Gov’t weighs PASOK probe request over OPEKEPE case
The government is weighing its response after PASOK filed a proposal for a preliminary investigative committee targeting former ministers Spilios Livanos and Fotini Arabatzi over a case linked to the OPEKEPE farm subsidies case. Government officials said no final decision has been made, with discussions expected to continue in the coming days.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1302567/govt-weighs-pasok-probe-request-over-opekepe-case
Tsipras presents political manifesto, urges confluence of the Left
Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday published a lengthy political manifesto on conjoining what he defined as the main drivers of leftwing politics, in an indication of what his planned political party could come to represent. In a social media post, Tsipras said the manifesto on how the Left could return to government in Greece, drafted by a working group in his Alexis Tsipras Institute, focused on “bringing together the three chief tendencies in the contemporary Left: Social Democrats, the Radical Left and Greens.”
MEP Farantouris joins PASOK
MEP Nikolas Farantouris’s joining of PASOK-Movement for Change was made official on Thursday afternoon during a meeting with party leader Nikos Androulakis in Parliament. Androulakis emphasised that Farantouris possesses expertise in matters concerning international developments and energy, as well as issues of justice and the rule of law.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/989647/MEP-Farantouris-joins-PASOK
Greece’s inflation to rise to 4.6% in April, Eurostat says
Eurozone annual inflation is expected to reach 3% in April 2026, up from 2.6% in March, according to a preliminary estimate released on Thursday by the European Statistical Office, Eurostat. In Greece, inflation is estimated to rise to 4.6% in April, compared with 3.4% in March.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/989527/Greeces-inflation-to-rise-to-46-in-April–Eurostat-says
ATHEX: Benchmark advanced by 6% in April
With the price of oil hitting a four-year high and the US threatening Iran with a long-lasting blockade of its ports, investor concerns spread and stocks took some more losses on Thursday in Athens, ahead of the May Day long weekend. The session saw its closing auctions take the benchmark from marginally positive territory to the day’s lowest point, containing April’s gains to 5.99% for the Greek stock market.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1302498/athex-benchmark-advanced-by-6-in-april
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Ruling party turbulence and “red cards” by the PM’s office
TO VIMA: Rogue ruling party MPs challenge the PM’s office
REAL NEWS: Alleviations for businesses ahead
PROTO THEMA: Marc poll: New Democracy rebounds after the announcement of support measures and Macron’s visit, before 2 new parties emerge
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Better public transport? See you in… 2035
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Mitsotakis’ fraud regarding the cap on loan’s compound interest
KONTRA NEWS: The system is terrified of Tsipras and has launched a smear campaign
DIMOKRATIA: 41 government “excellents” are protagonists of scandals
NAFTEMPORIKI: Listed companies with full coffers for investments
DRIVING THE DAY
WHEN IS A DEAL A DEAL? Donald Trump’s threat to rip up part of his Turnberry deal with the EU has thrown the trade pact into disarray just as the bloc’s leaders are trying to finalize it.
Axel to grind: Late Friday, the U.S. president announced tariffs on imports of cars and trucks from the EU would rise to 25 percent, a move that — if he follows through — would cost manufacturers much of their business in America. Trump accuses Brussels of taking too long to implement the deal agreed at his golf course in Scotland last July.
Happening this week: That agreement, struck by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was based on a 15 percent tariff on cars but is tied up in discussions with the Parliament and EU member countries — with three-way talks set for Wednesday. Officials insist it’s progressing as planned, but the chair of the Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, Bernd Lange, is now accusing Washington of “breaking its commitments” with the new tariffs.
France has already been pushing to revisit the terms of the deal. Its EU affairs minister Benjamin Haddad used an interview with POLITICO last week to call for “guardrail” clauses that would suspend the agreement if Trump reneges on it.
More than trade: Brando Benifei, chair of the Parliament’s delegation to the U.S., told Playbook that Trump is “acting like this because he is frustrated with the position of Europeans on the Iran war … especially the positions taken by the German government,” for which cars are a top priority.
Playing hardball: The crisis will help make the case for the “guardrails” in this week’s negotiations, Benifei said. He confirmed to POLITICO he will call on the Commission to again bring out the “trade bazooka” (remember that?) to retaliate. “We need to make a mechanism that makes the violation of the agreements and the continuing threats too costly for the U.S.”
