State of the Union: Defence of democracy and aid for Gaza

In a single plenary session this week, the European Parliament passed legislation in two areas linked to the defence of democracy and fundamental rights, adopting the Freedom of the Press Act and the Artificial Intelligence Act.

In the case of AI, the European Commission believes that the EU is setting an example for the rest of the world.

“Our European start-ups will be the best ambassadors for our approach to AI. Reliable, accessible AI, respecting the rules of trust for all our citizens and businesses, but also so that the world can see what we do,” said Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market.

But despite this legislative frenzy, the European Parliament struck a blow to Commission, deciding to file a court case against the EU’s executive body. At issue is the decision taken last December to unfreeze a tranche of cohesion funds for Hungary.

Also highlighted in the programme was the opening of the maritime humanitarian aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza, with the support of the US and other countries.

The small island, a member of the EU, is the starting point for humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. To discuss the implications of this corridor and other developments in the Gaza Strip, we interviewed Joost Hiltermann, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the International Crisis Group.

“Of course the impact is very, very low, because we’re talking about very small volumes compared to what lorries can bring through the various road entrances into Gaza. This is one of the two problems,” the analyst told Euronews.

“The other is that aid can reach the coast, but there is no distribution network, especially in northern Gaza. Distribution is chaotic and disorganised and doesn’t really reach the people it should,” he added.

Watch the full programme in the video player above.