while i mean while a european council president donald to us kaz lashed out at president donald trump a statement came ahead of this meeting of european leaders that is taking place right now where the u.s. withdrawal from the iran deal and the steel tariffs are expected to dominate the discussions. looking at the latest decisions of presidents. so i won't see them sitting. with friends like the enemy. but frankly speaking. you should be grateful by president. because. we have got to rid of old age. because. if you need a hand. you will find. your. stinging criticism there from european council president donald to scare you correspondent bob available is in the capital sofia where e.u. leaders are arriving for their dinner barbara just how low can transatlantic relations go before reaching out breaking point. if we talk about rock bottom level of the question is what's below it deep dungeon maybe actually what we are seeing here is really a sort of deep freeze in transatlantic relations that many and most people who will present you and observing this event cannot ever remember even a

with friends like these who needs enemies those are the words of the european council president donald tusk as he lashed out at president donald trump the statement comes ahead of a meeting of european leaders tonight where the u.s. from the iran deal and steel tariffs are expected to dominate. looking at the latest decisions of presidents. so i won't see them fitting. with friends like that. but frankly speaking. europe should be grateful by president trump because thanks to him we have got through it all. he has realized that if you need a big hand. you will find at the end of your. european council president the president they're not mincing his words in german chancellor angela merkel also has been talking about the iran nuclear deal she again criticize u.s. president donald trump for we know again on the agreement merkel told the german parliament that the deal which sorry iran give up its nuclear weapons program was far from perfect but she said dialogue with tehran would achieve much more than walking away from the table in this new bout me actually there are more issues to disc

european council president. president saying with friends like that who needs enemies and you can always get. out from the google play store that will give you access to all the latest news from around the world as well as push notifications for any breaking news you can also use that to send us photos and videos when you see news happening. followed by the day to see of the. freedom of expression. of ways has to be defended and new. all over the world. of freedom freedom of art. project about tests and their right to express their views freely. part of freedom.

from the european council on foreign relations thank you so much for. watching the news coming to you live from london and have not. hire one while going to another edition of your own max i'm your host to meghan lee from springtime in spain to bright ideas for your home we've got a mixed bag on the show today here's a look at what's coming up. first of color we visit the flower festival in the spanish city of shiraz. cashing in on can't we shop around for weird.

european council president donald tusk says with friends like trump, who needs enemies. hand, you will find one at the end of yourarm. these two men are a step closer to finally forming italy's government, but disagreements remain. every day 0utside source features bbc journalists working in over 30 languages. your questions are always welcome. #bbcos is the hashtag. scathing comments today from the president of the european council, donald tusk, lashing out the other donald, the one in the white house. here's what he said. looking at the latest decisions of president trump, someone could even think, with friends like this who needs enemies? but frankly speaking, europe should be grateful by president trump because thanks to him, we have got rid of all delusions. —— of all illusions. he has made us realise that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of yourarm. mr tusk made those comments in the bulgarian capital sofia as european leaders gather there for a summit. here's gavin lee. now all of europe's leaders are here in sofia's national palace of cult

with me now in studio to talk about this is yosef yachting is head of the berlin bureau of the european council on foreign relations good to see you again now we've just seen some of the international reaction to what has happened in israel and the palestinian territories there at the border through gaza from israel were more than fifty people were killed yesterday and over a thousand injured international reaction has been very strong south africa in turkey withdrawing their ambassadors have turkey calling what's happened in gaza genocide in mass occur today the u.n. security council is meeting is is a u.n. security council meeting going to help anything. really i believe it is necessary it's necessary that the international community addresses those issues but it has very little means to affect the situation on the ground you see an eye for an eye tactic employed there where where israeli soldiers and these are the army responds harshly a must is trying to escalate the conflict it's a showdown that goes on there and that that is a very odd situation was the violence that we witnessed yesterda

more of this story now with yosef yani he's the head of the berlin bureau of the european council on foreign relations thank you for joining us in our studio is that we've seen very strong international reaction here as we said a south african and turkey recalling their ambassadors and we should say the u.k. said quote the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning we're also seeing this u.n. security council special meeting what can all of this actually do international leaders are trying to signal to the israeli government that this is critical that their response is fueling the fire rather than controlling it and they are also deeply concerned particularly the europeans that now this leads to another period of hardening between the two sides which means there will be no progress whatsoever on any type of a negotiated solution between israelis and palestinians but will expressing those concerns make a difference especially now as israel is buffeted by the support of the u.s. well it may not thorough the impress the israeli government but also the french the british the europ

