Greek PM not planning to join US president’s ‘Board of Peace’
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will not be joining US President Donald Trump’s so-called Board of Peace, which is due to hold its first session on February 19 in Washington, DC.
Mitsotakis: More integrated energy markets would help lower prices
“Europe must improve its competitiveness if it wants to support its social model, invest in defence and protect itself against the climate crisis. This is the main subject of the informal European Council meeting, which will begin shortly,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday, upon his arrival for the European leaders’ summit at Alden Biesen Castle in Belgium.
Union leader rejects allegations, vows to stay
Greek labor confederation GSEE president Giannis Panagopoulos rejected allegations against him on Thursday, vowing to remain in his position ahead of the organization’s April congress. Panagopoulos faces accusations regarding management of training programs totaling up to €73 million between 2020-2025.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1295193/union-leader-rejects-allegations-vows-to-stay
Inflation rose by 2.5 pct in January 2026
Inflation rose by 2.5% in January 2026, down from 2.6% last December and compared with an increase of 2.7% in January 2025. However, these rates are not directly comparable because of changes to the general index starting in January, such as the inclusion of games of chance and other services related to personal transport.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/969831/Inflation-rose-by-25-pct-in-January-2026
ATHEX: Traders place more stocks on their radar
Athens Water Company (EYDAP) paced blue chips on Thursday with its 9.08% daily rise, following a report by Piraeus securities about a target price of €10.20. Its growth to €7.81 by closing illustrates that traders – those who are active anyway – are in search of medium-term opportunities off the beaten path of the four main banks, and another six or seven blue chips. Overall, the Greek bourse continued its growth, with the benchmark advancing and rising stocks outnumbering losers in the end.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1295195/athex-traders-place-more-stocks-on-their-radar
KATHIMERINI: Defense system: “Achilles shield” with AI
TA NEA: Panagopoulos uber alles: PASKE union faction at 40% while PASOK party at only…12%
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Bill on collective labor agreements is a mere mockery of workers
RIZOSPASTIS: The bill “burying” collective labor agreements is rejected!
KONTRA NEWS: The formation of Tsipras’ party has begun
DIMOKRATIA: 8 red cards for Mitsotakis!
NAFTEMPORIKI: The dream of acquiring an apartment seems unfeasible
DRIVING THE DAY
TWO SPEEDS FOR GROWTH: Key EU leaders are ready to take a sledgehammer to a long-standing EU taboo. While the bloc has traditionally sought to advance in lockstep, leaders gathered in the Belgian countryside for an informal retreat cautiously backed the idea that some reforms would have to be done by a smaller cluster of countries.
In other words, Europe needs multiple speeds to move forward — it’s no longer about bringing all 27 members along for the ride. “We have to move fast,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, who is longtime proponent of multi-speed Europe.
Ditch the slowpokes: The idea won backing from the leaders of Germany, France, Belgium and others, in what amounts to a shift in EU thinking, according to this report from Zoya Sheftalovich, Gabriel Gavin, Giorgio Leali and Aude van den Hove from the Alden Biesen castle, where leaders gathered Thursday.
Ditching the weakest links: “Often we move forward with the speed of the slowest,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told journalists after the conference. “The enhanced cooperation model avoids that.”
Come again? Enhanced cooperation has long existed in the EU treaty as a chance for countries to move ahead with reforms that don’t have unanimous backing. It requires at least nine countries to sign on. Until now, however, it hasn’t won support, as leaders repeated the need for unity among all 27 member countries.
How it could work: One example where a group of national governments may seek to break away from the herd is on the savings and investments union, a revamp that aims to use huge sums of EU savings for investment. The Commission wants an EU equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to supervise markets across the bloc. Countries such as Ireland and Luxembourg have long opposed the idea.
