Latest news bulletin | April 4th – Evening
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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/2025/04/04/latest-news-bulletin-april-4th-evening
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00The Romanian presidential campaign starts today.
00:03Over 18.9 million Romanians are expected to vote in the upcoming elections on May 4th.
00:08There are 11 candidates in the election campaign and four of them are independent.
00:14According to polls, George Simeon, the candidate of Alliance for the Union of Romanians,
00:18has the highest chance to enter the second round.
00:21Three other candidates are competing for a place in the presidential finals.
00:26Entering the race after Călin Georgescu's candidacy was rejected by the Central Electoral Bureau,
00:31the latest three opinion polls show that Simeon might have between 29 and 35 percent of the votes.
00:44Looking at other high-potential candidates, Nicu Șerdan is the mayor of Bucharest.
00:55Crin Antonescu is the candidate of the three ruling parties,
00:58Social Democratic Party, National Liberal Party and Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania.
01:03And Victor Ponta is a former Prime Minister of Romania.
01:06They are also understood to have chances to enter the presidential final round.
01:10These three candidates could gather just over 20 percent of the votes.
01:14Their percentages vary depending on the polls and the period when they were carried out.
01:19Although she came second in November elections,
01:21Elena Lasconi, the Save Romania Union candidate,
01:24has little chance of entering the presidential final round this time.
01:30On December 6, 2024, the Constitutional Court of Romania decided to cancel the first round of the elections
01:36on the grounds that the electoral process was flawed.
01:39The unexpected decision came only two days before the organization of the second round in Romania,
01:44while the voting process had already started in the Diaspora.
01:49According to the intelligence reports, Russia conducted a broad campaign on social media
01:53to promote the far-right candidate, Calin Georgescu.
01:58Several investigations are still being carried out concerning this case.
02:04Meanwhile, the Romanian National Audiovisual Council has launched a campaign to combat illegal online content.
02:19But we are not referring to the form of packaging, because it may be, let's say, a short clip.
02:26This does not mean that it is not the same content.
02:28We ask the platform to give us the indicated content.
02:33The institution urges Romanians to report online videos that contain misinformation,
02:37incitement to violence or hatred.
02:40Canada is urging Europe and the rest of the world to retaliate against Trump's sweeping tariffs.
02:46Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie told Euronews her country had no choice
02:52but to respond with $60 billion worth of counter-tariffs.
02:56Jolie says Europe and Canada need to defend themselves.
03:00Not only are we leading the charge, we're the country at this point that has the most
03:06imposed counter-tariffs against US goods.
03:10We're working with the EU.
03:12I had just a conversation with the EU Trade Commissioner, Sepcovich.
03:16We're working also with Asian partners and we'll continue to put maximum pressure.
03:21Jolie, reiterating that Canada is the US's biggest trading partner,
03:26remains confident that the US will not back down.
03:29Jolie, reiterating that Canada is the US's biggest trading partner,
03:34remains confident that the American people are in disagreement with the White House's latest actions,
03:40as she believes they have a role to play in resolving the conflict.
03:44The only way for President Trump to back off on his trade war
03:51is for American people themselves to say it's enough.
03:55And they are the ones that can create the political pressure
03:59within their own system to make sure that that's the case.
04:02Jolie also discussed why Canada needs to ensure that NATO remains united,
04:08emphasising that geopolitical chaos would only worsen global tensions.
04:13We need to fight for our own interests, maybe on a trade war,
04:17or making sure that we have a united NATO.
04:21Because ultimately who is gaining from all the erosion of the international system
04:27or some tensions amongst allies, it is our adversaries.
04:35It is China and Russia.
04:37You can listen to the full episode next Monday on The Europe Conversation.
04:46North Macedonia warns of growing Russian influence in the Western Balkans
04:50if the EU doesn't commit quickly and clearly on enlargements.
04:55Talking to Euronews, Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Chomuchinsky
04:59emphasises the country's many difficult compromises for EU membership.
05:04We've changed our flag, we've changed our currency,
05:07we've changed our constitution several times.
05:09We've even changed the name of our country.
05:11All with the promise of a window of opportunity that we've been told existed
05:16if we do these changes for our path towards the European Union.
05:20Can I ask you a little bit about Russian interference in North Macedonia?