well ahead of that meeting a european council president lashed out at u.s. president doubling trompe had some very strong we're. looking at the latest the physio's of president. someone could see them fitting. with friends like that who said anything. about frankly speaking. europe should be grateful by president. because thanks to him. we have got through it of all he loses. he has made us realize that if you need a hand. you will find at the end of your. alps some people showing him the polarizer from poland tonight's let's pull in our correspondent barbara bay's will she is in bulgaria covering that meeting for us tonight barbara when you hear words like that you have to ask for the transatlantic relationship how low can it go. it's pretty dead and very from where i stand here and so here because european leaders are angry tunnel to the president the council president whom we just heard he talks to leaders before he goes to a meeting like this and before he speaks out publicly and so he mira's what he heard behind the scenes on the telephone and personal

of yarning from the european council on foreign relations is still with me here in the studio yes of iran has met with the other signatories of the nuclear deal time and china and russia today they're meeting with the europeans we've talked about what europe's role could be in various international affairs what can europe achieve in trying to revive the iran nuclear deal for your piece this is a very difficult situation there first priority is nonproliferation is not to lead the situation into a an escalation of nuclearization so they want to stick to that agreement they want to hold iran to that agreement but they already know that it's going to be very difficult for them to deliver on the economic side of the deal so they have to find something that they can offer iran that what kind of strength of the iranian will to stick to the agreement and that was not about business and that is not easy to see what that could be it could be good political relations it could be additional sig signals to is to say we understand the security that the that iran sees itself in but it cannot be the

hoped economic turmoil would play a role in the election campaign after it in years comments european council president donald to school said institutions need to show respect to its hellion voters. are catty about shango a prominent russian journalist and.

have been clear about that with the issues between us in the european commission adopted by the european council in december and when the european commission made a proposal dealing between northern ireland and ireland, i was clear that neither i nor any prime minister. [shouting] thank you, mr. speaker. what the rising budget, government has very clearly demonstrated its commitment to the nhs. but there are short-term challenges recruiting pediatrics does to the pediatric ward. can my right honorable friend reassure my constituents and parents in my constituency that the decision to make the temporary closure has not yet been made and that she will work with me to leave notes no none turned. nhs england can work together to make sure that we recruit the doctors we need? this! can i give my honorable friend the reassurance that he is asking for? any decision taken by the trust about the services available will of course be made to ensure the provision of services is safe for patients. the trust is continuing to recruit pediatricians to suppore the service it wants to continue to provide pediatri

now to talk about this meeting currently underway i have with me dr phil off the european council on foreign relations which is a pink tank and in sochi is correspond emily seven let me start with you first a good stuff that mean there's a whole range of issues the two leaders going to be talking about do you think the john saving the iran david top the agenda yes i i fear so the problem is that if we are in a very tricky situation the way donald trump left iran you. can lead to serious repercussions the rain ians could for example sort of come on the sign it was drawn their cooperation with the that means expect you know inspections are out that means they could only work on into a bomb by not fully withdrawing from the deal on the russians given the current set of relations with proly plock the u.n. security council and then you're sort of on a double negative and the iranians get the bomb we get nothing and there is no deal . but you know if if russia wants to play any different role than from a pure obstruct it wants to have a price for that and the problem is very the price will

thing that date european council that will the work of a very important topics on the future of their eurozone man you were going there with that technical government that has no majority department will be problematic so that i have before me said sour has happened before in italy so it's not the first time that that would be the case how divided is your country. but in looking at what's happened and therefore the march is clear that the concrete is divided between that supporters so all the data they lead giving concrete response to this the present needs about three main topics economic recovery internal security and the management of immigration flows and another pliers to. count three death is backing sokol is populist party that's that are proposing a new and different approaches to social ito are you real that that doesn't mean that those parties want to break out with a you are a big eurozone that was not mentioned i did it off the shelf agreement final i don't buy five and then leave but just as i couldn't have ruled and more and more focus on the saga of the interest when th

