Europe Today: Poland in shock after deadly Krakow attack, Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi near

Good morning, it's Monday November 9th, you're watching Euronews and this is Europe Today. Our top stories. Six people were killed and 16 were injured after a shooting in Krakow's main market square on Saturday afternoon in what Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an act of terrorism. The suspect, a 24-year-old Polish citizen, was severely wounded in a shootout with police and died later. At his home, investigators found his parents and sister shot dead. According to the Polish Interior Ministry, the suspect was fascinated by right-wing ideologies. In a blow for Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's President Isaac Herzog has asked opposition leader Gadi Eizenkot to form the next government. Netanyahu is fighting to stay in office after his religious nationalist coalition lost its majority in the general election last month. Eizenkot, the former military chief, doesn't have a majority either and would need the support of Arab parties to form a viable government. He now has 28 days to carry out the job. And, the Spanish government has agreed to an emergency meeting tomorrow to address the growing pressure facing the Canary Islands following a recent surge in migrant arrivals. Local authorities declared a social emergency after more than 8,000 migrants arrived on the island of El Hierro on boats since early October. El Hierro has about 11,000 residents and is one of Europe's main entry points for migrants and refugees from West Africa. Welcome to the program, I'm Stefan Kroger. But first to the horrible shooting that shook Poland over the weekend and left six people dead. The killings raise urgent questions about security in Poland and across Europe. The suspected gunman reportedly held a firearms license while investigators are examining possible far-right extremist influences. Was this a preventable security failure? And does the massacre expose a growing threat from radicalized individuals operating under the radar of intelligence services? To discuss this, I'm now joined by Jacek Szebiera, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council and the former head of Poland's National Security Council. Good morning and thanks for coming on. So was this a complete failure of the security system or is it simply impossible to prevent an individual determined to carry out a mass shooting? I would say that it was a great success that for three decades Poland Um... Poland has been a country in which such a situation never happened. When we observed all the radicalized and extremely dangerous terrorist attacks in the middle of Paris, Germany and many other states, in Poland so far we had this privilege and a great amount Professionalism. I'm sorry, Polish authorities have pointed to possible far-right ideological influences. Are we witnessing a new and increasingly dangerous form of domestic terrorism? The problem with each and every type of radicalism is that it poses a risk of radicalization among the individuals who are unstable in their psychology, in their behavior and may become dangerous for the society. It doesn't matter exactly what kind of ideology it is, every kind of radicalization is dangerous and unfortunately malicious influence of the social media plays a critical role. We've had the cyber attacks on supermarkets, the bomb threats against commercial airliners, and now this. Is Europe entering an era in which authorities can no longer guarantee security for their citizens? It's the obligation of the authorities to guarantee the security. Of course, we are living in a world of increasing risks and threats. This is the reason why in PREPARE-EU we are focusing on changing a bit of paradigm among the European Commission and European states from as it used to be the civil protection of the weather-related and climate-related threats to civil protection of the hybrid warfare. Threats also posed by our great opponent from Russian side, by the sabotage and terrorism as well from other regions from the world. But it's still up to European authorities, national authorities to prevent such situations and prepare for them in upcoming decades. Polish security expert Jacek Siewiera, thank you so much for sharing your insights with us. Who will replace Christine Lagarde at the top of the European Central Bank? That's the question European finance ministers will discuss at a meeting in Brussels, as the search for a new central bank chief gets underway against the complex geopolitical backdrop. From on this, let's go to the European Council, where our Europe editor Maria Taddeo, herself a bit of an ECB nerd, if I may say, is following the meeting. Good morning, Maria. Good morning. So do we know who will replace Christine Lagarde? Well, we don't know yet, but this is not a minor question because the European Central Bank is key to the functioning of the European economy, the role of the euro and monetary policy. Of course, Stefan, if you're watching the show and you want to take out a mortgage, you want to refinance your debt, it is the European Central Bank that will determine interest rates and essentially the cost of money. So this is really a key job when it comes to the European institutions. And as you say, We'll leave in February next year. The race is on. There are only two candidates, the former Spanish central banker, Pablo Hernandez-Ecoz, and the former Dutch central banker, Klaas Noot. Both of them, of course, have experience in the European Central Bank Governing Council. They are economists by training. They have been pragmatic in the past. And I mentioned the idea of