Latest news with #Dana29d'Octubrede2024
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Valencia flood survivors share experiences with EU officials
Three associations representing victims of the storm that caused hundreds of deaths in the province of Valencia last October travelled to Brussels, to meet representatives from European institutions. The victims of the so-called "Dana" had the opportunity to share their experiences and the challenges they are still facing in four different meetings, with the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen, the vice-president Teresa Ribera, the European Parliament's President Roberta Metsola and a cross-party group of MEPs. The associations were "Asociación Víctimas Mortales Dana 29-0," "Associació de Víctimes de la Dana 29 d'Octubre de 2024" and Asociación Damnificados de la Dana Horta Sud Valencia." The former focuses exclusively on the people who died during the floods and the consequences for their families. "Our beloved have not died from an illness, or in an accident. They died because of incompetence, because no one knew how to do their job, and even worse, because [the people in charge] deny climate change," the association's president Rosa María Álvarez Gil told Euronews. The president and her vice-president Carmina Gil considered the meetings satisfactory and described von der Leyen and Metsola as "People with closeness, with empathy, and eager to listen." Metsola was the more committed one, Álvarez Gil explains, as she promised "a direct intervention" with the regional Valencia government and asked for a report of all the issues faced by the victims. Von der Leyen granted the associations' representatives a warm welcome and a long conversation, even beyond the schedule. "Von der Leyen is one of the promoters of the Green Deal and is very committed to tackling climate change. She told us she fully supports our claims and criticizes, without any specific reference, the governments that don't follow climate action policies." The President of the European Commission was in Valencia a few weeks ago when she joined the European People's Party Congress, and she was requested to meet the victims, but the meeting was postponed and moved to Brussels. Following the meeting, von der Leyen wrote on X that this guide EU's preparations for the future. The European Commission has granted Spain an advance of €100 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to cover expenses resulting from the damages caused by October's storm. This money can be used to restore essential infrastructure such as energy, water, healthcare, education, or telecommunications systems, as well as for cultural heritage protection measures or clean-up operations. On top of this, Brussels is evaluating the documentation submitted by the Spanish government regarding other expenses eligible to be financed through the European Union Solidarity Fund, which Madrid estimates at over €4 billion. The evaluation is still ongoing and will set the final amount of aid granted from the EU to the Spanish government. Earlier on Tuesday, before the meetings with von der Leyen and Metsola, the three victims' associations were received by around 15 Members of the European Parliament, coming from the Socialist and democrats, the Renew Europe, the Greens/EFA and the Left group. Victims representatives blame the right-wing regional government in Valencia for the deaths provoked by Dana and accuse it of ignoring their claims. "We, the families of the victims, are not provided any psychological support to help us overcome this trauma. We don't have therapists, and we don't have any compensation for the deceased, to help covering all the resources we so badly need," said Carmina Gil. She underlined that there was compensation for cars and furniture in the houses, and even a tourism voucher for the affected people, but nothing for the victims' families. In Gil's opinion, the Valencia government is "quite scientifically unwilling to believe in climate change." Furthermore, "it is backed by the far right [Vox party], which is completely opposed to any action on climate change, to the Green Deal, and to any climate policy."
Euronews
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Digital border system targets crime and irregular migration
Three associations representing victims of the storm that caused hundreds of deaths in the province of Valencia last October travelled to Brussels, to meet representatives from European institutions. The victims of the so-called 'Dana' had the opportunity to share their experiences and the challenges they are still facing in four different meetings, with the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen, the vice-president Teresa Ribera, the European Parliament's President Roberta Metsola and a cross-party group of MEPs. The associations were 'Asociación Víctimas Mortales Dana 29-0', 'Associació de Víctimes de la Dana 29 d'Octubre de 2024' and 'Asociación Damnificados de la Dana Horta Sud Valencia'. The former focuses exclusively on the people who died during the floods and the consequences for their families. 'Our beloved have not died from an illness, or in an accident. They died because of incompetence, because no one knew how to do their job, and even worse, because [the people in charge] deny climate change', the association's president Rosa María Álvarez Gil told Euronews. The president and her vice-president Carmina Gil considered the meetings satisfactory and described von der Leyen and Metsola as 'People with closeness, with empathy, and eager to listen'. Metsola was the more committed one, Álvarez Gil explains, as she promised 'a direct intervention' with the regional Valencia's government and asked for a report with all the issues faced by the victims. Von der Leyen granted the associations' representatives a very warm welcome and a long conversation, even beyond the schedule. "Von der Leyen is one of the promoters of the Green Deal and is very committed to tackling climate change. She told us she fully supports our claims and criticizes, without any specific reference, the governments that don't follow climate action policies." The President of the European Commission was in Valencia a few weeks ago when she joined the European People's Party Congress, and she was requested to meet the victims, but the meeting was postponed and moved to Brussels. Following the meeting, von der Leyen wrote on X that this guide EU's preparations for the future". The European Commission has granted Spain an advance of €100 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to cover expenses resulting from the damages caused by October's storm. This money can be used to restore essential infrastructure such as energy, water, healthcare, education, or telecommunications systems, as well as for cultural heritage protection measures or cleanup operations. On top of this, Brussels is evaluating the documentation submitted by the Spanish government regarding other expenses eligible to be financed through the European Union Solidarity Fund, which Madrid estimates at over €4 billion. The evaluation is still ongoing and will set the final amount of aid granted from the EU to the Spanish government. Earlier in the morning, before the meetings with von der Leyen and Metsola, the three victim associations were received by around fifteen Members of the European Parliament, coming from the Socialist and democrats, the Renew Europe, the Greens/EFA and the Left group. But nobody from the European People's Party, whose Spanish branch, Partido Popular, holds the government in Valencia's region (Spanish MEP Esteban González Pons said to Spanish media that he is meeting the victims tomorrow). Victims representatives blame the right-wing Valencia's government for the deaths provoked by the Dana and accused it of ignoring their claims. 