Greece and Cyprus are pillars of stability and reliability, PM says in joint statements with Cyprus president
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday highlighted the “constant coordination” between Greece and Cyprus, during joint statements with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides after the 3rd Greece-Cyprus Intergovernmental Conference held in Athens.
Farm subsidy reform triggers backlash
A government decision to require farmers to submit subsidy and aid applications through the Gov.gr platform, instead of using companies that acted as “technical advisers” or the long-established Declaration Reception Centers known for serious problems over many years, has sparked reactions both inside and outside OPEKEPE, the Greek farm subsidy agency. Another witness referred to these issues on Wednesday during a parliamentary investigative committee hearing.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1286560/farm-subsidy-reform-triggers-backlash
EU sees power market distortions in Greece
The European Union’s energy market regulator has found indications of possible market manipulation or abuse of a dominant position in Greece during the mini-crisis in energy in the summer of 2024, which sent electricity prices soaring across Southeastern Europe.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/energy/1286346/eu-sees-power-market-distortions-in-greece
Only 75% of RRF cash will be absorbed
From being in great demand at the start of their availability, the Recovery and Resilience Fund loans are in danger of remaining, to a certain extent, unclaimed. New loan agreements are being signed at an increasingly slower pace, resulting in delays in the submission of requests for the next loan tranche. The loans are already one tranche behind schedule, as are the RRF grant tranches.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1286495/only-75-of-rrf-cash-will-be-absorbed
ATHEX: Robust gains for majority of blue chips
Market euphoria on both sides of the Atlantic also boosted Greek stocks on Wednesday, with the Athens bourse enjoying a third consecutive session of growth, this time at a greater pace and on higher turnover. This time bank stocks were the buyers’ favorites, with the rest of the blue chips following, though listed companies in smaller capitalizations remain also-rans, flying below most traders’ radars.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1286579/athex-robust-gains-for-majority-of-blue-chips-2
KATHIMERINI: Open window for the participation of the USA in the power cable project linking Greece, Cyprus and Israel
TA NEA: Drones deliver parcels inside the prison of Korydallos, Athens
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The government is feeding farmers with lies
RIZOSPASTIS: Workers’ fight against antipopular policies and war involvement continues and escalates
KONTRA NEWS: Pressure on PM Mitsotakis for cabinet reshuffle
DIMOKRATIA: Greece is now at Bulgaria’s level regarding wages
NAFTEMPORIKI: “Patching up” in housing programs
DRIVING THE DAY: PARLIAMENT’S DEFINING MELTDOWN
EXISTENTIAL DRAMA: Mini-plenaries held in Brussels — rather than the Parliament’s lavish building in Strasbourg — rarely make headlines. Today’s will, as two votes are set to change EU lawmaking for years to come.
KEY VOTE 1 — FAR-RIGHT FIREWALL CRUMBLES: The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) is set to team up with far-right groups to push through major cuts to green reporting requirements for businesses, in what could be the first legislative file passed by the right-wing (aka “Venezuela”) majority since the 2024 EU election.
Weber says: “I call on all MEPs to join the EPP group and take responsibility for European jobs” and the “economic future,” EPP chair Manfred Weber told POLITICO, urging all groups to support the center-right amendments. “We promised to the voters to cut unnecessary red tape, and we will do so. The vote is about nothing else than that.”
Godwin’s law: Socialists and Democrats (S&D) negotiator René Repasi slammed the move, going so far as raising the specter of the 1930s, when conservatives broke with Social Democrats and entered government with the Nazis, paving the way for Adolf Hitler to take power. “So let’s please get our act together and not repeat the mistakes of the past,” Repasi implored. More here.
Old playbook: This isn’t the first time the lead omnibus negotiator, EPP lawmaker Jörgen Warborn, has drawn centrist ire for brandishing a right-wing majority as a take-it-or-leave-it negotiating tactic.
In 2022, while steering the EU’s greener maritime fuels file, Socialist and Green negotiators accused Warborn of shutting down compromise and boasting he already had a majority lined up — Renew, the EPP, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the far-right Identity and Democracy. Warborn insisted then that he was simply doing his job: “evaluating” and “stating where the majority is.”
KEY VOTE 2 — 2040 TARGET: In a separate showdown today, the EPP will stick with the liberals, center-left and Greens on the 2040 climate target, backing a position that largely mirrors what EU governments agreed on Nov. 5.
SPLIT LOYALTIES: Taken together, the two votes capture Parliament’s new reality: legislation can pass either with a right-wing majority (including far-right lawmakers who want to unravel the EU) or with liberals and the center-left.