05:23One of the reasons why enlargement needs to happen quickly, they say,
05:28is because the countries in the Western Balkans need to be brought into the EU
05:31away from the Russian orbit.
05:32Is that something that you would agree with that narrative, that premise?
05:35I think enlargement needs to happen for many reasons.
05:38But one of these reasons, from a security perspective,
05:43is of course the malign Russian influence that has been existing in our region,
05:48that is there.
05:49I sometimes like to very openly point out that Russian influence,
05:54especially in our region, comes very cheap and they know how to utilise it.
05:58Chomuchinsky thinks the credibility of the EU is at stake
06:02and enlargement needs to happen to avoid giving ammunition to Russian propaganda.
06:09There are malign actors out there who like to point the finger and say,
06:12do you really believe that the EU is honest in its intention for enlargement?
06:17Look at what they're doing to the Macedonians.
06:19North Macedonia applied for EU membership 20 years ago,
06:23but the accession bid is at a standstill following a series of disputes with Greece and Bulgaria.
06:29Catch the full interview next week on The Europe Conversation.
06:38It's the final day of the inaugural EU Central Asia Summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand,
06:44where top EU officials have been meeting with the leaders of Kazakhstan,
06:48Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
06:52to discuss boosting trade and strengthening ties.
06:58European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
07:01began the day by announcing a 12 billion euro investment package
07:06to finance regional projects in transport, critical raw materials,
07:10water, energy and climate and digital connectivity.
07:15Strategic location can open global trade routes and investment flows
07:21and these new investments will enhance sovereignty.
07:26They will strengthen your economies and most importantly they will make new friendships.
07:33The summit comes amid the region's pivot away from Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine,
07:40a shift that Europe has seized on as an opportunity to present itself
07:44as a reliable partner in the face of global instability.
07:49In today's international context,
07:52the importance of a functioning rules-based multilateral order cannot be overstated.
08:00Our meeting today encourages even more European Union Central Asia cooperation
08:07in multilateral fora, reinforcing our shared commitment to a peaceful and prosperous global order.
08:18The EU's strategy on Central Asia also highlights the increasing strategic significance of the region,
08:24which is on the front lines of climate change, plays a crucial role in security
08:29and is rich in natural resources.
08:33They don't only have huge reserves of uranium, fourth largest reserves of gold in the world,
08:38but copper, various rare earths which are all essential to digital growth, new economies and it's here.
08:46Leaders signed a joint declaration on establishing strategic partnership
08:51and agreed to hold similar summits every two years.
08:55World leaders have been reacting to US President Donald Trump's announcement
09:01of a 10% baseline tariff on all countries,
09:05with Australia threatening to use dispute resolution powers
09:09in its free trade agreement with the United States.
09:13We will continue to make the strongest case for these unjustified tariffs to be removed from our exporters.
09:20Our existing free trade agreement with the United States contains dispute resolution mechanisms.
09:28China, which was hit with an extra 34% tariff,
09:32has said it will resolutely adopt countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests,
09:37claiming Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs violate international trade rules
09:42and amount to unilateral bullying.
09:45Japan too has called the tariffs extremely regrettable,
09:49with officials arguing Japan deserves an exemption
09:53considering the additional 24% levies already imposed on their country.
09:58And in South Korea, which was hit with a 25% rate,
10:02the stock market opened lower amid concerns over the tariff announcement.
10:08Although Canada and Mexico were exempt from this particular round,
10:13Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will respond
10:17as the current 25% levies on steel and aluminium imposed on both nations remain in place.
10:27The president of South Korea has been removed from office
10:31in a unanimous ruling by the country's constitutional court.
10:37Yoon Suk-yo was impeached by the National Assembly in December
10:41with his presidential power suspended after he imposed martial law,
10:46triggering the country's worst political crisis in decades.
10:52Following their ruling, the court justices said this act violated people's fundamental rights.
10:58They denied national sovereignty and democracy,
11:01imposed martial law to detain and search for central officials,
11:06and ignored the rule of law.
11:10Anti-Yoon protesters welcomed the verdict with cheers at a rally near the old palace.
11:16While outside Yoon's official residence,
11:19his supporters chanted angry slogans,
11:21calling anyone accepting the ruling their enemy.
11:26An election will be held within two months to replace Yoon,
11:31but is likely to be overshadowed by the deep-rooted political divide
11:35caused by the former president's impeachment.