EU report flags Türkiye’s casus belli threat, Blue Homeland doctrine and increased overflights
The European Commission has highlighted Türkiye’s continued challenges to Greek sovereignty and sovereign rights, despite progress in bilateral dialogue, in its annual report on Türkiye released on Wednesday. The Commission expresses concern over the inclusion of the “Blue Homeland” doctrine in Turkish school textbooks, points to an increase in flights by Turkish military jets over Greek islands and incidents of illegal fishing, and notes that Türkiye’s longstanding casus belli threat against Greece remains in force. It also reiterates that the Türkiye-Libya memorandum is “null and void”, infringes the sovereign rights of third states and does not comply with the Law of the Sea.
Seven Greek-Americans elected to US Congress
The US Congress will have seven members of Greek descent following Tuesday’s midterm elections, with six elected to the House of Representatives – four Republicans and two Democrats – and Democrat Chris Pappas winning a Senate seat in New Hampshire.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1320271/seven-greek-americans-elected-to-us-congress
PASOK leader Androulakis: ‘Where were you for 7.5 years? You serve the privileges of funds’
PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis began his speech in Parliament on Wednesday with sharp criticism of the government’s choices, stating: “Did you not see them blackmailing borrowers, holding them hostage, taking whole months just to find out how much they owe, how it arose, and into whose hands it ended up? And you did nothing. What were you doing for 7.5 years?” “If you felt even a little of the agony of tens of thousands of families who are hostage to this situation, you would have taken measures much earlier,” he noted. Addressing Economy and Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the main opposition leader underlined: “You appeared in Parliament these days as the fighter of the funds who will impose fines and rules. And you have not even ensured that servicers implement the Supreme Court decision so that the interest rate is calculated on the instalment and not on the principal? After our pressure, you brought a legislative provision that it seems you are not in a position to implement. You are playing Pontius Pilate.” Regarding Article 23, which was withdrawn following pressure from the main opposition Androulakis stressed that it is a shame for New Democracy, noting that “it was the latest attempt to exterminate borrowers and a big gift to funds and servicers.”
Millions face steep electricity bills
About 3 million households on Greece’s green electricity tariffs are entering winter’s high-consumption months, facing average November charges of 28 euro cents per kilowatt-hour. That is 87% above the 15 cents per kilowatt-hour the government deemed an “acceptable” burden during the 2022 energy crisis, and nearly twice what consumers paid at its peak. The difference lies in how wholesale price increases reach household bills. In 2022, state subsidies absorbed most increases, keeping final charges at 14 to 15 cents per kilowatt-hour. Today, although wholesale prices have returned to levels seen then, the government has abandoned broad subsidies. It instead presents fixed-price, or blue tariffs as the main protection, particularly Public Power Corporation’s myHome Online plan.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/energy/1320152/millions-face-steep-electricity-bills
ATHEX: ‘Blue wave’ boosts local bourse, too
The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed Wednesday at 2,662.45 points, adding 1.77% to Tuesday’s 2,616.12 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.94% to end at 6,827.56 points.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1320298/athex-blue-wave-boosts-local-bourse-too
KATHIMERINI: The new Democrats crushed Trump
TA NEA: Trump: everything went south
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: It’s the war, stupid!
RIZOSPASTIS: Banks, business groups and the State must pay so that indebted households get some breathing space
KONTRA NEWS: The government is trying to ride two horses at the same time
DIMOKRATIA: Judicial humiliation for New Democracy’s secretary by the newspaper “Dimokratia”
NAFTEMPORIKI: The new day for the USA and the world
DRIVING THE DAY
BERLIN AND BRUSSELS SQUARE OFF: A dispute over the EU’s future relationship with Canada is exposing a widening divide between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, four diplomats granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy told Nick Vinocur and Zoya Sheftalovich.
The latest clash centers on von der Leyen’s proposal to make Canada an “associate member” of the EU. Berlin objected to the label, and the tension ratcheted up after she repeated it at the summit in Montreal last week, just hours after Germany helped remove it from a joint statement approved by all 27 EU capitals.
