Storm Erminio triggers red alert in seven regions across Greece
Dangerous weather is expected across Greece over the next 48 hours as Storm Erminio places seven regions under red alert, authorities said. The affected areas include Attica, Central Greece, Thessaly – including the Sporades islands – the Peloponnese, the South Aegean, and the regional units of Imathia and Pieria in Central Macedonia.
Measures to address energy crisis coming into effect
The government’s measures to address the energy crisis are coming into effect, following the ratification of the Legislative Content Act in Parliament. The legislative act introducing emergency support for high energy costs was ratified with votes of ruling New Democracy and PASOK on Tuesday night.
Peti Perka appointed president of New Left parliamentary group
The MP for Florina, Peti Perka, was on Tuesday appointed president of the opposition New Left parliamentary group, after the resignation of President Alexis Charitsis.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/981919/Peti-Perka-appointed-president-of-New-Left-parliamentary-group
MSCI to upgrade Greece to developed market
Greek stocks will return to MSCI’s developed markets index in May 2027, according to Morgan Stanley’s announcement. MSCI’s upgrade of the equity market effectively signals a broader upgrade of the Greek economy. It marks a key milestone for the domestic capital market and reflects the progress the Greek economy has achieved in recent years.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/982150/MSCI-to-upgrade-Greece-to-developed-market
ATHEX: Market reacts after days of decline
The mild growth in stock prices on the main eurozone markets (Frankfurt and Paris) and the rather favorable reports by foreign firms on the course of bank stocks contributed in the eagerly awaited reaction of the Greek bourse on Tuesday. This was also implemented on improved turnover, with traders appearing ready to free themselves from being swayed by political statements regarding the war in the Middle East, focusing instead on the bare facts.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1299754/athex-market-reacts-after-days-of-decline
KATHIMERINI: The rupture between USA-EU deepens
TA NEA: EU examining caps on the use of oil and natural gas
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The budget hangs in the balance
RIZOSPASTIS: War rehearsals and deep involvement plans by the Greek government
KONTRA NEWS: Trumped enraged with Europe: Open the Strait of Hormuz yourselves
DIMOKRATIA: Turkey is claiming even the fish of the Aegean Sea
NAFTEMPORIKI: Scathing March for the international markets
DRIVING THE DAY
IT’S SPELLED HORMUZ, IT’S PRONOUNCED COVID: Jolted by skyrocketing energy prices, Brussels is now bracing for another Covid-style econonomic shock — even after Donald Trump said in the Oval Office overnight that he expects U.S. forces to withdraw from Iran in “two to three weeks.”
All eyes on Washington: The U.S. president, responding to a question about the soaring cost of gas, told reporters prices will “come tumbling down” as soon as American forces pull out. Trump will give an “important update” on the Middle East war in a national address at 9 p.m. local time Wednesday (3 a.m. in Brussels), the White House announced.
It may not be enough to settle nerves in Europe. The two questions on the table here are how bad the continent’s energy crisis will get (our reporters offer some suggestions in this must-read story) and how strongly the shock will reverberate. For the latter, the risk is now a full-spectrum squeeze hitting industry: grounded airlines, spiking food prices, tighter borrowing conditions and inflation returning to crisis territory.
Get use to it: Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen warned after Tuesday’s emergency meeting of energy ministers that “we should be under no illusion” the impact on energy markets will be short-lived. The Commission is now working on a “toolbox” of measures to help member countries contain the fallout, Jørgensen said.
This is worse: “One can feel Covid vibes growing,” said an EU official with knowledge of the talks, adding that the scale of the potential energy shortages and the ensuing “economic contagion” could make 2020 “look like child’s play.” POLITICO’s Zoya Sheftalovich and Jacopo Barigazzi write in to tell us how Brussels is preparing.
Expect more meetings: The emergency energy council is just the beginning, according to my colleagues POLITICO’s Zoya Sheftalovich and Jacopo Barigazzi. Officials are already penciling in a dense calendar of coordination meetings — with echoes of the pandemic playbook. European Council President António Costa could soon assemble leaders for an emergency summit, an EU official and diplomat said.
Paging Commission videographer: An EU official mused that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen might even record a video telling Europeans to drive slower and to look at photos of beaches rather than visiting them, just as she recorded a video washing her hands — and humming “Ode to Joy” — during the pandemic.
