfrom two perspectives, one is this perspective of international trade and he would create a large market of 700 million people and reduce barriers between the european union and the other countries, so in general it would certainly be an opportunity for both sides to have better access to an important market. the european union would like to have south american countries as a destination especially if exports to china and the us b

france is heavily in debt and needs to cut its spending and increase its income, if it's to fit with eualso just to stabilise things here in the country. but fundamentally, this is a political crisis, a power struggle that has been building for months now and it has finally broken or looks like it will break on wednesday, perhaps when it's very likely that michel barnier and his government will be voted out. um, you mentioned the word crisis and one could call it that. in the short term, i think it's not that much is going to change for ordinary french people here, some sort of caretaker government which will rumble on for weeks, if not months. there's even the possibility of extending the budget through to next year. france has got quite good, actually, at coping in this kind of political muddle. but fundamentally, that political power struggle needs a political resolution, and that really means new elections. they're not due here, or at least the earliest they can hold parliamentary elections is next summer. and what some people are saying is that maybe that won't be enough, that mayb

one eu official told me those words.hat they are trying to achieve in the uk is not trying to do with china, but globally. the eu has realized in the context it is also important to work with the uk. that comes, no doubt, with the arrival of donald trump at the white house. >> silvia, thank you very much for bringing us the latest from brussels. >>> coming up on the show, nvidia closes in the red as chinese authorities launch a probe into suspected violations on the country's anti-monopoly law. we'll bring you the latest. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. where can nfl fans get a great deal that turns christmas day into game day? x marks the spot. the nfl is streami

.— it back on the eu.back on the eu. thank you for your analysis _ it back on the eu. thank you for your analysis there. - visitors to spain will now face more paperwork as a new law comes into force. hotel owners and car hire firms will now need to send personal information about their customers to the government. the rules will also apply to rental properties and campsites but tourism experts have raised privacy concerns. louisa pillbeam reports. spain has long been a favourite overseas holiday destination, but from today the 17 million people who visit from the uk each year could face extra delays before the relaxing can begin. that's because tourism bosses will be required to collect and submit additional customer data to the government under a new law aimed at improving security in the country. the new rules apply to hotels, rental accommodation, campsites and car hire firms. from today, they're required to send all customers' passport details, home addresses and methods of payment to the ministry of

long time on eu integration.before integration can be moved forward. and the georgian government's really failed to meet those requirements every time. um, so the eu has spoken out against these elections, um, against these elections, and has agreed with domestic and international monitors that they were not free and fair. but at the same time, the hungarian president 0rban visited the georgian dream government, in essence in support of them, while meps visited in support of the protesters, and macron has also spoken out in support of the protesters. so up until now they've played a reasonably, low level role in this crisis. and, amy, how tenable do you think the government, the ruling party's position is because these protests have been going on for a long time, haven't they? yes. so the thing is, with the georgian dream, uh, it's been in office for over ten years. and during those ten years, it slowly progressed its hold on the state. so it's captured the state. so it's captured the state in essence, it control

eu, this status was granted back in december 2023.take, in order to move forward on this process. however, what has been happening here since georgia got the candidate status, there was no progress made on any of those points, which include reform in the justice system, and fighting this information, free and fair elections was also on the list. now, the government is presenting it as a blackmailfor the european a blackmail for the european union, a blackmailfor the european union, saying these demands the eu once, they are blackmailing georgia. but that is not what the protesters who have been coming back on to the streets here standing on the stairs or parliament, and you can perhaps see some of the graffiti painted with black paint, this has been the focal point of clashes between protesters and police. the protesters are here because they want new elections. they agree with the opposition that the elections were rigged. there is ample evidence of manipulation is taking place to give victory to the ruling georgia dream party. it is