european leaders are a great. the councilsident whom we just heard, he talked to leaders before he goes to a meeting like this and before he speaks publicly. he mirrors what he heard behind the scenes on the telephone and in personal meetings, particularly from macron in france. it is serious because he feels he has been made an idiot in washington, paraded around for three days, then leaving empty-handed. then trump says ha ha, i will cancel the deal. european leaders are furiou. the transatlantic relationship, you can't even talk about it. it doesn't exist, it is on the ice, in deep freeze somewhere. they are trying to figure out how can they stand up against what they see as absolute and utter bullying by donald trump. brent: some people may: bullying, other may say it is the cold hard facts of the power of a superpower. the european union is not backing down from the iran nuclear deal, but how far is brussels prepared to go? at the end of the day, europe is powerless in the face of u.s. sanctions, isn't it? reporter: it i

we will be hearing more within the next hour from the european council president, donald tusk, and hopefully emmanuel macron. so far, we've only heard determination from a leaders to keep this deal alive. as long as iran sticks to the deal, europe sticks to the deal, it's good for european security, good for global security. all heads of state were briefed -- what they can do to keep the deal alive and protect european companies. they jointly agreed that they will take a united approach. what that approach might constitute yet to be decided. the commission working on some action plan, ways for european companies to keep doing business in iran without facing fines from the u.s., criminal charges and prosecution. these are real dangers for european companies. some people talking about the allowng statutes that european companies -- it's never been used before. hasof the commissioners admitted today that this could be of limited use. united, it is working hard to find ways around this, but time is tight and it's extremely competent it. that's complicated -- extremely complicated. >> companies a

head of european commission mr jones european council president mr forbes just to remind you the organization for security and cooperation in europe warned over the reported instances of the. proportionate use of force by armenian which will also take a senior bush term also. keep in mind that trial had also the storming of the state buildings state institutional buildings on the state of public radio ministers so you should be very frank to consider the situation in a very open minded mr april twenty second. was clinging to power the demonstrations had risen the last thing on his mind on that day the twenty second was actually standing down he had discussions with the opposition leader passion yet which he broke off after just a few minutes accusing him of issuing ultimatums and blackmailing the legitimate authority miles away is a blackmailing intolerance paul that is still going calling or mean after the war try who by you or by the way ours have you found any evidence that it's going by these kind of intolerance and blackmailing is not promoting democracy in armenia because despite the mo

government or not except this government, and in we have italian government in next in time for the european counciln the building behind me. that comes in june. it is unclear who will be the prime minister coming here to ,epresent italy for that summit but it could see the first big conflict between this new italian government and the eu on the issue of russia. the coalition government explicitly says that russia is "not a military threat." of courses going against conventional wisdom here in brussels and next month they have to make the decision on whether to rollover the sanctions on russia for its annexation of crimea. the new government may block the rollover of those sanctions. there could be fireworks with that new italian government next week. shona: a few points of discord there. thank you for joining us, dave keating, live from brussels. idol a merkel is visiting sochi. the german chancellor will be meeting with m notably to discuss the conflict in ukraine. russia has condemned the russian crimeanon of the peninsula. our correspondent joins us live from berlin with more. russia annexed cri

comments now but he was also criticized at the time by some of his closest allies donald the european council president sean claude younker the european commission president all saying this isn't the type of language you should be using as a member of the commission from the populist solve norden and the five star movement well they were outraged by mr ting his comment saying that he was the type of person it viewed italy just a place to go on holiday or sensually these comments from they played right into the hands of the euro skeptics because they're now getting ready for new elections which could come as soon as september they can now say to their voters look we said last time they were trying to take your sovereignty away look what they did when we try to put in place a government in italy so it was ultimately left to the european commission president to try and smooth things over between the populists and euro skeptics in italy and the commission in brussels it's in his fate does not lie in the hands of the financial markets regardless of which political party may be in power is. italy i

