PASOK leader rules out ND alliance
PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis on Friday ruled out any prospect of post-election cooperation with New Democracy, delivering a pointed and highly personalized address at the opening of the party’s congress. Responding indirectly to intra-party calls for a clearer commitment against cooperation with New Democracy, he stated: “Whoever believes there is a scenario of cooperation with those who organized my moral and political extermination is out of touch with reality.”
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1299391/pasok-leader-rules-out-nd-alliance
Deal for drillship to get inked in April
Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou announced on Friday on Open TV that the deal for the arrival of a drillship to work in the Ionian Sea has already been reached and next month it will be signed.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1299374/deal-for-drillship-to-get-inked-in-april
Operators agree on gas transmission via Vertical Corridor
Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy announced on Friday an agreement between the Transmission System Operators of the countries of the Vertical Corridor and the European Commission. The agreement marks the transition to a long-term solution, fully compatible with EU regulations, with a transparent pricing framework along the entire length of the corridor, in accordance with the provisions of EU Regulation 2017/460. The agreed commercial approach introduces new tariffs that make the Vertical Corridor a highly competitive and strategic energy artery for South-Eastern and Central Europe at a particularly critical time for the continent’s energy security.
Rating agencies, IMF: Greece’s public debt reduction and development will continue despite war shock
The downward trend of Greece’s pubic debt will not lead to the debt’s derailment, and the development of the Greek economy will continue even under external shocks, credit-rating agencies and international organizations said in their published reports in March. Moody’s, DBRS and Scope confirmed Greece’s investment grade and its outlook despite the unfavorable global environment following a spike in energy and raw material prices caused by the war in the Middle East.
ATHEX: Benchmark declines to a new four-month low
The geopolitical crisis has been undoing months of growth in the Greek bourse, with the benchmark at Athinon Avenue diving on Friday to its lowest point of the last four months. Despite a handful of blue chips attracting a significant amount of buyers, the general mood remained negative and the week ended with considerable losses for the majority of stocks. Turnover also appeared subdued, dropping to a seven-session low.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1299377/three-property-firms-line-up-e350-mln-deals
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: The terror of Hormuz and the hourglass
TO VIMA: Market estimations regarding the end of the war
REAL NEWS: PM Mitsotakis weighs his next move
PROTO THEMA: The results of the war
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Talks between Athens and Jerusalem: Plan to secure the Holy Light for Easter
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Schools of high danger
KONTRA NEWS: PM Mitsotakis in the arms of the far right
DIMOKRATIA: Pogrom by jihadists against Greek-Orthodox population in Syria
NAFTEMPORIKI: Crypto-holders will be visible to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue
DRIVING THE DAY
HERE WE GO AGAIN: G7 ministers are holding yet another emergency meeting today to discuss how to limit the economic impact of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, as European Union leaders look to Brussels for relief from soaring energy prices.
Bigger tent: Finance and energy ministers, who’ll be joined in the online meeting by central bank governors, will explore options including releasing strategic oil reserves or even capping oil prices, according to two diplomats briefed on preparations. France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure said it will be “the first time in 50 years” this group of ministers has gathered alongside central bankers.
Cap your expectations: The diplomats played down hopes of far-reaching decisions being taken at today’s virtual G7. “We’re not there yet,” one EU official told my colleagues on Morning Financial Services on the prospect of an oil price cap. Previous G7 gatherings have come and gone with no concerted action taken, and this time it’s not even clear whether the ministers will emerge with a joint statement.
National initiatives: The lack of a coordinated international response is prompting EU leaders to rush out national measures geared at shielding consumers and businesses from energy prices. Europe doesn’t get most of its energy via the blocked Strait of Hormuz, but it’s deeply affected by globally high prices.
Protecting the gas pump: In the past two weeks, Hungary implemented a fuel-price cap … Spain announced a €5 billion package to mitigate the war’s impact … Italy slashed excise duties on fuel … Ireland has done the same … and France announced targeted measures to bail out affected sectors.
The list goes on. But it’s not enough, amid dire warnings of a “global recession” around the corner. Europe’s leaders warn they don’t have the budgetary room to do more — so they’re looking to Brussels.
Just in time: The European Commission is expected to unveil, as early as this week, a series of measures to help capitals weather the storm. These could include financial aid for affected industries; relaxing state aid rules around fuel subsidies; and measures to offset the price of carbon credits in the EU’s Emissions Trading System.
“EU leaders were crystal clear at the last summit,” one diplomat told Playbook. “We need these measures fast … I would expect them in [the] coming days.”
TOP DIPLOMATS CLASH IN PARIS: The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a “professional but pointed exchange” in front of G7 foreign ministers last week during a session on Ukraine, according to two officials informed of the talks. (Axios first reported the encounter, describing it as “a heated exchange“.)
According to the same person, Kallas pressed Rubio sharply on why the U.S. wasn’t applying more pressure to Russia, pointing out that — almost exactly a year ago — the secretary of state had said Washington was “running out of patience” with Moscow. Rubio shot back that the U.S. would “step aside” if Europeans thought they could do a better job ending the Russia-Ukraine war, according to a European official.
Chill, people: “G7 meetings are there to discuss, engage, ping views back and forth, and not only read off scripts. That’s what the session did,” the same official said of the clash, downplaying its impact on EU-U.S. relations.
Different tone on NATO allies: During the session on Iran, Rubio told his G7 and European counterparts that Washington would welcome their help in the Strait of Hormuz after the hot phase of the Middle East war has died down, according to the diplomat. That’s in contrast to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has blasted his European NATO members as “COWARDS” for failing to help clear the strait while missiles and drones are still flying willy-nilly. “Trump is tweeting one thing; we are hearing another,” said the official.
