EU migration commissioner in Athens for talks on migration pact, returns policy
The European Union’s new commissioner for migration and internal affairs, Magnus Brunner, was in Athens on Thursday for policy talks with Greece, which has long been one of the major entry points into the bloc for migrants.
Constantinos Tasoulas resigns as Parliament President
The Vice President of Parliament Vassilios Viliardos, announced the resignation of Constantinos Tasoulas from his duties as President of the Hellenic Parliament and MP.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/877103/Constantinos-Tasoulas-resigns-as-Parliament-President
PASOK nominates economist Tasos Giannitsis for Greek president
PASOK has nominated economist and former interior minister Tasos Giannitsis as its candidate for the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic. The decision was announced on Thursday following a meeting of the party’s parliamentary group, chaired by leader Nikos Androulakis.
New rules for healthcare cost transparency
In Parliament on Thursday, Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos tabled an amendment providing for the obligation of insurance companies to publish their premium hikes in hospital programs, as well as of health providers to publish the prices of their services.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1258850/new-rules-for-healthcare-cost-transparency
ATHEX: Index stays in the black on bank gains
Bank sector stocks ensured that the benchmark remained in positive territory by the closing on Thursday, despite the majority of stocks heading lower and the day’s turnover declining. The mixed session at Athinon Avenue contrasted with the strong gains in the main eurozone markets, some of which (such as Frankfurt) closed at historic highs.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1258848/athex-index-stays-in-the-black-on-bank-gains
KATHIMERINI: Greece in the hunt of rare minerals
TA NEA: “My Home 3” housing program ante portas
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Cartel formed by the government and insurance companies
RIZOSPASTIS: Strikes and rallies for better wages and workers’ rights against employers’ terrorism
KONTRA NEWS: Private healthcare costs freeze
DIMOKRATIA: PASOK in suicide mode
NAFTEMPORIKI: New manual for the space planning of RES
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DRIVING THE DAY: GERMAN EPP FLEX
CENTER-RIGHT’S BERLIN LOVE-IN: Brace for heavy muscle flexing as European People’s Party leaders meet in Berlin today and Saturday. They’re poised to consolidate unprecedented power in Europe.
Doesn’t it feel good? That’s the message they’ll try to project — Friedrich Merz to the German people as he tries to get a new job, and Manfred Weber to Friedrich Merz as he tries to keep his two jobs.
For Merz, head of the CDU,the so-called leaders’ retreat is a chance to show off his connection to the EU’s most powerful people ahead of the Feb. 23 election in which he aims to become chancellor. That includes not just the (German) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, but also the EPP head of the European Parliament and prime ministers from around the Continent. After more than a year of the current coalition’s paralysis, Merz can present himself as a return to Merkel-era influence in Brussels.
For Weber, of Bavarian sister party CSU, it’s a chance to show Merz that it’s worth keeping him around as head of both the European umbrella party and the EPP Group the Parliament. Weber’s grip on the EPP presidency is in question ahead of the party congress in Valencia this spring and Merz isn’t known as one of Weber’s admirers. But the prospect of keeping so much power in German hands could just feel too good for Merz to support a challenge to Weber’s dual reign.
WEBER ON RECORD: Weber promised a return to German dominance in Brussels under Merz, in comments to my Berlin Playbook colleagues. He said that Olaf Scholz, the incumbent chancellor, had recently been “physically present” in Brussels, but “mentally absent.”
Keeping the dirty laundry at home: A CDU/CSU-led federal government “will once again speak with one voice in Europe. That is what Friedrich Merz stands for,” Weber said. “Contentious issues between government partners must be resolved in the coalition committee in Berlin and not on the open stage in Brussels.”
ON THE AGENDA: Leaders will discuss two policy papers, one devoted solely to deregulation and the other looking at other priorities: competitiveness, migration and security. There’ll also be time to talk about Trump on Saturday, according to a program viewed by our Chief Berlin Correspondent Rasmus Buchsteiner.
ON THE GUEST LIST: Nine EPP heads of state or government will be there, including Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who will speak Saturday.
And off: But one powerful premier isn’t planning to attend: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Weber’s predecessor as EPP president. He’s occupied hosting U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Warsaw, where they’ll discuss a new U.K.-Poland defense pact, Josh Posaner reports for Defense Pros. And Tusk also has a domestic election to worry about — more on that below.
PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI
ECR CHIEF ON MUSK, TRUMP AND THE NEW NORMAL IN EU POLITICS: The firewall — or “cordon sanitaire” — that once kept populist groups out of power is well and truly dead, said newly elected European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) chief Mateusz Morawiecki as he vowed to act as an “honest broker” between the conservative EPP and the far-right Patriots for Europe group.
Cordon what? The firewall can’t hold, he told Playbook’s Nick Vinocur on the day of his election as ECR chief, succeeding Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. “All of a sudden we have 30-40 percent of European citizens behind the cordon sanitaire.”
Channeling Voltaire: “Even if I disagree with guys like the AfD [Alternative for Germany] or [Austria’s FPÖ], I’m a bit like Voltaire in that I want them to be able to express their opinion even if I disagree,” he added.
Thumbs up for Elon Musk: In the same vein, the former Polish prime minister gave a vote of support for tech mogul Elon Musk, who was accused of meddling in European politics via his platform, X. “I stand very firmly on the side of freedom of speech,” he said.
Building bridges: Morawiecki, who remains the leader of Poland’s Law and Justice party (PiS), said the ECR could act as an honest broker between the EPP on one side and the Patriots for Europe “to the right of us” to “build ad hoc, technical majorities.” He added: “Let’s eliminate all the ideological issues.”
Deregulation: Morawiecki underscored the need to “eliminate lots of bureaucratic constraints” but also to “find new budgets to support innovativeness, research and development.”
Just tax them: Morawiecki’s silver bullet to fill the EU’s funding gap: Going after tax havens, calling them “the elephant in the room.” He predicted addressing those could add some €200-250 billion to the EU’s coffers.
What about joint borrowing, the approach pushed by several EU states? “I’m not supportive of common debt,” he said. “It’s the responsibility of each member state to deal with their budget.”
Back home in Poland: While Morawiecki may be out of power in Warsaw, his party ally Karol Nawrocki is taking on Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform in a presidential election in May — and has recently seen his poll scores rising, bringing him neck-and-neck with Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.
On Nawrocki: According to Morawiecki, Nawrocki is benefitting from a “conservative wave” that has swept over politics across the West, including Donald Trump’s victory in the United States.
Speaking of Trump, Morawiecki confirmed that he would be attending the president-elect’s inauguration on Jan. 20. “Given the growing power of China and the Russian aggression on Ukraine, we need stronger and tighter transatlantic cooperation,” he added. “I’ll be doing all possible to promote this, to get rid of all the obstacles between us and the United States.”
5 percent threshold: He backed Trump’s call for NATO members to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense. “Within a couple of years, it should be doable.”
Trouble on the horizon? Since the interview, Poland’s Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar has requested Morawiecki lose his parliamentary immunity over allegations that he improperly organized an election during the pandemic. Morawieki offered to waive his immunity, saying the charge was politically motivated. Details here.
LISTEN UP — MORE ON THE CORDON: Hear more from Nick Vinocur — as well as Defense Reporter Laura Kayali and Trade Reporter Koen Verhelst — with yours truly on this week’s episode of the EU Confidential podcast. We discussed how the Austrian coalition talks are crashing the cordon sanitaire, imagined what a war in Greenland would look like and responses to new Trump tariffs — and why Ursula von der Leyen being out of commission (no pun intended) delayed the EU’s response. Listen here.
UKRAINE
STARMER OPEN TO PEACEKEEPING FORCES: “I don’t want to get ahead of discussions about precise roles, but we will play our full part,” said U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer when asked about a British peacekeeping deployment to Ukraine.
Boots on the ground: In an exclusive interview with POLITICO’s Tim Ross while visiting Ukraine, Starmer said such a mission “has got to be enduring, it’s got to be effective and it’s got to be a deterrence because the worst of all worlds is a cessation of hostilities that isn’t enduring and simply leads to further Russian aggression in years to come.” Read more of Tim’s dispatch from Kyiv here.
FILLING THE GAP: Starmer said European countries will have to step up to fill the funding void likely to be left by Trump. But new obstacles keep cropping up.