almost half of britain's exports of goods and services went to the eu last year.orts have fallen sharply — since brexit, though, exports have countries, 'ply — since brexit, though, exports have countries, and - since brexit, though, exports have countries, and to between our countries, and to have _ between our countries, and to have a — between our countries, and to have a more businesslike relationship between the european union and the uk. faisal islam joins us to discuss _ faisal islam joins us to discuss this. how are you seeing _ discuss this. how are you seeing this? how is this going down? — seeing this? how is this going down? ., ., , seeing this? how is this going down? ., .,, , , down? someone has suggested this is the uk _ down? someone has suggested this is the uk saying _ down? someone has suggested this is the uk saying we - down? someone has suggested this is the uk saying we want i this is the uk saying we want all of the good bits and none of the bad bits. how has it been received?— of the bad bits. how has it been received? the first thing is l

rumman chowdhury. _ yes, in the uk and eu. rumman chowdhury, thank— yes, in the uk and eu.ank you for - yes, in the uk and eu. rumman chowdhury, thank you for your l chowdhury, thank you for your time. ., ~' ,, still to come on the world today — we look ahead to the official reopening of notre dame — five years on from the devastating fire. around the world and across the uk, this is the world today on bbc news. an appeals court in the united states has upheld the law that orders tiktok to separate itself from its chinese owner orface being banned in america. the legislation was passed because of concerns about national security linked to the power the chinese authorities could have over the platform. the ban is due to take effect the day before donald trumps�* inauguration next month. 0ur north america technology correspondent lily jamali explained more about the background to the tiktok ban. this was a law that was passed here in the united states back in the spring. congress passed it, and presidentjoe biden signed it in short order. and they, tiktok, you know, effective

it comes amid weeks of mass pro—eu protests by the opposition.king after the vote — he vowed to never give up. prince andrew says he ceased all contact with a businessman accused of being a chinese spy after concerns were raised by the government. in a statement, the prince's office said no sensitive information was ever discussed. and the mystery is continuing to grow in the us after repeated sightings of unknown drones in several states on the east coast. the governor of new jersey has urged president biden to investigate. now on bbc news, undercover people smugglers. people talking. the face of a migrant in the middle of the channel, trying to reach safety in the uk. behind every migrant, there are people smugglers.

mayotte is a french territory, and a member of the eu.rnment says they have all been destroyed. cyclone chido has now moved to mozambique and is also threatening other countries in the region. greg mckenzie reports. the french indian ocean territory of mayotte. cyclone chido made landfall here on saturday. the devastation and aftermath clear to see.

pro—eu —— exit polls in romania's parliamentary election predict pro—eu centrist parties have securedght parties, but not enough to unseat incumbent social democrats and liberals. it comes a week after the first round of the presidential election in which the far—right pro—russian candidate calin georgescu secured a shock victory. the chief executive of car manufacturer stellantis, is stepping down with immediate effect. the world's fourth biggest car maker, which owns brands including chrysler, vauxhall and fiat said it had accepted the resignation of carlos tava res. last week it was announced that vauxhall would close its van—making plant in luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk. ukraine's president volodymyr zelensky says an invitation tojoin nato is necessary for the country's survival, but it must apply to all of its territory. mr zelensky has been holding talks in kyiv with the new head of the european council, antonio costa, and the eu's chief diplomat kaja kallas. at a news conference, mr zelensky also pushed for eu leaders to convince the us president—elect donald trump to work

can the eu deliver? >> the eu can always deliver. eu always delivers.f you think about what the view was before the crisis, the banking crisis, we didn't have a single resolution mechanism. now we have. we didn't have supervision at the level of the european union. before covid, there was -- the house commissioner had no power. now we have a union that is taking a look at what can we do in terms of health and science together. i think that we also advance, but of course, when you have 27 countries with 27 cultures, of course, everybody is different and everybody wants their own interests. the only way to have a common interest is the european union. look at science. today, we have the best. we have 2 million scientists in europe. when you look at science and fundamental science, we are the best compared to other parts of the world. yes, the u.s. is based on innovation of digital and they are far ahead. china is based on efficiency. somehow engineering. the fundamental science for computing and i'm talking about quantum computing or a.i. the fundamental

it comes amid weeks of mass pro—eu protests by the opposition. never give up. prince andrew says he ceased all contact with a businessman accused of being a chinese spy after concerns were raised by the government. in a statement, the prince's office said no sensitive information was ever discussed. and the mystery is continuing to grow in the us after repeated sightings of unkown drones in several states on the east coast. the governor of new jersey has urged president biden to investigate. the united nations agency for children is warning that more children are dying in gaza because they can't leave to get urgent medical care. unicef says 2500 children in gaza need medical evacuation, but since may, when the rafah crossing was closed, few have been able to leave. and those that do often have to make the journey alone, without their parents.