Ironically, it’s Germany leading opposition to that push, blocking those clauses over fears they would provoke Trump further.
No turning back: German conservative Manfred Weber, chair of the dominant European People’s Party, told my colleague Max Griera that the only way forward is to approve the pact as it is. “Our businesses cannot afford any prolonged uncertainty,” Weber said, and called for a final vote as soon as next month.
Keep calm and carry on: The German auto industry is urging de-escalation in the dispute and for the trade deal to be implemented. But the Cypriot presidency is looking to broker a new compromise at Wednesday’s meeting with “some flexibility” on safeguards, a diplomat told my trade colleagues. Watch this space.
TRANSATLANTIC TENSIONS
TRUMP VS. MERZ: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz tried to lower the temperature with Washington on Sunday, telling public broadcaster ARD: “I will not give up on the transatlantic relationship, and I will not give up on cooperation with Donald Trump.”
It’s not just about cars: Merz’s comments came after Trump ratcheted up his threats to pull American troops out of Germany, telling reporters the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers announced by the Pentagon Friday is just the beginning. “We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” Trump said in Florida Saturday.
But Merz downplayed the withdrawal in the ARD interview — framing it as part of longer-running military planning rather than a sudden rupture. Merz said Trump hasn’t repeated the Biden administration’s 2024 promise to deploy long-range Tomahawk missiles in Germany. Even if the current administration wanted to honor the commitment, there’s “objectively hardly any possibility” of providing the weapons systems now, with stocks squeezed by the Iran war, Merz added.
TRUMP VS. MELONI: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome (and the Vatican) later this week to try to repair relations, following Trump’s public spats with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and Pope Leo XIV.
RUSSIA VS. EVERYONE: Europe’s split with Washington is happening at a dangerous time — amid warnings Moscow could target the EU’s Baltic states in a bid to drive a wedge between them and Ukraine. Zoya Sheftalovich, Nick Vinocur and Victor Jack have more.
SCOOP — PROTECTING OURSELVES: The EU needs to strengthen its military coordination to better defend the continent, according to a position paper backed by Finland and Sweden and sent to the bloc’s leadership last week. Those behind it want to see better political oversight and a stronger role for defense ministers in the Council.
Doing it ourselves: “The discussion on European defense readiness within the EU requires determined and structured planning as part of the transatlantic framework,” one European diplomat with knowledge of the initiative told Playbook. While the group wants capitals to better implement EU initiatives back home, they also want to identify “EU-NATO synergies in concrete capability projects.”
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Trump posted on Truth Social overnight that the U.S. will begin guiding stranded commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz this morning, after several countries not directly involved in the Middle East war asked Washington for assistance. Trump described “Project Freedom” as a humanitarian gesture to aid vessels running low on food and other supplies — but Tehran quickly denounced the move as a ceasefire violation, the Associated Press reports.
POLITICAL POLARIZATION
CLOWNS TO THE LEFT OF ME: Germany’s far left is taking on an unusual strategy — sabotaging critical infrastructure, according to a months-long investigation by our sister publication WELT.
JOKERS TO THE RIGHT: Andalusia’s regional president, Juanma Moreno, is trying to beat the Spanish far right in upcoming elections by winning the support of a popular bullfighter. Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid has the unlikely story.
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU: Poland’s centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk and its populist president, Karol Nawrocki, who’ve been embroiled in a fight about crypto and political funding, are now also clashing over Nawrocki’s plans to rewrite the Polish constitution.
EPC SUMMIT
WELCOME TO THE FOLD: EU leaders are in Armenia today for a European Political Community summit, followed by separate talks to show support for the former Soviet republic as it seeks closer ties with the West.
First up: Canada’s Mark Carney and Britain’s Keir Starmer will be among the dozens of heads of state and government taking part in the EPC, where they’ll both be looking to strengthen ties to Brussels amid tensions with the Trump administration. Starmer will have a bilateral with Ursula von der Leyen, my London Playbook colleague Sam Blewett hears. Among the topics they’ll discuss are Britain joining the EU’s €90 billion loan scheme for Ukraine and plans for a youth mobility deal, the FT reports.
Later: The EU holds its first summit with Armenia, focused on strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in energy, transport and digital policy. It comes as Yerevan prepares for a critical parliamentary election next month that Moscow is accused of trying to manipulate. Von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa will be touching down in a country that still hosts thousands of Russian troops at strategic military bases.