Greece willing to join Hormuz mission, Mitsotakis says
Greece would be willing to participate in a UN-backed mission to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz if required, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday.
Greece to prioritize Western Balkans’ EU accession during 2027 EU presidency
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said Friday that advancing the European Union membership bids of Western Balkan countries will be a top priority during Greece’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2027.
Measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, relief for debtors and tax cuts
The government is responding to the pressure on household incomes caused by rising inflation linked to the conflict in the Persian Gulf through a three-pronged strategy: measures to tackle the cost of living, financial relief for borrowers who meet their obligations, and tax reductions.These economic policies are expected to be rolled out more intensively in the coming months and share a common objective: strengthening household incomes that have been affected by the energy price shock and the inflationary wave triggered by the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Hydrocarbons: Corfu drilling project enters final stretch, Kyparissia Gulf to follow
The prospect of a second exploratory drilling operation for hydrocarbons in the Ionian Sea is emerging following the entry of Chevron into Block 10, located in the Gulf of Kyparissia. Andrew Deighan, Chevron’s Director of Exploration for the Middle East and North Africa, described the area as an “ interesting and unexplored” region. At the same time, significant developments are expected in Block 2, west of Corfu, where the first exploration well is scheduled to be drilled next February.Chevron’s acquisition of a 70% stake in Block 10 has already been approved in record time. The request was submitted on 28 May, and the relevant procedures were completed last week. As a result, HELLENiQ ENERGY, which previously held the entire concession, will retain a 30% interest.
ATHEX: Benchmark posts weekly rise of 2.24%
The combination of the June triple witching with the Stoxx index rebalancing expected led to a significant increase in stock market turnover on Friday, though prices showed a mixed picture. Eventually, the benchmark and the blue-chip index ended up with growth, while banks lost negligible ground. The cancellation of Friday’s talks between the US and Iran did not appear to have a major impact on proceedings at Athinon Avenue.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1307215/athex-benchmark-posts-weekly-rise-of-2-24
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: How the “incorruptible” operate
TO VIMA: SOS by 10 islands regarding water, energy and construction
REAL NEWS: The war is ending, the consequences remain
PROTO THEMA: 25,000 expulsions of students for using mobile phones
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Penalties on some pensions
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: 7 +1 signs of “internal default”
KONTRA NEWS: Dramatic decline for New Democracy in the Peloponnese
DIMOKRATIA: Poland got reparations from Germany because it claimed them
NAFTEMPORIKI: “Mining” of funds from the ocean of tax-exemptions
DRIVING THE DAY
RETURN HUBS OPEN NEW DIVIDE: French President Emmanuel Macron’s blistering attack on planned deportation centers has set EU members on a collision course over the deportation of migrants — and who should pay for the third-country detention facilities.
Nitro, meet glycerin: The spat combines the two most explosive issues on the bloc’s agenda: migration and the EU’s long-term budget. Add a pinch of ethical soul-searching to the mix, and you have the makings of a major dustup at October’s European Council summit.
How we got here: Migration wasn’t going to dominate last week’s European Council gathering — until it did. Playbook scooped a letter by 19 countries backing the deportation centers (“return hubs” in EU-speak), and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni clashed with Spain’s Pedro Sánchez over his legalization of some 500,000 migrants.
The letter caught France off guard, according to two EU diplomats. If it had just been from Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, one of the diplomats said. “But when 19 countries signed it, it became a huge deal.” Both diplomats were granted anonymity to talk about behind-the-scenes discussions at last week’s summit.
On the offensive: Macron — refreshed by his success at the G7 — used his summit-closing news conference to pounce on the return hubs: “I’m not sure this what our Europe is about,” he said. “I’m not sure that these are the fundamental principles on which our Europe was built.”
Parting shot: “I’ve never seen a return center in a third country that actually works,” said the French president, whose government has otherwise backed the Return Regulation that creates the legal conditions for setting up the hubs.
Buried in the last paragraph of the letter by the 19 members is a call for EU funds to support initiatives to set up such facilities — something Macron now appears unlikely to support.
What Macron’s really worried about: The French president’s intervention was partly motivated by concern the EU’s migration debate may be swerving into unpleasant places. Footage from the European Parliament after the regulation was approved showed far-right MEPs chanting “Send them back!” while left-wing lawmakers shouted “Shame on you!”
Pushback: The first diplomat, who hails from a country backing the return centers, said: “We have a return rate of less than 30 percent. Unless you can improve on that … the far-right will gain even more support.”
The bottom line: Previous failed attempts to set up deportation centers — from the U.K.’s Rwanda debacle to Australia’s troubled South Pacific experiments — showed they’re a political minefield. When this starts to bleed into the EU budget, the fight could take us well into the winter months.
BIG AND BREAKING
STARMER ON THE BRINK: U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to announce a plan for his exit today as his Labour Party colleagues turn against him. Even Donald Trump joined the pile on.
COSTA’S MOSCOW PROBLEM: António Costa is still taking heat over his chief of staff’s contacts with Russian officials — a rare stumble for the sure-footed European Council president just when he needs national leaders behind him.
GLOBAL ENERGY RUN: Europe is facing growing competition from Asia for limited natural gas supplies — and it’s a contest the EU will struggle to win, analysts and officials warn.