the eu has opened an investigation into tiktok for suspected breach of its digital rules.l media platform was used by russia to influence romania's presidential election. the eu said the decision was in part based on declassified intelligence reports by the romanian authorities, who annulled the election result. the eu probe will focus on tiktok�*s system for recommending content to users — and the risk of it being manipulated. now to something of a uk speciality for the festive season — pantomime. the blend of well—loved fairy tales and plenty of song and dance — not to mention camp humour — is a recipe that continues to sell. it's had a rough few years — with theatres closing because of the pandemic — but the business seems to be back with a bang. the pictures you are seeing now are from beauty and the beast at the wolverhampton grand theatre — its producer tim colegate says their getting numbers through the box office. the numbers that we've seen this year at the box office are unprecedented. i mean, the theatre here, beautiful wolverhampton grand, where i am, is in its

a majority of eu nations have to agree the deal to ratify it. are in favour, but france has already said it won't play ball, and italy also appears to be against it. but ursula von der leyen said the deal will create opportunities. let me address my fellow europeans. this is a win for europe. 60,000 companies are exporting today to mercosoor, 30,000 small and medium enterprises. they benefit from reduced tariffs, simpler custom procedures and preferential access to critical raw materials. this will create huge business opportunities. we're nowjoined by karel lannoo, who's the chief executive of centre for european policy studies. welcome. how likely is this deal to get through? we have seen fierce opposition in europe from farmers and paris for instance.— for instance. yes, a pleasure to speak _ for instance. yes, a pleasure to speak about _ for instance. yes, a pleasure to speak about it. _ for instance. yes, a pleasure to speak about it. this - for instance. yes, a pleasure to speak about it. this deal i to speak about it. this deal will come

in it he says the eu "must make up their tremendous deficit with the united states by the large scalend gas", otherwise, it is tariffs all the way! ! ! he added. for more i spoke to jane foley from rabobank — she said this might be welcome news to european manufacturers as — if implemented — it could lead to a drop in energy prices. europe knows that it is also there, that it is also vulnerable to the potential impact of tariffs. i think europe's or germany's auto manufacturers particularly worried about what might happen given their present weakened position. but in terms of the energy message that trump mentioned this morning, that's not entirely surprising. and in fact, perhaps it's a little bit of a relief, perhaps, to some of the manufacturers, that trump has decided to say that europe needs to import more lng, more liquid natural gas. now, we've got to bear in mind that a couple of years ago, when we had the energy crisis in europe, europe did ramp up the imports of us lng very significantly. it was very grateful for those supplies at the time. in fact, if you look at the first

the biggest trading deal the eu and those countries have ever signed.d have very large economic ramifications. there are many countries within the eu that are happy to have this happen, particularly the germans. i sat down with the german finance minister on friday and he told me this about the deal. >> it is part of this strategy of de-risking from china and diversifying, so from a geopolitical perspective, it would be hugely important to send this signal of cooperation to the merck & co. sewer -- mercosur countries. >> opening up geopolitical trade relations with germany very focused because of the deterioration but donald trump coming into office if they slap tariffs, you have a greater number of countries you can trade with, that insulates you to a certain degree, there is a lot of concern around the agricultural sector, the french objected to this, this deal is still blockable, all you need is four eu countries that account for 35% of the eu population trade france will vote against it trade this will stand or fall by italy. where italy goes on thi

