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Dimitris Kollias, ELIAMEP Junior Research Fellow, gives a brief overview of Israel’s recently launched Operation Rising Lion.

Read the ELIAMEP Explainer here.

Die EU ist auf dem besten Weg, ihre ehrgeizigen Ziele für eine flächendeckende Versorgung mit schnellen Internetverbindungen – insbesondere mit 5G und Glasfaser – zu erreichen. Das geht aus neuen Daten hervor, die die Europäische Kommission am 16. Juni veröffentlicht hat.

Plow moving rubble in Hatay Turkey after earthquake. Credit: Çağlar Oskay, Unsplash

By Maximilian Malawista
NEW YORK, Jun 16 2025 (IPS)

Floods, earthquakes, and droughts are striking the wallets of the world harder than any other time in history. According to the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, the cost of disasters is only growing, with annual expenditures exceeding 2.3$ trillion; accounting for over 2% of global GDP, and if represented as a nation, it would have the seventh largest GDP.

The $2.3 trillion expenditure accounts for indirect and ecosystem impacts. While direct costs are $180 – 200 billion on average annually during 2001 to 2020, which represents a 153% increase from the $70 – 80 billion between 1970 and 2000.

The report mentioned that “a national debt of just $300 billion was enough to trigger the European sovereign debt crisis.” displaying a financial threat on global stability, if left unchecked.

In the report, regions with higher economic stability directly transferred to a nation’s ability to be resilient to disasters, as when North America incurred $69.57 billion in losses during 2023, it only had an impact of .23% on its GDP. On the other hand, Micronesia, a subregion of oceania made up of 2,000 small islands, incurred a loss of $4.3 billion, which represented a 46.1% impact on its nominal $1.43 billion GDP.

Developed nations have the ability to bounce back, but developing nations with less capital have to choose between continuing economic expansion, or rebuilding from the rubble. Now there seems to be a solution.

In Pakistan, floods and storms have posed a continuing threat to the development of further economic growth, among sustainable infrastructure. To smartly invest, Pakistan looked at mangroves, an industry which brings economic stability but also storm protection. This protection ensures safety for their new industries, as the industries surround the mangroves, the mangroves become Pakistan’s insurance against disasters.

According to the IUCN, Pakistan made a “20 fold return”, revealing that mangroves were not only a defence mechanism, but also a foster for large economic returns bringing sustainable development among stability through offering habitats for fish and animals, protecting coasts against storms, and even storing “3 to 4 times more carbon then tropical forests”.

Makkio Yashiro, regional ecosystems coordinator for UNEP, says “Mangroves are an important tool in the fight against climate change. They reduce carbon in the atmosphere and they also make financial sense. Restoring mangroves is five times more cost effective than building ‘grey infrastructure’ such as flood walls, which also don’t help with climate change,”

UNEP also found that “for every dollar invested in mangrove restoration there is a benefit of four dollars” evaluating it as an investment with no cons.

The Three Harmful Cycles

Structural engineers in disaster relief training in earthquake ruins. Credit:This is engineering, Unsplash

Aromar Revi, Director of the Indian Institute for Human settlements (IIHS), identified three spirals commonly associated with the risk of disasters.

First, he said the rise in debt along with falling income. Adding that “Many companies carry hidden disaster risks because they are underinsured,” this underinsurance makes companies “vulnerable to disasters facing not only supply chain disruptions, but also wider financial instability”

Second, according to Theodora Antonakaki, Director of Bank of Greece’s Climate Change and Sustainability Centre (CCSC), is “a decrease in insurability.” adding that “traditional risk transfer methods are failing to keep up.”

For the third cycle, Ronald Jackson, Head of Disaster Risk Reduction, Recovery and Resilience Building Team, UNDP, noted an over reliance on costly humanitarian aid. He argued this reliance “weakens resilience” and underscores the crucial need for “disaster financing strategies,” specifically “budget tracking systems” to address regionally specific risks.

While many countries remain stuck in these harmful cycles, Japan, like Pakistan, has taken steps towards a proactive future through disaster risk reduction (DRR). Through investing in mitigation strategies, identifying key risks, and implementing sustainable devices, they have protected their economies and infrastructure, reducing all three cycles.

Japan, which frequently faces tsunamis and earthquakes, has adapted to disasters by using “seismic safety” measures. One of these technologies has been seismic isolation bearings, which allow buildings to have horizontal movement during earthquakes, minimizing any possible damage. For Tsunamis, Japan has employed seawalls and coastal forests, which either block or displace water, both strategies which have been effective in reducing damage.

