Greece expands diesel fuel subsidy as energy price risks persist
The Greek government will increase its subsidy on diesel fuel by an additional 10 euro cents per liter throughout August, bringing the total discount to 15 cents per liter, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Sunday. The €30 million measure is aimed at easing costs for transport operators and businesses while limiting inflationary pressures across the supply chain, Mitsotakis said in his weekly social media post. The new state-funded subsidy builds on an existing 5-cent-per-liter diesel discount financed by Greece’s oil refineries. A separate 10-cent-per-liter reduction in gasoline prices also remains in effect. Mitsotakis linked the measure to growing uncertainty over global energy markets following renewed tensions in the Middle East, saying the government would continue to support households and businesses “within the limits of the economy” against the impact of external shocks.
Constitutional revision debate gets personal
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis traded sharp accusations Friday during a parliamentary debate on constitutional revision, each charging the other with undermining democratic institutions. Mitsotakis accused PASOK of directly violating the Constitution’s letter, saying “extreme parties settled for blind denial,” while “the so-called responsible PASOK declares an awkward ‘present’ that amounts to ‘absent.’” Androulakis further countered that Mitsotakis attacks independent authorities, interferes with the judiciary and violates parliamentary rules and the Constitution, saying an end must be put to institutional decline. He said PASOK’s proposal rests on expanded rights, a stronger social state and institutional checks, and accused the ruling party of exploiting its 2019 majority to shape the Constitution rather than seek consensus.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1310580/constitutional-revision-debate-gets-personal
Norwegian firm claims bias in €210m recycling bid
A Norwegian company has filed complaints alleging that technical specifications in a €210 million tender for 4,000 recycling machines unfairly favor certain competitors. Tomra, a participant in the tender, claims that several provisions exclude or significantly hinder its participation while benefiting US-based Envipco and its Greek partner TEXAN. The latter two companies had previously supplied 240 recycling units to three Greek regions at a cost of around €300,000 each, a deal that is now under investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The tender concerns Greece’s new deposit return system for plastic and metal beverage containers, under which consumers receive refunds when they return packaging to machines installed outside supermarkets.
ESM: Greece passes ‘stress test’ on public debt resilience
A report by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) points to the prospect of a further reduction in Greek debt, even under unfavourable international conditions, highlighting the extent of the fiscal adjustment achieved in recent years. The assessment is based on an adverse scenario prepared by the ESM, which envisages a new escalation of tensions in the Middle East and higher energy prices, combined with a significant decline in US stock and bond prices, which would also result in losses for European investors. Each of these two shocks would, on its own, pose a significant challenge, but together they would push the euro area economy into recession, with GDP declining by 0.4% in 2027, while inflation would rise close to 5% (averaging 3.4% in 2027). Under this adverse scenario, and assuming no policy changes, public debt would increase in all euro area countries by 2035, with the exception of Greece and Cyprus, where it would decline.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/1011664/ESM-Greece-passes-stress-test-on-public-debt-resilience
ATHEX: Banks gather attention of investors
Confirmation of the upgrading of the Greek bourse by STOXX this September to the “developed” level, and the upcoming second-quarter results of banks assisted the rebound of local stocks that the drop in global oil rates generated on Friday. Yet just as the benchmark reached 2,499 points, it pulled back, perhaps not being yet ready to reclaim the level it had conquered earlier in the week.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1310575/athex-banks-gather-attention-of-investors
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Drones to control beach concessions
TO VIMA: Civil wars within the PM’s court
REAL NEWS: Why Erdogan is being provocative
PROTO THEMA: Achilles’ shield: new armament program worth 4,2 bln
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: 10+5 questions and answers: What are the consequences if you don’t issue a new ID
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The recycling of corruption
KONTRA NEWS: The prosecutor slams Traintopoulos-Agorastos for the handling of the Tempi tragedy
DIMOKRATIA: Greeks are paying again: Golden “shield” of Patriot missiles for the Saudis – Heavy bill for us
NAFTEMPORIKI: The inflation nightmare returns
DRIVING THE DAY
TURNBERRY ON THE ROCKS: Senior lawmakers are warning the EU-U.S. trade deal could implode if Donald Trump follows through on his latest tariff threat — exactly one year after the pact was struck in Turnberry, Scotland.
