Erdogan calls for Aegean negotiations
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed new talks with Greece on Aegean issues at the conclusion of the NATO summit on Wednesday, saying the two countries’ foreign ministers should meet first and that the leaders themselves could later join the discussions if necessary. The proposal came after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis renewed calls for resolving longstanding disputes and raised concerns over Turkey’s casus belli and potential access to F-35 fighter jets. Both leaders stressed dialogue despite differences that have long complicated relations between the neighboring states.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1309027/erdogan-calls-for-aegean-negotiations
Wiretapping case deepens divide
Parliament’s Committee on Institutions and Transparency met in a tense session on Wednesday over requests to summon witnesses Grigoris Dimitriadis and Tal Dilian in connection with the wiretapping affair, which involves the illegal use of the Predator spyware to target politicians, journalists and defense officials. The requests were rejected by the governing majority. Opposition parties strongly objected. PASOK’s Panayiotis Doudonis presented a November 2022 document showing that the committee had previously invited Dilian to testify. PASOK, SYRIZA and the Communist KKE walked out, accusing the government of a cover-up.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1309044/wiretapping-case-deepens-divide
Androulakis: Seven interventions for the revival of SMEs
Main opposition PASOK party leader Nikos Androulakis on Wednesday presented seven proposals included in the party’s programme to support and develop Greece’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “We are presenting seven specific interventions that the state should gradually plan in order to change the course of the Greek economy. The goal is resilience and competitiveness,” Androulakis said.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/1007467/Androulakis-Seven-interventions-for-the-revival-of-SMEs
Greece’s installed wind power capacity exceeds 6 GW at H1 ’06
Greece’s installed wind power capacity exceeded the 6 GW milestone at the end of the first half of 2026, according to the latest semi-annual wind energy statistics released by the Hellenic Scientific Association of Wind Energy. According to the report, installed wind capacity reached 6,017 megawatts (MW) during the first six months of 2026, after 65 new wind turbines with a combined capacity of 320.6 MW were connected to the grid, representing investments of approximately 400 million euros.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/1007471/Greeces-installed-wind-power-capacity-exceeds-6-GW-at-H1-06
ATHEX: Mini sell-off after fresh Gulf tension
The resumption of military action in the Persian Gulf had an immediate impact on markets, with oil rates jumping and bourse indexes slumping on Wednesday. The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,487.60 points, shedding 2.14% from Tuesday’s 2,541.99 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index contracted 2.17% to end at 6,314.54 points.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1309048/athex-mini-sell-off-after-fresh-gulf-tension
KATHIMERINI: Erdogan invites to bargains for the Aegean Sea
TA NEA: NATO Summit: Athens will be in alert for 117 days
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: New round of armaments and price hikes
RIZOSPASTIS: NATO Summit: Preparation of general massacre for profits
KONTRA NEWS: Markets sink; interest rates rise
DIMOKRATIA: National shame
NAFTEMPORIKI: “Squall” of geopolitical risk hits the markets
DRIVING THE DAY
TIME TO RSVP: Brussels will host another donor conference for Gaza on Monday. But the real question isn’t how much cash is pledged to rebuild the territory — it’s whether the Americans show up at all. And Brussels officials still don’t know how things will pan out.
Why it matters: The Palestine Donor Group is the European Commission’s big diplomatic play on Gaza: an attempt to coordinate international support for a reformed Palestinian Authority and carve out a significant EU role in the territory’s eventual recovery. In practice, Monday’s meeting has become a test of whether months of quiet Commission diplomacy have paid off — and whether Washington is prepared to take Brussels’ Gaza track seriously.
State of play: The U.S. has been formally invited, two EU officials granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic dealings told Playbook. But as of publication, member country delegates hadn’t been told whether Washington had accepted. One diplomat cautioned that the confirmation may simply still be working its way through diplomatic channels.
Quiet confidence: Expectations are rising. Two senior diplomats said they expect the U.S. delegation to be led by Aryeh Lightstone, senior adviser to U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff and to the Board of Peace.