membership. democracy that aspire to eu membership-— democracy that aspire to eu membershi -. ., .,rty midi membership. the ruling ma'ority party would dispute * membership. the ruling ma'ority party would dispute jessen h membership. the ruling majority party would dispute jessen said i party would dispute jessen said they were wearer get hilarity is in the election. but there has been a resolution condemning the october elections in georgia. this idea that they are pro—kremlin and pro—russia, help us to understand that. given that there are parts of georgia that are under russian occupation. why this willingness to be closer to russia?- why this willingness to be closer to russia? just a word about the — closer to russia? just a word about the european - closer to russia? just a word l about the european parliament resolution. not only do they condemn this election, they do not recognise the results. they have called for another parliamentary election under international supervision. this is very important. these results are not recognised by the eu. consequently, the prime minist

but as we heard before, he had talked about suspending accession talks and the eu heard it too. a statement criticising the decision and accusing georgia of backtracking, backsliding on democracy. steve rosenberg. and we have a live page with the very latest on those protests in tbilisi — for a fourth night in a row on the bbc news website site and app. it includes that live feed that you see on the right—hand side of your screen of the protests. the masterchef presenter gregg wallace has hit out against allegations of inappropiate behaviour on the show, saying they've come from "a handful of middle—class women of a certain age". he released a statement on social media this morning, and his lawyers have previously said the allegations are false. 13 women have complained about him to a bbc news investigation. 0ur correspondent noor nanji has the latest. now, in the newspaper, i can see the complaints coming from a handful of middle—class women of a certain age, just from celebrity masterchef. this isn't right. gregg wallace in an instagram video this morning, hitting back at his

this is an eu wide law but is this only going to affect the eu or is this going to have a trickle—downs very unlikely that any major manufacturer will make a separate modeljust for the uk. not something that�*s different, so whether we follow suit or introduce a compatible law, doesn�*t really matter, as things go forwards we will end up with usb c charged devices. that go back to hong kong. the fire display going on there, it�*s not a just a few moments ago. —— it started just a few moments ago. this is marking the end of the end of the festival which has featured panda shaped statues dotted around hong kong. 1000 drones and pyrotechnics are getting involved in this ten minute display. many of the hundreds of lighthouses dotted around the british isles have stood for centuries and despite changing technology, they continue to provide an important beacon for today�*s sailors. with their constant coastal exposure, many of these ageing structures require regular, routine maintenance, as our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has been finding out. on the southernmost tip of scotland, a d

and the eu on the other on with the eu and the eu on the othe

low productivity and failure to invest leading to lost growth in the eu with france and germany as we discussing and political crisis. the continental risks more lost years with stagnation. >> the news for europe keeps getting worse. >> the french government collapses plunging eu's second largest economy into turmoil. >> france's political upheaval offered another glimpse into fractious european affairs. >> vw workers are striking hard. >> we are in crisis mode. >> if we follow our classical agenda, we will be out of the market. >> the eu's economy is fighting for survival and struggling to keep pace with the u.s. and china. >> has the european economy grown as fast as the american economy over the last few decades, we would be generating 3 trillion euros. >> that is roughly equivalent to the whole gdp of france being added into the economy. >> europe's challenge is from china and the u.s. >> without that, the region is that risk of being unable to protect itself in a world where security is no longer guaranteed. >> it is a very tense moment in the world and europe is at the center of

and at some point there's going to be a uk eu summit as well.sters, for all your messages and loveliness throughout the year. we love doing our weekend programme with you and i hope that everybody listens in 2025. the upcoming week is looking pretty unsettled, will be dominated by low pressure and that will bring spells of wet and windy weather to our shores. it will be mild to start this new week. like i said, wet and windy at times with low pressure always close by. then it turns a bit colder again later in the week with temperatures returning closer to the seasonal norm. at the moment we're in this wedge of warmer air. a lot of clouds and mist and rain beginning to pile in to the north and west of scotland, but you can see the orange colours right across the board, indicating it is milder temperatures above the seasonal norm. rest of today stay very windy for northern areas with gales in northern scotland. rain really starting to pile up across the highlands with gusty winds and it could be very gusty as well across the yorkshire side of the

