Greece rejects Turkish warning over planned Cyprus gas pipeline
Greek diplomatic sources have rejected as illegal a navigational warning issued by Ankara over offshore surveys for a planned undersea pipeline to carry natural gas from southern Turkey to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. The dispute comes as Greece is planning to lay an undersea cable linking its power grid with that of Cyprus. Turkey has voiced objections to the project, saying it will pass through marine areas subject to its own jurisdiction. Athens denies that. Officials in Athens said Thursday that Navtex 0953/26, issued by the Antalya hydrographic station, “proclaims illegal surveys in Cyprus’ territorial waters and continental shelf.”
Greece renews mandate for air defense missiles in Saudi Arabia
Greece will extend the presence of its air defense missile battery in Saudi Arabia for at least another month, top defense and foreign policy officials agreed Thursday. In a session chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Government Council on National Security took into consideration the increased tension in the region with the Houthi attacks that pushed up global oil prices. Mitsotakis is also due to visit Riyadh at the end of this month. The national security council has decided to review and renew the presence of the Greek Patriot missile battery in Saudi Arabia on a monthly basis.
US Secretary of State Rubio in Athens next week for US–Greece Strategic Dialogue
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Athens next week as head of an American delegation to the 6th US-Greece Strategic Dialogue. “In Greece, Secretary Rubio will lead the United States delegation for Sixth US-Greece Strategic Dialogue, deepening our partnership on key Administration priorities, including defense cooperation and regional and energy security,” the relevant announcement reads.
PASOK calls for VAT-funded fuel tax cut, Golden Visa reform
Main opposition Socialist PASOK’s leader on Thursday urged the government to subsidise retail fuel prices through increased sales tax revenues, and to scrap the so-called Golden Visa program that grants non-Europeans residency rights tied to property investments. Speaking in Parliament, Nikos Androulakis proposed “a mechanism that ensures something very simple,” that when fuel price hikes result in increased sales tax – or Value Added Tax – revenues, there should be a cut in fuel tax equivalent to the extra state receipts. Referring to Greece’s housing crisis, Androulakis strongly criticised the Golden Visa program that grants residency rights to non-EU nationals in return for real estate purchases.
ATHEX: Index dives after four days of advance
The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed Thursday at 2,669.72 points, shedding 2.51% from Wednesday’s 2,738.35 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 2.62% to end at 6,851.76 points.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1316935/athex-index-dives-after-four-days-of-advance
KATHIMERINI: Bonds market suffer shock
TA NEA: Salvation exit for real estate assets within forest territories
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Greece submits far-right proposals for migrants in the EU
RIZOSPASTIS: Greek Communist Party tables amendment to relieve simple folks from energy price hikes
KONTRA NEWS: New wave of price hikes in super markets
DIMOKRATIA: “Orgies” with direct award of state contracts to… short-term stay hotel
NAFTEMPORIKI: Listed companies’ high debt is double-edged knife
DRIVING THE DAY
IT HURTS TO BE MERZ: European capitals are preparing for the prospect that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz could lose power — or at least become embroiled in a domestic political fight that pulls his attention away from the battle over the EU budget.
Wie sieht der Plan aus? At least two national governments have held internal war-gaming sessions on what happens if Merz’s fragile coalition collapses or he is replaced, according to two officials granted anonymity to speak on the sensitive talks. The sessions included mapping out what a fall would mean for negotiations over the proposed €2 trillion budget, since Merz leads the group of countries seeking “hundreds of billions of euros” in cuts.
Setting sun: With the far right notching up a string of election victories and the CDU-SPD coalition split on key policy decisions, German newspapers are declaring Kanzlerdämmerung — the chancellor’s twilight.
Diplomats see three ways out: The government collapses, Merz resigns or he plows ahead despite the growing distractions at home. But with the far-right Alternative for Germany leading the polls, “all coalition partners know that they have a great deal to lose from early elections” and will do whatever they can to avoid them, said German Green MEP Hannah Neumann.
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No Mr. Compromise: The chancellor’s domestic weakness is unlikely to trigger a climbdown on the EU budget, three diplomats told Playbook. Merz will take a particularly hard line because he needs a win at home, one said. If he is forced to step down, a successor would likely follow his budget lead, according to another. Nobody “would be able to be more flexible than Merz is” on the budget because there’s no appetite in Germany for vastly increased EU payments, they said.
Keep plugging away: Those who know Merz say he won’t be distracted by his domestic woes. “Other politicians might say ‘OK, I focus less on EU politics.’ For him it’s just the opposite: It’s an additional incentive to show leadership in Europe,” said a person familiar with the chancellor’s thinking. On Thursday Merz did just that, making a landmark speech on the need to support Ukraine through the winter to convince a sometimes wavering public.
But domestic politics is already reshaping Berlin’s approach. Germany has backed away from a battle it would previously have fought over the Commission’s push to squeeze cheap imports from China. German manufacturing backs the bid, and the coalition hopes it can help stem the deindustrialization driving support for the far right. According to two national officials, Germany will reverse its historic opposition and is drafting a joint letter with France to the Commission backing the trade instruments.
Up or down: With negotiations over the EU budget heating up, Merz could be in for a brawl in Brussels — not just at home. Read the full story from me and Frida Preuß here.