DUBLIN’S BIG TECH DILEMMA: One of Ireland’s key tasks when it takes over the EU’s rotating presidency in less than 10 days will be helping shape the rules for tech companies based there.
JCPOA GROUNDHOG DAY
KALLAS SEES AN OPENING: The EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas heads to Oman today to meet Arab League leaders, after mediators trumpeted “encouraging progress” in talks between the U.S. and Iran overnight.
While you were sleeping: High-level talks in Switzerland aimed at ending the war in the Middle East wrapped up on a fairly upbeat note overnight, after earlier seeming at risk of collapse. Mediators Pakistan and Qatar said in a statement that American and Iranian representatives agreed to establish a “deconfliction cell” to address the fighting in Lebanon, the AP reports.
Now for the next phase: Having been sidelined during the war, EU leaders see an opening for Brussels to play a bigger role in the highly technical phase of talks on Iran’s nuclear program — an area where Washington will need significant expertise and support.
The EU’s pitch? The European External Action Service has deep institutional knowledge from negotiating the JCPOA, the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal. And with the International Atomic Energy Agency based in Vienna, Europe is well-positioned to contribute to any monitoring agreement, an EU official argued.
“You need a diplomatic opening to get this going but once it happens, you have expertise in the EEAS which is unique and that goes hand-in-hand with the IAEA,” the official told Playbook.
Gaza connection: While in Oman, Kallas will meet with Jordanian and Arab League leaders, with talks focused on the fighting in Lebanon and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. “All of these things are interconnected,” the official said.
Staying power: “Trump’s plans for Gaza still haven’t been implemented. Meanwhile, the EU is present in Lebanon and remains the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority,” they added.
Primed for action: Germany, France and the U.K. have already sent or pre-positioned mine-sweeping ships for a possible mission in the area. Regional players are looking to Europe to help stabilize the fragile ceasefires.
Fly + ointment: Israel’s decision to cut ties with Kallas, after she reportedly compared the country to an apartheid state, remains a problem. “We have an Association Agreement with this country and now they won’t engage with [her],” an EU diplomat noted.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
The EU holds a summit with Moldova today, with President Maia Sandu in Brussels to meet European Council President António Costa and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. But where is Moldova on its path toward joining the EU? On June 12, the bloc’s 27 member countries voted in favor of opening the first accession cluster with Moldova and Ukraine, marking the beginning of their formal negotiations to join the bloc. That cluster (a group of negotiating chapters) covers the EU’s core values and principles, from the rule of law to democratic institutions.
TALK TO PLAYBOOK: On the Brussels Playbook Podcast, Zoya and Nick asked for your tips to stay cool in a heat wave. Whatsapp us on +32 491 050629 and listen from 7 a.m. to hear if we give you a shoutout.
PARLIAMENT’S RACISM RUCKUS
RENEW ESCALATES RACISM ROW: Renew Europe chief Valérie Hayer is pressing for sanctions against two ECR lawmakers over what she alleges were racist comments directed at Swedish MEP Abir Al-Sahlani after last week’s vote on the deportations bill. The case could test European Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s willingness to take on the right, Max Griera reports.
How we got here: Al-Sahlani, who was born in Iraq, said in the hemicycle after Wednesday’s heated vote on the return regulation that she had “never felt as unsafe” in the Parliament. Finnish lawmaker Sebastian Tynkkynen posted the clip with the caption “cry more.”MEP Kristoffer Storm also commented, posting that Al-Sahlani “should go home.”
Time to act: Al-Sahlani told POLITICO that Storm’s comment was “about racial exclusion.” Hayer wrote to Metsola asking her to consider displinary action against the ECR MEPs — and hinted Renew could take legal action if nothing is done. “I am increasingly concerned by the sense of impunity that risks taking hold if such behaviour is left unaddressed,” Hayer said.
Storm’s response: “I will not accept being called a racist by political colleagues, and I take that kind of defamatory allegation very seriously,” he told POLITICO. “The phrase ‘go home’ was intended to mean that if she found the democratic decision and the reactions to it so distressing, she would have been better off leaving the chamber and taking time to reflect rather than accusing a big majority of political opponents of making her feel unsafe.” Tynkkynen did not reply to a request for comment.
All eyes are now on Metsola: “The president made clear it will be looked into,” said spokesperson Delphine Colard. MEPs are waiting to see if Metsola will want to take on the right just as she’s asking for its support in her bid for a third term.
4 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
HERE TO STAY: Hungary’s Ambassador to the EU Bálint Ódor, appointed by Viktor Orbán’s government in 2022, will remain as Budapest’s top diplomat in Brussels, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Friday.
WHO’S THE NEW CHIEF? Speculation is mounting over who will lead the World Health Organization after the Trump administration’s withdrawal.
NEVER-ENDING BREXIT BORDER DISPUTE: There’s a word to describe the U.K.’s 10-year bid to fix the “Brexit border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland: failure.
WILL THE REAL MARK CARNEY PLEASE STAND UP? On the world stage, Mark Carney presents as a statesman. Back home, the Canadian prime minister is seen as a ruthless party boss and Machiavellian tactician.