Working with a coalition of six core European countries instead of 27 is the best way to reinforce Europe, former French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told Euronews on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Évian, France.

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His comments come as the European Union looks for ways to streamline its decision-making process and become more agile on key issues from defence to foreign policy.

“The single lesson that all the European leaders must draw from the past months, and I would say from the last two years, is that if they want to be relevant and strong, they need to be united. And they don’t need to unite with 27 member states,” he said in a Euronews interview.

“They need to give a new impetus to the European construction by building a European [project] with six core countries,” Le Maire, who was the longest-serving economy and finance minister since World War II and the shortest-serving minister for armed forces, note

Le Maire listed France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands — the EU’s six largest economies — as the states that should band together to discuss key issues facing the bloc, ranging from the Iran conflict and support for Ukraine to chip manufacturing on European soil and nuclear energy.

“Six countries instead of 27 countries is the best way of reinforcing Europe, of facing the threats posed by many empires around the world, and getting some concrete results,” he said.

Le Maire pointed to the pressure from the US administration against the EU, including tariffs and threats over regulatory standards, in response to Brussels’ antitrust fines and digital regulations targeting American tech giants like Google and Amazon.

“We can no longer accept being blackmailed […]. The way President Trump and the US administration are saying, ‘You should get rid of the taxation of Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft, otherwise, I will hit you with new tariffs,’ is 100% unacceptable among allies,” he said.

“If we want to resist that kind of threat, that kind of blackmail […] the six strongest European member states must stand united […]. If we are divided, you cannot resist that pressure,” he said.

“If you stand united, explaining that it will be difficult for the US to gain access to the European market if they do not respect Europe as a partner, that is the best way of getting some concrete results.”

Too much talk, too few decisions

Often held up by a principle of unanimity, Le Maire told Euronews that involving 27 countries to form a consensus on EU decision-making means “long talks and very few decisions”, while what is needed now is “strong decisions and fewer talks.”

He envisioned a structure in which the six core countries move forward on matters, and “then the 21 other member states, if they want to join, they will join,” adding, “first of all, let’s move on.”

The idea of this coalition is not new. In fact, it already exists in some shape or form.

Earlier this year, the finance ministers of Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain launched a new coalition, dubbed the “E6”, to push for “decisive action and swift progress” in four strategic areas: defence, supply chains, the Savings and Investments Union, and strengthening the euro internationally.

“We are providing the impetus, and other countries are welcome to join us,” German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said at the time. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, endorsed this two-speed Europe concept as a way of bolstering the European economy.

In May, the E6 signed a joint letter calling for an acceleration of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) in an attempt to get a deal through a politically stagnant Brussels.

The CMU aims at creating a single, integrated market for capital across all 27 member states to service companies, investors and consumers.

Rising Turkish filmmaker Belkis Bayrak is prepping her sophomore feature, “A Brighter Word Than Bright,” which she’s presenting this week in the Transilvania Pitch Stop co-production forum of the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival. The director’s debut feature, “Gülizar,” world premiered in Toronto’s Discovery strand and played San Sebastian’s New Directors Competition.

A portrait of grief and resilience, “A Brighter Word Than Bright” follows a young literature teacher who, in an effort to protect the dignity of a grieving woman, serves five years in prison for a death he didn’t cause — only to find upon his release that the official truth has erased his sacrifice. Written by Bayrak, the film is produced by Saba Film (Turkey), Arizona Films (France) and Plan Bee Films (Kosovo).

The film begins in a Turkish military barrack, where Osman, a sensitive young conscript, forms a quiet but powerful bond with his superior, Ziya. In the rigid and masculine world of the army, they find sanctuary in poetry and late-night talks — a safe haven that’s abruptly shattered when Ziya takes his own life.

Aware of the taboo around suicide in Turkish society, Osman decides to take the blame for Ziya’s death to spare his pregnant fiancée the shame, isolation and harsh public censure she would otherwise face. To protect her and the future of her unborn child, Osman makes a silent and heavy sacrifice: he insists that he instigated the suicide and spends five years in prison. The film picks up the thread of their story after his release, when the duo reconnects, and Osman tentatively begins to rebuild his life through a love for literature and teaching.

Speaking to Variety in Transilvania, Bayrak described “A Brighter Word Than Bright” as a film “about two men whose presence — and absence — have marked my life.” It draws on a tragic episode in the director’s past, when her uncle, who served alongside her father in the Turkish Armed Forces, died by suicide — a tragedy that her family has never fully come to terms with. 

Years later, Bayrak said she was the first among them to openly talk about the tragic death, breaking the silence “that still reverberates through my family.” She sees the film not only as a “gesture of remembrance” for her uncle, but an act of empathy towards the wife, children and other loved ones he left behind, insisting: “Filmmaking is a way of resilience for all of us.”

Taking its title from a poem by John Keats, “A Brighter Word Than Bright” was partly inspired by Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” a biographical romantic drama based on the last three years of the life of the 19th-century poet. Bayrak recalls being touched by Campion’s evocation of the famous romantic poet, a “fragile” soul in which she says she saw glimpses of her father, a man who — much like the lead character, Osman — “managed to overcome life’s challenges with a gentle and restrained nature.”

In order to shape the world of the film, which is set in the 1990s, Bayrak delved into her family archive for inspiration, unearthing old photos and letters to recreate the mood of the time. She said she encountered many “beautiful moments” on this “nostalgic journey,” but could “always feel the loss” of her uncle lingering outside the frame of each photo and beyond the margins of every page.

Bayrak describes her uncle as a man who struggled with his explosive temper, and it is in part the question of masculinity that she hopes to explore, offering “a different representation of male characters” on screen.

“I believe that, today, the definition of ‘male’ and ‘masculinity’ is very problematic. That is a burden for everyone,” she said. “The definition of what is masculinity is changing. It’s more rigid. There is less place for perception, understanding, empathy.

“We’ve seen countless films set in military or war environments that glorify heroism and masculinity. But I have always been drawn to those who stand quietly at the margins whose fragility is not weakness but endurance,” she continued. “Osman is such a character. His story is about the long emotional aftermath of sacrifice, the impossibility of returning to who you once were, and the hesitant rediscovery of tenderness through teaching and art.”

The Transilvania Intl. Film Festival runs June 12 – 21.

Colombian military forces announced on Wednesday they successfully neutralized five members of the militant group responsible for a devastating bus bombing that killed 20 civilians and left 45 others injured.

In a statement from the Military Forces of Colombia, officials said the neutralized suspects were members of the “Estructura Jaime Martínez,” an organized armed group.

In addition to planting the explosives in the municipality of Cajibío, authorities claim the group’s criminal activities included stealing vehicles along the Pan-American Highway and indiscriminately deploying drones loaded with explosives.

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A video shared along with the statement appeared to show body bags laid out in front of a military helicopter and numerous seized weapons.

The military retaliation followed an April 26 terror attack, when an explosive device detonated on a passenger bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the volatile Cauca region. 

The blast killed 15 women and five men, according to a report from The Associated Press.

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While initial local reports said 36 people were injured, including several children, the Colombian military’s recent update noted that 45 civilians were wounded in the explosion.

Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s armed forces, quickly condemned the bus bombing as a “terrorist act.”

He attributed the attack to dissident factions of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), specifically pointing to the Jaime Martínez faction and the network of “Iván Mordisco,” one of the country’s most wanted figures.

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights previously urged authorities to “guarantee justice for the victims.”

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Southwestern Colombia has become a battleground for illegal armed groups vying for control over coca leaf cultivation areas and crucial drug trafficking routes leading to Central America and Europe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.