Be afraid: Just the talk of a two-speed Europe may be a motivator for countries that fear being left out to get on board with more ambitious reforms, said one EU diplomat who was granted anonymity to discuss private talks among leaders. Enhanced cooperation could be a “motivating factor,” the diplomat said.
Deadlines, people: Von der Leyen will pitch a series of reforms, as well as deadlines for when those reforms need to be approved, as part of a roadmap she intends to present at the next gathering of EU leaders in March. The first significant policy will be a “28th regime,” a startup-friendly, EU-wide legal framework for corporations allowing companies to register online within 48 hours. The Commission is due to present that initiative on March 18.
Also in sight: Targets for delivering reforms on telecoms, capital markets, services and energy will also feature in the roadmap, with von der Leyen saying she wants all targets met by 2028.
But that’s where agreement ended. Macron’s major pre-summit pitch to raise EU debt jointly to fund projects — or eurobonds — was met by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s nein, which left little room for compromise. “I will not support the idea of eurobonds,” the conservative leader said. “Even if I was in favor of it, I couldn’t because the [German] Federal Constitutional Court has made clear there are strict limits.”
Deaf ears: That refusal came despite Mario Draghi, former ECB president and author of a landmark report on boosting Europe’s economy, spending 15 minutes pleading with leaders to boost investment in the bloc, per an EU diplomat with direct knowledge of the closed-door talks.
Two-speed breakfast: Gabriel Gavin reports that a pre-summit breakfast gathering hosted by Germany, Belgium and Italy led to delays and accusations that not enough national leaders had been invited.
Pre-cooked meal: Held at a hotel down the road from the castle, the gathering started out as a restricted huddle among like-minded leaders. But as the guest list grew to include 19 of the bloc’s 27 leaders, those who hadn’t been invited became alarmed that the meeting would lead to pre-cooked decisions, per three EU diplomats who spoke to Gabriel.
Where’s my invite? Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez went so far as to lodge a protest with Rome over the breakfast meeting. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin bluntly told reporters, as other leaders breakfasted, that“we weren’t invited” and “I don’t get the necessity” of a private club convening separately.
Confusion: Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever tried to smooth ruffled feathers. “I think everyone was invited,” he said. Playbook tip: don’t use this line for your wedding or birthday party.
Irritation, squared: Adding to the annoyance was the fact that the breakfast led to Merz, Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni all showing up late to the informal summit. European Council President António Costa didn’t bother to wait — he kicked off the morning session before the leaders had shown up.
As it turned out, the breakfast meeting was something of a bust. With 19 leaders, few got a chance to speak. Meloni — who’d invited the other leaders — arrived “just before it ended,” per another EU diplomat. Asked what had been discussed, they deadpanned: “Nothing.”
MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE
EUROPE EYES TRANSATLANTIC RESET: EU leaders heading to the 2026 Munich Security Conference (MSC) are looking to reset ties with the U.S. — or, at the very least, de-escalate tensions — after a year of clashes over trade and Greenland, according to diplomats and officials who spoke to POLITICO ahead of the event.
It couldn’t get worse than last year, when U.S. Vice President JD Vance shocked his hosts with a speech accusing EU countries of throttling free speech and warning them unchecked migration would lead to “civilizational erasure.”
Peace summit? The tone going into the MSC, which kicks off today, looks to be far more conciliatory, largely because the U.S. delegation is being led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is seen as having a better bedside manner than Vance. The vice president is not attending Munich this year.
Back to basics: German conservative lawmaker David McAllister, head of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said “de-escalation and dialogue are the right approach” to take in Munich. “The transatlantic partnership remains central to Europe’s security and prosperity” and the EU should remain “fully committed to the transatlantic partnership.”
De-escalation stations: A senior European government official granted anonymity to talk about summit preparations struck a similar chord. “De-escalation, perhaps even a reset of sorts,” are on the menu, the official said. And if there was any doubt about the need to bring down the temperature, the conference’s annual report is titled “under destruction” and starts with a description of “wrecking ball politics” shaping global dynamics.