That would be a game changer: The first edition of the donor group, held in November, was hardly a triumph. After the Trump administration’s no-show, some lawmakers described it as an exercise in wishful thinking on the part of the EU, as it tried to muscle its way into Gaza diplomacy.
Charm offensive: This time, Brussels thinks it has a better shot. The Commission has spent months trying to get the Americans on board — or, as one official joked, onto the EU’s own “Board of Peace.” Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, who controversially attended the launch of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington, met U.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder last week. And Monday’s donor meeting was high on the agenda.
Don’t uncork the Champagne: Nobody in Brussels is celebrating yet, with officials still fearing Washington could pull out at the last minute. But Playbook can reveal EU and U.S. officials are scheduled to hold a technical call dealing with the Gaza meeting on Friday morning. Neither the U.S. Embassy to the EU nor the White House responded to Playbook’s requests for comment.
Why Brussels cares: If the Americans attend, EU officials will cast it as proof that Brussels’ slow, technical Gaza work has finally gained traction. “It would show that the EU’s diplomatic and technical work — and its consistency over time — pays off,” one official said. “It would show our partners trust us.”
Reality check: Brussels and Washington still diverge on Gaza’s future. Trump’s camp is floating ideas from data centers to beachfront developments. But for the EU, the point is simpler: If Washington shows up Monday, it means Brussels is no longer talking to itself.
BIG AND BREAKING
MARINE LE PEN’S 2027 PLAYBOOK: The far-right candidate’s strategy for winning the French presidency is to put Jordan Bardella everywhere.
RECAPPING THE NATO SUMMIT: How European allies took Donald Trump’s bluster in stride at this week’s crunch meeting in Ankara … the fraught dynamics behind the family photo … and a fresh pledge on collective defense.
SPAIN IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS: The White House is preparing a list of Spanish goods that could face trade measures after Madrid refused to meet NATO’s defense spending target.
MACRON’S LAST NATO: Emmanuel Macron left his final summit with his defense legacy increasingly constrained by tight public finances and domestic politics.
ITALY VS. GREEN RULES: Rome is leading a push to dilute environmental conditions in the EU’s next €2 trillion budget, opening a new front in the budget battle.
BORDER FORCE: Nine EU countries want Brussels to suspend the bloc’s new Entry/Exit System after vacationers were hit by long lines at airports and border crossings.
MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The U.S. launched new airstrikes against Iran overnight and Tehran responded by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, the AP reports.
TECH AND THE PRESIDENCY
TECH PROXIMITY: Ireland is facing unprecedented calls to recuse itself from key aspects of its six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, due to its close ties to Big Tech. A group of 60 international academics is sending a letter today urging Dublin to bow out of negotiations on digital rules and multinational taxation, Gabriel Gavin writes in to report.
Tech and taxes: The letter, shared with our competition reporter Jacob Parry, accuses Ireland of having a “questionable track record regarding the protection of EU digital rights and the EU’s fiscal base,” as it profits from housing the European headquarters of tech giants such as Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, OpenAI, TikTok and X. The letter also blasts the decision to appoint Niamh Sweeney, a former Meta lobbyist, as Ireland’s data protection commissioner.
Big names: The signatories include Harvard professor and “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” author Shoshana Zuboff and economist Mariana Mazzucato. The academics have called for Lithuania — the next EU member in line for the presidency — to handle talks on digital rules and multinational taxation.
It follows a letter yesterday from two MEPs lashing out at what the lawmakers described as a “systemic failure to fully apply” EU privacy laws.
Pushing back: “The Irish Presidency is carrying out its responsibilities with complete impartiality. This is Ireland’s 8th EU Presidency and we have a track record of delivering for Europe. This Presidency is no different,” an Irish spokesperson told Playbook.
“Our role is to facilitate agreement among all Member States and to advance the Council’s legislative agenda. Throughout our Presidency, we remain focused on delivering the ambitions of the ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap, including its digital priorities,” the spokesperson said.
