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Brussels, my love? Europe's declarations of independence

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Brussels, my love? Europe's declarations of independence
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Energy bars, water, medication – the EU Commission wants citizens to have a 72-hour survival kit at home. Why? To be better prepared for possible crises such as natural disasters, industrial accidents or cyber and military attacks.

But this is only on an individual level. Politically, Europe is currently taking steps to become more independent and to arm itself on all fronts. Is it working?

Members of the European Parliament Zeljana Zovko (EPP) from Croatia, Sandro Gozi (Renew) from France and Evin Incir (S&D) from Sweden discussed this in this edition of our weekly talk show, this time from the EP in Strasbourg.

Friedrich Merz, Germany’s next chancellor, said it bluntly on election night: his “absolute priority” would be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible “in order to become truly independent from the USA”.

The openly hostile attitude of the Trump administration has abruptly accelerated discussions about strategic autonomy – an idea that French President Emmanuel Macron has had since 2017. No wonder Merz and Macron are already best friends.

From chip production to critical medicines, from securing supply chains to arming the military – Europe wants to stand on its own two feet in the face of Russian aggression, Chinese assertiveness and American protectionism.

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The continent sees itself as the lone torchbearer of liberal democracy. A survivor of sorts. And Brussels has already asked its citizens to have a survival kit ready – for crises that may or may not come.

One focus of the strategy is to create stocks of essential products, especially medicines – something that should also be part of the emergency kit. Does Europe have the necessary supply chains?

Massive German spending on armaments and infrastructure, as well as Brussels’ plans to mobilize more than 800 billion euros, will only become apparent over time. But will this change Europe’s global role and its perception of the role it should play forever?

Second topic: trade. The global economy is struggling to come to terms with the latest volley of Donald Trump’s tariffs – and it is businesses and consumers everywhere who are likely to end up footing the bill, one way or another.

The European Central Bank has once again warned of serious economic consequences, Goldman Sachs has upgraded the risk of recession in the US to 35% and stock markets around the world are experiencing one bad trading day after another.

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So everything is at stake: inflation is rising, consumption is showing signs of weakness and consumer sentiment is falling. All of this is the result of Trump’s tariff policy. How bad can it get?

Finally, the panel discussed arguments for and against the European Parliament retaining its two seats in Strasbourg and Brussels.

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Video: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

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Video: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

new video loaded: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

Prosecutors in Switzerland ordered Jacques Moretti to be detained after investigators questioned him and his wife, Jessica Moretti. Officials are looking into whether negligence played a role in last week’s deadly fire at their bar, Le Constellation.

By Meg Felling

January 9, 2026

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Greenland leaders push back on Trump’s calls for US control of the island: ‘We don’t want to be Americans’

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Greenland leaders push back on Trump’s calls for US control of the island: ‘We don’t want to be Americans’

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Greenland’s leadership is pushing back on President Donald Trump as he and his administration call for the U.S. to take control of the island. Several Trump administration officials have backed the president’s calls for a takeover of Greenland, with many citing national security reasons.

“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night, according to The Associated Press. Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory and a longtime U.S. ally, has repeatedly rejected Trump’s statements about U.S. acquiring the island.

Greenland’s party leaders reiterated that the island’s “future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”

“As Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States’ contempt for our country ends,” the statement said.

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TRUMP SAYS US IS MAKING MOVES TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND ‘WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT’

Greenland has rejected the Trump administration’s push to take over the Danish territory. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump was asked about the push to acquire Greenland on Friday during a roundtable with oil executives. The president, who has maintained that Greenland is vital to U.S. security, said it was important for the country to make the move so it could beat its adversaries to the punch.

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said Friday. “Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”

Trump hosted nearly two dozen oil executives at the White House on Friday to discuss investments in Venezuela after the historic capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.

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“We don’t want to have Russia there,” Trump said of Venezuela on Friday when asked if the nation appears to be an ally to the U.S. “We don’t want to have China there. And, by the way, we don’t want Russia or China going to Greenland, which, if we don’t take Greenland, you can have Russia or China as your next-door neighbor. That’s not going to happen.” 

Trump said the U.S. is in control of Venezuela after the capture and extradition of Maduro. 

Nielsen has previously rejected comparisons between Greenland and Venezuela, saying that his island was looking to improve its relations with the U.S., according to Reuters.

A “Make America Go Away” baseball cap, distributed for free by Danish artist Jens Martin Skibsted, is arranged in Sisimiut, Greenland, on March 30, 2025. (Juliette Pavy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

FROM CARACAS TO NUUK: MADURO RAID SPARKS FRESH TRUMP PUSH ON GREENLAND

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump’s threats to annex Greenland could mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“I also want to make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. Including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.

That same day, Nielsen said in a statement posted on Facebook that Greenland was “not an object of superpower rhetoric.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stands next to Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a visit to the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen on April 28, 2025. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

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White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller doubled down on Trump’s remarks, telling CNN in an interview on Monday that Greenland “should be part of the United States.”

CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed Miller about whether the Trump administration could rule out military action against the Arctic island.

“The United States is the power of NATO. For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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What Canada, accustomed to extreme winters, can teach Europe

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Euronews spoke to Patrick de Bellefeuille, a prominent Canadian weather presenter and climate specialist, on how Europe could benefit from Canada’s long experience with snowstorms. He has been forecasting for MétéoMédia, Canada’s top French-language weather network, since 1988.

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