What to watch: The conference’s schedule hadn’t been finalized at time of writing, but participants expect key speakers — including Rubio and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — to take the stage Saturday. A meeting of G7 ministers will take place Saturday afternoon, attended by top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas. That will be followed by an informal Foreign Affairs Council meeting Sunday, designed as a note-comparing exercise.
All eyes on Rubio: Given the explosive nature of Vance’s speech last year, the spotlight will be on Rubio’s address — and expectations are for a smoother landing. “The generally more restrained and a tad more diplomatic U.S. secretary of state is unlikely to deliver a similar shock,” foreign affairs columnist Jamie Dettmer writes from Munich in POLITICO’s Forecast newsletter.
Rubio’s audience: “You might argue this is the start of reset. Obviously, Rubio has a softer touch than Vance,” said one EU official on the way to Munich. “But Rubio also has a domestic audience … and he’s scheduled travel to Hungary and Slovakia right afterwards, which is in the end backing the troublemakers in Europe.”
Did I Starmer? U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is planning to use his MSC attendance to propose a multinational defense initiative involving Britain and its western allies to oversee joint weapons procurement, the FT reports today.
What to expect: Europeans will be looking for clues on the content of the deal struck between U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Greenland. They will also be on the lookout for signs of progress in Ukraine peace talks, ahead of the war’s fourth anniversary later this month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Trump to clinch a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war in coming weeks. “The most advantageous situation for Trump is to do this before the midterms,” Zelenskyy told The Atlantic. Meanwhile, the message from the EU is this: Stop waiting for direction from the U.S. and get ready to lead as Europeans. Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch hammers home that message in an interview with Anne McElvoy and Peter Snowdon for this bonus episode of the EU Confidential Podcast.
While officials may be talking up a reset, POLITICO’s international poll shows a sharp loss in trust in the United States as a reliable ally among key NATO countries. Alarmingly, the results also show most respondents in the U.S., Canada, France and the United Kingdom see World War III breaking out within the next five years.
SPOTTED … at the POLITICO welcome party on Thursday, with founding partner Helsing: Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner; Spotify founder Daniel Ek; Axel Springer Supervisory Board Chair Jan Bayer; POLITICO Media Group CEO Goli Sheikholeslami; Helsing co-CEO Gundbert Scherf; U.S. Special Representative for Global Partnerships Paolo Zampolli; Bayer CEO Bill Anderson; NATO Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security Irene Fellin; McKinsey’s Danielle Burr; Helsing Chief Marketing Officer Johannes Boie; NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich; Latvia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Baiba Braže; and Palantir’s Laura Rudas.
STAY UP TO DATE: The conference kicks off today and lasts until Feb. 15. As world leaders and security policymakers descend on Munich, POLITICO journalists will be there, bringing you all you need to know.
And we’ll be interviewing major newsmakers at the exclusive POLITICO Pub, including … NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte … U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham, Mark Kelly, Jeanne Shaheen, Thom Tillis and Mark Warner … Finnish President Alexander Stubb … EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius … U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin … SAP CEO Christian Klein and Hitachi Energy CEO Andreas Schierenbeck … financier and activist Bill Browder … Russian opposition activist Yulia Navalnaya … and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
You can follow the live blog here and see all our coverage here.
HUNGARY LATEST
ORBÁN DISMISSES LEGAL OPINION ON EU FUNDS: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán lashed out Thursday at an EU legal opinion suggesting he should repay €10 billion in EU funds awarded to Budapest by the European Commission, calling the idea “absurd.”
Final decision in months: The non-binding legal opinion by Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta to scrap the Commission’s decision to unfreeze the funds will guide the judges on their final ruling, which will be delivered in a few months. Advocates general are not judges but legal advisers who help the court in complicated or unprecedented cases, as this report by Max Griera and Gabriel Gavin reminds us.