The Kyiv connection: Merz had previously floated associate status for Ukraine as a step toward joining the bloc, an idea that was rejected by Kyiv. Officials in Berlin now see von der Leyen’s use of the label for Canada — which effectively precludes using it for Ukraine — as a rebuke of the chancellor’s initiative. A representative for Merz didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Different definitions: The disagreement is about more than terminology. Under von der Leyen’s definition, associate status would be for a country that could never join the EU — as she acknowledged in Montreal — rather than an intermediate step for Ukraine, two EU diplomats said.
Bigger than Canada: The clash sits among wider differences between the two over how the bloc should be governed. Berlin says it won’t approve the Commission’s proposed €2 trillion long-term budget unless “hundreds of billions” are cut. Germany has also backed a separate format with France and the U.K. for sensitive Ukraine-related matters, while von der Leyen’s proposed European Security Council has failed to gain traction in Berlin.
“There is this institutional dilemma between Brussels and Berlin,” said Jan Techau, head of Germany for the Eurasia Group and a former speechwriter for the German defense ministry. “Von der Leyen has taken a strongly integrationist approach to the EU while Merz has completely developed away from this and talks about the nation states as the primary driver of EU policy.”
There’s no sign of retreat on the “associate member” label: Berlin reiterated its objection at a meeting of EU ambassadors yesterday, two diplomats said, while a person familiar with von der Leyen’s thinking said she has no intention of dropping the term.
Despite the rift, both sides share the same basic goals for EU-Canada ties, Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho said. A German diplomat agreed, saying: “We both committed to form a unique partnership that we don’t have with any other country outside the European Union.”
Shared ground, different instincts: Both leaders belong to Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union, and Techau said they share “ideological overlap on many issues,” including warmer ties with Ottawa. But he said Merz has “proven disappointing to people in Brussels who hoped he would take a more integrationist approach to the EU, and this has been driven entirely by domestic prerogatives.”
The wider question: Techau said the label dispute reflects a broader argument over whether common EU institutions or national governments should drive policy. “The issue is, in many ways, ‘unresolvable,’” he said.
BIG AND BREAKING
IS TRUMP’S LOSS LE PEN’S GAIN? The Republican wipeout in the U.S. midterms is a warning to Europe’s incumbents that voters are in a mood to punish those in power over the cost of living, Marion Solletty reports from Paris.
Left hanging: Nigel Farage had been hoping to meet Marine Le Pen in Paris … but the French presidential hopeful is keeping her right-wing British ally waiting, Sam Blewett and Clea Caulcutt report.
METSOLA THE MEDIATOR: European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is pressing ahead with a visit to Poland despite the clash between President Karol Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk over constitutional court appointments. Metsola plans to meet both leaders separately in Warsaw today, but her spokesperson declined to say whether she’ll address the crisis with them.
Von der Leyen will also meet Nawrocki today, at the V4 presidential summit in Slovakia. The Commission has already made its position clear on the Polish crisis, EU officials said, and von der Leyen is expected to stick to it.
AI-PROOFING THE EU’S WORKERS
SKILLS GAPS COULD BE “LETHAL”: Europe must invest more in education and vocational training to stay competitive in the face of pressure from countries such as China and the U.S., Commission Executive Vice President Roxana Mînzatu told Zoya Sheftalovich in an interview.
“It would be lethal for any society, for any economy, and for Europe as well, not to urgently address the needs in education,” said Mînzatu, who is unveiling the EU’s education and skills package today.
Plumb jobs: The package includes a strategy to make vocational education and training (VET) a more attractive pathway. Mînzatu said more than 70% of jobs in some sectors require vocational training, while people who choose that path have employability “close to 90%.” Yet, she added, “parents, the society, kids do not see vocational training as the first choice.”
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In the AI age, a degree may not be the best ticket to a secure career: roles requiring physical presence, manual expertise and applied technical skills may prove more resilient, per the Commission’s VET strategy.
Since generative AI tools took off in late 2022, vacancies have increased in fields including engineering technology, machinery mechanics, construction and transport. But those jobs are not immune to change, so education and training needs to keep pace with developments, the Commission will say.
Teach the children well: The package urges EU countries to make teaching more attractive, as student protests over teacher shortages flare up in France, Belgium and elsewhere. Most EU countries have teacher shortages, Mînzatu said, listing reasons including “unattractive working conditions, the wages, the salaries, the burden, the pressure of being a teacher, the pressure in the relationship that you have with a classroom, with the parents, with society.”
