Call for offers: Media literacy experts in Tunisia
The EU-funded project "MIL4Peace" aims to promote stability and peace by enhancing the capacity of civil society in Lebanon, Libya, and Tunisia to engage youth in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The project focuses on empowering youth-led organizations with tools and methods in Media and Information Literacy (MIL) to foster inclusive youth participation, particularly in the digital space.
As part of this initiative, DW Akademie is seeking MIL experts (f/m/d) to support and strengthen youth-led civil society organizations in these efforts in Tunisia.
Download the complete call below.
Apply by June 20, 2025!
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Int'l Business Times
6 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
EU Ready To Do Plastic Pollution Deal 'But Not At Any Cost'
The European Union is ready to do a deal to land a groundbreaking treaty on plastic pollution, but not at any cost, the EU's environment commissioner insisted Tuesday. With little over two days left to strike a global accord in talks at the UN in Geneva, Jessika Roswall said it was "time" to clinch a deal between oil-producing countries and more ambitious nations, including EU states. Five previous rounds of talks over the past two and a half years have failed to seal an agreement, including a supposedly final round in South Korea late last year. The current talks in Geneva opened a week ago but are due to close on Thursday. "The EU is ready to do a deal but not at any cost," Roswall told reporters. "We do like plastic... and we will continue to need it. However, we don't like plastic pollution and it's time to end plastic pollution as quickly as possible," the commissioner said. She said any treaty should give businesses the certainty of a clear global framework in which to operate. A cluster of mostly oil-producing states calling themselves the Like-Minded Group -- including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia and Iran -- want the treaty to focus primarily on waste management. The EU and others want to go much further by reining in plastic production -- which on current trends is set to triple by 2060 -- and by phasing out certain especially toxic chemicals. Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke admitted that the "wide gap" between the rival camps was making the negotiations a challenge but said the work of tackling plastic pollution "will only get harder the longer we wait. So now's the time". "There's going to be a whole lot more drama in the days to come," he said, "but our goal is this drama should end up in a deal", he said, speaking alongside Roswall at the United Nations. He said all parties, including the EU, had to re-examine their red lines and see where they could tweak them in the interests of landing a deal by Thursday. "If we all stick to our red lines then a deal is impossible," he said. "So we have to look at those red lines and we have to negotiate and compromise -- because we will be worse off if we don't succeed in making a deal. "That's not me saying 'a deal at any price': Not at all. But a deal that is legally binding and has strong text and lays the ground for our work in the years ahead in order to tackle plastic pollution."
DW
a day ago
- DW
Ukraine updates: Merz invites Trump, Zelenskyy to meeting – DW – 08/11/2025
German Chancellor Merz has invited Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a virtual meeting ahead of Trump's planned meeting with Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, EU ministers are also meeting via video link. DW has more. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a virtual meeting on Wednesday, It comes ahead of a summit in Alaska later this week where Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. European Union foreign ministers are also meeting via video link to discuss the upcoming Alaska summit, The EU has already expressed concern over the lack of Ukrainian presence in Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday invited US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and several European leaders to a virtual meeting, to take place on Wednesday ahead of the Trump-Putin summit later this week. The German chancellery said in a statement that the talks would concentrate on "the current situation in Ukraine with a view to the planned meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Putin." The chancellery also said the talks would focus on "further options for action to put pressure on Russia" as well as "preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security." The foreign ministers' virtual huddle on Monday is more of a debrief after smaller talks with the US near London than deliberations on concrete EU action. There's little new in Europe's position — but in a way, that's the point. The EU's big players have spent the last few months trying to demonstrate their commitment to Ukraine by maintaining military, financial and political backing in the face of shifting US policies and a drawdown in support from across the Atlantic. Aware there will likely be no seat for Europe at Friday's Trump-Putin talks, the EU now seems keen to remind both sides that it, too, is key to any potential peace accord. Frozen Russian central bank assets, extensive EU sanctions on Moscow, ongoing support to Kyiv and a possible role as future security guarantors — these are some of Europe's areas of leverage. The bloc also wants to send a message to Moscow that trying to cut a deal directly with Washington won't cut Europe out of the picture. EU capitals will be watching Friday's talks "extremely attentively" — one diplomat told DW — conscious of how quickly things could move. US Vice President JD Vance said an eventual negotiated settlement would probably leave both Russia and Ukraine unhappy in one way or another. With the gap in positions so wide, it's likely Europe would find itself in the same boat. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a "long conversation" with Narendra Modi on Monday, where the Ukrainian president "informed" the Indian prime minister "about the Russian attacks on our cities and villages." "And this is at a time when there is finally a diplomatic possibility to end the war," Zelenskyy wrote on X. "Instead of demonstrating readiness for a ceasefire, Russia is showing only its desire to continue the occupation and killings. It is important that India is supporting our peace efforts and shares the position that everything concerning Ukraine must be decided with Ukraine's participation." Zelenskyy's remarks come amid concerns over the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy and Modi also "discussed in detail the sanctions against Russia." India has been heavily criticized in the West for increasing imports of Russian fossil fuels in the face of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. India's oil purchases from Russia grew nearly 19-fold from 2021 to 2024, from 0.1 to 1.9 million barrels a day. And Zelenskyy "noted that it is necessary to limit the export of Russian energy, particularly oil, to reduce its potential and ability to finance the continuation of this war. It is important that every leader who has tangible leverage over Russia sends the corresponding signals to Moscow." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday warned against capitulating to the demands of Vladimir Putin ahead of talks between the Russian president and Donald Trump. The US-Russia summit is set to take place in Alaska on Friday and will be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021. Kyiv is concerned that Trump and Putin could strike a deal requiring Ukraine to cede territory. "Russia is dragging out the war, and therefore it deserves stronger global pressure," Zelenskyy wrote in a statement. "Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore must not receive any rewards or benefits. And this is not just a moral position, it is a rational one." "Concessions do not persuade a killer," he added. Russia has become increasingly reliant on drones in its attacks on Ukrainian cities. Mass production of the Iranian-designed weapons began a year ago in Tatarstan, in central Russia. Independent Russian reporters say that children are involved in drone production and development. