Latest news bulletin | May 8th, 2026 – Morning

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:01]The European Parliament and EU member states failed to reach a deal on eliminating EU tariffs on US industrial goods as agreed under the Turnberry agreement struck last summer.

[00:00:13]The setback comes just days after the US intensified pressure on European negotiators by threatening to impose 25% tariffs on EU cars exceeding the 15% ceiling on US tariffs for EU goods agreed last summer by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.

[00:00:34]Despite the failed round of talks, the Cypriot presidency representing EU member states said discussions had generated positive momentum.

[00:00:43]One EU diplomat told Euronews that the objective talks was mainly for both sides to lay out their political positions with technical negotiations expected at a later stage.

[00:00:55]Parliament has included robust safeguards in the EU-US deal, although member states do not back all of them despite broadly agreeing on the need to protect the agreement from future threats by Trump such as those concerning EU cars or Greenland earlier this year.

[00:01:12]Negotiators are now set for a new round of discussions on May the 19th.

[00:01:19]EU Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli sat down with Euronews to discuss disability rights and accessibility across the EU. We are now halfway through the European Commission's 10-year plan on improving the lives of some 19 million people living in the EU with disabilities. Dalli noted that most important requests include more independent living and being included in the labor market. We are launching a new EU alliance for independent living with sub budget also to support service-based communities instead of institutions to be sure that a person with disabilities can live their own life independently. And it is about their dignity, their choice. Commissioner Dalli also addressed the political debate shifting towards one that emphasizes a power and might which looks at ideas of diversity and inclusion as too woke. Yes, I'm concerned about because I'm Commissioner for equality and we see a regression when it comes to gender equality and all kind of you know discrimination is something that we need to combat because this is not the the Europe we want to live in.

[00:02:41]The reinforced EU strategy presented on Wednesday aims to put a stronger focus on implementation, delivery on the ground, and real impact for people's lives. But disability groups across Europe have accused the Commission's initiative of not going far enough.

[00:02:58]Yannis Vardakastanis, president of the European Disability Forum, said in a statement that the disability strategy has the right words but lacks teeth and strength.

[00:03:13]Take out of poverty.

[00:03:14]>> European Commission Vice President Roxana Mînzatu has said in an interview with Euronews that she's committed to eliminating poverty in the EU within 25 years.

[00:03:24]Her comments followed the Commission's presentation of its first-ever anti-poverty strategy which aims to eradicate extreme poverty and social exclusion by 2050 through non-binding recommendations and best practice guidelines for member states.

[00:03:40]The strategy comes amid alarming statistics. Almost one out of five European is at risk of poverty or social exclusion.

[00:03:48]The number that I presented to you, 93 million people in in in risk of poverty in Europe can change dramatically because of the energy shocks that we see and we've just recently we just recently assessed now assess the impact of the energy crisis because of the Middle East crisis. We will see in a couple of months what it means, but it for sure creates additional burden on households, on the cost of living, on their bills.

[00:04:15]So this 93 million number could become higher in you know, in a few months or in a very short time.

[00:04:23]The EU anti-poverty strategy focuses on several aspects from helping children in disadvantaged families to expanding social and affordable housing.

[00:04:33]However, the plan does not come with a dedicated budget for its implementation.

[00:04:38]The commission considers that the EU already provides significant funding to tackle poverty.

[00:04:44]Strengthening the EU program meant to help households, supporting unemployed people to get a job, and improving support for older citizens through adequate pensions are among the strategies key objectives.

[00:04:58]From a Duke, Minister of the European Union The Minister for the European Union of the Catalan government, From a Duke, has told Euronews that when it comes to taking a stance against criticism from Washington, Spain is more resolute in its position than the European Union.

[00:05:14]Duke, who acts as the link between Brussels and Barcelona, said Madrid has been, quote, "smart in analyzing the situation concerning President Donald Trump, including on the conflict in the Middle East."

[00:05:26]We were also among the first in criticizing this conflict or the way this conflict has been opened or produced in in Iran. And then how in the following weeks this position was adopted also by a majority of member states of the European Union. This means that we were just let's say uh more uh convinced about our own positions. You think the EU is not convinced of its positions and >> that the EU has evolved a lot in the last months. I think that there was a turning point which was all the threats against the Greenland. I think that this opened wide the eyes of many governments in this continent and since then the positions have changed. Shifting the conversation of politics to a more local level, Duke argued that a closer relationship is needed between regional governments and Brussels. Many of the decisions that are taken in Brussels by the Commission, the Council, or the European Parliament at the end of the day have to be applied by by the regional governments, not by the national ones.

[00:06:34]Competencies on agriculture, on fisheries, on trade, on housing, on many, many, many other topics are in the hands of the Catalan government, which means that in reality what you need is a very good relationship between those who are deciding here in Brussels and those who are implementing the rules, the European laws in in the territory, in this case in Catalonia.

[00:06:56]Duke said European and Catalan priorities are more aligned than most would think, with shared interests such as strategic autonomy, defense, and energy.

[00:07:10]Concern is mounting in Cyprus over this year's tourism outlook due to the war in Iran. Initial data showing a significant drop in arrivals in April and the first days of May ranging from 30 to 40%.

[00:07:22]Euronews visited Ayia Napa where the absence of tourists is evident.

[00:07:27]Business owners say that events in the Middle East have significantly impacted the situation.

[00:07:33]The sun is shining, temperatures are around 20° C, the businesses are open, but what's missing is the tourists. We can't say there's nobody here, of course, but locals tell us that they're well down on the figures they had last year. Tourism business owners in Ayia Napa are seeing a very different picture this May compared to last year's record-breaking season. Uh normally it's busy. The boats busy, the hotels busy, all the restaurants at this time. Normally all the hotels almost was fully booked last year. Compared to this year, I think so we are lower numbers from last year, about 30 to 40%. The mayor of Ayia Napa, Christos Zanettou, emphasized that the situation in the Middle East has caused significant damage, but tourists have begun to realize that Cyprus is a safe destination. That is why, as he says, there is now recovery.

[00:08:40]>> [snorts] >> Tourists who have started visiting Cyprus don't seem worried about anything. As they say, they're enjoying the sun, the sea, and the beauty of Cyprus.

[00:09:14]Some tourists, however, haven't forgotten what's going on in the world right now.

[00:09:31]In May, flights from the UK are operating at 92% capacity.

[00:09:40]>> [music] [music] [music] >> It's a super hypocrisy that they are participating. I mean, they tell that art is beyond the politics, but they are using art as a weapon in hybrid war in Europe. So, so this is absolutely insane that they are here and uh I think no no one progressive could accept [music] that.

[00:10:41]>> [music] [music] >> I'm saying they should have included the USA in that in that uh list of of of countries excluded. Um um because it's because of the politics of hate and war and all that that's been going on now for for too long.

[00:11:10]>> [music] [music]