Europe Today: Euronews Enlargement Summit kicks off in Brussels as US midterms test Trump

Good morning, it's Tuesday, November 3rd, you're watching Euronews and this is Europe Today. Our top stories. Europe is preparing for a new chapter in its history, and today Brussels will be at the center of the debate. The Euronews enlargement summit brings together EU leaders and the countries hoping to join the bloc, as enlargement moves from a distant ambition to a very real political question. Montenegro and Albania are closing in on membership, while Ukraine and others are looking to Europe amid a changing geopolitical landscape. America is heading towards a political showdown today. As polls open for the midterm elections in just a few hours, Donald Trump faces a crucial test of his presidency. Republicans are fighting to hold on to their majorities in Congress, while Democrats see an opportunity to regain power and put the White House under pressure. The stakes are enormous, not just for Trump's domestic agenda, but for the future direction of American politics. And Belgium's Prime Minister Bart de Wever offered his government's resignation to King Philippe yesterday. It came after overnight negotiations with his core cabinet on the budget failed to reach an agreement. The king now wants to consult the coalition party leaders starting today. De Wever is set to meet with the monarch again on Friday. The Belgian budget deficit amounted to 5% last year, while only 3% is permitted under European rules. Welcome to the programme, I'm Stefan Grobe. But first, in Brussels today, Euronews will bring together heads of state and governments from some of the countries aspiring to become the next members of the European Union. Euronews' enlargement summit gets underway later this morning with discussions to focus on the progress of EU candidate countries, the reforms required on both sides, and the economic opportunities and implications of EU enlargement. Our correspondent Marit Gwynn-Jones is standing by for us. Marit, give us a taste of what we can expect today. Well, yes, Stefan, preparations well underway here for a summit that really comes at what feels like a pivotal moment for the EU's efforts to enlarge. Accepting new member countries is being described as a geopolitical imperative amid the war in Ukraine, perceived security threats and also increased geopolitical competition. We know that the question of Ukraine's future EU membership is becoming intertwined with ongoing. Peace negotiations. We will be hearing from the Ukrainian prime minister here at the Euronews summit later today. But also in the Western Balkans, there is a feeling that we are on the verge of a major breakthrough with Montenegro looking to become the EU's next member state within the course of next year. There have been some doubts over whether bilateral disputes between the Croatian and the Montenegrin governments could set that timetable back. We will be hearing from both governments. including from the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković. But Stefan, we can expect some tough conversations here today as well. We'll be hearing from Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, just as anti-government protests continue to rage on in the country, as well as from the Georgian Prime Minister, just two years after his country's bid to become a new member was halted by Brussels over concerns over a crackdown on dissent. So expect a lot of conversation. Conversations with major leaders here today on an issue that, Stefan, really is becoming an issue that is top of the political agenda here in Brussels. Merit Gwynne-Jones from the Euronews Enlargement Summit at Autoworld. And now to a very special candidate country, Ukraine. Kiev hopes to open its two remaining EU negotiating clusters before the end of the year, despite delays in Budapest. In an exclusive interview with Euronews, ahead of the European Commission's latest enlargement report, Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, Taras Kachka, said there were no substantive disagreements with Hungary holding up the process. He also defended Kiev's progress on reforms, despite concerns over delays in adopting key legislation. For more on this, our Ukraine correspondent Sasha Vakulina joins me now in the studio. Good morning, Sasha. So the European Commission is about to release its latest enlargement assessment. How does Ukraine see its progress towards EU membership and what challenges does Kyiv also see? Kyiv does see challenges, but what is important, and this is something that Taraskachka told me, is for Ukraine to get the timeline and to get the timeline not postponed, but rather fast-tracked. This was, of course, an exclusive interview, the first one since Taraskachka took over the new position as the head of the mission of Ukraine to the European Union. So it was really interesting to see his perspective. Also, of course, given Ukraine's unique case. Now, we are talking about the country almost five years into defending itself against Russia's brutal full scale invasion, implementing those reforms and pushing to open those clusters. During the all-out war, and at the same time, when you look at all the candidates' stuff, and of course, Ukraine, regarding its size and importance, this is a different case, which will be much harder for the European Union to accept and to digest. Let's take a listen to what he said. The report should highlight how fast we can move on closing the chapters, but also indicating what are the maybe some challenges. We do not see challenges in domestic politics in terms of applying a key. We might see challenges that are stemming from security situation, Russian aggression, and the fact that Ukraine is really one of the biggest