The report argues that disasters themselves are not necessarily becoming more frequent or stronger, but rather things are getting more expensive to replace, raising economic tolls. A major reason for this is the lack of safe and resilient housing catered to regional risks. With estimates of “Approximately 1.2 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2050 compared to 2020.”, urban densities must be built with DRR methods at the forefront of construction. Without such measures, infrastructure investments would risk being entirely lost. Research has consistently displayed that “disaster losses are already considerably larger than mitigation costs,” making preventionary DRR measures not only proactive and wise, but economically necessary.

United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres stated “This report clearly shows that investing in disaster risk reduction saves money, saves lives, and lays the foundation for a safe and prosperous future for us all. I urge all leaders to heed that call.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

The EU's position comes partly from the realisation that US President Donald Trump will rely on some tariff revenues to fund planned tax cuts.

Les dirigeants du G7, réunis au Canada, vont tenter lundi 16 juin d’envoyer un message commun sur le conflit entre Israël et l’Iran, un défi de taille pour ce groupe à l’unité fragilisée par la politique de Donald Trump.

The post Les dirigeants du G7 au défi d’une position commune sur le conflit Iran-Israël appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Une enquête sur 45’000 étudiants révèle que si la plupart font preuve de résilience, les problèmes psychologiques doivent être davantage pris au sérieux pendant l’apprentissage.

Aujourd’hui dans Les Capitales : l’UE prône la diplomatie face à l’escalade Israël-Iran, la gauche européenne lance une nouvelle alliance, Macron dénonce les visées américaines sur le Groenland, et Prague annonce un centre d’information pour les Ukrainiens.

The post Les Capitales : L’UE mise sur la diplomatie face à l’escalade entre Israël et l’Iran appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Entrée en fonctions d’un nouveau membre de la Cour de justice et de deux nouveaux membres du Tribunal de l’Union européenne

Entry into office of a new Member of the Court of Justice and of two new Members of the General Court of the European Union

A Bíróság új tagjának és az Európai Unió Törvényszéke két új tagjának hivatalba lépése

Protestors march down Valletta's Republic Street on the first anniversary of Daphne's assassination. Credit: Miguela Xuereb/Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation

By Ed Holt
BRATISLAVA, Jun 16 2025 (IPS)

“We didn’t want revenge. We want justice—justice for Daphne and for the [crimes exposed in] her stories.”

Corinne Vella, sister of murdered Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, is speaking to IPS soon after the sentencing of two men to life imprisonment for their involvement in the killing.

She explains that while the long sentences are an important step forward in her family’s pursuit of justice for her sister, they have wider ramifications for press freedom too.

“These sentences are a step towards that justice, but also a step towards making a safer world for journalists,” she says.

Caruana Galizia, Malta’s most prominent investigative journalist, was killed by a car bomb in October 2017 outside her home in the village of Bidnija.

Her murder made headlines around the world, focusing attention on the rule of law in Malta, as well as highlighting the murky links between Maltese politicians and big business—her investigations had exposed high-level government corruption linked to companies.

It also highlighted issues around the safety of journalists. A public inquiry held in the wake of the killing delivered a damning verdict of the state’s role in her murder and pointed to institutional failures to protect Caruana Galizia.

The inquiry’s findings, released in a 457-page report in 2021, were that her death had been preventable and that responsibility lay with the state for creating “an atmosphere of impunity… which led to the collapse of the rule of law.”

The report said, “…acts, certainly illicit if not illegal, were committed by persons within State entities that created an environment that facilitated the assassination. This even by failing to do their duty to act promptly and effectively to give proper protection to the journalist.”

Four years on from the publication of that report, Caruana Galizia’s family believes that the life sentences handed down on June 10 to local crime gang members Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, who were found guilty of complicity in the murder by supplying the bomb that killed her, have sent a powerful message.

“We believe the sentences will have a deterrent effect, telling potential killers that there are serious consequences when a journalist is murdered. The sentences have sent out shockwaves already. People literally thought they could get away with murder, and this has shown that they can’t,” Corinne Vella says.

She points out that the significance of the sentences for press freedom reaches well beyond just Malta.

Since the death of Caruana Galizia, other journalists investigating alleged corruption linked to high-level political figures have been killed in Europe, and press freedom groups have said it is imperative state institutions, including the judiciary, are seen as being able to not just protect journalists but bring to justice those behind killings to show they cannot act with impunity.