Arm’s length: Meanwhile, Ireland’s Deputy Data Protection Commissioner Graham Doyle said his body is independent, “has no role in the Irish presidency,” and that “Commissioner Sweeney was appointed through an open, competitive process.”
Precedents: Ireland’s position as a tech hub has long been a subject of discussion in Brussels. But diplomats previously told POLITICO that on key files like the Digital Services Act and GDPR, Dublin has a reputation for working fairly and constructively on legislation.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
Marine Le Pen is back in the news. As an MEP, Le Pen had her parliamentary immunity lifted on more than one occasion. But how does that process work? European lawmakers’ immunity is a legal safeguard designed to protect them from political interference. According to the Parliament’s rulebook, the legal affairs committee must lift the immunity of an MEP when requested to do so by a national or European prosecutor, unless the case concerns tasks considered part of an MEP’s daily work — such as statements and votes — or appears politically motivated. If the committee agrees to lift immunity, it goes to a wider vote in the Parliament.
TALK TO PLAYBOOK: On the Brussels Playbook Podcast, Zoya asked listeners whether the Marine Le Pen verdict affected their voting intention. Whatsapp us on +32 491 050629 and listen from 7 a.m. to hear if we give you a shoutout.
OLYMPIC SHAMES?
EU VS. IOC: The International Olympic Committee’s decision to lift its years-long suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee has triggered a strong reaction from the European Commission and European governments — including calls to revoke EU funding.
Russian return: The IOC announced this week that it would pave the way for Russians to compete at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 — although Russia’s flag and anthem would remain banned. Russian athletes have been barred or forced to compete as neutral athletes since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi called the decision an “alarming signal” for the world and asked international sports federations to uphold bans on Russian athletes.
Estonia said it would propose that the Commission cut off cash for the IOC by excluding the Olympic body from the EU’s funding programs, including Erasmus+. “It is impossible to understand decisions that seek to bring aggressor countries back into international sport as if nothing had happened,” Estonian Culture Minister Heidy Purga said.
“Proportionate” measures: European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef appeared to signal support, saying this to Playbook: “Athletes should not pay the price for the decisions of their governments. But sport cannot become a back door for normalizing aggression. If dialogue cannot guarantee that, the EU and its member states must be ready to consider proportionate steps to defend the values international sport is built on.”
Conquest through sport: Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže told Playbook the IOC was sending a “dangerous message,” arguing “Russia’s imperial ambitions seek not only to annex Ukraine’s territory, but also pursue international legitimacy of its conquests. It pursues both through every international platform available.”
GAME NOT ON: The IOC’s decision has also drawn incredulity among lawmakers across the Atlantic. The governing body has told Russia and the world that “you can bomb civilians one day and still proudly wave your flag at the Games the next,” according to Rick Scott , a Republican senator.
6 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
WORLD CUP RETURNS: The tournament is back today with France taking on Morocco — a match packed with both political and sporting storylines. Meanwhile, 72 MEPs are demanding an investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino after the governing body removed U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension following a call from Donald Trump.
DIGITAL EURO STANDOFF: Far-right MEPs will try to derail talks on the digital euro today, our Morning FS colleagues report (for subscribers).
APPLE LOSES: The EU General Court dismissed Apple’s challenge to its designation under the bloc’s Big Tech rulebook, handing the Commission an early legal win in its digital crackdown.
EPP SHOWS GRIMS THE DOOR: Slovenian MEP Branko Grims was expelled from the European People’s Party over his contact with far-right lawmakers, following a secret vote requested by EPP leader Manfred Weber. Grims will now sit among the non-attached lawmakers.
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ANDY: Britain’s prime-minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham will neither love-bomb Donald Trump nor seek to antagonize him, according to early indications of his approach to foreign policy.
PLATNER OUT: Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner ended his high-profile campaign on Wednesday after facing a detailed allegation of sexual assault, our U.S. colleagues report.