Another front to watch: Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are working on a United Nations resolution to submit to the Security Council seeking legal cover to use force to clear the strait. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at the March European Council gathering that Paris was considering a similar move, but France ultimately decided it didn’t require U.N. legal cover.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Donald Trump told the Financial Times overnight he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and that the U.S. could try to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub … The New York Times reported that hundreds of special operations forces, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALS, have arrived in the Middle East … The Wall Street Journal scooped that Trump is weighing a daring and risky military operation to extract 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran … but Trump also hinted he’s open to a deal to end the conflict, saying Iran’s new leaders are “very reasonable” as Pakistan prepares to broker peace talks between Washington and Tehran in the coming days.
HUNGARIAN ELECTION
THE CAMPAIGN GETS UGLIER: Hungary’s election campaign shows no sign of settling, with 13 days to go before voters head to the polls. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been losing his cool while dealing with boos and contending with claims of vote-buying — all part of a daily drip-drip of dirty tricks and scandalous accusations as Hungary gears up for what’s likely to be Europe’s most consequential election this year.
One-track campaign: Having built his campaign on an anti-Ukraine theme, Orbán continues to block everything from a €90 billion EU loan for Kyiv (which he had initially accepted) to the 20th package of sanctions against Moscow to any step toward EU membership for Ukraine. The EU’s strategy so far has been to withhold some funds from Hungary, but otherwise do nothing, with one eye on a potential change of government in Budapest. (POLITICO’s Poll of Polls show’s Péter Magyar’s opposition Tisza party with a 15-percentage point lead on Orbán’s Fidesz).
But what if that doesn’t work? In this must-read piece out today, Playbook’s Gerardo Fortuna and Jacopo Barigazzi reveal what European diplomats are thinking about what to do if Orbán is reelected and continues to wield a veto.
On the menu: The options range from tighter conditionality for EU funds — read: more stringent rule-of-law requirements to get EU money — to the so-called nuclear option of triggering Article 7 to suspend Hungary’s voting rights at the EU leaders’ table. The latter would be a high bar to clear, given it requires the approval of 26 out of 27 countries. But it would be in reach if Paris and Berlin come to an agreement about taking that route.
NOW READ THIS: Jamie Dettmer dives deep into Orbán’s past, interviewing old acquaintances to chronicle how the Fidesz boss went from being an anti-communist liberal to Europe’s proudest (and self-described) “illiberal” leader and best friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The secret to Orbán’s transformation? Not a deep-seated love for Moscow or any ideology drive, but “his will to power,” according to Zsuzsanna Szelényi, a former acolyte of the Hungarian PM.
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
EUROPE’S NEW SELLING POINT — SECURITY: For much of its history, the European Union has attracted new members thanks to the promise of economic prosperity. But that’s now changing as security threats increase, with richer countries looking to the bloc as an additional safeguard, Zoya Sheftalovich reports .
Here they come: Iceland is holding a referendum in August about whether to resume EU accession talks. Meanwhile, the leader of Norway’s opposition party told POLITICO she thinks Oslo should restart its own membership talks. Greenland is considering a similar move. Even Canada is being mentioned as a potential EU member, although Prime Minister Mark Carney has poured cold water on the idea.
What’s new is that several of these countries are very wealthy. Their interest in becoming the EU’s potential 28th member is less about agricultural subsidies than it is about Article 42.7 — the EU Treaty’s (untested) mutual-defense clause that is similar to NATO’s Article 5.
Lining up at the door: There’s no doubt that a lot stands in the way of any enlargement of the EU. The European Council has been reluctant to seriously consider any new EU member, let alone a batch of them. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the bloc is more attractive than ever.
IN OTHER NEWS
MINISTERS HEAD TO KYIV: A group of EU foreign ministers heads to Kyiv today for an informal gathering that coincides with the anniversary of the 2022 Bucha massacre in Ukraine. The meeting is billed as an informal gathering of the Foreign Affairs Council focused on accountability for war crimes, but its main focus is symbolic, according to an EU diplomat who helped to organize it. About half of the EU members, including Germany, Italy and Poland, will be sending their foreign ministers.
SKY’S THE LIMIT: The EU is continuing to resist U.K. demands for a hard cap on the number of “youth experience” deal visas issued, according to Britain’s i Paper. The U.K. is insisting on a hard limit, while the EU is proposing an “emergency brake” that would allow either side to stop issuing visas if the numbers get too high. The impasse is threatening progress in the Brexit reset talks.
FRUGAL STATES HUDDLE IN BERLIN: With discussions on the EU’s long-term budget heating up, a group of ministers from net contributor countries gathered in Berlin on Thursday and Friday last week. “There was broad agreement that the next EU budget needs to be modernized,” an EU diplomat told Berlin Playbook’s Hans von der Burchard. Because of strained national budgets, the Multiannual Financial Framework proposed by the European Commission is “far too high and must be reduced significantly,” they said. “Otherwise, no MFF agreement will be possible.”
HOLY ROW: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said last night he had intervened to grant Catholic leaders “full and immediate access” to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, after Israeli police barred them from celebrating a private mass there for Palm Sunday for the first time in centuries. That sparked an international backlash, including from European policians like Emmanuel Macron and Kaja Kallas. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X he would summon Italy’s ambassador today to explain the decision.
Israel is also facing an international outcry over proposed legislation that would expand the death penalty, with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the U.K. issuing a joint statement Sunday saying it would “risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regard to democratic principles.”
SOCIAL DEMOCRATS’ IDENTITY CRISIS: Progressive and working-class voters are turning their backs on center-left parties rooted in trade unions and industrial labor, Aitor Hernández-Morales and Jacopo Barigazzi report.