Latest news with #RitzauScanpix
Japan Today
18 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Denmark to push for Ukraine's EU membership during presidency
European and Danish flags fly at the Danish Parliament Christiansborg in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 3, 2025. Denmark takes over the EU presidency on July 1, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. DENMARK OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN DENMARK. Denmark will continue preparing Ukraine for EU membership in the face of Hungary blocking negotiations, when the Nordic country takes over the presidency of the European Council from July 1, its European affairs minister said on Thursday. "Unfortunately, Hungary is blocking and we are trying to put as much pressure there as we can and also do everything we can to make Ukraine continue with the necessary reform work," European affairs minister Marie Bjerre told a press conference in Copenhagen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has strongly opposed providing NATO military and EU aid to Ukraine, saying the country's EU membership would destroy Hungarian farmers and the wider economy. Ukraine had already initiated the necessary reforms and is ready to speed up the negotiations. "When we get to the point where we can actually open the specific negotiation chapters, we can be ready to close them very quickly," Bjerre said. Denmark will also seek to reach agreement among EU nations on the bloc's planned 2040 climate goals. The European Commission plans to propose in July a legally binding target to cut EU countries' emissions by 90% by 2040, from 1990 levels. Faced with pushback from governments, however, Brussels is assessing options including setting a lower target for domestic industries, and using international carbon credits to make up the gap to 90%. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Denmark to push for Ukraine's EU membership during presidency
European and Danish flags fly at the Danish Parliament Christiansborg in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 3, 2025. Denmark takes over the EU presidency on July 1, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. DENMARK OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN DENMARK. COPENHAGEN - Denmark will continue preparing Ukraine for EU membership in the face of Hungary blocking negotiations, when the Nordic country takes over the presidency of the European Council from July 1, its European affairs minister said on Thursday. "Unfortunately, Hungary is blocking and we are trying to put as much pressure there as we can and also do everything we can to make Ukraine continue with the necessary reform work," European affairs minister Marie Bjerre told a press conference in Copenhagen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has strongly opposed providing NATO military and EU aid to Ukraine, saying the country's EU membership would destroy Hungarian farmers and the wider economy. Ukraine had already initiated the necessary reforms and is ready to speed up the negotiations. "When we get to the point where we can actually open the specific negotiation chapters, we can be ready to close them very quickly," Bjerre said. Denmark will also seek to reach agreement among EU nations on the bloc's planned 2040 climate goals. The European Commission plans to propose in July a legally binding target to cut EU countries' emissions by 90% by 2040, from 1990 levels. Faced with pushback from governments, however, Brussels is assessing options including setting a lower target for domestic industries, and using international carbon credits to make up the gap to 90%. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Macron fears regime change chaos as Trump ups threats on Iran
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen (both not pictured), in Nuuk, Greenland, June 15, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS/File Photo KANANASKIS, Alberta - French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday underlined his differences with U.S. President Donald Trump over Iran, appearing to oppose tougher military action against Tehran that could lead to regime change and plunge Iran and the region into chaos. Macron on Monday had suggested to reporters that Trump was leaving the G7 as part of efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. He was firmly rebuffed Tuesday morning when Trump on X said Macron was mistaken and said his departure had nothing to do with securing a ceasefire. Since Tuesday morning, Trump has upped the bellicose rhetoric demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender" and warning that U.S. patience was wearing thin as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day. Israel has said it launched its operation to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, something Tehran has repeatedly denied. Macron said Trump appeared to have changed his opinion since he met G7 leaders in Canada on Monday where Macron claimed Trump had told them he was pushing for a ceasefire. "We don't want Iran to get a nuclear weapon," Macron said. "But the biggest error would be to use military strikes to change the regime because it would then be chaos and our responsibility is to return discussions as quickly as possible to be able to set a course again on the nuclear and ballistic question." Macron said Iran's nuclear program had to be once again be put under international supervision and its ballistic missile arsenal reduced, but he was categorically opposed to strikes on energy infrastructure, civilians and military action that could lead to regime change. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion and hanged in 2006 after a trial. "Does anyone think that what was done in Iraq in 2003 was a good idea? Does anyone think that what was done in Libya the next decade was a good idea? No!," Macron said. "I'm also thinking of our friends in the region, in Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere. We must help them reduce everything that, indeed, threatens their security, but they need anything but chaos." Macron's comments were also in stark contrast with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Israel was doing the "dirty work" for its Western allies, but could fall short without U.S. support. Israel has severely hit Iran's nuclear program, but without U.S. firepower can likely not destroy Fordow, a plant dug deep into a mountain, where Iran has enriched uranium up to 60%, close to the 90% weapons grade. "The Israeli army is obviously unable to accomplish that. It lacks the necessary weapons. But the Americans have them," said Merz in an interview with broadcaster ZDF. In another interview he said the decision could be made soon depending on whether Iran was prepared to return to the negotiating table. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Fearing chaos, Macron opposed to using military force against Iran for regime change
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen (both not pictured), in Nuuk, Greenland, June 15, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS/File Photo
Yomiuri Shimbun
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Macron Visits Greenland to Show European Support for the Strategic Arctic Island Coveted by Trump
Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a news conference in Nuuk, Greenland, Sunday, June 15, 2025. NUUK, Greenland (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Greenland is 'not to be sold' nor 'to be taken' in a key visit Sunday to the strategic Arctic territory coveted by U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he's conveying a message of French and European solidarity. Macron expressed strong criticism of Trump's intention to take control of the territory. 'In a few words: everybody in France, the European Union thinks that Greenland is not to be sold, not to be taken,' he said during a news conference, applauded by the local crowd. 'The situation in Greenland is clearly a wakeup call for all Europeans. Let me tell you very directly that you're not alone,' Macron added. Sunday's symbolic stop to Greenland comes as the French leader is on his way to a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Canada that will be also attended by Trump. Macron was greeted in Nuuk, the territory's capital, by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Asked whether France would be ready to militarily support Greenland if Trump was to decide to invade, Macron declined to discuss the hypothesis. 'I won't start elaborating on 'what if' scenarios publicly,' he said. 'Because I don't believe that in the end, the U.S., which is an ally and a friend, would ever do something aggressive against another ally.' Macron's role in Europe Macron in recent months has sought to reinvigorate France's role as the diplomatic and economic heavyweight of the 27-nation European Union. The French president has positioned himself as a leader in Europe amid Trump's threats to pull support from Ukraine as it fights against Russia's invasion. Macron hosted a summit in Paris with other European heads of state to discuss Kyiv, as well as security issues on the continent. On Sunday, Macron, Frederiksen and Nielsen held a meeting on a Danish helicopter carrier, showing France's concerns over security issues in the region. All three then headed to a fast-melting glacier where they watched the consequences of climate change. The visit also allowed them to discuss economic development, low-carbon energy transition and critical minerals. 'It's a strange time for us in Greenland,' Nielsen said. 'We live on some democratic principles built up for many years: respect for international law, respect for borders, respect for law of the sea, and we are glad you could stand with us to state that those principles are very very important.' Trump and Greenland Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions during a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations. Hegseth's comments were the latest controversial remarks made by a member of the Trump administration about the Arctic island. The president himself has said he won't rule out military force to take over Greenland, which he considers vital to American security in the high north. The Wall Street Journal last month reported that several high-ranking officials under the U.S. director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had directed intelligence agency heads to learn more about Greenland's independence movement and sentiment about U.S. resource extraction there. Nielsen in April said that U.S. statements about the island have been disrespectful and that Greenland 'will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone.'