Spin-machine: While Orbán himself didn’t comment on the opinion on his way into the Alden Biesen summit, his political director Balasz Orbán said: “The moment a member state steps off the European elite script, the legal machinery whirs into action.”
The opinion lands at a sensitive time, with Orbán trailing in the polls ahead of an April election in Hungary. Indeed, the country is on tenterhooks after Peter Magyar, the opposition leader currently slated to win the election, said he expected the release of a sex tape featuring him and his ex-girlfriend.
Honey-trap? In a video published in Facebook on Thursday, Magyar says he was lured into a “Russian-style” trap when attending party with his ex-girlfriend, where he had sex with her in a room he now realizes had been bugged with cameras with “secret services” methods. The move is a desperate attempt by Fidesz to harm him ahead of the ballot, he says. Viktor Orbán’s political director did not reply to a request for comment.
Speaking of dirty tricks, Elia Gkritsi writes in to report that Orbán allies are flooding the zone with AI-generated deepfakes as well as misinformation about political rivals. One example: this AI-generated video of EPP president Manfred Weber saying “we want war” while standing next to Magyar.
Uncanny valley: AI is booming in the elections with “daily new videos and pictures” being dropped in group chats and social media, reaching tens of thousands of views, said Botond Feledy, non-resident fellow at the Budapest-based Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy, a think tank. AI labeling is not consistently enforced and disinformation is ripe, but “the messaging is strongest at the sentiment level,” he said.
IN OTHER NEWS
BELGIAN AUTHORITIES VISIT COMMISSION — AGAIN: Investigators are back on European Commission premises, barely two months after a separate probe rocked the EU bubble. This time, Belgian police searched the EU executive’s offices as part of an investigation into the 2024 sale of 23 Commission buildings to Belgium, Gerardo Fortuna writes in to report.
Evidence hunt: The European Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to POLITICO it was carrying out evidence-collecting activities linked to an ongoing investigation, but declined to comment further. A Commission spokesperson said its property sale had “followed established procedures and protocols,” adding it was confident the transactions complied with all applicable rules. The FT also has the story.
NOT YET FAREWELL TO FARRELL: Trade-deal talks between Australia and the EU will run into a second day, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell told my colleague Koen Verhelst Thursday. Our trade team got the story first.
FRIDAY FUNNY: What would it look like if the EU hosted a version of hit TV show “The Traitors”? A bit like the leaders’ retreat, says Paul Dallison in this week’s Declassified column.
SUN, SEA AND SEETHING: Employees in charge of registering and protecting EU trademarks are locked in a spiral of poor management, demoralization and a lack of career progression, according to an internal survey obtained by Playbook’s Gabriel Gavin. That’s despite the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) having a world-class campus on Spain’s sunny Alicante coastline, complete with a pool, tennis courts and a stellar canteen.
Numbers don’t lie: The findings — presented by the staff committee this week — reveal an overwhelming majority of those surveyed were dissatisfied with mobility opportunities and did not believe “top Management takes action when poor managerial practices are detected, like shouting, belittling or unreasonable workload demands.” In the EUIPO Academy, meanwhile, not a single respondent agreed managers were selected from among the most competent staff. EUIPO didn’t respond to a request for comment.
It’s just the latest blow for EUIPO and other arms-length EU agencies, which have been embroiled in a string of scandals in recent years relating to staffing. Just last year, the EU’s anti-fraud watchdog OLAF found that the bloc’s asylum agency, based in balmy Malta, had been bypassing fair recruitment practices to promote a “friendly circle” into top jobs.
NOW LISTEN TO THIS — OMNIBUSTED: The EU is targeting more and more climate regs for rollback, with mixed economic results. Meanwhile, even an EU leaders’ castle getaway might not be enough to spur fresh European unity on boosting competitiveness. On this week’s episode of the EU Confidential podcast, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO policy experts Marianne Gros, Carlo Martuscelli and Zia Weise.