PM announces 6th minimum wage rise amid domestic pressures
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Thursday a sixth minimum wage increase since 2022, framing the move as evidence of sustained economic progress while sending a broader political message amid mounting domestic pressures. Speaking before the cabinet, Mitsotakis raised the minimum wage to €920 a month, part of a cumulative increase of €270 a month since 2019. He also set a longer-term target of €950 by 2027.
European Commission greenlights Greece’s request for 1.8 bln euros under NextGenerationEU framework
The European Commission gave the green light on Thursday to a request by Greece for 1.18 billion euros (884 million in grants and 294 million in loans), under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) of the NextGenerationEU program. In its assessment for the payment request, the Commission noted in a press release that Greece has successfully achieved 20 milestones and 6 targets, with flagship measures such as establishing a CO₂ storage facility, enhancing support for people with disabilities, renovating hospitals and primary healthcare centres, and improving access to affordable mortgages.
Budget: Tax revenues fall short of targets by 386 million euros in Jan-Feb
There was a significant shortfall in tax revenues, which were 386 million euros below targets, in January and February, according to the state budget execution data. The main reason for this deviation was found in the taxes attributable to energy products, where collection was down by 286 million euros. The deficit is mainly due to the month of January, where reduced transaction taxes were collected due to the closures of Customs Offices and national roads in December. The second factor behind the decline was income taxes, which showed a total decrease of 90 million euros, with the performance of income tax of legal persons and entities, being reduced by 84 million euros.
AIA demand shows resilience
Athens International Airport anticipates 2026 to be another year of healthy growth, with its management maintaining a positive outlook for the course of passenger traffic and its fundamentals. Nevertheless, the geopolitical context operates as a factor of uncertainty as it may put pressure on demand for air travel and therefore the company’s operating and financial performance.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1299128/aia-demand-shows-resilience
ATHEX: Mixed picture before news of media deal
Against the backdrop of global economic uncertainty, the local market had a mixed picture on Thursday, but after the market closed traders were informed of the deal for the creation of a major Greek TV entertainment platform involving two listed companies: Alter Ego Media and a subsidiary of Motor Oil have agreed to obtain a third each of Antenna Greece Support, which will undertake existing platform ANT1+, aiming to create a national streaming entertainment champion.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1299270/athex-mixed-picture-before-news-of-media-deal
KATHIMERINI: Price hikes before the cap in super markets
TA NEA: Direct award of state contracts worth 2,2 bln in less than a year
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: A minimum wage which is not up to the mark at all
RIZOSPASTIS: Simple folks are paying for the war and the country’s involvement
KONTRA NEWS: Nightmarish scenario regarding foods’ prices
DIMOKRATIA: Black lead for Greeks: The poorest in the EU
NAFTEMPORIKI: Markets are experiencing a torture due to oil prices
DRIVING THE DAY
WHO’S LISTENING? European Union diplomats and officials are calling for tighter security procedures to stop sensitive information ending up in the hands of hostile states.
Leaky ship: That’s after a week dominated by revelations that the Hungarian government had been briefing Russia on the sidelines of EU internal talks … fears that Germany’s far-right opposition could be forwarding EU information to Moscow … and news that a call between a POLITICO reporter and an EU official was apparently intercepted.
For your eyes only: Five diplomats and officials, granted anonymity to speak to Playbook, said the designation of more files as “classified” — meaning automatic investigations and harsh penalties if they are leaked — should be one option on the table.
New reality: “Documents such as these contain information [that] can be useful to hostile actors, so certain documents should be treated with more sensitivity,” said one Commission staffer. They argued the EU is “more geopolitical” than it once was, as it grapples with a new issues including military support and trade talks with rivals. The bloc simply can’t afford to give away its position.
Sealed section: Classifying more documents means staff would have to view them in secure reading rooms within their institutions — a practice the Commission has already imposed on market-sensitive files, to avoid press leaks. It could also mean fewer files get passed — unrestricted — to lawmakers in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, where MPs have the right to scrutinize EU documents.
Buda-pissed: Some member countries have already dialed back the intel being shared through the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre — a directorate of the EEAS that collates member countries’ intelligence. Even before the latest revelations, there were fears the center’s information could end up in the Kremlin via Hungary, another senior European diplomat said.
Call for clarity: Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the European Parliament’s defense committee, said there’s now a strong case for classifying more sensitive EU documents. But the process must be regulated in line with national standards, with clear rules on the security vetting of EU personnel and staff, Strack-Zimmermann added. “So far, this has remained a gray area.”
Sanitized devices: Brussels has already developed restrictions to try to stop digital information falling into the wrong hands. “The current advice from the [European] Council is that no electronics are taken to the U.S. or China,” said one senior EU official. “When this is not possible, the electronics that are brought back must be wiped.”
Hand me the burner phone: The U.S. was added to the risk list for traveling officials after Washington imposed sanctions on former Commissioner Thierry Breton for his role in developing the EU’s Digital Services Act, the official added.
Slipping out of the DMs: Belgium recently became the latest European government to crack down on the use of U.S.-developed communications apps for its officials. The government announced a switch away from WhatsApp and Signal to a domestic alternative. Meanwhile, the EU has plans to have its own platforms specifically designed for “the protection of sensitive non-classified information” by the end of the year.
