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Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/02/24/latest-news-bulletin-february-24th-midday
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00CDU Chancellor Candidate Friedrich Merz declares victory in federal elections as Schulze's SPD appear on track to have their lowest ever result.
00:12Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to step down as president if it meant peace in Ukraine and NATO membership.
00:20Pope Francis remains in critical condition and has shown early signs of kidney insufficiency.
00:25As the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia and a complex lung infection.
00:32More than 80% of Germany's almost 60 million eligible voters cast their ballots in Sunday's federal election.
00:40Exit polls released shortly after vote counting began indicated that frontrunner CDU candidate Friedrich Merz was on course to win 28.5% of the vote.
00:56I know about the responsibility, I know about the dimension of the task ahead of us.
01:04I welcome it with the utmost respect and I know that it will not be easy.
01:12The big disappointment of the night was reserved for outgoing Chancellor Olaf Schulze,
01:17whose party, the Social Democrats, secured only 16% of the vote, their lowest ever result in a federal election.
01:25This is a bitter election result for the Social Democratic Party.
01:30This is also a defeat.
01:32I think this must be said clearly and clearly at the beginning.
01:37And for me it is also very important to say that this is a result from which we have to move forward together.
01:45Far-right AfD candidate Alice Weidel is on course to win just over 20% of the vote,
01:50making significant gains and doubling their results from the last election in 2021.
01:57We have doubled our numbers.
01:59They wanted to halve us.
02:02The opposite has happened.
02:04And I have to say one thing.
02:06Our hand will always be extended for a government participation.
02:13To implement the will of the people, the will of Germany.
02:18We are ready for a government participation.
02:23Friedrich Merz will be given the mandate to govern when official results are announced.
02:34Over the coming days and weeks, the CDU-CSU union candidate will engage in talks with other parties
02:41to establish a coalition and lead a new government.
02:46Speed matters.
02:48Because that's maybe now the biggest task.
02:53And I did some things for myself.
02:57It's a possibility that it's possible for the CDU-CSU to have a coalition with only the Social Democrats.
03:06If the Bündnis Sarah Wagenknecht will not enter the parliament,
03:10it's maybe enough to have 29 and 16% to get the majority of the seats in the parliament.
03:16And that could be the fundament of a quick coalition.
03:22George Papandreou.
03:24I would say speed too.
03:26But at the same time, do it in a strategic way for Europe.
03:31We are facing major challenges.
03:34And the issues of our European existence are on the table.
03:42This is necessary to really think about how Europe is going to be moving forward.
03:50So, yes, a government in Germany.
03:52But this also has to mean big issues that we really have to deal with in changing.
03:58Changing Europe for the better, more unified, more strong and more confident.
04:04This is a very paradoxical election.
04:06Because at once, it is more or less business as usual.
04:13In the sense that we are going to have a change of Chancellor.
04:16But more or less the same quasi-permanent coalition of Christian Democrats, Social Democrats,
04:21with the splattering of the Greens.
04:23The same coalition that, in my estimation, in my judgement,
04:28put Germany on a long road towards stagnation for the last 15-20 years.
04:32Our European leaders, including your guest, resemble headless chickens running around in panic,
04:39in total and utter disarray.
04:41That was an inevitable outcome of 15-20 years of paying lip service to solidarity,
04:49when all they were doing was imposing harsh austerity on the peoples of Europe.
04:54One thing is absolutely certain.
04:56There are mistakes made in Europe, for sure.
04:57But it is also clear that this particular project is a project that is giving more prosperity,
05:04more social cohesion to our people.
05:06But it doesn't mean that everything is perfect, not at all.
05:10And it means that today, and we made this point several times tonight,
05:13today, again, we need to make clear choices.
05:17We need to make clear decisions on the future.
05:19And again, I am absolutely convinced on my side,
05:22that economic development, industrial base, indeed, less regulation, better regulation,
05:28this is the choice we have to make,
05:30and certain elements, if we want not only to be a playground for others,
05:35but if we want to be masters of our European destiny in the future,
05:39we need to invest much more in defence, in security,
05:42and we need to make it together.