what the supporters are pro—eu. trying even now to somehow hide their intentions, they are saying it is only temporary. after several years we would have very good relations with the eu. but you are lying. i think that may be for now, georgia will be, the government could not treat georgian people. i thank the protest will continue and i think it will continue and i think it will be, the reactions will be taken. ., ~' , . will be, the reactions will be taken. ., ~ , . ., taken. thank you very much for our taken. thank you very much for your time- _ taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo _ taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo at _ taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo at the - taken. thank you very much for your time. ceo at the liberty i your time. ceo at the liberty institute a georgian ngo. 0ur institute a georgian ngo. our next story. it follows shortly. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. you're live with bbc news. syria's president, bashar al—assad, is turning to his al

lets speak to pieter haeck, tech reporter at eu politico. thank you for being with us.do here? to train ai, — union trying to do here? trr train ai, you need a lot of computing capacity, and he wants to avoid that promising european ai startups are knocking on the doors of us big tech players for that computing capacity. so what they now have done is pledged hundreds of millions of euros to make sure that that's computing capacity lets speak to pieter haeck, tech reporter at eu politico. thank you for being with us. these are huge amounts of money. what is the european union trying to do here? to train ai, — union trying to do here? trr train ai, you need a lot of computing capacity, and he wants to avoid that promising european ai startups are knocking on the doors of us big tech players for that computing capacity. so what they now have done is 1553 00:18:57,110

donald trump has an— the us and the eu.ving it in his last administration and throughout his time — administration and throughout his time as a celebrity, he likes— his time as a celebrity, he likes the _ his time as a celebrity, he likes the uk and wants to work with— likes the uk and wants to work with them and understands the power— with them and understands the power of— with them and understands the power of the special relationship and the thing he values — relationship and the thing he values most is burden sharing. the uk — values most is burden sharing. the uk has gone to great lengths over at least a decade and meeting their 2% over gdp into nate _ and meeting their 2% over gdp into nato. the majority of donald _ into nato. the majority of donald trump's criticism of nato — donald trump's criticism of nato is _ donald trump's criticism of nato is burden sharing at that the european partners need to step— the european partners need to step up — the european partners need to step up. the uk is an outlier among — ste

from the eu.ro, how do you envision that happening, a return in germany to the deutsche's mark, explain the mechanics of that working if you had your way. >> this is the entire discussion around the dexit. we think that the european treaties need to be reformed, so that every country within the european union has the right first of all to have a veto against the commission. for instance, that the german government could say we don't agree, we say no. veto power in the european treaties. and if a country wants to leave the european union, why not falling automatically into a free-trade zone? i highly recommend just a free-trade zone because all the bureaucrats, thousands of them, like eating up taxpayers' moneys. they just disturbed real competition among the european countries. we don't need all these bureaucrats actually who have no clue what they're doing. and destroying our foundation in the european union. oliver: these are radical ideas, as far as the markets and economists are concerned, a l

that's on top of the massive backlog of pending cases marta welander is the eu advocacy director withernational rescue committee, and she joins us live now from brussels. marta, it's great to have you on the show. thank you for joining me. thank you. across the globe. you're so welcome. across the globe. we're seeing a real pushback against people seeking asylum. i mean, i'm in the uk right now at the moment, and we're just seeing a few months ago there were riots based on immigration streets here. a great number of eu member states now deciding to pause asylum applications from syrian nationals, including germany, france, sweden, italy, greece, poland, lots of others. what is your reaction to this right, so indeed, we have indeed seen. >> eu member states announce of the week that they would be putting asylum claims from syrian nationals, and while it's still to be seen and exactly what the status is proposing here but they're exactly. >> the motivations might be, it should be emphasized and foremost that all countries have an obligation to uphold the right to seek asylum, regardless