pragmatism because this is a job where you need to be able to gather consensus. The European economy... Thank you very much. A nomination of the sort. We're going to see finance ministers debate this subject today in Brussels and the two countries involved, Spain and the Netherlands, begin to really lobby. So it's their guy who ultimately gets it. And what about Christine Lagarde herself? What's her next move? Well, that's a question I'm fascinated by, because, of course, Christine Lagarde is one of the most influential names in European politics, whether you like her or dislike her. She obviously has that pull globally. There are two important dates to keep in mind. One is a book that is going to come out in January. There is this memoir. Obviously, it means. A press tour and a lot of media appearances. There's also Davos. Remember, Stefan, for months there's been speculation that she will lead the World Economic Forum. Even reports that she had already started to look out for flats on Lake Geneva, which is not a bad location. But then, of course, the big question is the French election. Is she ready to enter this campaign? Is she looking at an entry? In a political race. When I spoke to her in July, she told me she was not a candidate. But that was then and this is now. Let's take a look. Well, I will certainly explain to the extent I can. You know, why the European dimension is so critical. In a campaign or in your role as the head of the... I will explain that in whichever capacity I will be most efficient. It's all open for you at this point. I'm not a candidate for anything, but I'm very keen that Europe is protected, that Europe is the framework within which member states operate, including France. We'll be right back. That was Christine Lagarde speaking to Euronews back in July. And look, Stefan, that is a big question. This is the rumor speculating and circling around Paris political circles. But we should also note that the French election right now is dominated by candidates on the extreme with a level of disruption. Christine Lagarde is someone who is known as an elite political figure. It is difficult to see how her campaign in this context could take off. The center candidates in France are struggling, of course. To keep up momentum with Le Pen and Mélenchon, but for the time being, it remains a mystery. Back in the day, she told us she was not going to be a candidate, but this is still very much a floating question, both in Paris and Brussels. Maria Tadeu at the European Council, thank you very much. The United States is preparing to bring Ukrainian and Russian delegations together for a new round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi tomorrow and on Wednesday. The negotiations come amid renewed diplomatic efforts by Washington to end Russia's war against Ukraine, with President Donald Trump suggesting that a potential agreement could extend well beyond Ukraine. For all the details, our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakulina, is joining me now in the studio. Good morning, Sasha. So, what do we know about these upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi? Who is going there and what will be on the agenda? Well, this is the first time the talks are actually taking place since February, so there was a long pause there. And Kyiv, once while sending the same delegation as usual, led by Rustem Umerov, Is any sort of a ceasefire as the first step towards any further? You know, conditions or any negotiations. Now, when it comes to Russia, the situation is different. The delegation is also a little bit different. There is an extra to the delegation, which is Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who oversees relations with Washington and arms control. Now, he is known as a hardcore. pro-Kremlin voice who issued already demands to NATO in 2021 regarding no enlargement, go back to 1997 positions of NATO. So this gives you an idea of what could be Moscow's demands also in Abu Dhabi. When it comes to the agenda, Donald Trump spoke overnight and he said, quote, they're going to end up with a little bit different shape for Ukraine, unquote. He did not devolve more on that, but that gives us an idea of the possible issues of of territorial concessions and the pressure that Washington is putting on Ukraine. And another question, of course, is the Europeans at the table. Yeah, that's very interesting. Are there any Europeans, any European representatives in Abu Dhabi? No, that's a great question. According to France, yes, but there is still quite an uncertainty about what exactly, who will be there and what exactly the role will be. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrault confirmed on Sunday that France will be represented in Abu Dhabi and Europeans would participate in the negotiations, but he did not explain how and in what capacity. And that comes, of course, after a few days ago, Jared Kushner, U.S. envoy. He said that Washington will consult with the European partners, but they will not be present at the table. And the talks would still be in trilateral format of Ukraine, Russia and the United States. All right, Sasha Vakulina, thank you very much. Today, COP31, one of the world's biggest climate conferences, gets underway in Antalya, Turkey, co-hosted with Australia. This year the spotlight is on electrification, as countries look to diversify their energy sources and move away from fossil fuels. Maria Taddeo sat down exclusively with the man leading the global push for electrification, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. You can watch the full interview on her brand new program I'm on the record premiering at 9.10 tomorrow night on