05:46Well, don't let the music in the background deceive you.
05:48This has been a disappointing night for the Greens,
05:51that wouldn't warrant a big party.
05:54There are three key takeaways from this election for the Greens,
05:57and all of them are quite painful.
05:59The first one is the result that they themselves have got.
06:03The polls predicted them to get between 10 to 14% of the vote share.
06:08They have landed at just under 13%,
06:11so a disappointing evening for them personally.
06:14And then the second takeaway is that this result doesn't put them
06:17in a good position to be part of Germany's next government,
06:21neither in a possible Kenya coalition between three parties,
06:24between the SPD, the CDU and the Greens,
06:27or in a possible two-way coalition with the CDU,
06:31which is now almost mathematically impossible.
06:34And the third key takeaway is that they have lost significant support,
06:38significant shares of voters to the left, to the Linke,
06:41which have won a very successful social media campaign
06:45over the closing days of the campaign season.
06:48And now the most pressing question going forward for the Greens
06:51is going to be what can they do to get their core share of voters,
06:55to get young voters back on track and back into their camp.
07:03Speaking on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine,
07:08President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to step down
07:12if it meant peace and NATO membership.
07:15He also called for further security guarantees from both Europe and the US.
07:22Several top European and international leaders,
07:25including President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
07:28and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
07:31will commemorate three years of war in Kiev on Monday.
07:34When asked by Euronews if Sasha Vakulina,
07:37which decisions would be made during this visit,
07:40the Ukrainian leader did not give away any details,
07:43but said he was adamant over certain decisions to be made
07:46regarding support for the country.
07:58French President Emmanuel Macron, UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer,
08:01on the other hand, will have separate meetings at the White House
08:04to put Europe back at the centre of Ukraine's peace talks.
08:07Zelensky admitted that Ukraine may be forced to sign an economic agreement
08:11with the US if it would ensure continued aid for the country,
08:14but said he would not sign a deal that will be paid off
08:17by ten generations of Ukrainians.
08:22Authorities in Ukraine say Russia attacked the country on Saturday night
08:26with a barrage of drones that President Zelensky called
08:28the single biggest assault since Moscow's invasion began almost three years ago.
08:33A record 267 Russian drones were launched
08:36according to Ukraine's air force command.
08:39Emergency services reported destruction in several regions overnight.
08:59The strikes came on the eve of the third anniversary
09:02of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
09:05Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said
09:08it was the largest drone attack on the country
09:11since Russia began using Iranian-made drones.
09:23Pope Francis remains in critical condition
09:25and has shown signs of early kidney failure,
09:28said the Vatican on Monday.
09:31The 88-year-old pontiff is battling pneumonia
09:34and a complex lung infection,
09:37but remains alert and was able to attend Mass on Sunday.
09:40In their latest update, the Vatican said Francis
09:43hadn't had any more respiratory crises since Saturday night,
09:46but was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen.
09:50Some blood tests showed initial mild kidney failure
09:52but doctors said it was under control.
09:57They said Francis' condition is touch and go
10:00given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease
10:03and that the main threat facing the Pope is sepsis,
10:06a serious infection of the blood that can occur
10:09as a complication of pneumonia.
10:12Meanwhile, prayers for Francis poured in
10:15from around the world over the weekend,
10:18from his native Argentina to Spain.
10:20From his native Argentina to schoolchildren in Rome.
10:50US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
10:53So what's Macron's plan exactly?
10:56Well, during a live Q&A on his social media,
10:59Macron said that he will try to convince Trump on Monday
11:02that pandering to Putin's demands will only make him seem weak.
11:05But this won't be an easy feat.
11:08On Friday, Donald Trump slammed both Macron
11:11and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
11:14baselessly claiming that both leaders haven't done anything to end the war.
11:17Macron will be the second European leader
11:20to go to the White House since Trump's inauguration
11:23after Polish President Duda's meeting with Trump on Saturday.
11:26But the diplomatic ballet is far from over
11:29with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
11:32set to meet with Trump on Thursday
11:35in order to try to shore up support for Ukraine.