The U.S. president on Friday threatened a “substantial” new tariff on the EU and pledged a trade investigation after the EU fined Google €890 million for breaching the bloc’s rules on large tech platforms.
Trigger point: Trump’s threatened retaliation would violate the terms of the deal reached last summer, center-left lawmaker Brando Benifei told Playbook. “We must be clear: If there is going to be any retaliatory tariff in response to the application of our digital legislation, the suspension clauses will need to be activated,” said Benifei, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation to the U.S.
How it works: The Turnberry pact caps U.S. tariffs on most European exports at 15 percent. In return, the EU offers duty-free entry for U.S. industrial goods and for some agricultural and seafood products. The deal’s safeguards allow the Commission to suspend some of that preferential treatment.
PRAYING FOR TACO: Bernd Lange, chair of the Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, warned that fresh duties would cause the agreement to “collapse” — but is holding out hope that Trump will back down. “We have already seen several posts on Truth Social that did not lead to concrete actions,” he said. “I hope that will also be the case this time.”
A delicate deal: The agreement calmed months of transatlantic trade tensions. But its safeguards were always a flashpoint. Before the Parliament approved legislation implementing the EU’s side last month, Benifei’s Socialists and Democrats pushed for stronger suspension clauses and insisted Washington fully uphold its commitments before it would give its backing.
It was going so well … An American Chamber of Commerce survey published this morning — and conducted before Trump’s latest threat — found U.S. businesses have become less pessimistic about transatlantic relations. The proportion expecting ties to worsen fell from 46 percent in September to 28 percent. Respondents ranked “non-tariff practices and unfair competition” as the top issue the two sides should tackle.
No rest: The Commission is now trying to prevent the dispute from escalating. “There will be technical-level contact during the week,” Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Olof Gill told Camille Gijs on Sunday.
Holiday homework: EU ambassadors — most of whom are on leave — weren’t called in for crisis talks over the weekend. But they may be required to dial in to coordinate a response if Trump follows through.
READ MORE: How does the EU come up with its hefty bills for tech companies? Sam Clark,Pieter Haeck,Ellen O’Regan and Jacob Parry have everything you need to know.
BIG AND BREAKING
BERLIN PRIDE SUSPECT KILLED: Abdul Ballout, the man believed to have carried out the Berlin Pride attack that killed one person and injured 29 others Saturday, was shot dead by German police in a confrontation yesterday, the AP reports.
AIR INCURSIONS: Romania’s President Nicușor Dan has accused Moscow of “inadmissible and intolerable” violations of NATO and EU airspace after Romanian fighter jets shot down three suspected Russian drones in as many days. Reuters has the story.
EUROPE BATTLES WILDFIRES: The massive fires that have forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people in Spain have reignited a political clash in the country. In France, President Emmanuel Macron will hold a crisis meeting of his Cabinet in response to wildfires that are now closing in on Bordeaux.
IRAN SLAMS UKRAINE’S “HOSTILE” ACT: Iran summoned a Ukrainian diplomat in Tehran after an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, CNBC reports.
KAZAKH CALL TO END WAR: The Ukraine war should be “frozen,” Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday. Le Monde reports the rare rebuke from the Moscow ally was made during a meeting between the two leaders.
FAILED SAHEL BID: Slovenia’s new government has filed a criminal complaint against former Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon over her bid to become the EU’s special representative for the Sahel, local media report. Fajon’s nomination was withdrawn, with Denmark’s Birgitte Nygaard Markussen appointed last week. Fajon said in a Facebook post last night her candidacy was “conducted legally and professionally.”
EU ON ICE
ICELAND VOTES: Early voting begins today in a historic referendum that will allow Icelanders to decide whether to relaunch talks to join the EU. The first ballots will be cast ahead of the Aug. 29 referendum, Sebastian Starcevic writes.
Frozen talks: The Arctic island of about 400,000 people, which is already part of the Schengen Area, began negotiations with Brussels in 2010 amid a financial crisis. It suspended talks in 2013 after its economy quickly rebounded, amid a bitter dispute with the EU over fishing rights.
Trump effect: But the debate erupted again after Trump threatened to invade Greenland (which he repeatedly referred to as “Iceland” in a speech at the World Economic Forum earlier this year), prompting Reykjavík to reconsider its alliances.
Referendum of the Valkyries: Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir and her Valkyrie coalition (the Norse mythology reference is because all three parties are headed by women) announced the referendum earlier this year in what she said was a bid to settle “a debate that has hung over the Icelandic nation.”
The question Icelanders will answer: “Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?” The options are simple: Já or Nei.
Icelanders are split 50-50 on whether to restart the talks, according to opinion polls. “We are divided in nearly equal groups,” Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, chair of Iceland’s largest opposition party, told Playbook in a phone interview from Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest glacier. “The referendum will be very tight.”
Reminder: Even if Icelanders vote yes, there’s still some way to go before the country joins the EU. Reykjavík would need to complete accession negotiations first, which it could do at a lightning pace due to its integration with the EU, before heading to another referendum on membership.
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20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
Is the shop closed for the summer yet? For the Council — almost. With today’s meeting of economy and finance chiefs now canceled, EU fisheries ministers have the final engagement before the break, heading to Cork on Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, the Council goes quiet until Aug. 31, when defense ministers reconvene in Ireland — Wicklow, to be precise — to get the machinery turning again.
EYES ON NICOSIA
CYPRUS PEACE PUSH: António Guterres will arrive in Cyprus today for the first visit by a United Nations secretary-general in 16 years. His mission: to restart talks over the division of the island. Guterres’ term ends in December, making this a last-ditch effort toward a lasting settlement before he leaves, my colleague Nektaria Stamouli writes in.
New plan: A controversial new proposal drafted by Guterres’ Personal Envoy on Cyprus María Ángela Holguín, suggests a loose Bosnian-style structure with federal power-sharing. That would allow Greek Cypriots to call it a federation and Turkish Cypriots to call it a confederation. The island has been divided since Turkish forces invaded in 1974.
A role for Brussels: The EU says it remains committed to supporting U.N.-led efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue. Earlier this month, the Commission designated Executive Vice President Raffaele Fitto as its special representative for Cyprus. But even a visit from to the island by EU defense ministers turned into a tense standoff with Turkey.
4 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
GENERAL INTEREST: French politicians of all political stripes are uniting behind one man: Charles De Gaulle.
BEST OF FRIENDS? France and Germany could put aside their differences to strike an agreement on their lucrative automobile sectors and preferential treatment for EU industries.
CALLING ON KIM: Russia is seeking an additional 30,000 troops from North Korea to fight its war in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned.
CITY TAX FEARS: Britain’s bankers are afraid new Prime Minister Andy Burnham could be about to hit them with a massive tax bill to fill the U.K.’s government coffers.
CORE UNDER PRESSURE
EXCLUSIVE — TAX RETREAT: The European Commission is considering watering down a controversial levy on large businesses designed to raise money for the EU’s next seven-year budget, four EU officials with knowledge of the discussions told Gregorio Sorgi and Hans von der Burchard.
What is it? The Corporate Resource for Europe, or CORE, would impose an extra 0.1 percent charge on companies operating in the EU that have a net turnover above €100 million, raising an estimated €6.8 billion a year. Companies with a higher turnover would pay a bigger annual lump sum.
Why it’s needed: The EU is searching for new revenue to cover mounting defense and competitiveness spending, as well as repayments on its post-pandemic debt, without relying entirely on higher contributions from national governments.
A tough sell: The proposal faces opposition from business groups, the center-right European People’s Party and, crucially, the EU capitals that must unanimously approve any new EU taxes. Critics say taxing turnover rather than profits would hit companies regardless of their margins and undermine the EU’s push to boost competitiveness.
The compromise: Officials are considering exempting loss-making companies and raising the revenue threshold to exclude smaller businesses, according to the officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive plans. The Commission argues that companies benefiting from the single market should contribute — and that a 0.1 percent charge is modest.
Testing the waters: Irish EU Ambassador Aingeal O’Donoghue, who is steering talks under Ireland’s Council presidency, has been canvassing capitals on CORE and seven other proposed levies. Their feedback will shape possible changes, with the Commission expected to update its revenue estimates in the autumn.