Mitsotakis plans €500m support measures
Amid ongoing political turmoil and ahead of a critical parliamentary vote on lifting immunity for 13 New Democracy lawmakers, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is preparing to unveil new support measures worth about €500 million, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said on Tuesday. Among the measures, an extension of diesel subsidies through May appears certain, while additional support for pensioners and an expansion of eligible beneficiaries are expected.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1301549/mitsotakis-plans-e500m-support-measures
Macron visit to focus on defense
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Athens Friday with a full agenda tied to renewing the Greece-France strategic partnership agreement, focusing on defense cooperation, small modular reactors, research, and innovation.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1301550/macron-visit-to-focus-on-defense
ND lawmaker says he is against MP immunity vote, will abstain
Stelios Petsas, a lawmaker with the governing New Democracy party, said on Tuesday he is against lifting the immunity of 13 colleagues named in a case file relating to a scandal over the distribution of EU agricultural subsidies in Greece, and will therefore abstain from the relevant vote which is scheduled on Wednesday. Petsas, a former minister, claimed such a move would be a slippery slope, making lawmakers vulnerable to frivolous legal action for doing their job. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has urged party MPs to vote in favor, pointing to statements by the MPs themselves who said lifting their immunity will allow them to clear their name. “I cannot follow that decision so I will abstain from the vote,” Petsas said and urged other ND lawmakers who want to vote in favor to rethink their position.
Androulakis on Lesvos: Gov’t responsible for destruction of animal capital in most Greek regions
The OPEKEPE agency’s issue of EU fund allocations and “the destruction of animal capital in most of the country’s regions” were the charges PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis leveled at the government on Tuesday, during a meeting with livestock breeders, cheese producers, and farmers on the island of Lesvos.
ATHEX: Traders keep their eyes on Middle East
Investors at the Greek stock market kept their cards as close to their collective chest as possible on Tuesday, with minimal moves for the indexes and a notable decline in turnover. The world is awaiting to see whether the two-week truce between Iran and the US will be extended, whether peace talks in Islamabad will resume and how the oil markets will respond to developments at the Strait of Hormuz. Any domestic and corporate developments pale in comparison as far as their significance is concerned.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1301552/athex-traders-keep-their-eyes-on-middle-east
KATHIMERINI: Radio Silence in Greek Police
TA NEA: Antonio Costa: EU member states prioritized over Turkey
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Europe in energy trap
RIZOSPASTIS: May 1st Labor Day shows the way for political shake-up
KONTRA NEWS: Alexis Tsipras’ party skyrockets to 20%
DIMOKRATIA: Greece is a debt colony for 590 billion euro!
NAFTEMPORIKI: The 5-year growth plan of Euronext Athens
DRIVING THE DAY
BRUSSELS’ LATEST LOAN GAMBIT: European Union ambassadors will this morning find out whether Hungary’s outgoing prime minister is still determined to hold up the bloc’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine — one of Viktor Orbán’s last chances to derail the deal. It’s a pivotal moment ahead of Friday’s informal EU summit in Cyprus.
The ambassadors meet at 9 a.m. with a clear understanding of today’s order of business. The loan to fund Kyiv’s budget for the next couple of years has been on the agenda since Monday, in what many read as a positive sign for the deal. Still, as seasoned Brussels hands know (particularly on this issue): Nothing’s agreed until it’s agreed.
The procedural surprise: Today’s big news is that approval for the deal will be sought via written procedure. That means delegations will have to put any objections in writing, within a set deadline that will be kept under wraps until the Cypriot presidency announces it at the start of the meeting. A failure to object = approval.
Cards on the table: As two EU diplomats put it, the move is a classic Brussels escamotage, designed to smoke out Hungary by requiring it to explicitly break its silence if it’s determined to maintain its opposition to the loan. In other words: today is a litmus test of Orbán’s position following the general election that ousted him from power.
What it might take: Orbán has for months tied his veto on the loan to flows of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. This could suggest a breakthrough moment: After weeks of back-and-forth, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday the pipeline had been repaired.