If the votes pass, the EPP will cement its role as the Parliament’s power-broker, swinging whichever way it needs to push through center-right priorities — right on green rules, where the center-left won’t concede enough; left on the EU budget, where the far right is too destructive.
Keeping track: The Good Lobby (an association that advocates for more transparency in politics) rolls out an EU Far-Right Tracker today — a public tool that logs every time the EPP lines up with far-right groups in Parliament.
THE DANGER ZONE: Back to today’s votes: Both files have razor-thin majorities and there’s a risk the Parliament passes neither, stalling talks with the Council.
Whipping issues: The EPP is split on the 2040 target, with over a third of its French, Italian and Polish MEPs set to vote no. Last month, a red-tape deal collapsed when Socialist MEPs defected. “If we are never sure if the leaders have full support by their groups on what they commit to, if we cannot have full insurance they can vote it, that’s a problem,” a Renew official warned.
Vibe check: POLITICO’s Parliament correspondent Max Griera reports tensions boiling over in the corridors, with center-left and center-right MEPs furious at each other — and all four centrist groups questioning whether their leaders can steer the Parliament’s shaky new majorities.
GET THE MEMO: Plenary votes will start 30 minutes earlier today, at 10:30 a.m., as MEPs brace for more than two hours of voting, thanks to the mountain of amendments (and not just on the omnibus) piled up today. Have fun!
SCANDALS AND LOANS
KYIV’S CORRUPTION SCANDAL: Ukraine’s state anti-corruption watchdogs this week revealed an alleged plot to skim some $100 million from the country’s energy sector, involving current and former energy officials, a prominent businessman, several ministers and a former deputy PM. Investigators say the network rigged contracts at Energoatom, the state nuclear operator, skimming 10–15 percent in kickbacks. Full explainer here.
Orbán has entered the chat: This development is “concerning,” one EU diplomat told POLITICO’s Tim Ross — and politically toxic. “Those who are opposed to Ukraine will milk this for all it’s worth,” the diplomat noted — a pointed reference to Hungary’s Viktor Orbán-led government. Still, the diplomat argued the episode only underlines why rule of law and anti-corruption are the backbone of EU accession. Budapest will claim it vindicates blocking Ukraine’s first negotiation cluster on fundamentals — but the opposite is true. “Opening that cluster would give us the leverage to monitor Ukraine’s progress,” the diplomat said.
Checked against delivery: Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos will touch on the investigation when she opens today’s EU-Ukraine Investment Conference in Warsaw. We’ve had a sneak peek at the speech: “The fight against corruption is among the most important — and hardest — challenges in all our candidate countries,” she’ll say.
Join the EU through reform: Kos will argue that the very fact the investigation proceeded shows Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions are working — and that Kyiv’s immediate political reaction is “an encouraging sign.”
Separate things: Despite the embarrassment, the scandal shouldn’t derail talks on the EU’s reparations loan, Finnish Finance Minister Riikka Purra told reporters on Wednesday. “Corruption is a problem in Ukraine, but they are taking measures to combat this. I do not see this case as any problem for advancing the reparation loan.”
Speaking of loans — where are we? At today’s ECOFIN, the Commission will encourage national treasuries to pressure Belgium into backing the €140 billion reparations loan for Ukraine, two EU officials told POLITICO. Brussels hopes finance ministers will be “as vocal as possible” when they discuss the loan at breakfast, one of the officials said.
Paperless Commission: But the European Commission still hasn’t produced the long-awaited options paper listing the alternatives to finance Ukraine’s needs for the next two years. Four EU diplomats said ministers will at least get an oral presentation — while two others said they don’t expect to see the document itself today.
One EU diplomat dismissed the whole exercise. “There’s only one option” as far as the Commission is concerned, they said, “and the paper will be just a way to prove that.” The real issue, they said, is hashing out the loan mechanics with Belgium — talks that are ongoing.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is facing its most perilous winter so far, writes POLITICO’s Jamie Dettmer.
ALSO ON THE ECOFIN AGENDA TODAY: A Commission push to accelerate the EU’s crackdown on cheap Chinese parcels, the FT reports.
PREGNANCY AND REPRESSION
PROXY VOTE FOR PREGNANT MEPs NEARS THE FINISH LINE: Parliament votes today on whether to let pregnant and new-mother MEPs delegate their vote to a colleague — a break from the long-standing rule that all parliamentary ballots must be cast in person.
The debate was sparked by the case of Green MEP Cristina Guarda, who was initially barred from grilling Commission EVP Raffaele Fitto during his confirmation hearing. The episode exposed how inflexible the institution can be toward pregnant members.