candidate status in the... Among forefront runners, definitely the biggest one, so therefore there might be more complex negotiations, but it is not a problem. You've mentioned the challenge. Some of those are in regards to Ukraine's reform commitment. Some important reforms have faced delays in the parliament in Kyiv. What is holding up this? The government and parliament is getting stronger in the recent weeks, so therefore the tempo will be only faster. At least I expect this and there are chances for this. So therefore I think that Ukraine definitely is delivering, is getting to deliver faster and better. I hope that the enlargement package report will confirm that this general assessment of Ukraine being able to adopt everything by the end of 2027 and therefore be advanced in 2027 with closing chapters will be confirmed. I've got to mention the amended minority education legislation, which was, of course, crucial as it cleared the way for two Monegu sitting clusters to open. And yet Hungary now blocked the progress on the two remaining clusters. What does Budapest want now? I think that this word block misleads us. It's a way. Indeed, Hungary is requesting additional time for consideration, for brainstorming on certain decisions. For the second and third clusters, we adopted what we agreed previously, and it was something that was elaborated during previous several years. Therefore, it was well known for Ukrainian society, for Ukrainian MPs, and it was rather additional boost. for decision-making in Hungary. So now we see that we have a full mutual understanding with Hungary, so therefore it is a matter of time and planning how we open remaining two clusters before the end of this year. You say Hungary and the government in Budapest is taking its time a little bit. Does it still have to do with the minority education, right? Or there is another reason? No, it's a matter of processing. On the same issue, on the minority rights? No, no, generally, so that for the clusters, So this is a different issue, not the one that has already been sorted. This is what I'm trying to understand. There are no issues. There is a processing of all these documents. So there are no substantive requirements, disagreements or concerns. So this is rather a matter of how the documents are processed, assessed, read, because there are like several hundred pages of documents. In this, let's say, support in the opening of this cluster. Right. And on the minority education legislation, all adopted, all agreed. Has it been implemented in Ukraine? Yes, they work. These rules are works. So they're all in place. Some of them are, let's say, having de facto operational even before. So now they properly work for everyone, for every school with national minorities. When we spoke last time, I asked you about the possibility of Ukraine getting the idea floated by. Some member states about the associate membership and somehow half steps towards that. Does that change the take for Kyiv, knowing that there is another country that might get different type of associate membership, half stepping into the European Union? The case of Canada illustrates that associate membership is a term that is rather better suits the partnerships with... Thank Friends who are friends but rather distant and will not join the European Union. I hope that we will still have four frontrunners with Ukraine, you Moldova, Montenegro and Albania. And it means that the EU sees us as a frontrunner. very So that's why we don't need to shift to any alternatives. much. Thank you. Ukraine's Ambassador Taras Kachka speaking to Sasha Vakulina. Montenegro wants to become the EU's next success story. After years of negotiations, Podgorica is presenting itself as the frontrunner among the Western Balkan candidates. But the final stretch may prove the hardest. Judicial independence, corruption and the rule of law remain key tests. And questions remain about whether the EU itself is politically ready to welcome new members. To go deeper into this topic, I'm now joined in our studio by Montenegro's ambassador to the European Union, Peter Markovic. Good morning and welcome. Good morning. Thank you for having me. So Montenegro has repeatedly presented itself as the frontrunner in the EU enlargement process. Why should people believe that this time membership is just around the corner? Well, because it's not Montenegro presenting itself as a frontrunner. It's the European Commission. And just in the last year, 14 times all EU member states agreed with the Commission that we are the frontrunner because that's how many chapters we closed between the last report and the incoming one coming, well, being published tomorrow. So that means that all EU 27 member states... And the institutions of the EU repeatedly claim Montenegro is the frontrunner and we indeed are, because we have been working around the clock for years now. And this summer we didn't even have a summer break. We were really working around the clock to fulfill 150 deliverables in the rule of law area. So when you say it's now the test of fighting corruption... You have said 2028, that's not that far away, as your target for EU accession. Now, is this still a realistic deadline, or has it become a political slogan? No, not at all. It's very much realistic. Just a few weeks ago, the president of the commission, Madame von der Leyen, was in Podgorica, and she said, we believe in Montenegro becoming the 28th member by the end of 2028. So it is on track, not just by Montenegro's standards, but by those who actually are deciding. What are the two or three biggest obstacles Montenegro still needs to overcome before it can close the accession? So, but there is now an ongoing process to amend our Constitution for the second time in just a few