Let’s stick together: For now, capitals are urging caution. One diplomat said governments want the Commission to focus on analysis and scenario-planning — in coordination with the International Energy Agency — rather than rushing into action and repeating the Covid-era fragmentation. “There is the imminent risk of physical shortage, but at the same time we have to prevent uncoordinated national initiatives from disrupting the internal market even further,” the diplomat added.
Look at the lever, but don’t touch: If the crisis escalates further, the EU has one powerful tool in reserve: joint borrowing, as deployed during the pandemic to pay for the €800 billion recovery fund. But the diplomat said nobody back in their capital is calling for that to happen yet.
The moment it hits home: As the war grinds into its second month, the economic effects are starting to bite. Eurostat reported that in March eurozone inflation hit its highest level in over a year, raising the prospect of further interest-rate hikes — and another squeeze on already stretched households. As Jørgensen put it: “Nobody knows how long this will last.” But something is clearly shifting.
IMPOSSIBLE EU BUDGET
COMMISSIONER FOR WALKING ON EGGSHELLS: Executive Vice President and Cohesion Commissioner Raffaele Fitto already has a list of daunting tasks in his mission letter. But today’s assignment as part of his campaign to muster support for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) may be among the trickiest: walking Belgium’s notorious institutional tightrope.
No favorites: In Brussels, Fitto is carefully navigating his way through the Belgian linguistic divide — meeting Wallonia’s Minister-President Adrien Dolimont and Flanders’ counterpart Matthias Diependaele. A source in Fitto’s cabinet insists the meetings are “ordinary.” But in a country that brought us “waffle-iron politics,” managing regional sensitivities is a must. Wallonia is uneasy about what it sees as a “risk of recentralization” in the next MFF; Dolimont is expected to press that case.
Why it matters: The cohesion commissioner sits on the EU’s regional purse — and timing is everything. Dolimont’s office told POLITICO’s Hanne Cokelaere the talks come at a “pivotal moment” for Europe’s budget debate. Today is also key for the next MFF. Before heading off for the Easter break, the EU’s 27 ambassadors will dive into the thorniest issues — how big the budget should be, and who pays.
Waiting to move: POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi tells us a final deal will almost certainly come at the last minute, after months of horse-trading. And yes, six months on, there’s still no agreement on new “own resources” — the Commission’s proposed EU-level taxes meant to raise €459 billion from 2028 to 2034. For now, capitals are keeping their powder dry. “Nobody will make moves yet,” as one diplomat put it.
But don’t be fooled: This is the real starting gun. Today’s exchanges will test the boundaries of compromise and set the tone for ministerial talks kicking off in May.
MONEY FOR UKRAINE
THE PLAN TO SIDESTEP HUNGARY: The Commission is set to outline its financial strategy in response to the thwarted €90 billion loan to Ukraine, which is still facing opposition from Hungary. The plan, which will be green-lighted by member countries, involves tapping in to EU enlargement funds.
The ruse: Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos wrote to Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, to urge him to pass a tranche of laws necessary for Kyiv’s EU accession, according to a letter seen by POLITICO’s Seb Starcevic. By doing so, Kyiv would unlock €4 billion in funds earmarked for reforms and recovery from the Ukraine Facility, which could be quickly disbursed.
Bring in the ambassadors: The plan outlines “the steps necessary to implement the funding and move ahead with planning while we wait for final approval,” a Commission spokesperson told Playbook. It will be presented immediately to EU27 envoys today and is based on the assumption that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán won’t shift his position before Hungary’s April 12 election,
One person to blame: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy didn’t hide his frustration on Tuesday, speaking alongside EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after the foreign affairs ministerial. With the package still blocked, he warned, forward planning becomes nearly impossible — and the human cost continues to rise. “This is happening because one person in Europe is standing against all of Europe simply to please Moscow,” he said.
POSTCARD FROM KYIV: The ministerial took place at the Fairmont, one of Kyiv’s most upscale hotels that was turned into a fortified bubble for the day. Journalists, including POLITICO’s Veronika Melkozerova, were largely confined to an underground parking area, with movement tightly controlled. Security protocols shifted constantly: a corridor deemed safe one minute could be off-limits the next, with reporters redirected back downstairs mid-walk.
BERLIN SIGNS UP TO TRIBUNAL: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in Kyiv that his government has notified the Council of Europe about its intent to officially join the special tribunal on the prosecution of Russian crimes of aggression, Hans von der Burchard reports from Kyiv. The announcement, which still needs to be ratified by the German parliament, will be seen as a major boost for the special court seeking to hold Russian officials accountable.