enough clout in the region to bring about such a chance of chatting us with a think tank the european council on foreign relations sir thank you for speaking to us thank you. are going to be up to speed now with some of the other stories making news around the world. russian opposition leader alexina vali has received a thirty day jail sentence for organizing a protest earlier this month of on the lead demonstrations the day before president vladimir putin was inaugurated for a fourth term of all he was barred from running in the most recent election and has frequently been jailed for his activism. russia has unveiled a new bridge to the crimean peninsula territory at an ex from ukraine three years ago russian president vladimir putin drove a truck across the bridge as part of the opening ceremonies ukraine's prime minister said the bridge is a violation of international law it still claims crimea as its own territory. are and how it is here and are taking a look at the murky business of selling weapons it can certainly be very murky and it's gone to trial here in germany six former employees

the european council president and. the european commission president both coming out and saying this isn't the right way to be saying things this isn't the right thing to be doing the populist leaders though he was kind of addressing as well in those comments they've jumped on this incredibly critical of the e.u. budget commissioner saying that people like him they treat italy like a summer camp and promising that that will change in the future essentially these comments from. highly placed official they play directly into the hands of leader nords and the five star movement because now when they go back to the polls and address their potential voters they can see see we told you we were right there trying to influence us trying to rule over us from brussels well timidly it was left to the european commission president john claud younker to try and smooth things over its release fate does not lie in the hands of the financial markets regardless of which political party may be in power italy is a founding member of the e

nuclear deal joining me from london is that they got on my own who is senior policy fellow at the european council of foreign relations is a think tank a suit she was an advisor on the negotiations of the iran deal welcome to day w. so you'll have heard the news from the united states what does it feel like to see your work sort of torn up like this. well the question to you. you know i think this is being really you know in the works for a number of months really since october when president obama decided to set it he said to fly to congress that iran was a client and you could you know i do not was a wakeup call for many european capitals and those who have been working on the patients of the nuclear deal and so we have been getting the pair to be for this moment for some for some months but i think that it is certainly deep regret for many european capitals that the u.s. has decided to take such suits and decisive destroy action when this multinational it meant that it only took over ten years to achieve so here's the thing i'm every one of the right for the detail to emerge but america's withd

and for more i'm joined here in the studio by pressel from the think tank the european council. on foreign relations welcome to you and thanks for joining us. we saw their flowers smiles as their relationship improved. mauler quiet and to be frank it's not the only personal relationship between the two it's sort of the policy does house wolf cheering the time that makes the relationship on the it still chilly and it will be chilly for for many reasons. and merkel is also the kind of personality that is not really impressed by him or holds or other things you put up in front of her so let's get down to the issues because of course there were many sticking points that were on the agenda that we know that they discussed one of them was of course ukraine. you know putin saying that both sides reconsider options for a multinational peacekeeping mission does that sound like progress to you. that sounds like the usual stuff because we've been debating this since september at least september the fourteenth i'm sorry turned seventeen when the russian proposal for peacekeeping force came

comments now but he was also criticized at the time by some of his closest allies donald the european council president sean claude younker the european commission president all saying this isn't the type of language you should be using as a member of the commission from the populist solve norden and the five star movement well they were outraged by mr ting his comment saying that he was the type of person it viewed italy just a place to go on holiday or sensually these comments from they played right into the hands of the euro skeptics because they're now getting ready for new elections which could come as soon as september they can now say to their voters look we said last time they were trying to take your sovereignty away look what they did when we try to put in place a government in italy so it was ultimately left to the european commission president to try and smooth things over between the populists and euro skeptics in italy and the commission in brussels it's a his fate does not lie in the hands of the financial markets regardless of which political party may be in power it's. really

comments now but he was also criticized at the time by some of his closest allies donald the european council president and john claude young of the european commission president all saying this isn't the type of language you should be using as a member of the commission from the populist solve norden and the five star movement well they were outraged by mr ting his comment saying that he was the type of person that viewed italy just a place to go on holiday or sensually these comments from they played right into the hands of the euro skeptics because they're now getting ready for new elections which could come as soon as september they can now say to their voters look we said last time they were trying to take your sovereignty away look what they did when we tried to put in place a government in italy so it was ultimately left to the european commission president to try and smooth things over between the populists and euro skeptics in italy and the commission in brussels it's in his fate does not lie in the hands of the financial markets regardless of which political party may be in power it

away in the street four and a half thousand pairs of shoes have been laid out in front of the european council building ahead of a meeting of e.u. foreign ministers each pair is meant to represent a palestinian killed by israeli forces over the last decade. over a thousand of them symbolizing children and i brought the shoes of my daughter as well too and see just to show that i'm standing with those fathers as mothers as brothers and sisters to bless their children and their siblings and this is long and that's why we also calling on the european union say enough is enough until you know for help to put sanctions israel show them that they live by the test.