“The fight against impunity for the murder of journalists in Europe and around the world is fundamental to the wider climate for the safety of journalists,” Jamie Wiseman, Europe Advocacy Officer at the United International Press Institute (IPI), told IPS.

“Convictions like these send an important signal that those who carry out such assassinations will not escape accountability. So these sentences are another big step forward in the push towards full justice and emblematic of media freedom in Europe more widely,” he added.

However, despite the sentences, both Corinne Vella and press freedom groups remain concerned that the failings they say led to Caruana Galizia’s death have not been dealt with.

“Daphne’s murder did not take place in a vacuum. The murder of a journalist for their work happens because of failures in the system that happen before that person has been murdered. And the circumstances that led to Daphne’s murder have not been addressed. The whole post-inquiry history has been one of a lack of urgency and reluctance to respond to the problems identified in that inquiry,” said Corinne Vella.

Media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the convictions of Agius and Vella mark progress in the quest for justice for Caruana Galizia.

But they pointed out the alleged mastermind behind the killing has yet to be brought to trial, and the majority of recommendations on journalist safety and press freedom that emerged from the public inquiry—including, among others, detailed legal and procedural proposals to bolster protection of journalists and journalism’s role in protecting democracy and helping ensure the rule of law—have yet to be implemented.

RSF says it is now essential that Maltese authorities ramp up efforts to do both.

Pavol Szalai, Head of the European Union-Balkans Desk at RSF, told IPS the sentences of Agius and Vella would act as a deterrent to other potential journalist killers but that “the biggest deterrent would be a timely conviction and long sentence for the mastermind of the killings.”

“Globally there is a clear pattern of the masterminds of such killings escaping justice while the middleman and hitmen are convicted. So it’s vital that we keep pushing and ensure the mastermind behind Daphne’s assassination is put behind bars. The Maltese government must also fully implement the recommendations of the Public Inquiry into Daphne’s murder, which would help tackle the culture of impunity in Malta that created an environment in which a leading journalist could be murdered in an EU member state,” added Wiseman.

Meanwhile, Caruana Galizia’s family continues to pursue justice for her.

Prior to the convictions of Agius and Vella, three other men were already serving sentences for installing and detonating the bomb in Caruana Galizia’s vehicle: brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, sentenced to 40 years in prison, and Vincent Muscat, who negotiated a reduced sentence of 15 years in exchange for testimony, which was seen as key in the trial of Agius and Vella.

Another man, Melvin Theuma, the middleman in the murder, was granted a pardon in exchange for information on the suspected mastermind, businessman Yorgen Fenech.

Fenech, who was charged with complicity in Caruana Galizia’s murder in 2019 but released on bail in February this year, is awaiting trial.

“The convictions and sentencing [of Agius and Vella] are a step closer to justice for Daphne. But it’s not over yet,” said Vella.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Alors que les tensions entre Israël et l’Iran menacent de déstabiliser davantage le Proche-Orient, l’UE prône une réponse diplomatique. Une position contrastée avec sa fermeté face à la Russie et sa guerre en Ukraine.

The post L’UE mise sur la diplomatie face à l’escalade entre Israël et l’Iran appeared first on Euractiv FR.

La République tchèque va ouvrir un centre d’information pour les Ukrainiens dans le cadre d’une initiative soutenue par l’UE visant à les aider à s’intégrer et, pour ceux qui le souhaitent, retourner en Ukraine.

The post Prague va accueillir un « centre d’unité » pour les Ukrainiens appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Les donateurs ont drastiquement diminué leurs contributions. L’organisation passe de 47 à 29 milliards de dollars pour aider les plus vulnérables.

Der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron besuchte am Sonntag Grönland und überbrachte eine Botschaft der Solidarität. Zuvor hatte US-Präsident Donald Trump mit einer möglichen Annexion des halbautonomen dänischen Territoriums gedroht.

Après les orages de dimanche, le soleil revient dès ce lundi en Suisse romande. Les températures grimperont jusqu’à 33 degrés à Sion en fin de semaine.

European Parliament’s spokespersons will hold a last-minute briefing on the 16 - 19 June plenary session today at 16.30.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

European Parliament’s spokespersons will hold a last-minute briefing on the 16 - 19 June plenary session today at 16.30.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

European Parliament’s spokespersons will hold a last-minute briefing on the 16 - 19 June plenary session today at 16.30.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

European Parliament’s spokespersons will hold a last-minute briefing on the 16 - 19 June plenary session today at 16.30.

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP