PM stresses stability amid European unrest
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday portrayed Greece as a pillar of stability amid social unrest in France, pledging the country would not return to periods of political turmoil and economic uncertainty. Speaking at the inauguration of the Daedalus supercomputer in Lavrio, Mitsotakis said European countries were facing significant social tensions but argued Greece remained stable and financially capable of supporting households amid global price pressures.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1318650/pm-stresses-stability-amid-european-unrest
Greece’s former PM Tsipras accuses Mitsotakis of undermining judiciary, calls for political change
Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of interfering with the country’s judicial system and pledged greater accountability under a future government, escalating his criticism of Greece’s conservative administration. In an interview with regional broadcaster TRT, Tsipras said Mitsotakis had spent seven years consolidating influence over the leadership of the judiciary through political pressure and intervention.
State budget shows primary surplus of €2.5 billion
Greece’s state budget posted a primary surplus of € 2.5 billion on a cash basis in January-September 2026, compared with € 10.1 billion in the same period last year. At central government level, the primary surplus narrowed to € 6.2 billion from € 9.6 billion, respectively. According to Bank of Greece data, central government recorded a cash deficit of € 776 million in January-September 2026, compared with a surplus of € 3.133 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/1032197/State-budget-shows-primary-surplus-of-25-billion-
Supermarket sales rise 6.4% in first nine months of 2026, NielsenIQ says
Sales in Greece’s organised food retail market rose 6.4% in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, with growth driven mainly by higher sales volumes, according to data released by market research firm NielsenIQ. The figures cover the year-to-date period ending September 27, 2026.
ATHEX: Caution was the order of the day
The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed Monday at 2,603.34 points, shedding 0.39% from Friday’s 2,613.49 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 0.41% to end at 6,657.26 points.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1318653/athex-caution-was-the-order-of-the-day
KATHIMERINI: The marine park is materializing
TA NEA: Municipali police will be able to make arrests
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: They are paving the way for Lepen
RIZOSPASTIS: Large mobilizations throughout Europe: Now is the time for workers and students in Greece
KONTRA NEWS: Society’s rage terrifies the government
DIMOKRATIA: Health Minister Georgiadis handed out the payrolls for hospitals to private companies
NAFTEMPORIKI: ECB is ready for war due to France
DRIVING THE DAY
MERZ AND MACRON BREATHE LIFE INTO THE BUDGET TALKS: A Franco-German realignment on the EU’s next seven-year budget is reviving hopes that a deal can be struck by the end of the year. That’s after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed France’s push for new EU-wide taxes at last week’s European Council meeting, Gregorio Sorgi and I report.
They’re back: Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron — who huddled bilaterally at the summit — both threw their weight behind the idea of completing negotiations by year-end during the closed-door talks, injecting optimism after months of doom and gloom over the budget deadlock, according to five EU diplomats.
“We see the space for a deal in December. If Merz and Macron agree, we can do it,” said an EU diplomat granted anonymity to speak freely.
Come together: At the summit, Merz backed France’s push for the new taxes, which aim to generate fresh revenue for the EU and reduce national contributions to Brussels, said three EU diplomats briefed on the discussions. He showed openness toward all of the tax proposals except an unpopular corporate business tax known as CORE, the diplomats added. Berlin has previously argued that taxes can’t be an alternative to major cuts.
Nearly there? One diplomat noted that a potential “landing zone” could consist of cuts totaling some €200 billion, offset by substantial new own resources.
A word of caution: Althoughthere may be a willingness to compromise, a German official told Hans von der Burchard that “no landing zones have been identified, and certainly no specific numbers have been set.” The official added that “significant cuts are still necessary, and they must affect all areas if we are to reach a viable outcome.”
SPEAKING OF CUTS … The EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is leading a charge against planned cuts to the bloc’s development budget that she says would hurt Europe’s standing in the world, according to a letter seen by Playbook.
United front: The letter, co-signed by European Commissioners Marta Kos, Dubravka Šuica, Jozef Síkela and Hadja Lahbib, marks a major push by top officials in charge of the EU’s external relations against what they see as unacceptable cuts to its €200 billion Global Europe funds. It’s also a rare display of unity between the head of the EEAS and the European Commission, with which Kallas has locked horns over proposed reforms to the bloc’s foreign policy apparatus.
The cuts would have “major consequences” for the EU and partner states in terms of “resilience, security, stability, prosperity, competitiveness and migration,” reads the four-page letter addressed to the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee as Kallas heads to Strasbourg today.
Closer to home: Cutting the development budget by 17%, as proposed by Ireland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, would also have an immediate effect on staffing at the EU departments that handle external relations, where staff have been asked to test the impact of cuts as deep as 40%.
Another warning: Carl Skau, acting chief of the U.N. World Food Programme, says cutting the humanitarian aid budget would diminish the EU’s influence in international discussions, Ketrin Jochecová reports.
BIG AND BREAKING
FRENCH FALLOUT: Far-right presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen is seizing on the weekend’s violence to cast herself as the law-and-order candidate — but prolonged chaos could hurt her politically. Her far-left rival Jean-Luc Mélenchon is treading carefully, too. My colleagues in Paris explain how the unrest could reshape the race for the Elysée.
EXCLUSIVE — BOGUS EMAIL PROBE: The European Parliament is investigating a fake email written by someone posing as a senior European People’s Party lawmaker in an attempt to sway today’s vice-chair vote, Max Griera reports.
SÁNCHEZ SETBACK: Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez’s chances of retaining power after the Nov. 29 election have been seriously dented by the failure of parties on his left to form a united ticket.
WAKE-UP CALL: A case of pneumonia that killed a lab worker at an anti-plague institute in Russia has exposed cracks in the international rules meant to keep the world safe from pandemics and health threats, Claudia Chiappa writes.
A FAR-RIGHT VISION FOR EUROPE
THE AfD’S PLAN FOR THE EU: The far-right Alternative for Germany wants to strip the bloc of its directly elected parliament, shrink the European Commission and let Berlin opt out of common policies. That’s according to the policy program that leader Alice Weidel will present to the European Parliament tomorrow, Max Griera reports.
The wider shift: The AfD’s push comes as far-right parties look to gain ground across Europe. The party’s recent victories in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have given its project fresh momentum.
Undoing integration: The paper, obtained by Playbook, says AfD would not seek to leave the EU or eurozone at first. Instead, it wants to renegotiate the treaties and cut the bloc’s powers, institutions and budget.
The institutions: The AfD wants to replace direct European Parliament elections with delegates appointed by national parliaments, reduce the Commission’s role to purely administrative and transfer decision-making to national leaders. It also wants to replace the EU’s top court with an arbitration tribunal between governments.
The money: The plan calls for slashing and capping the EU budget, freezing staffing and abolishing agencies. It would scrap revenue from VAT and plastics, give larger eurozone economies more voting power at the European Central Bank and reject the digital euro.
Opt-outs: Berlin should seek exemptions from EU rules on migration, taxation, social policy, defense and common borrowing, the party argues.
The target: The paper identifies 2029 — when the next European Parliament and German federal elections will take place — as the moment that a “patriotic, right-wing majority” could become a reality. If its reforms fail, AfD says it would put Germany’s EU membership to a referendum.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
Last week’s EU summit was unexpectedly derailed by a fight over ETS2 … but what is that? It’s a law that will put a carbon price on emissions from heating and transport from 2028. Countries including Italy and Poland pushed for the introduction of the levy to be delayed because they fear it will raise energy prices. Estonia suggested it could be scrapped altogether. The original Emissions Trading System sets a limit on the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions and forces big polluters to buy permits for every ton of carbon they emit.
A SEAT AT THE POLAR TABLE
ARCTIC MAKEOVER: The EU’s revamped Arctic Strategy will be unveiled today, setting out where the bloc is eyeing opportunities in the High North — and Playbook’s Gerardo Fortuna got an early draft. Here are four takeaways:
1. Less about the polar bears, more about hard power: The previous strategy was born in the Green Deal era, while this one has a distinctly “geopolitical flavor,” in the words of one EU official, granted anonymity to speak about the internal strategy. “Security is very important, not the only thing but one of the top.”
2. Icebreakers ahoy: Maritime security gets a lot of play, with calls for a maritime security hub and an Arctic cable hub, as well as more (naval) icebreakers.
3. Boots on the ice? The draft promises to strengthen the EU’s “situational and maritime domain awareness through satellite data, in-situ and remote sensor observation and information sharing.” Translation: Europe doesn’t just want to watch the Arctic from space. It wants eyes and ears on the (snowy) ground. The strategy also proposes helping local communities use EU satellite systems.
4. Drill if you really want to: The draft shows the EU will continue opposing oil and gas extraction in the region — but it has dropped a commitment to campaign for a global moratorium. (My colleagues on Morning Energy & Climate have more on that here for subscribers.)
New paradigm: “The Arctic is no longer insulated from the world’s geopolitical tensions,” Kaja Kallas is expected to say in a press statement unveiling the strategy today. “We face a much harsher security environment than when the previous strategy was issued. Our updated Arctic strategy reflects this new reality by putting security firmly at its core.”
DASHBOARD
With clashes over migration and the cost of living roiling politics in Europe and beyond, the idea of funding other countries as a means to reduce migration flows is divisive, according to the results of the POLITICO Poll carried out by PF Global in September. There was a split between people who support the idea and people who are opposed across party lines.
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4 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
NUCLEAR SUMMIT: Donald Trump said last night he’s open to a trilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping — but wants to talk about denuclearization, not ending the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in Washington … Republican lawmakers are desperately trying to find a way to stop Trump cozying up to Moscow, but they’re running low on options … and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is preparing to head to Norway this week for more talks on Ukraine, Reuters and the Financial Times report. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Poland, the EU and NATO are expected to attend.
ONLINE LOOT: The French government has asked leading online marketplaces such as Vinted and eBay to bar listings that include items stolen during the weekend’s mass unrest, Klara Durand reports.
GOOGLE PUSHES BACK: Google has filed two legal challenges against €890 million in fines the European Commission imposed on it in July for breaching the Digital Markets Act, Jacob Parry reports for subscribers.