Euronews. Here's a sneak peek. Beginning of this year, I met the President Erdogan of Turkey and the Prime Minister Albanese of Australia. They both asked to be the strategic partner to come up with a target. And it should have been a target that many countries could agree upon. And what I see today, that this target is the majority of the countries are coming together, consensus. And the target is the following. Today the share of electricity in total energy is 23%. We want countries to commit to agree by 2035, 10 years from now, this 23% comes to 35%. So 35 by 35. This should be the electrification level of an economy. Exactly. Across the world. Across the world. And it will bring a country's competitiveness. Energy security, and also in many cases, reducing the emissions altogether. And this is good news for everybody, I believe, or most of the countries around the world, and also for Europe, as we just discussed a few minutes ago. And just finally, do you believe, do you trust the targets will be met? Because the tragedy of COP at times is targets and goals, they come and go, but they are not met. There is no guarantee that they will be met. But what will happen if... Many work leaders come to Antalya, which I think when I look at the last numbers, how many work leaders are coming to Antalya, and they are really, I was positively surprised with the number I have seen. Okay. Second, if many countries agree on this target, it will give an unmistakable signal to the markets and the investors that the future of energy is in electricity. This is what I wanted to have. Okay. Maria Taddeo speaking to Fatih Birol. As world leaders gather in Turkey for COP31, the climate movement faces an uncomfortable truth. Global emissions remain stubbornly high, fossil fuels continue to dominate, and political resistance to green policies is growing. Have climate activists failed to turn public pressure into real political action? Or is the problem that governments simply refuse to listen? Joining me now in our studio is social environmental activist Chloe Mikulajczyk. Good morning and welcome. Good morning, thanks. So Chloe, I want to be blunt. After decades of climate marches, protests and campaigning, global emissions are still rising. Has climate activism actually failed? No, it hasn't failed. I think we just, we know, you know, the climate science is very clear and we're seeing it with our own eyes. This summer has been absolutely terrible. There's been 50,000 deaths linked to extreme weather events and two thirds can be attributed to climate breakdown. If we're talking about the economics, it's 180 billion euros that, you know, just went up in flames because of climate breakdown. We know all of that. What we're currently missing is the political willingness to act. And we see that in some countries, the political willingness is there. And I'm sorry to say, but most of these countries actually have progressive leaders. So we have hope based on the election of Lula a few days ago. We have hope from the midterm results in the US as well. We just need to have decision makers that actually do want to act. And I think this is extremely difficult until we're not really serious about the influence of the fossil fuel industry. We're not willing to... uncouple, basically, our dependency on fossil fuels, and we need to stop putting billions every year into fossil fuel subsidies. So when activists block roads, disrupt public events or target works of art, as in the past, are they winning converts or simply reinforcing the perception that climate activists are out of touch? No, we're not out of touch, once again, I mean, being out of touch is denying what has What has happened this summer? Europe is the fastest warming continent on the planet and you would have to be extremely blind to miss that. So I think everyone who presents themselves as reasonable, you know, or very smart, such as what we're seeing in our conservative politicians that are in power in most of Europe today, is that they actually just... Very stupid and foolish in what they're pushing for. In Europe, we were sort of on a good path. It wasn't a perfect path, but we were sort of on a good path, right? We still fall short of the targets that we have established. But now what we're seeing is that there's a massive sort of rollback on a lot of environmental and climate policies that we committed to, whether it's on the methane regulation, whether it's on... Have you been surprised by the power of that backlash? I'm surprised I would say yes and no because we always knew that these forces were very strong and they were very organized and they're really well funded. I think what we're seeing now is that People are also willing to, you know, stand up against these forces. What we're seeing in a lot of the protests across Europe these days, obviously it's mainly about cost of living, it's led by the youth, but there is in some of them a very strong environmental component as well. People are willing to make efforts, they just need these efforts to appear as fair, and until these efforts are not fair, until we keep continuing to subsidize the fossil fuel industry Billions and polluting industry with billions and we're not, you know, we're letting billionaires of the hook and all of that. It's going to be very difficult for people to make efforts on that front. So we need the decision makers to actually take decisions that are ambitious, but that appears fair as well. All right. Thank you very much, Chloe Mikulajczyk, social environmental activist. Thanks for coming on the show this morning. And that does it for us today. Thank you for watching. I'm Stefan Grobe. Take care and I see you tomorrow.