Scholz’s debt gambit: We borrow money to help Ukraine, or we don’t help Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said of a new, historic aid package being discussed in Berlin. As Nette Nöstlinger reports, the dispute over spending is shaping up to be one of the key issues ahead of Germany’s national election next month. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has criticized her own government for its indecisiveness on Ukraine aid, my colleagues in Berlin report this morning.
It’s not any easier for Brussels to borrow. Hungary’s potential veto on EU common defense bonds also complicates collective financial support for Ukraine amid ongoing security threats, Jacopo Barigazzi reports for Defense Pros.
DESPERATE MEASURES: EU leaders are considering fallback plans in case Hungary vetoes the renewal of the bloc’s sanctions on Russia, including the use of a wartime law involving the Belgian king. The FT has the story.
FUELING THE FIRE: EU countries imported a record 837,300 metric tons of liquefied natural gas from Russia in the first 15 days of 2025, generating billions of dollars in revenue from Moscow, according to analysis by my colleagues Gabriel Gavin and Giovanna Coi.
NATO SCHOOL TO OPEN IN FEBRUARY: NATO’s new training center in Poland will analyze lessons from the Ukraine war, focusing on drone warfare, air defenses, and civilian resilience. The aim is to prepare NATO for potential Russian attacks, Laura Kayali reports.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
CEASE-FIRE LATEST: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said overnight that a deal to return hostages held in Gaza has been reached after his office earlier said there were last-minute snags in finalizing the cease-fire. He will convene his security Cabinet today to approve the long-awaited agreement. The Associated Press has the latest.
LAHBIB CALLS FOR UNRWA REPRIEVE: Israel should reconsider its ban on the activities of the U.N Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) set to take place this month, Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told reporters Thursday. Lahbib, whose portfolio includes items as different as equality and preparedness and crisis management, said: “My first message and my first hope is that the Israeli authorities are going to reconsider this law — or at least to postpone the implementation of this law.”
The ban has been criticized by the international community. Amnesty International described it as “the criminalization of humanitarian aid” and said it “will worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.”
Afraid of indifference: “I was afraid that we will start to become indifferent of what happened in Gaza” the former Belgian Foreign Minister also said. “Last December, a hospital was targeted, a doctor hospital was also injured. And there was nearly no reaction: I was shocked.”
New funding: The European Commission announced an aid package of €120 million to Gaza on Thursday.
ETHICS DEPT
THUMBS UP: Ex-Single Market Commissioner Thierry Breton got the Commission’s green light to take a job with Bank of America before the end of his cooling-off period. Full article.
THUMBS DOWN: The bank ING faces allegations that it failed to report signs of money laundering by former Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, Le Soir reports.
THUMBS UP: As of this year, commissioners, their cabinet members, and all Commission staff in management roles are required to publish minutes of meetings they hold with lobbyists. The EU Influence newsletter analyzes the first tranche.
THUMBS DOWN: Who are those cabinet members that now must detail their meetings? Six weeks after the start of the new Commission, we don’t know! It’s a “pressing concern,” said Emma Brown, president of the Society of European Affairs Professionals, in a statement. “Transparency is fundamental to good governance.”
IN OTHER NEWS
GREENLAND STANDS FIRM: “The Greenlandic people don’t want to be Danes. The Greenlandic people don’t want to be Americans,” the territory’s Prime Minister Múte Egede told Fox News in an interview Thursday. Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing has the details.
NEW BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT: Rosen Zhelyazkov of the center-right GERB party was elected prime minister on Thursday, supported by a broad coalition of leftist, populist and centrist parties. Read more.
WE WON’T ALWAYS HAVE PARIS: The city of Paris has quit X over concerns about disinformation, saying it had become “impossible” to use the platform. My colleague Csongor Körömi has a write-up.
GOVERNMENTS USE ECONOMIC STANDSTILL TO JUSTIFY ABUSES: With lack of economic growth comes the erosion of human rights, says a new report by Human Rights Watch — and Europe is no exception.
Italy came in for criticism over a move targeting Roma women that would allow courts to sentence pregnant women and kids to prison.
Poland earned tentative praise since the ouster of the PiS-led government. Warsaw “has committed to making changes, including reforms to the justice system and engaging with civil society,” the NGO’s Europe and Central Asia Director Iskra Kirova told Playbook reporter Šejla Ahmatović, “and we hope that they stick to that agenda.”