Europe Today: Democrats win Senate in rebuke of Trump as Poland’s constitutional crisis drags on

Good morning, it's Wednesday, November 4th, you're watching Euronews and this is Europe Today. Our top stories. A blue wave has hit America. In the US congressional midterm elections, practically everywhere across the country, Republicans forcefully rejected the Trump agenda, as Democrats scored massive wins, with every voting bloc pulling significantly to the left. In Congress, Democrats will now control the Senate and are on track for a huge majority in the House of Representatives, as votes are still being counted on the West Coast. We'll bring you live analysis from the US and from our studio. Brussels has given Eurozone governments just days to nominate candidates to become the next president of the European Central Bank, signalling that the race to find Christine Lagarde's successor could come to a head quickly. The president of the Eurogroup, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, called on the bloc's 21 member states to submit their nominations by Friday. Lagarde announced last week that she will step down as ECB president in February, nine months before the end of her eight-year term. And several flights across Europe received alleged bomb threats that ultimately turned out to be hoaxes, but prompted searches, diversions, and, in one case, an escort by the Italian Air Force until landing. The impacted airlines included Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines and Ryanair. Police bomb disposal experts carried out security checks of passengers, crew and baggage and found no explosives. Last month, the flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing because of a bomb threat. Welcome to the program, I'm Stefan Grobe. But first, the midterm elections in the United States. Let's head straight over to Philadelphia, where elections expert and former Euronews head of polling Boyd Wagner is standing by for us. Good morning, Boyd. You've been following the whole thing throughout the night. What's the latest? What can you tell us? Well, we'll start with the House where the AP now says that the Democrats have control of the lower body of Congress. They needed a net gain of just three seats. They're at 220 now, which gives them the majority per the AP. However, there are some projections including NBC News, which is projecting them as many as 252. That would be the largest House majority in nearly two decades, and that's not even mentioning the Senate yet. Well, let's talk about the Senate then. This was probably the biggest surprise, right? Yeah, this was gonna be the dogfight where Republicans thought that they could continue to keep control. The Democrats needed four seats, three to get to 50, and then plus one to bypass any advance swing vote there that would happen from the vice president. That number got blown away, though. We are now looking at 55, maybe 56 seats for the Democrats in this upcoming term in the Senate. So what is striking here, talking about the Senate, at the beginning of the cycle, nobody had the Senate on the map because most races took place in deeply red states. Tell us about the inroads that Democrats made here. Well, they did run a few very good candidates including in Colorado and Texas where they flipped deep red Texas. They ran a pastor, conservative leaning pastor as a Democratic candidate in Kansas, which they flipped to Republican for the first time since 1932, nearly 100 years. We now have our eyeballs looking at the state of Mississippi, which is even deeper red than those other two states. And this is one of the latest numbers that we saw. It's now a 29 vote, 29 people, 29 voters lead for the Democrats right now. That one's going to go on much longer. But you're looking at many, many deep red states that have flipped to Democrats in this election. And there, of course, is Maine, not a deep red state because Maine votes Democrat in every presidential election almost. But Susan Collins, the long-term Republican senator, lost. Tell us about this briefly. Yeah, Susan Collins has always been able to overcome polling deficiencies, we'll say. Three terms in the Senate. This time, it did not come out that way. She finally got taken down by the Democrats in this one. Another very close race. She did exceed expectations with polling. However, she will be unseated this time around. All right, Boyd Wagner in Philadelphia. Thank you very much. Now, to make sense of what we've just heard, I'm joined in our studio by Penny Nass, Senior Vice President and Brussels Office Director of the German Marshall Fund. Good morning and welcome. So, Penny, it's quite normal that the presidential party loses in midterm elections. Why is it different this time? I think that this blue wave has been larger than many of us were anticipating. It's at the upper end of the ranges that were being talked about just a few weeks ago. I think that there is a lot of issues that are really top of mind for Americans, many of which aren't foreign policy, but are foreign policy related, such as gas prices, which have been very heavily impacted by the president's war in Iran. But affordability and kitchen table issues have really been what's been, And I think driving this issue and deep dissatisfaction. with the president and some of his policies in that area. On that note, I mean, the Democratic victories in ruby red states like Texas, like Kansas, like Kansas, Herbert Hoover was president when the Democrats won a Senate seat there. And South Carolina, of course, where Trump campaigned massively. Is this the end of Trumpism? I think that Trumpism is still alive. It's always been something that's been very strong in the base of supporters that the president has. But in the past, the president has been able to tap into a deep dissatisfaction with kind of where the country was going. It just seems to me that what we've seen is people have not endorsed the direction the president has taken to address some of their concerns. Right, right. Speaking of Trump, he went on. Quite a rant throughout the night and was very defiant, at least at the beginning, stressing the fact that, you know, it's not his fault. And we have, if we can pull this up here, he tweeted, I wasn't on a ballot. And if I was, we would have won in a landslide. Now, who does he think is he impressing with this after such an outcome? Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot here to unpack for the president, but where he is now, he's got two more years. He's going to be very focused on his legacy, and this is a gentleman who does not like to be seen as losing in any way, shape, or form. So I think he's going to be moving very much into the phase of trying to preserve his legacy, looking at building out Washington, D.C., creating the monuments that I think he thinks nobody will look at in his honor. But that hasn't gotten easier, right? It hasn't gotten easier, but some of it is in executive control. A lot of it has been money that he's solicited from private parties to help him to achieve. So I think that will continue. And you saw that very much in his rant on Monday night and what should have been the closing moments presenting his case to the American people for how he's been delivering for them. And instead, it largely focused on. The reflecting pool and what he has done to build out Washington, D.C. Right, right. Let's talk about the various voting blocs. Those who carried Trump to victory just two years ago. So, I mean, from Florida to Texas, it looks like Republicans suffered a bloodbath with Hispanic voters. African-Americans ran away from him. Young people as well. Your take. Yeah. Yeah, I think that the president appealed to a lot of people back in the last presidential election with regards to being an outsider, coming in, change, people looking for a change election. And in some sense, he's delivered, but probably a bit too much for many of them. Tariff policy has been great for certain people in the United States, but really lousy for many others. Same with what's been going on with Iran and with gas prices. Those are all things that I think that... That he had promised voters he would have no new elections, he would worry about pocketbook issues, and at the end of the day, I don't think people have seen those results, and that as a result, they're voting once again for change. And what does it tell us for 2028? I mean, every election is also the beginning of the next campaign. Very briefly. I think that the gun is going off today, and I think Democrats have a heavy lift to show that they can deliver the agenda they've now promised to the American people. All right, wonderful. Peggy Naas, thank you so much from the German Marshall Fund. Thanks for breaking it all down for us. And now back to Europe. Poland is still struggling to resolve a constitutional crisis that has pitted judges against judges, president against courts, and prime minister against president. Years after the EU launched its unprecedented rule of law battle with Poland, the question remains, can judicial independence be restored without Without creating yet another constitutional confrontation. Joining me now from London is former EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, who was at the center of that battle to assess where Poland stands today. Good morning to you. Good morning. So you spent years confronting the Polish government over judicial independence. How worried are you today about the situation? Well, indeed, I spent 10 years with this issue, and it was maybe the most difficult part of my portfolio, Because Poland. Europe needs to be strong, Europe needs strong Poland and now the current conflict is weakening Poland in a very unfortunate situation, considering the geopolitical situation. It was not the case so much when the conflict started in 2015. And can you have an independent judiciary when judges themselves are divided over which other judges and institutions are legally legitimate? This judicial schisma, if I can call it like that, is very unpleasant and it is decreasing the trust of people in justice and an independent judiciary in Poland. So these two lines. of judges, which is not only the case of the Constitutional Tribunal, we see it in the whole judiciary system in Poland, is something which is necessary to solve. And it is also said by the European courts, there are very clear messages. Constitutional tribunal is not legally established at this moment. And you have to correct things. This is what the current government tries to do. Would you say that Poland has reached the point where there is no longer one universally accepted judicial system? Poland is in this situation over years because there was a cascade of different grievances since 2015 and the accumulation of problems in Poland in the judiciary is something which the European Court called a systemic breach of the rule of law. So it's broader than just problems in the justice system and it requires corrections. Right. Does the European Union have the legal and political leverage to force Poland to resolve this crisis? Well, EU, of course, has the Article 2 in the treaty, which says that each member state has to respect and promote and guarantee the rule of law in the country. And so it was the main leverage for the Commission, not only in my time, but also now. The Commission already made a declaration. Mr. McGrath, the Commissioner of Justice, said clearly that the Constitutional Tribunal needs to be able to function in accordance With the Polish Constitution and the case law of the Court of Justice. So this is the warning from the side of the Commission. All right. And I cannot predict what steps will follow. Okay. Former EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff announced a round of talks today and tomorrow with EU countries, the World Bank and NATO in a bid to kickstart negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The gathering comes after several weeks of shuttle diplomacy among the U.S., Ukraine, Russia, and Europe. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb have been leading some of the talks for Europe. Let's bring in our NATO correspondent Shona Murray, who is in the Finnish capital Helsinki, where she's been discussing the talks with European officials. Good morning, Shona. Please fill us in. What can we expect from the talks this week? Well, good morning, Stefan, and it's hard to understand exactly what work will get done across the European capitals today as European governments digest those results in the United States and what it all means for the continent and, of course, Ukraine. But indeed, there are working-level meetings in Brussels today and tomorrow with NATO, the European Commission, the World Bank, leading countries like Germany, the UK and France, ahead of crucial meetings next week. And we saw yesterday a post from U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff saying the U.S. will mediate Working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on the 10th and 11th of November in Abu Dhabi. Discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and the next steps towards peace. This is very important because we know Ukraine is heading into a very potentially brutal winter, and these are the first important talks since really the war in Iran started. Stefan. You've been speaking with officials close to the talks. What have you heard about the prospects of any peace settlement? Well, indeed, as we know, the Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Jonas Støre, the Norwegian Prime Minister, held a phone call with Vladimir Putin that lasted 90 minutes just a few days ago. And Finland here obviously has a very important obligation to end the war, given that it has the longest border with Russia inside NATO, 1,500 kilometers. Now, some member states weren't very happy that that call took place, but European officials are saying that actually it was very important and very constructive because it brought the city... The situation back from the brink. You have to recall just a few days ago, a couple of weeks ago, Donald Trump was saying that the Ukrainian President Zelensky had to be replaced. The Ukrainians had no access to Starlink satellite system, important for their military. And the US President Donald Trump had waived sanctions against Russia. So it was a very crucial and tense moment that seems to be brought back on track. But in terms of prospects for peace, what I have heard is really the best that can be hoped for is something like a ceasefire agreed by Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainians, which obviously want this to happen, but there's no indication yet that Putin is going to do it. And also, very crucially, there's no indication yet that the Ukrainians have access to very important U.S. Patriot systems intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. So a lot still to play for, Stefan. All right, Shona Murray, live from Helsinki, thank you very much. The race to join the European Union is heating up, but not everyone is keeping pace. For Montenegro's ambitious 2028 membership target to Georgia's deepening standoff with Brussels, Europe's enlargement hopefuls have very different roads ahead. I'm now joined live by our correspondent Angela Skujins, who was at the Euronews enlargement summit yesterday and heard about all these journeys. Good morning, Angela. What were the highlights? Good morning, Stefan. So it's actually quite hard to narrow it down. We had a strong list of speakers, briefing, journalists and EU insiders about how their process to join the EU is faring. But just to give you a bit of context regarding how that race is unfolding, as you mentioned, Montenegro leads the pack, aiming to be the 28th member by 2028. But Albania really nipping at its heels. But this process is made a little bit more complicated due to a controversial resort development The Kushner family enveloping that country in protests. Of course, we have Ukraine and Moldova there, third and fourth place. Their bids very much intertwined, but the importance for these countries to join the European Union. Underscored by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, these bids launched in 2022. But you mentioned highlights. The first that comes top of the mind is a comment from the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, an exchange in which he really implored that the six EU Balkan aspirant countries to join the European Union should gain unfettered access when they go through all the loops and the hoops and all these other processes. He's comparing this to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's seven children. Let's take a listen. Like Ursula brings her kids. She has seven. We are seven. If you count, we are five negotiating in or in the process in the Western Balkans plus Moldova and Ukraine. The seven Ursula kids. Ursula didn't grow her kids in the neighborhood. She didn't say go or stay in the neighborhood. And when you grow, when you are mature, you'll come to eat with Papa and Mama. No. She kept her around the table. As you can see, some laughter in the crowd, but of course the summit didn't come without its controversy. There was quite a terse back and forth between my boss, Euronews' EU editor Maria Taddeo, and the Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze. I really recommend people going online to watch that exchange in full. So this is in general a big week for enlargement, also from a EU Commission's perspective. Absolutely. So we heard from those EU candidate countries where they stand today. It's up to Brussels to give their perspective. They'll be handing down their EU enlargement reports regarding how the 10 candidate countries are faring when it comes to judicial reforms, corruption reforms and things like that. So it's very much wait and see to what unfolds today. Okay, we're going to monitor this. All right, Angela Skujins, thank you very much. That brings us to the end of today's edition. Thank you for watching, I'm Stefan Grobe, take care and I'll see you tomorrow.