In an exclusive interview with Euronews, ex-European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso talks Putin, Trump, Crimea and why it’s “not prudent” to change EU treaties.
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Crimea has always been a “special case”, but the EU is much better prepared now if US president-elect Donald Trump withdraws the US from Ukraine, former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told Euronews in an interview we feature on Radio Schuman today.
The former Portuguese Prime Minister helmed the European Commission for two terms between 2004 to 2014, during which time Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU and Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
In an interview with Euronews' Shona Murray, Barroso made clear that despite the backsliding of the rule of law in Europe, the EU should not solve political problems with institutional tools like treaty change.
Barroso recalls a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling him he considered Ukraine was an “artificial country” created by the CIA and by the European Commission.
Guess how often Barroso met Putin during his mandate – he tells us.
We also take an overview of the European Parliament vote today on the deforestation law: will MEPs change the deadline for implementation and some parts of content of the legislation as the centre-right is proposing?
On the last part of the show, we look at which famous national dishes are at risk of disappearing due to climate change.
Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by Zacharia Vigneron and Georgios Leivaditis. Music by Alexandre Jas.