this was european council president donald tusk last week. >> we are witnessing today a new phenomenon. the capricious assertiveness of the american administration. looking at the latest decisions of president trump, someone could even think with friends like that, who needs enemies. >> tough words. here now to help us through all of this, the former director of the cia and nsa, michael hadden. his new book is the assault on intelligence and he joins me now from washington. general, welcome to our program. >> thank you. >> you heard secretary pompeo. iran has been compliying with te deal. do you see a strategy in the u.s. position right now? an actual strategy? >> i'm beginning to see the outline of plan b. wheth when we started plan a, the iran nuclear deal, i had my complaints. after it was put in place and my view and frankly of american intelligence was that iran was further away from a weapon with the agreement. we knew more about the program with the agreement. as you said, iran wasn't cheating. we ripped up plan a. now i have been waiting for plan b. we have begun to get the out

they say they will press on in fact we also heard from donald tusk he is the president of the european council saying that next week european leaders intend to meet in brussels to discuss the next step but they are certainly putting on a united front they want to maintain this deal before it from iran that for its part it wants to maintain this deal the question will be how realistic is it and how exactly will this work and there are other questions donald trump for example saying that the u.s. is now going to impose economic sanctions on iran well what will that mean for european businesses france for example has billions of dollars of trade with tehran ever since those sanctions were listed lifted in twenty sixteen how will those new sanctions affect the businesses the europeans have been really trying to grow with iran over the past couple of years and they'll be all the questions as well as to how reliable the united states can be as a partner for europe because we've seen now the u.s. pull out of the nuclear deal and donald trump pulling out of the climate deal at the end of last year so

from the european council on foreign relations thank you so much because analysis you're watching the news coming to you live from london and have more news for you know how to not pull what you think you then have by. hiring one welcome to another edition of your own max i'm your host to meghan li from springtime in spain to bright ideas for your home we've got a mixed bag on the show today here's a look at what's coming up. first of color we visit the flower festival in the spanish city of shiraz not. cashing in on can should we shop around for weird and wonderful souvenirs ahead of the royal wedding. and. twenty one year old german alina pets are is the new star on the wii going to log in and see. where we start off today show not to with prince harry and meghan's wedding that is coming up later on in the show but we want to enjoy the dogs now in the fruits of spring flowers are finally in bloom across europe and one place where the floor is truly celebrated is. in northern spain now in may of every year this town turns into a paradise of flowers centuries old courtyards private ho

the end of your arm the words of the european council president as he lashed out today at u.s. president donald trump in the eyes of most european leaders north korea may be doing to the u.s. what the u.s. has just done to europe trigger an unprecedented crisis last week trump withdrew the united states from the iran nuclear deal ignoring all appeals from european leaders not to go that far now determination mixed with damage control the e.u. leaders rather struggle to keep the iran's agreement alive without sacrificing their own economic prosperity tonight their meeting in sofia bulgaria our very own barbara visa lives with them and she's wondering just how low europe's relations with the u.s. . it's the question really what's been the rock bottom is this something like deep dungeons or complete and forever deep frozen it really is a very bad atmosphere and we have to consider that donald trump makes the rounds of e.u. leaders before summits like this he talks to some in person to others on the telephone so when he talks like this it means the mood is like that he moves largely

immediately after he said this there was criticism from some of his closest allies donal to the european council president and. the european commission president both saying this wasn't the type of language they wanted to hear but if we look at the leaders of the five star movement and league ignored in italy they were very critical of the statements from. these now retracted those statements and one wrote them back a little bit but they're still not happy saying that he's the type of person that just views italy somewhere to go on holiday but it actually place right into the hands of both the leader nord and five star movement because now when they go back to the polls which we expect will be in september or as early as september they can say to their potential voters look we told you they're trying to influence you and you from brussels this is an example of it well ultimately it was left to the e.u. commission president jiang called younker to try and smooth things over between the populists in italy the commission in brussels. italy's fate does not lie in the hands of the financial markets r

hoped economic turmoil would play a role in the election campaign after eighteen years comments european council pres .