But is oil flowing? Not yet — or if it is, it hasn’t been confirmed. On Tuesday, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár said his country had “received a signal that oil supplies may resume,” only to add this: “We do not have such information.” A reminder: Bratislava’s position on the EU’s 20th Russia sanctions package hinges on the resumption of oil flows through Druzhba.
As simple as that: Hungarian officials made clear to POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi the decision depends on whether oil is actually flowing today. No oil, no deal. Meanwhile, Reuters is quoting an industry source saying oil would start moving through the pipeline this afternoon.
Complicating matters: Reports emerged Tuesday — confirmed by a Ukraine intelligence official to POLITICO’s Ben Makuch and Veronika Melkozerova — of an attack on an oil-pumping and dispatch facility in Prosvet, in Russia’s Samara region, which is part of the Druzhba supply chain. That has the potential to disrupt flows.
“Hope reigns supreme,” one EU diplomat said, with expectations that the oil could resume flowing later today. “If that happens, Coreper should approve the loan shortly after.” Another diplomat added that, once approved, “the money can be delivered rather quickly.” Commission spokesperson Balázs Ujvári said the aim is a first disbursement in Q2 — that means ASAP.
Where’s the party? A sizable Ukrainian delegation — including Deputy PM Taras Kachka, Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev and First Deputy Minister Alona Shkrum — is in Brussels for an EU-Ukraine business forum. But Ukrainian diplomats are managing expectations: No major announcements are planned today.
LAWMAKERS TARGET ENERGY GIANT: Pressure is mounting on the European Commission over its ties with Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Group. European People’s Party MEP Dirk Gotink and Green MEP Daniel Freund have written to the EU executive demanding clarity on contracts with MOL, which continues importing Russian crude under an exemption. The lawmakers are concerned about profits from those operations potentially flowing to foundations linked to Orbán and posing a risk to the financial integrity of the EU budget.
ALSO AT COREPER: Ambassadors will today also discuss the other big topic ahead of Friday’s informal summit: the EU’s next €1.8 trillion budget. European Council President António Costa wants a deal by the end of the year and has carved out two hours to discuss one of the most politically fraught issues in the negotiations: whether to introduce new EU-wide taxes to raise fresh revenue. Gregorio Sorgi has more.
Unfriendly friends: The self-styled “Friends of Cohesion” — including Italy, Poland, Spain, and Portugal — strike again. The group of like-minded countries that wants to keep regional funding flowing will push back against the Commission today in a meeting of EU affairs ministers in Warsaw. They’ll present a non-paper challenging plans to rebalance control in Brussels’s favor, while outlining concerns over the proposed delivery model.
ENERGY CRISIS
MORE ACCELERATION: The College of Commissioners will today roll out its latest response to an energy crunch that’s beginning to bite across the bloc. The name of the package is AccelerateEU and it comes barely six weeks after the unrelated Industrial Accelerator Act. (At this rate, the Berlaymont may soon need an acceleration naming task force.)
Short-term fixes first: The focus is squarely on fast, “temporary and targeted” relief: looser state aid rules to cushion industrial energy costs, coordinated tax breaks and supply-side fixes, from joint gas purchases to tapping reserves. POLITICO’s Ben Munster has the full rundown.
Still playing the long game: Even in crisis mode, Brussels isn’t changing course, so you can expect a renewed push on decarbonization, renewables and clean tech. The balancing act is clear: relief versus long-term transition.
Usual grumbling: Capitals will split along familiar lines. Some will say the plan lacks structural depth; others will warn of distortions from another round of state aid flexibility. For less wealthy countries, the fear is familiar: being priced out of the green transition race.
Jet fuel flashpoint: With shortages of jet fuel looming, Lufthansa has already scrapped 20,000 short-haul flights through October, aiming to save over 40,000 metric tons of fuel. Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said the package would include “damage limitation” plans for transport and other sectors.