eu police forces to try and crack down on illegal migration.t they've managed to convince the austrians that veto is gone and now the vote has gone through. and of course, this comes this week as we're seeing another huge change in the middle east region. turkey, obviously a key route for people who have come into europe in the past. um, what is the sense of predictions that we're getting in terms of movements of people now that bulgaria and romania will be fully part of the schengen area? well, before these dramatic events in syria, i think the turkish government had been putting increasing pressure on syrians to go back to syria even before these political changes. and at that time, syrians who felt they couldn't go home, it was unsafe to go to syria, might then have been trying to reach europe. and so we were expecting here, in the balkans and eastern europe, an increase of people. but hopefully people will now be able to return to syria and that new wave of illegal migration won't happen. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news

it has huge implications for the french economy, the eu number two, the french stock markets have taken a look at all of that a little later. in georgia, thousands of people have been protesting in the capital, tblisi, for a fifth night in a row. once again, there were extensive clashes with police. protesters threw fireworks at officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. last week, the prime minister said he'd put european union accession talks on hold, despite polls suggesting widespread support for membership, sparking this latest round of demonstrations. georgia's pro—eu president has been speaking to the bbc, and dismissed the negative image of the protest being presented. that is the russian propaganda which we did not have to gain in that everything has to be a revolution, that everything has to be prepared by the west. there is nothing of that kind, calm, peaceful population that wants to have it all heard. we will not accept that a foreign power deters it from its destiny, which is the european community. so that was georgia's president speaking to the bbc earlier.

the romania— hungary border, on the day romanians and bulgarians finally get full membership in the euin the schengen zone. syria's new authorities say their notorious prisons where thousands were tortured and killed will be shut down. these are the live pictures from seoul where the south korean president promises to fight to the end, defending his short lived imposition of martial law last week. over 1500 firefighters continue to battle a wildfire in california spreading through the coastal town of malibu. i'm geeta guru—murthy in london. in the last hour the european union has made a decision on romania and bulgaria. they have been confirmed as full members of europe's schengen travel zone. the countries partly joined schengen in march, after an agreement with austria, which had initially opposed theirjoining on the grounds they needed to do more to prevent illegal immigration. the deal has been years in the making. romania and bulgaria joined the european union in 2007 and have been trying to enter schengen for more than 10 years. their full entry to the zone would leave ireland an

the new eu. _ conflict, apparently? indeed. the new eu, the _ conflict, apparently? indeed.ndeed. l the new eu, the former prime minister of estonia, has said that ukraine should not be pushed into peace talks, and evenif pushed into peace talks, and even if russia calls for a demilitarised zone of peace keepers, they are not the ones keeping the peace. so i think also what is happening here is that ukraine and the surrounding areas paying the price for a lack of investment in these various european economies. therejust in these various european economies. there just isn't enough muscle to defend themselves and also ukraine under attack, and if this war goes further, and a lot of us suspect it will, go beyond ukrainian borders, the way russia is ramping up their military industrial complex right now, it is going to be a very tough conflict for europe to respond to by itself. michael, always great to have you on the programme. thank you for talking to us here on today's verified live. my pleasure. _ today's verified live. my pleasure, thank - today's verified live. ij�*i plea

the incumbent president and the pro—eu opposition say the process is illegitimate.e is a lawyer and activist in georgia — she was at the protests today and joins me from tblisi. now that georgian dream has elected this new president, how do people react to that, and this is kind of a new way of electing a president, because this is not a popular vote, explain for our international audience how that has worked out. the mac hello, thank you for having me. today's event has a couple of problems. first of all we are claiming that the parliament we have right now has no legitimacy because the election has been falsified. therefore any election from this parliament is against the constitution and unlawful. the second thing is that he has been elected as a president and i can say that, for the whole society to elect such a person who is well known, that he is not educated, is sexist and pro—russian and all was known as being a footballer in russia. the third thing is that over the legal procedures prescribed by the law, violates the election of the new president, has all b