BIG AND BREAKING
FUELING INFLATION: President Donald Trump’s threat to halt diesel exports to Europe could send prices skyrocketing and put small and medium-sized firms out of business, my colleague Martina Sapio writes.
The Trump administration last night stepped up pressure on European allies to release diesel reserves, including a post on X from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging them to make supplies available “immediately.” Earlier, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Ireland and the European Commission agreed at an emergency meeting to respond to Washington with “one voice,” Ben Munster reports.
DRONE PROBE: An undetonated bomb used in the Leipzig attack has resurrected a two-year-old investigation into explosives found at a graveyard in Lithuania, as authorities uncover the networks used for Russian attacks on EU soil.
NOT THERE YET: The EU and China still have work to do to reach a trade deal after months of “tough” talks, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told POLITICO on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Milwaukee. He’ll head to Beijing next week for a “super crucial” meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
APPLICATION REJECTED: Some EU members are pushing to temporarily suspend asylum applications in emergencies like the crisis in Ceuta this summer, my colleague Hanne Cokelaere reports.
BURNOUT IN THE BERLAYMONT
THE EU’S MENTAL HEALTH BILL: EU officials needing psychiatric care to deal with workplace trauma end up paying a hefty chunk of the bill themselves, warned a Brussels psychiatrist who treats burned-out European Commission staff.
Mind the gap: Thomas Van der Poorten,president of the Belgian Federation of Outpatient Psychiatry, told Sebastian Starcevic the institution must do more. The roughly €60 per session reimbursed by JSIS, the EU’s health insurance scheme for staff, can fall well short of what private psychiatrists charge — leaving employees to cover the rest, he said.
“The institutions are not bystanders to Europe’s workplace mental health crisis — they seem to actively contribute to one,” said Van der Poorten, who estimated that about 80% of his patients working at the Commission come to him after experiencing some form of workplace harassment. He argued the institution should set an “exemplary” standard in providing mental health care, given the harm he says is induced by toxic managers.
The reimbursement ceilings “are not enough,” agreed Nicolas Mavraganis, president of Union Syndicale Fédérale, the EU’s staff union umbrella group, highlighting how many staff report facing harassment. The ceiling was last raised in 2023 from €50, which is comparable to the Belgian state health insurance rebate, after a 15-year freeze.
Financial toll: While EU officials are typically highly paid and have job security, meaning they can presumably afford good care, Van der Poorten pointed out many of his patients have been off work for a while by the time they see him. “It’s the story of most mental health patients.”
Commission responds: A Commission spokesperson told Playbook the institution takes its “duty of care” toward staff facing mental health issues seriously and pointed to a “broad range” of “support mechanisms,” including support groups, an “Empathy Network” and an HR helpline.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
The Rhine Group recently finished its first meeting, but what is it? It’s a new organization made up of CEOs, economists, academics and tech entrepreneurs that wants to develop reforms outside the confines of the EU’s complex machinery. It was founded by Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and European Central Bank chief, and Stripe founder Patrick Collison. Draghi, you may recall, authored a 2024 report on European competitiveness.
NOT-SO-HYBRID WAR
FRONTIER STATES WANT BRUSSELS TO GET SERIOUS: Europe’s upcoming security strategy must include more intelligence sharing, investment in security services and rapid response capabilities, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Playbook’s Zoya Sheftalovich.
This is war: Russia’s attacks on EU countries are “not like the classical military invasion” people might picture, but amount to “some kind of war,” Tsahkna said. Moscow is trying to “divide our societies, divide our unity and play with fear.”
The strategy — which is expected later this year — should distinguish sabotage and cyberattacks from the threat of a full-scale military assault, he said. The goal should be to prevent attacks, avoid panic if they happen, and show a united front. “Business as usual is not coming back.”
Make the stooges pay: Tsahkna urged EU countries to move swiftly against saboteurs caught doing the Kremlin’s dirty work, publicly attribute attacks and make the consequences clear. “Mainly they are not ideological, they are just people … after some easy money,” he said of those recruited to carry out attacks. The message to them should be: “If you do anything in our territories, we will catch you and we will put you in prison for years … so think many times before” agreeing to participate.
6 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
CASH COMING: The EU will speed up disbursement of €45 billion in much-needed loan funding earmarked for Ukraine in 2027 after striking a deal yesterday.
NO RULES: Vladimir Putin has told his military chiefs to abandon the rules of war as Russia steps up its offensive against Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the FT.
CAN EU DO IT? A new video game made by the Socialists and Democrats challenges users to launch a European electric car, while juggling tricky manufacturing decisions and geopolitical shocks. It’s harder than it looks. Have a go here.
DON’T USE US TO GET AT TRUMP: Albania’s PM Edi Rama is urging U.S. Democrats not to jump on the backlash against a planned luxury resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to our colleagues at WELT. (WELT is owned by Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company.)
STUCK ON THE SILK ROAD: NATO wants to strengthen its ties with Armenia and Azerbaijan — but its plans are being held up by a row between France and Turkey, Victor Jack reports.
AI DILEMMA: In this week’s Declassified column, Paul Dallison wonders if you should invest in artificial intelligence when there’s a chance it might kill us all.