Progress, with blind spots: The change is expected to pass easily, ensuring that new mothers no longer have to forfeit votes. But Parliament pointedly stopped short of extending the same right to fathers.
“In 2025, that’s simply backward”: Greens MEP Daniel Freund accused colleagues of clinging to outdated gender roles. He recalled having to choose between being present for the birth of two of his children and voting on razor-thin legislation. “Why not allow a proxy for both parents?” he asked.
Blame the right: Renew MEP Yvan Verougstraete said the far right and parts of the conservative right watered down the proposal in a move he described as a deliberate attempt to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes. “They’d probably prefer women to stay in the kitchen while men bring home the money,” he said.
Unanimity strikes again: Because the proposal amends the European Electoral Act, it would require unanimous approval by EU countries and ratification by national parliaments. “Changing electoral law is not an easy process,” Parliament spokesperson Delphine Colard warned.
One small step for woman: Colard added that a broader package of electoral-law reforms remains in limbo with the Council. This targeted change, she said, is meant to break the deadlock — without abandoning Parliament’s longer wish list.
Capitals may need a nudge: Rapporteur Juan Fernando López Aguilar told Playbook many MEPs wanted a more ambitious overhaul, “but some member states have made it clear that the targeted reform is precondition for unanimity.” Still, he argued, this first step may be what finally pushes the Council to unblock a larger reform of the 1976 EU Election Act.
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION: MEPs will also vote on a report setting out how the EU should confront transnational repression — when regimes hunt down opponents outside their own borders.
European first: Dissidents, journalists, activists and diaspora communities are frequent targets. For the first time, an EU institution is offering a formal definition, a monitoring approach and recommendations — a precedent for deeper action across the bloc.
An underestimated threat: Socialist rapporteur Chloé Ridel warned it is one of the most overlooked threats to EU sovereignty and democracy. “It happens on European soil and no one cares. Until now, the EU had no framework to address this,” she told Playbook.
And “a moral test”: Ridel said the report forces Parliament to choose: “Either we act, or we accept that dictatorships can export their repression into Europe.” She said she expects a broad majority to recognize the urgency to act.
**Europe’s race for traction is on. Can the continent’s car industry stay ahead in the global mobility race? Hear from policymakers, MEPs, and industry leaders next week, on November 17, at POLITICO’s Race for Traction event. Apply to attend onsite.**
DEMOCRACY SHIELD, DAY AFTER
SO THAT’S IT? The Commission finally dropped its Democracy Shield proposal to counter foreign interference in elections — but critics say the text shows a worrying deference to U.S. thinking, my colleague Eliza Gkritsi reports.
Who won the misinformation center fight? Playbook readers will recall the turf war over who would control the new center to fight disinformation: von der Leyen’s Cabinet, DG COMM (also close to von der Leyen), or another DG entirely.
The verdict? For now, there isn’t one. The text is silent on who will run the center, meaning the internal showdown is put off till another day.
Treading the same turf: Beyond the unresolved governance question, the new center looks … familiar. It shares DNA with the EEAS StratCom task force set up last year to counter information manipulation (and linked to DG COMM). But also, because it extends to national elections, it resembles the Rapid Response System under the DSA code on disinformation — and even the hubs of the European Digital Media Observatory, which already supports Europe’s fact-checking and research ecosystem.
IN OTHER NEWS
BATACLAN REMEMBRANCE GONE WRONG: A moment of solemn remembrance of the 2015 Bataclan attacks during Parliament’s opening session on Wednesday was derailed when far-right Slovak MEP Milan Uhrík railed against illegal migration and “10 years of criminality, violence, raping and murdering of innocent people.”
Parliament President Roberta Metsola cut in — dropping her usual institutional composure — to say she was “shocked” that anyone would use such a moment, when “everyone was on the same page,” to score political points. “At the very least, remember the victims,” she admonished.
And she will: Metsola travels to Paris today to attend a ceremony honoring the victims and inaugurating the November 13 Garden.
MUSK VS. VDL: Tech tycoon Elon Musk took to X to say the leader of the EU should be “elected by the people” of the bloc, “not appointed by a committee.” Ketrin Jochecová has more.
MERCOSUR PLOY: A group of more than 100 MEPs plans to submit today — for formal registration on Friday — a motion calling for a resolution asking the EU’s Court of Justice to assess whether the Mercosur trade deal is compatible with the EU treaties. Sounds convoluted, but don’t worry: we’ve got you covered.
SHUTDOWN OVER: Donald Trump signed legislation overnight to end the 43-day government shutdown.
NOW READ THIS: The nine most shocking revelations in the Epstein docs.