All eyes on April: But the urgency of these reforms hinges on next month’s Hungarian election. Three of the diplomats said the issue will require a more pressing response if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is returned to office on April 12. If the Russia-friendly leader is reelected, the EU may have to hit the gas on security upgrades.
TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS
FINNISH LINE: Alexander Stubb seems to get along with U.S. President Donald Trump better than most European leaders. But in an interview with POLITICO out today, the Finnish president and occasional golfing buddy of the American leader is downbeat about the state of the relationship.
“One could argue we are probably seeing, not a rupture, but a rift in the transatlantic partnership,” Stubb told Tim Ross, warning that Europe is now part of “a global north [that] takes the role of defending the liberal world order.” The U.S., he says, represents another axis: “the global west … that is more transactional.”
Gathering storm clouds: Despite insisting he is “probably the most pro-American and pro-transatlantacist president in Europe,” the Finn said he speaks to Trump less than he used to. He also warned the economic fallout from the war in Iran “could be worse than Covid.” In fact, it could cause “a self-inflicted global recession.”
In the tank: The warning comes as Ukrainian soldiers tell POLITICO the energy price shock from the Middle East conflict is leaving them struggling to get hold of diesel.
Gearing up: Trump lashed out at allies again yesterday for refusing to take part in strikes on Iran. But at least he can take some comfort in the fact that all 32 NATO countries are now spending more than 2 percent of their annual budget on defense. It’s a pass — maybe. But who are the star pupils of the class? And who gets detention?
TRADING MESSAGES: EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič warned Washington its tariff policy was undermining the bloc’s trade deal with the U.S., according to private messages he sent to Trump allies. We know this thanks to a landmark access-to-information request from POLITICO’s Max Griera.
Lesson learned: The release is a win for journalists and civil society, as it’s one of the first disclosures of top commissioners’ SMS messages since the 2025 Pfizergate ruling. That’s when judges on the EU General Court criticized the Commission’s refusal to release Ursula von der Leyen’s texts with Pfizer’s CEO, confirming that messages fall under transparency rules. EU Influence has the full story.
Speaking of the trade deal … Parliament backed the implementation of EU-U.S. trade deal Thursday — but with conditions attached.
HUNGARY VOTES
UNLEASH THE BOARD: Hungary’s Civil Cooperation Forum, a group closely linked to Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party, has requested Trump’s controversial Board of Peace deploy an electoral observation mission to the country ahead of next month’s poll.
That would be a first for the U.S.-led organization, created as a potential substitute for the United Nations. Its members include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Kuwait and UAE, among others — not widely considered bastions of liberal democracy.
Monitoring the monitors: With opposition party Tisza leading in the polls, analysts fear both sides will use election observers to cry foul and discredit the result if it doesn’t go their way. Electoral observer Péter Kramer, who has over 16 years’ experience monitoring elections for the EU, said democratically “questionable” countries are now sending in observers to legitimize the ballots. “It’s an international trend,” he said.
Bot battle: Claims Hungarians are being told to violently overthrow their government are part of a Kremlin-linked online bot campaign to sway the election, Eva Hartog reports.
Legal battle: Hungary has filed criminal espionage charges against prominent journalist Szabolcs Panyi in an escalating feud over alleged wiretapping. Panyi denies the allegations and the Independent Press Institute said the move comes as part of a campaign of “legal harassment of the media.”
Hitting back: Meanwhile, Hungarian government-backed think tank MCC Brussels is accusing European news outlets of joining a campaign to influence the vote. “What we are witnessing is not serious investigative journalism but the gradual normalization of politically convenient narratives built on anonymous briefings, unverifiable claims and media amplification,” Executive Director Frank Furedi said in a statement.
BEYOND THE ELECTION: Signing off the EU’s €1.8 trillion budget could become harder if Orbán’s government gets a new mandate, with Budapest threatening to veto payments linked to democratic standards. “If we win the elections, then we certainly don’t see the need to rush the agreement on the [budget] through by the end of 2026,” said Hungarian Minister for European Affairs János Bóka.
TECH CORNER
ANOTHER CRACK IN THE COALITION: A row over child sexual-abuse material has cranked up the tension in Ursula von der Leyen’s fractious parliamentary coalition. The Commission president’s center-right European People’s Party accused the center-left Socialists and Democrats of “shielding predators” by blocking the renewal of a law that enables social-media platforms to scan for the illegal content.
The temporary measures are set to expire next Friday, at which point platforms will no longer have a legal basis to voluntarily detect and remove child sexual-abuse material. “As a parent, lawmaker and European, I find today’s vote in the European Parliament hard to understand,” Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner told POLITICO after the vote. But Greens lawmaker Markéta Gregorová, who also voted against the law’s renewal, said “innocent citizens were being scanned for years without delivering adequate results.”
GROK BLOCK: A Dutch court has banned Elon Musk’s Grok from generating non-consensual nude pictures and child sexual-abuse material. The chatbot’s parent company will have to cough up €100,000 a day until they comply.
SNAP TRAP: Snapchat is also now being probed by the EU for allegedly failing to protect children from grooming and the sale of illegal products.
SHOP STOP: E-commerce sites that break the EU’s rules could be fined up to 6 percent of their import values, lawmakers and national governments agreed in a late-night deal Thursday. The massive EU Customs Reform comes after Chinese web shop Shein was caught selling child-like sex dolls and weapons, Koen Verhelst writes in to report.