'We, the families of the victims, are not provided any psychological support to help us overcome this trauma. We don't have therapists, and we don't have any compensation for the deceased, to help covering all the resources we so badly need', said Carmina Gil. She underlined that there were compensations for cars and furniture in the houses, and even a tourism voucher for the affected people, but nothing for the mortal victim's families. In Álvarez Gil's opinion, the Valencian government is 'quite scientifically unwilling to believe in climate change'. And on top of that, 'it is backed by the far right [Vox party], which is completely opposed to any action on climate change, to the Green Deal, and to any climate policy." The new regulation will apply to third-country nationals travelling to EU countries for holidays or business, staying for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. One of the priorities is to better identify victims of crime, including human trafficking, and offenders, in particular those who pose a terrorist threat. Indeed, the decision to introduce this legislation came after the terrorist attacks in France in 2015 and Belgium in 2016. EU leaders also want to address the risks of overstaying visitors who become irregular migrants. Both issues are increasingly important in public debate and policy-making, but the road to implementation has been long. 'There were mainly issues to resolve at a technical level, because all EU member states involved had to submit a declaration of readiness. It seems to have taken some time to build the system,' explains Vincenzo Genovese, who reports for Euronews on migration and security policies. The system will record the person's name, the type of travel document and biometric data - fingerprints and facial images - but also all dates of entry and exit. "It is definitely a migration control tool, because we know that a large proportion, perhaps even the majority, of irregular migrants in the European Union arrive regularly and then overstay," says Vincenzo Genovese. Irregular entries also include asylum seekers, and the European Union Agency for Human Rights warns of the risks of rights restrictions for those seeking protection in another country. "I believe that the most important thing for an asylum seeker is to be safe. When people need protection there are procedures, and it is up to the member states to follow them and analyse each case, on a case-by-case basis," the rapporteur for the regulation in the European Parliament, Assita Kanko, told Euronews. The main worries about the Entry/Exit System are cyber security risks and system malfunctions, but Kanko is optimistic, saying that gradual implementation "will allow member states to phase in at their own tempo and contingency plans are also foreseen". France, the Netherlands and Germany are the three member states that have lagged the most, according to the Belgian parliamentarian from the European Conservatives and Reformists group. "We will negotiate with the Council and look at where there are still concerns and how we can address them. The most important is that we will give our law enforcement officers the opportunity to analyse data in real time to track down criminals," Kanko stressed. The data will be accessible for border control authorities, the police authorities of each country and the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). All but two EU member states will use the scheme, exceptions being Cyprus and Ireland, who will continue to stamp passports manually. It also applies to four Schengen-associate countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The start date will be set by the European Commission, and negotiators have stressed that October is a viable date. From there, member states will be able to adopt a gradual implementation or apply the regulation fully from day one. Watch the video here! Journalist: Isabel Marques da Silva Content production: Pilar Montero López Video production: Zacharia Vigneron Graphism: Loredana Dumitru Editorial coordination: Ana Lázaro Bosch and Jeremy Fleming-Jones A woman said to be the daughter of a French cryptocurrency boss narrowly avoided being kidnapped in Paris on Tuesday morning. According to Le Parisien newspaper, the woman, who was out walking with her partner and their young child, was attacked at just after 8am on a street in Paris' 11th arrondissement. The French media said her partner managed to fend off the masked assailants who were trying to force the woman into a white van. A video of the attack, which was shared online, also showed passers-by helping the couple. One of them picked up a gun belonging to an assailant — which had fallen to the ground — and pointed it back at them, while another threw a red fire extinguisher in the direction of the masked men. After failing in their kidnapping attempt, the attackers then drove away. In recent months, across France and Europe a growing number cryptocurrency bosses and their families have been kidnapped or have escaped kidnapping attempts. In early May, the father of a cryptocurrency boss spent three days in captivity, after he was kidnapped while walking his dog in Paris' 14th arrondissement. His kidnappers demanded a multi-million euro ransom in exchange for his release, sending a video of his mutilated finger to his son, according to French broadcaster Franceinfo. Meanwhile, in January, David Balland, the 36-year-old co-founder of French crypto company Ledger, and his partner were kidnapped from their home in the small commune of Méreau, which is located in central-northern France. Ledger co-founder Eric Larchevêque sounded the alarm after he received a video of Balland's severed finger, accompanied by a cryptocurrency ransom demand. Cryptocurrency figures and their relatives have also reportedly faced recent kidnapping attempts in Spain and Belgium.
