World
'You are a criminal!' Heckler blasts von der Leyen's stance on Israel
A speech by Ursula von der Leyen was briefly interrupted on Wednesday by a man who accused her of being a “criminal” over her support for Israel.
The European Commission President was about to deliver a speech at the European Defence and Security Summit when she was abruptly interrupted by a man who stood up and directed accusations at her.
“Mrs von der Leyen, this is a citizen’s arrest! You are charged with aiding genocide in Gaza!” the man is heard saying.
“You have expressed total support for Israel at the beginning of this genocide! The blood of Palestinian children is on your hands!”
At that moment, another person approached the man, who continued shouting while he was removed from the room.
“You are a criminal, Mrs von der Leyen! You should be at the Hague! You should not be here. You should not be looking for a second term! You are war — you are a criminal!”
“Free Palestine! Free Palestine!” he added, as his voice faded away.
Von der Leyen, who stood still and showed no reaction during the unexpected occurrence, then began her intervention by thanking her hosts for the invitation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to be here,” she said.
The President proceeded to deliver a wide-ranging speech about the need for Europe to strengthen its security and defence as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since the 7th October attacks launched by Hamas against Israel, von der Leyen has emerged as one of Europe’s staunchest advocates of the Jewish nation, a support she underscored in a closely-watched visit to Jerusalem in the immediate aftermath.
However, her support quickly backfired as the death toll in the Gaza Strip caused by the Israeli offensive began mounting and the devastation turned into a humanitarian catastrophe.
Although she never backtracked on her stance, von der Leyen gradually adapted her narrative to position herself as a leading actor in the provision of emergency aid to Gaza, travelling to Cyprus last month to announce a maritime corridor.
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A Colombian army helicopter has crashed in a rural area of the country's north, killing 9 soldiers
An army helicopter carrying supplies to troops crashed in a rural area in northern Colombia on Monday, killing nine soldiers on board, the country’s armed forces said.
In a statement, the Colombian military said the helicopter was taking the supplies to the municipality of Santa Rosa del Sur, an area that has recently experienced fighting between the National Liberation Army guerrilla group and the drug trafficking group known as the Gulf Clan.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF COLOMBIANS PROTEST AGAINST LEFTIST PRESIDENT’S AGENDA
The military statement described the helicopter crash as an accident.
“I regret the death of the nine passengers on board the army’s helicopter” Colombian president Gustavo Petro wrote on X on Monday. “It was supplying troops…that were conducting operations against the Gulf Clan.”
The military said the helicopter crashed around 1:50 pm local time. It was an MI-17 Russian-built chopper that is often used to carry troops and supplies.
Two officers were among the victims of the crash, which also included two sergeants and three privates. None of the passengers on the helicopter survived.
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Strack-Zimmermann blasts von der Leyen's defence policy
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, one of the lead candidates in the European elections, has issued a blistering verdict of Ursula von der Leyen’s first term in office.
Strack-Zimmermann, who hails from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), is part of a three-candidate team representing the liberal forces in the bloc-wide poll between 6 and 9 June. Currently a member of the Bundestag, where she chairs the Defence Committee, she is vying for a seat in the European Parliament.
In a wide-ranging interview with Euronews, the contender denounced the policies of Ursula von der Leyen, the sitting president of the European Commission, in the fields of defence, economy and fundamental rights. Von der Leyen is running for a second mandate and is widely considered the frontrunner.
“I’m absolutely disappointed,” Strack-Zimmermann said on Monday, speaking in Maastricht hours before a debate with all lead candidates.
The liberal assailed the incumbent for taking too long to put defence at the very top of the EU agenda, only doing so, she said, after Russian troops broke through the borders of Ukraine and unleashed the largest armed conflict in the continent since World War II.
The wait, she added, was particularly striking considering von der Leyen had previously served as defence minister under the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“I have no idea why she didn’t talk about military security when she started to be the president of the Commission because she knows the topic, she has an idea of what happened,” she said, referring to the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
“I was surprised that didn’t say: ‘Come on, we have to do more in Europe,’ because she has the experience.”
When Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, von der Leyen’s executive was still dealing with the shockwaves sent by the COVID-19 pandemic and the roll-out of the recovery fund, built up by record-breaking amounts of joint borrowing and beefed up with stringent spending conditions to accelerate the green and digital transitions.
But in Strack-Zimmermann’s view, this does not cut it as an excuse for procrastination.
“I know the pandemic situation was terrible for everybody. But even then, you could see what (was happening) in Russia. And it was not this or that, it was both. I think if you are the head of the Commission, there is not one (single) topic,” she told Euronews.
“It’s not a very sexy topic talking about weapons, talking about war. It sounds nicer if you are talking about the Green Deal, it’s a softer topic.”
The failure to provide 1 million rounds of artillery shells by March 2024, as the bloc famously promised to Kyiv, underlines the overall fiasco, she added. “It’s a question of time. It’s a question (of) if you say we will deliver it, we have to do it.”
On the economic front, the contender warned environmental policies and excessive bureaucracy put a damper on growth, scared entrepreneurs away and killed “every moment to have ideas to stay in Europe as a company.”
Regarding the protection of fundamental rights, Strack-Zimmermann said it was “unbelievable” that the Commission had unfrozen €10.2 billion in cohesion funds for Hungary one day before a crucial summit that Viktor Orbán had threatened to blow up.
Brussels argued the release was inevitable after Budapest approved a reform to address long-standing concerns about judicial independence. But the overhaul was deemed insufficient by the European Parliament, which filed a lawsuit against the Commission.
“Everybody was very irritated,” Strack-Zimmermann said. “She’s responsible for it. And you could see that the Parliament is not amused about this situation.”
Despite her harsh assessment, the liberal admitted that being a Commission president was a “hard job.”
This interview is part of an ongoing series with all the Spitzenkandidaten. The full interview with Strack-Zimmermann will air on Euronews over the weekend.
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