HUNGARIAN ELECTIONS
UNUSUAL ELECTION EVE: Rarely has a national election so openly shaped the Brussels conversation. But Hungary’s vote is doing just that. Between the blocked €90 billion and Budapest’s increasingly confrontational line, EU officials find themselves unusually outspoken — even as they remain instinctively cautious about appearing to weigh in on a domestic ballot.
Latest on Szijjártó: An investigation published Tuesday by a consortium including VSquare and The Insider alleges Budapest sought to ease sanctions on wealthy Russian businessmen while pushing back against further measures targeting Moscow’s shadow oil fleet. Szijjártó acknowledged contacts with Russian officials as EU ministers debated new economic steps.
That landed badly: “European ministers should work for Europe, not Russia,” said Kallas, reacting to reports of the exchanges with Sergey Lavrov. A Commission spokesperson confirmed she had also raised the matter directly with Budapest, underlining — pointedly — the obligation to preserve the confidentiality of Council deliberations.
Blunt force: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk didn’t mince words: “Hungary is and will be in the European Union. Viktor Orbán and his foreign minister left Europe long ago,” he wrote on X, later calling the reported contacts “sad and disgusting.”
U.S. LANDS IN HUNGARY: As Budapest prepares for U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s April 7–8 visit — which is widely being read as a pre-election boost for Viktor Orbán — Washington’s political presence is already being felt, my colleague Max Griera writes in to report from Budapest.
Ideological alignment: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau addressed a conference at the government-linked Danube Institute, framing “America First” as a project centered on “workers, families and traditions” and calling for a “civilizational alliance” with countries such as Hungary.
Ground presence: Washington’s MAGA movement is arriving in the city ahead of the poll — including representatives of the Heritage Foundation, the think tank behind Donald Trump’s policies. An American diplomat said the Trump administration is “busy” with events and panels organized throughout the city.
NOW READ THIS: POLITICO’s Jamie Dettmer and Max Griera on why Viktor Orbán remains so difficult to dislodge.
PARLIAMENT CORNER
FALLOUT FROM MEP’S POLICE CHECK: An early-morning police interview with Italian leftist MEP Ilaria Salis Saturday has sparked a media frenzy in Italy over the lawmaker’s relationship with a staffer and questions about whether it breached European Parliament’s employment rules.
The details: Salis says police woke her at the hotel in Rome where she was staying to carry out what was later described as a “preventative check.” The agents asked her about her planned attendance at the “No Kings” anti-Trump rally later that morning, Salis said. Local media has since reported that the officers were following up on a request for information from German investigators.
A private affair: The incident has blown up because the MEP’s parliamentary assistant, Ivan Bonnin, was in the hotel room at the time of the door-knock — prompting speculation in the Italian media that they’re in a relationship.
What’s wrong with that? MEPs from Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s group in the European Parliament wrote to Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Monday claiming Salis and Bonnin’s relationship could be incompatible with rules preventing lawmakers from employing staff with whom they’re personally involved.
A Parliament spokesperson declined to comment, pointing instead to rules of procedure on ethics which state that MEPs “may not employ spouses or stable partners.” Asked to clarify what qualifies as a “stable” relationship, the spokesperson declined to say.
Just friends: Contacted by POLITICO’s Elena Giordano, Salis’ office denied that the MEP and her assistant are a couple. The two have “a relationship outside of work — they even wrote her book together — but that’s it, they’re friends,” a representative said. Asked whether anything had been communicated to Parliament, the office said it was never considered necessary.
COUCH CONFLICT: Europe of Sovereign Nations MEP Alexander Jungbluth responded to Playbook about yesterday’s report suggesting he got no further than a couch by the elevators to film a stunt at the offices of German delegation of the European People’s Party. Jungbluth said assistants to the center-right MEPs in the office “deliberately disrupted our filming by walking directly into the frame. A video of the incident will be provided shortly.”
IN OTHER NEWS
NO COUNTRY FOR DEEPFAKES: While Donald Trump has embraced AI-generated content in his communication, the EU is taking the opposite approach. The bloc’s main institutions have banned staff from using AI-generated videos, images and deepfakes in official communications, my colleague Pieter Haeck reports.
“CLEAR STEP BACKWARDS”: The European Commission on Tuesday condemned Israel over a controversial death penalty bill passed Monday evening. “This is a clear negative trend in terms of Israel’s obligation vis-à-vis respect of human rights,” said Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.