to the program our top story the transatlantic friendships getting decidedly frosty with the european council president saying donald trump is not exactly europe's best friend right now he added that brussels is under no illusions . of the nuclear deal the long fought agreement guaranteed that iran would limit its nuclear activities in exchange for tough sanctions being lifted. looking at the latest the president. even things. like that. but frankly speaking. europe should be grateful for a president. that if you knew the hoping. you will find one of your. own it's a sentiment being echoed among european leaders as well the german chancellor said europe now has some big decisions to make the e.u. still on board with the around lives even risking u.s. sanctions for having that stance peter all over has more now and i'm glad merkel's remarks it's business look the civil war in syria and this fight against islamic terrorism has escalated from a regional conflict to an international one which cannot be solved without trust should turkey iran saudi arabia jordan and europe. well the united states

you're welcome to the program our top story the transatlantic friendships getting frosty with the european council president now saying donald trump is not exactly europe's best friend right now he added that brussels is under no illusions since trump pulled out of the around the nuclear deal. looking at the latest decisions of president. someone could see them think with friends like that who needs enemies. but frankly speaking. europe should be grateful for a president he has realized that if you need a helping hand. you will find one at the end of your. well that is a sentiment been echoed among other european leaders as well the german chancellor said europe now has some big decisions to make the e.u. is still on board with the around deal and is even risking u.s. sanctions for doing so bitter over has more now on i'm glad merkel's remarks. it's business all of the in lieu of the civil war in syria and this fight against islamic terrorism has escalated from a regional conflict to an international one which cannot be solved without trust should turkey iran saudi arabia jordan and europe. well t

four thousand pairs of shoes have been laid out in front of the european council building that's ahead of a meeting of e.u. foreign ministers each pair is meant to represent a palestinian killed by israeli forces over the last decade. over a thousand of them symbolizing children and i brought the shoes of my daughter as well. just to show that i'm standing with those fathers the smothers brothers the sisters who lost their children and their siblings and this is one. that's what all the polling on the european union say enough is enough until you know you have to put sanctions show them that they are there by the test. well meanwhile the israeli army has repeatedly stressed that it's acting in self-defense and accused hamas of fueling those riots political analyst michel barak says that israel has every right to protect its borders the ones that were killed were close to the border they were either throwing molotov cocktails throwing stones shooting trying to do whatever they could to break through the border fence in order to kill israeli citizens please don't call them protesters we

so joining me for more on this the former swedish prime minister carl bildt, cochair of the european councilf foreign relations and joins me now from stockholm. welcome to the program. >> thanks. >> you heard it all being flung at you from the iranian perspective, from the u.s. perspective. it's really up to europe to really hang on to this and make sure you don't violate it and you keep it together. is it that something that's doable? >> it's clearly something that europe must look very seriously into all the possibilities of doing, to stand up for, well, our interests and stand by our words to defend the interests we have in preserving and for preventing further conflicts in the region, so i'm quite certain that all the european leaders when they get together, the prime minister and president next week, this would be very high up on the agenda. i think there's no question whatsoever in support of the deal from the european side. then the critical thing will be -- we were dealing with fairly brutal policies in the white house. these are hard decisions by the white house, and i think anyone

counter measures to protect european trade with iran from sanctions and the president of the european council donald some pretty harsh words for the u.s. leader. looking at the latest decisions of for them to try. someone could see them think. that the news. about frankly speaking to europe should be great for a pervert. because of that if you knew the hoping and. you will find one of your. it's not just being donald tusk that's been well handing out the zing is towards donald trump we had angle of merkel speaking in the book of the stock on wednesday she was well it was part of her budgetary address where she sets out where she sees her government right now and where it stands and she took part of that speech to directly look at the transatlantic relationship and she said that you ripped right now sell for the crossroads and we didn't listen to them on the multilateralism is under great pressure at the moment and because it's under great pressure europe must take its fate in its own hands more than before therefore we need to european answers almost certainly the biggest strain on that relat