third night of clashes with riot police occurs as thousands descend to protest a decision on suspended eu membership talks. belgium becomes the first country in europe to give the same labour rights to sex workers as those in any otherjob. hello, i'm lauren taylor. the syrian army says dozens of its soldiers have been killed by rebel forces who have captured the country's second largest city, aleppo. it's the largest offensive against the syrian government in years and has led it to withdraw its troops from the city. the islamist rebels have since made further advances the islamist rebels have since ma a furtheradvances the islamist rebels have since ma a series r advances the islamist rebels have since ma a series of dvances the islamist rebels have since ma a series of russian following a series of russian air strikes. the escalation comes as syrian forces withdrew their troops from the city. that retreat in response to a surprise offensive launched by rebel fractions five days ago. this is the most serious challenge yet to president bashar al—assad in years. it was a carefully planned

so we have the eu's big two, france and germany.n donald trump returns the white house injanuary with all of the uncertainties that will bring. they are inward looking and worried about their own domestic politics and that leaves the wider eu rudderless and leaderless in these times of turmoil. in countries that want to see the eu, europe and the west divided and weakened, like china and russia, they are looking and delighted.— the archbishop of york has defended how he dealt with a priest accused of sexual assault after a bbc investigation into the case prompted calls for him to resign. stephen cottrell, who's preparing to take temporary leadership of the church of england, said he was deeply sorry he hadn't been able to act sooner, and had suspended the priest david tudorfrom office when he had the power to do so. here's our religion editor aleem maqbool. just last month, justin welby resigned as archbishop of canterbury for failing abuse victims. in the hours after he announced he'd stepped down, his deputy, archbishop of york st

that you're asking the eu and the us to do?— that you're asking the eu and the us to do?ey have been _ the us to do? well, what they have been doing _ the us to do? well, what they have been doing for _ the us to do? well, what they have been doing for more - the us to do? well, what they| have been doing for more than 30 years now since independence of georgia, to support us in our path towards european integration and that is enshrined in our constitution and that has been supported by our partners but also by the georgian population more than 80% of them all over this here whatever is happening in the war of the occupation of our territories and that determination has never flinched and today as we see on the streets, the georgian population wants nothing else and nothing more than its independence and its european paths. that is with the people on the streets are very calmly and very peacefully demanding and very peacefully demanding and our vote are back, our european future back. madam president. _ european future back. madam president, your _ european future back.

it comes after 17 days of pro—eu protests across the country's towns and cities.ment earlier. the four main opposition groups have rejected mr kavelashvili's appointment and have boycotted parliament. let's speak to liza zhvania, who's the daughter of former georgian prime minister zurab zhvania. very good to talk to you. thank you for being with us. what do you for being with us. what do you make of what we're sitting on the streets of tbilisi today? on the streets of tbilisi toda ? ~ . , today? we are seeing the unprecedented _ today? we are seeing the unprecedented long, - today? we are seeing the unprecedented long, 17 i today? we are seeing the i unprecedented long, 17 days today? we are seeing the - unprecedented long, 17 days of protests outside, garrett the ring thousands of young people, along with more than 500 imprisoned, about 300 of them beaten severely. the so—called government, which has a huge lack of legitimacy locally not only by the opposition but also by large portion of the public as well is internationally has announced, has chosen the new pr

the eu, the un, the united _ governments. the eu, the un, the united states. _ governments. united states. indeed. - governments. the eu, the un, the united states. indeed. sol the united states. indeed. so the united states. indeed. so the will the united states. indeed. so they will have _ the united states. indeed. so they will have to _ the united states. indeed. so they will have to prove - they will have to prove themselves. if they manage to topple president bashar al—assad's regime in the next few days or even hours or weeks, and take power, they will be at a fork. they can go one of two macro ways. they can be intelligent about this and do exactly what they said they were going to do, which is to rule the country for the benefit of all syrians and not to persecute minorities, in which case, they will eventually, i would which case, they will eventually, iwould imagine, in new york, where the sanctions are placed on them, they will lose their terrorist designation. but they are going to have to prove it first, because remember that the taliban said during the fall of