Standoff over Mercosur, 1,000 days of war in Ukraine and more expensive health

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The standoff continues in Europe over the agreement with Mercosur. And the differences affect the very engine of the European Union: the Franco-German couple. “After more than twenty years [de négociations] we must now finally finalize the free trade agreement with Mercosur,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil. The text, however, arouses strong opposition, particularly from Paris. The agricultural world is once again mobilized in France against this treaty. And to find out everything about the actions of farmers this Tuesday, the editorial staff of 20 Minutes holds a Live for you all day long.

This Tuesday marks a sadly symbolic date for kyiv. It has in fact been exactly 1,000 days since Putin launched the war against his neighbor. While waiting to know whether Donald Trump will continue to support him against the Kremlin, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose troops are in difficulty on the ground, can for the moment still rely on Paris and Washington. Emmanuel Macron on Monday judged the United States’ decision to authorize Ukraine to use long-range missiles in Russia to be “completely good”. According to the Head of State, this choice “was also triggered by a profound change in this conflict which should not be underestimated, which is the commitment of North Korean troops alongside Russia on what is European soil.

It will soon be more expensive to seek treatment. The reimbursement rate for medicines by Social Security will in fact drop by 5% next year, as will the coverage of medical consultations, the Minister of Health, Geneviève Darrieussecq, announced on Monday. At the opening of the debates on the Social Security financing bill for 2025, the minister gave a litany of bad news. It thus confirmed a “slippage” in drug spending in 2024, “estimated at 1.2 billion euros”, which the government intends to limit after a “dialogue with manufacturers in order to find compensation mechanisms”.