US President Joe Biden presented what he described as a three-phase Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages, saying “it’s time for this war to end” and drawing an initial reaction positive by Hamas. The first phase calls for a six-week ceasefire in which Israeli forces would withdraw from “all populated areas” of Gaza, some hostages – including elderly people and women – would be freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian civilians they could return to their homes in Gaza and 600 trucks a day would bring humanitarian aid to the devastated enclave. According to some analysts, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu could be faced with a choice between a truce and the survival of his government: we spoke about this with Maria Gianniti, RAI correspondent from Jerusalem. | The last pre-election week begins and the vote for 359 million European voters is approaching but, although it has been elective since 1979, the European Parliament is still little known. The impression is rooted in the minds of European citizens that it is a democratic symbol, but with little power; however, the political and institutional dynamics tell a completely different reality, in which the European Parliament plays a leading role in taking decisions capable of impacting people’s daily lives: we talk about it with Claudio Martinelli, Full Professor of Comparative Public Law at University of Milan-Bicocca and author of “The European Parliament. Symbol or driving force of the Union?” (ed. Mulino 2024). | A special pre-election week also begins for Bulgaria in which political elections will also take place on June 9th. A vote that could lead to a return of the old conservative GERB-MRF alliance, which in 2020 was rocked by street protests, kicking off years of political turbulence. The conservative GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is the favorite to win the parliamentary elections on 9 June, the sixth since 2021, but the behavior of its allies and rivals will decide the composition of the next government: we talk about it with Francis Martino, correspondent for the Balkans Caucasus Observatory from Sofia. At the microphones, Roberto Zichittella.
03 Jun 2024