months as part of the obligations in Chapter 23 on Judiciary and Justice. It is a process which is lengthy because our constitution cannot be changed at once. It's a three-pronged process, and we are now halfway through it, and we expect to do it within this month. So this is the biggest domestic obstacle we are facing. We are also facing the intensified talks with our closest EU member state and neighbor, Croatia. To resolve some open questions of mutual interest, which we are confident will be done satisfactorily for both sides, also record quickly in order for the process to not stall. And how much of the remaining work is in Montenegro's hands, and how much depends on decisions made in Brussels and in EU capitals? So, there's 33 negotiated chapters at this point. We have submitted all the reports and done all the homework, testifying that we have not only adopted legislation, but employed people, changed things on the ground. All this has been done some 10 days ago. So Montenegro has finished its homework. At this stage of our accession saga, and it's really in the hands of the EU member states now. Yeah, it is a saga. When did it first start? We applied for, well, the negotiations really started in 2012. And I might remind your viewers that we are the only member states among 10 of them now, the candidate countries, that has had to negotiate to open each chapter separately before the French new methodology. So we have done... A double work compared to other candidates. All right, Peter Markovich, Montenegro's ambassador to the European Union. Thank you so much for coming on this morning. And now, America is heading into a crucial political test today. And for Donald Trump, the stakes could hardly be higher. The economy, immigration and Trump's own popularity have been dominating the midterm election campaign. So is this a referendum on the president? And what happens to the Republican Party if voters turn against him? Let's bring in Republican strategist and owner and president of consultancy firm Klink Campaigns, Matt Klink, who joins us from Los Angeles. Good morning, or rather good evening. Great to have you on. Thank you. Good morning. So with Donald Trump's approval ratings at 30%, is he a liability for Republican candidates in today's elections? Well, let's put it this way. The Republicans were always going to face headwinds heading into this election cycle. The party that holds power, his party tends to lose 22 seats in the House at a minimum. So that would give the Democrats a strong majority in the House. But Donald Trump's unpopularity that you just pointed to, that's a further drag. And the affordability issue, The war with Iraq. And the tariffs are the three main issues that have really caused Republicans across the country to really struggle this election cycle. You mentioned the tariffs. Traditionally, the economy is one of the biggest factors in midterm elections. Why should Americans give Republicans another mandate if they remain unhappy about the cost of living? Well, I think that's the whole point of what the election is ultimately going to be fought on is, you know, look, the memories of Biden and Harris are not that far in the rearview mirror when we did have 9% inflation under Joe Biden and everything cost more. And Donald Trump promised that he was going to bring those numbers down. And some are down, but frankly, a lot of them aren't down enough. And some are actually up like gasoline prices. And I think the voters are going to take that. Anger out on Republican candidates across the country tomorrow. If Democrats win back one or both chambers today, would this mark the death knell for the Republican legislative agenda? And what would happen to the Republican Party then? Well, the Republican Party itself is absolutely strong. Don't forget, Don't forget, you know. Donald Trump is still the president for two more years. I do think that it would, if the Democrats take one or both houses, it will certainly put the squash on any Republican agenda for the last two years of the president's term. But frankly, that happens every time that Uh, party, the party switch power. So, you know, again, Donald Trump will rule by executive order and veto. Uh, and the, if the Democrats win one or both, they're not going to win by massive majorities. So I would think gridlock will be the word of the day, uh, for 2027 and 2028. Yeah, Trump has said he'll be Mr. Veto in that case and then maybe strike deals. Now, Democrats are already threatening investigations into the Trump administration. Should Republicans be worried about subpoenas, hearings and potentially damaging revelations? Well, I think there always is the possibility. I mean, look, when your party controls the executive and the legislative branches, let's just say that the oversight responsibility that Congress has isn't a top priority. It's moving the president's agenda forward. Now that the House and if the Senate goes Democrat, the Senate they will exert that oversight. And that means holding on the Iran war, on the tariffs, on some of the president's finances. So, yeah, there will be some revelations and some things that will be quite shocking. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the House impeached the president for a third time. It's doubtful that they will get the requisite two-thirds vote in the Senate to formalize that impeachment. And don't forget, Donald Trump's already been impeached twice, and it didn't hurt him. He got reelected for office. All right, Matt Klink, political consultant and Republican strategist. Thank you so much for your insights. Thank you. Well, the fun stuff happens tomorrow. And that brings us to the end of today's episode. Thank you for watching. I'm Stefan Grobe. Take care, and I see you tomorrow.