The Commission cannot set teacher numbers or salaries, Mînzatu said, but wants governments to act on working conditions.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
The European Commission has presented the first EU-wide sustainable tourism strategy — but what is that? It aims to improve transport links to islands, coastal, rural and remote areas; make tickets for rail journeys easier to buy; improve high-speed and night train connections; and promote rail as part of the holiday experience. The Commission also plans to revise rules for air services, review airport legislation and make cross-border car rentals easier and more affordable.
GOLD WATCHES FROM THE COMMISSION
WHO’S PACKING THEIR BOXES AT THE BERLAYMONT? Forget the Commission work program. The hottest document circulating in Brussels’ Signal and WhatsApp groups last week was a list of top EU officials supposedly heading for retirement, which set off a frenzy of speculation about the next round of musical chairs in the Berlaymont.
Playbook has seen the list. Gert Jan Koopman (DG ENEST) and Pascal Leardini (deputy SG of the Secretariat-General) could leave by year’s end; Kerstin Jorna (DG GROW) and Florika Fink-Hooijer (HERA) in March; and Bernard Magenhann (DG JRC) and Themis Christophidou (DG REGIO) by mid-2027. Those nameddid not respond to requests for comment …
… except for Fink-Hooijer, who told POLITICO she’s aware of the circulating list but stressed that no announcements have been made. “My age is mentioned on Wikipedia, contrary to that of many men — so nothing new here either,” she added in one of this Playbook author’s favorite replies ever.
Some smoke, some fire: Playbook set out to fact-check the list. Two EU officials, granted anonymity to discuss internal shake-ups, said Koopman has told colleagues he’ll retire on Jan. 1. Two others called the timing of Christophidou’s departure “accurate,” despite pressure from her team to stay. One official said someone in Ursula von der Leyen’s inner circle already has an eye on Leardini’s job.
Meanwhile, three officials wondered why Sandra Gallina (DG SANTE) and Roberto Viola (DG CONNECT), both of whom have extended their tenures, were missing from the list.
Why the excitement? Because there’s no room on the Commission’s senior management career ladder. Former top official Catherine Day has proposed restoring fixed five-year appointments to get things moving, in her advice to von der Leyen on how to overhaul how the Commission works. With only one major reshuffle since von der Leyen took office, a retirement wave could finally get the Berlaymont’s musical chairs spinning again.
8 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
GERMAN POLITICIAN FOUND DEAD: Police are investigating the sudden death of Bavaria’s conservative deputy premier Hubert Aiwanger after his body was found in a hotel room in Berlin last night. Reuters has a write-up.
ROYALS IN THE BUBBLE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle head to the European Parliament on Tuesday to discuss online child safety and open an exhibition. It’s the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first visit to Brussels as a couple.
ZOOMING IN: Jared Kushner still hasn’t set foot in Brussels, but he’s becoming a familiar face on its video screens. An EU official confirmed Donald Trump’s son-in-law joined a session of Wednesday’s Ukraine talks remotely — his second virtual appearance here after dialing into July’s Palestine Donor Group.
CAN A CHATBOT WRITE BETTER LAWS? Brussels is already putting AI to work drafting new rules and simplifying old ones, the Commission revealed in its latest red-tape review.
Meanwhile, in the Parliament ... Roberta Metsola is warning MEPs not to outsource their judgment to AI ahead of new guidelines on its use. Development Committee Chair Barry Andrews told POLITICO he has already drafted his own principles and invited others to follow.
CHERNOBYL’S €500 MILLION HOLE: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development says international funding is urgently needed to repair the nuclear reactor and head off an environmental disaster after Russian attacks.
HUNGARY OPENS ITS SECRET FILES: Péter Magyar is releasing Communist-era secret police records, fulfilling a campaign pledge 70 years after the Soviet Union crushed the 1956 uprising.
FRONTEX’S EXPANDING FRONTIER: Plans to give EU border agency Frontex a bigger role in deportations, including to and from return hubs, are raising alarm among MEPs who fear that fundamental rights could be breached.
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