Euronews
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Valencia's floods victims met von der Leyen and Metsola in Brussels
Three associations representing victims of the storm that caused hundreds of deaths in the province of Valencia last October travelled to Brussels, to meet representatives from European institutions. The victims of the so-called 'Dana' had the opportunity to share their experiences and the challenges they are still facing in four different meetings, with the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen, the vice-president Teresa Ribera, the European Parliament's President Roberta Metsola and a cross-party group of MEPs. The associations were 'Asociación Víctimas Mortales Dana 29-0', 'Associació de Víctimes de la Dana 29 d'Octubre de 2024' and 'Asociación Damnificados de la Dana Horta Sud Valencia'. The former focuses exclusively on the people who died during the floods and the consequences for their families. 'Our beloved have not died from an illness, or in an accident. They died because of incompetence, because no one knew how to do their job, and even worse, because [the people in charge] deny climate change', the association's president Rosa María Álvarez Gil told Euronews. The president and her vice-president Carmina Gil considered the meetings satisfactory and described von der Leyen and Metsola as 'People with closeness, with empathy, and eager to listen'. Metsola was the more committed one, Álvarez Gil explains, as she promised 'a direct intervention' with the regional Valencia's government and asked for a report with all the issues faced by the victims. Von der Leyen granted the associations' representatives a very warm welcome and a long conversation, even beyond the schedule. "Von der Leyen is one of the promoters of the Green Deal and is very committed to tackling climate change. She told us she fully supports our claims and criticizes, without any specific reference, the governments that don't follow climate action policies." The President of the European Commission was in Valencia a few weeks ago when she joined the European People's Party Congress, and she was requested to meet the victims, but the meeting was postponed and moved to Brussels. Following the meeting, von der Leyen wrote on X that this guide EU's preparations for the future". The European Commission has granted Spain an advance of €100 million from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to cover expenses resulting from the damages caused by October's storm. This money can be used to restore essential infrastructure such as energy, water, healthcare, education, or telecommunications systems, as well as for cultural heritage protection measures or cleanup operations. On top of this, Brussels is evaluating the documentation submitted by the Spanish government regarding other expenses eligible to be financed through the European Union Solidarity Fund, which Madrid estimates at over €4 billion. The evaluation is still ongoing and will set the final amount of aid granted from the EU to the Spanish government. Earlier in the morning, before the meetings with von der Leyen and Metsola, the three victim associations were received by around fifteen Members of the European Parliament, coming from the Socialist and democrats, the Renew Europe, the Greens/EFA and the Left group. But nobody from the European People's Party, whose Spanish branch, Partido Popular, holds the government in Valencia's region (Spanish MEP Esteban González Pons said to Spanish media that he is meeting the victims tomorrow). Victims representatives blame the right-wing Valencia's government for the deaths provoked by the Dana and accused it of ignoring their claims. 'We, the families of the victims, are not provided any psychological support to help us overcome this trauma. We don't have therapists, and we don't have any compensation for the deceased, to help covering all the resources we so badly need', said Carmina Gil. She underlined that there were compensations for cars and furniture in the houses, and even a tourism voucher for the affected people, but nothing for the mortal victim's families. In Álvarez Gil's opinion, the Valencian government is 'quite scientifically unwilling to believe in climate change'. And on top of that, 'it is backed by the far right [Vox party], which is completely opposed to any action on climate change, to the Green Deal, and to any climate policy."