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video EU foreign ministers on Monday are to discuss a Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meeting in Alaska later this week. The ministers are set to meet via video link, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha also planning to join. Trump and Putin will meet on Friday, but the EU has insisted that Kyiv and European powers should be part of any arrangement to end the war that began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Over the weekend, European leaders pushed for Ukraine's involvement in the talks, amid fears that a meeting without Kyiv could see if forced to cede swaths of territory. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Trump to put more pressure on Russia. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he hoped and assumed that Zelenskyy would attend the Alaska summit. Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries — Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden — also said no decisions should be taken without Ukrainian involvement. Talks on ending the war could only take place during a ceasefire, they added in a joint statement. "The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said. Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance said Washington is working on arranging a meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy. "We're at a point now where we're trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict," Vance said during an interview on Fox News. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said that seven Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russia's air defense systems overnight on Sunday and into Monday morning. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry and a regional official said three people were killed in Ukrainian drone strikes targeting the regions of Tula, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow. Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine. European Union foreign ministers are set to hold talks via video link ahead of a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. The Europeans want to push for Ukraine's involvement in any peace talks with Russia. Monday's meeting comes amid an apparent stance change by Trump toward Ukraine and Russia, with him threatening harsher sanctions against Russia if it doesn't agree to a ceasefire.
DW
4 days ago
- DW
Will EU-India ties survive the latest Russia sanctions? – DW – 08/08/2025
Experts say Brussels' sanctions are largely symbolic, while the real threat to New Delhi comes from looming US tariffs. Ironically, the EU may still stand to gain. The year began on a high note for the European Union and India. In February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited New Delhi and, alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, instructed officials to resolve remaining differences and move forward on a long-delayed free trade agreement. But that momentum was disrupted in July, when India was drawn into the EU's 18th sanctions package against Russia. The move targets New Delhi's refining of discounted Russian crude and the export of those products, some of which are sold to Europe. Could this sanctions development derail a potential EU-India trade deal? Experts argue it won't, saying the US threat of imposing tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods poses a far greater challenge than the impact of the EU's sanctions. And, paradoxically, that may work in the EU's favor. As part of efforts to cut off funding for Russia's war in Ukraine, the EU last month banned imports of refined petroleum products originating from Russian crude. This ban applies to such products coming from any third country, including India. The EU sanctioned Nayara Energy, an Indian refinery partly owned by Russian energy giant Rosneft. "For the first time, we're designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas posted on X. Nayara Energy was quick to push back, calling the move hypocritical. "While many European countries continue to import Russian energy through various sources, they take a high moral ground by chastising and sanctioning an Indian asset for processing Russian crude largely used by its domestic population of 1.4 billion Indians and businesses," Nayara Energy said in a statement in late July. However, experts told DW the EU's single designation is largely symbolic and unlikely to significantly impact India's energy trade or EU-bound exports. "The EU's sanctions lacks bite and will be difficult to enforce," said Garima Mohan of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, who researches Europe-India ties. "These exports are by no means running the Indian economy." India could easily pivot by substituting its exports with fuel refined from non-Russian sources, such as Iraqi oil. Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, an economics expert at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank, agreed. "It is definitely an escalation by the EU. But I would also say it won't hurt trade negotiations," he said. Instead, he argued the bigger pressure on India right now is coming from the United States. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As both the EU and India seek to secure stable trade relationships amid an increasingly volatile global economy, experts say the threat of high US tariffs on Indian goods could strengthen their mutual interest in finalizing a free trade agreement. "First of all, the fact that there is no trade agreement between the US and India, then this mindless escalation by [US] President Trump," Kirkegaard said, "means India's desire to diversify away from the US and towards the EU has probably increased. "India now needs a deal with the EU a little more than when it had arguably better ties with the US," he added. Mohan arrived at a similar conclusion. "In a roundabout way, I think the shake-up in the India–US dynamic will end up benefiting the EU," she said. "Given this tariff announcement, India needs reliable and predictable economic partners, it needs investments." The EU has also taken a more measured approach during trade negotiations — particularly in the agricultural sector which employs close to 44% of India's population. If India were to provide greater access to European or US companies, there are fears it could cause job losses at home. "The EU understands that if we insist on a larger opening in the agriculture sector there will be no deal," said Kirkegaard, adding that the EU "understands India's political and economic sensitives in the agriculture sector far better than Trump." If India were to scale back purchases of Russian oil to avoid triggering punitive US tariffs, it could reduce a key Russian revenue stream for Moscow's war effort. That would align with EU and Ukrainian interests. However, an Indian diplomat who spoke with DW on the condition of anonymity warned that removing Russian oil from the global supply could lead to a spike in prices — which would in turn hurt everyone, not just Russia. Kirkegaard questioned why Trump "has not threatened China with the same, which buys more Russian oil." Experts agree that the EU's designation of Nayara Energy is unlikely to shift the war calculus for Russian President Vladimir Putin. But India's own math might change — and that could depend more on Washington that Brussels. So, while EU-India relations have faced a setback, the overall momentum toward a trade agreement remains resilient. What began as a promising year could still culminate in a breakthrough — especially if shifting geopolitical dynamics bring New Delhi and Brussels closer together.