Sharing the pain? In a full-blown shortage scenario, Tzitzikostas warned, the EU could ask countries to share jet fuel reserves. And the commissioner didn’t rule out compulsory measures, as my colleague Tommaso Lecca reports. Tzitzikostas also hinted that airlines may get some of the relief they’ve been lobbying for.
Passenger rights hold (mostly): Flight cancellations due to high fuel prices won’t count as “extraordinary circumstances,” Tzitzikostas said — suggesting affected travelers could still claim compensation. But disruptions caused by actual fuel shortages would likely meet the threshold, limiting passengers’ right to claim anything beyond refunds.
Diesel déjà vu? Attention is already shifting to the next risk. With prices edging up, fresh Eurostat data points to a worrying trend — as flagged in a chart by POLITICO’s Hanne Cokelaere.
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MIDDLE EAST
LEBANON CONFERENCE: Diplomats gather in Paris today for a French-led conference on Lebanon, after Donald Trump extended the U.S.-Iran ceasefire overnight. Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica was initially due to attend, before the date shift — she’s now in Greece for the Delphi Forum, alongside several fellow commissioners (and Playbook’s own Nicholas Vinocur).
Šuica will dial in via video message instead. “We should not be at the mercy of expiration dates — we want the ceasefire to become permanent,” she told Playbook ahead of her intervention. After meeting Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam Tuesday, Šuica said discussions would focus on stepping up EU engagement through a “strategic and comprehensive partnership.”
Money talks: Brussels is lining up €1 billion for Lebanon over this year and next, with funds redirected toward urgent, fast-disbursing needs. Add to that a €10 million program with the World Food Programme and a €45 million direct grant to Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs.
Strategic play? Today’s conference aims to reinforce Lebanon’s state forces and strengthen sovereign control — the logic, as Kaja Kallas put it on Tuesday, is that a stronger Lebanese military means a weakening of Hezbollah’s grip.
FAC RECAP: Kallas spoke from Luxembourg, where EU foreign ministers met — notably without Hungary’s long-time top diplomat Péter Szijjártó. The mood was lighter, diplomats say — and potentially more conducive to movement on blocked files, according to Nicholas Vinocur and Ferdinand Knapp. Three takeaways:
No. 1 — No deal on Israel trade pressure: Spain, Slovenia and Ireland failed to secure unanimity to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, leaving preferential market access untouched.
Credibility clash: Critical countries warned of double standards on Ukraine and the Middle East. Kallas pushed back, stressing the EU remains the “biggest supporter of the Palestinian people” — from backing the Palestinian Authority to funding reconstruction. Suspending the agreement, she argued, would not halt settlement expansion in the West Bank.
No. 2 — Russian soldier ban gains traction: Kallas also told journalists in Luxembourg that she’d pitch a ban on Russian combatants entering the EU to leaders when they gather for a formal summit in June. The travel-ban proposal was first put forward by Estonia, whose Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Nick and Ferdinand that “more countries are signing on to this idea” given security fears around demobilized Russian soldiers.
No. 3 — Venice Biennale funding at risk: The EU “intends to cut funding” for the Venice Biennale after it allowed Russian participation — a decision Kallas called “morally wrong.” POLITICO’s Martina Sapio has more.
IN OTHER NEWS
ANOTHER MAGYAR MEETING: A delegation representing Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar is expected in Brussels Saturday, although it hasn’t been confirmed. It follows the Commission’s visit to Budapest last week. Meanwhile, Hungary’s next leader is busy floating big ideas — including a modern take on the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
LANDMARK RULING: Hungary breached EU law by restricting minors’ access to LGBTQ+ content, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled Tuesday, ordering Budapest to scrap the legislation. It’s the first time the Court has found that a member state violated the bloc’s core values under Article 2 of the EU Treaty. “It reminds us that we are a Union of equality — where everyone is free to be who they are and love whom they choose,” Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and Democracy Commissioner Michael McGrath said in a joint message to Playbook.