Stern messages to Libya as tension rises
The European Union has declared a 2019 maritime agreement between Turkey and Libya null and void, as Greece considers responses following its ratification by Libya’s parliament on Tuesday. The EU’s 27 member-states expressed strong regret, saying the agreement infringes upon third countries’ sovereign rights and does not comply with the law of the sea. Egypt also rejected the agreement. Greek Ambassador to the United Nations Aglaia Balta briefed the Security Council during closed consultations, following instructions from Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis. She highlighted the risks the Libyan parliament’s decision poses to security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
US urges ‘good-faith’ talks over Turkey-Libya memorandum controversy
The US State Department is encouraging its partners in the Eastern Mediterranean to resolve their maritime disputes through good-faith negotiations. Washington also underscored the importance of resolving maritime disagreements in order to safeguard regional stability and facilitate economic activity, drawing a connection between the settlement of outstanding issues and the conditions necessary for investment and exploration.
Investigation begins over explosion that injured four, including police officers, at Akadimia Platonos
Hellenic Police is investigating the circumstances of the explosion at Akadimia Platonos on Wednesday, following a call for narcotics at the site, that injured two police officers – one seriously – and two civilians. The explosion took place shortly before 16:00 during a raid at 142 Platonos Street, after a call by the building manager, who was among those injured. The man pointed out a backpack inside the building, saying he had opened it and it contained drugs. While police opened it and confirmed it contained drugs, one set of precision scales, and other objects, the backpack exploded, injuring the two policemen and the two civilians.
Bank of Greece: Travel receipts up 9.4%; current account deficit widens to €8.9bn in Jan-Aug ’26
The current account surplus increased year on year in August 2026, mainly owing to an improvement in the primary income balance and, to a lesser extent, the services balance, partly offset by a deterioration in the goods and secondary income balances, according to the Bank of Greece on Wednesday. In more detail, in January-August 2026, the current account deficit increased by € 2.4 billion year on year and stood at € 8.9 billion. Nevertheless, the combined goods and services balance improved.
ATHEX: Second half of session boosts index
The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,643.62 points, adding 1.28% to Tuesday’s 2,610.22 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.42% to end at 6,772.57 points.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1318912/athex-second-half-of-session-boosts-index
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DRIVING THE DAY
THE SHADOW BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS: While national governments battle it out over the size of the EU’s next seven-year budget, the European Commission is quietly working on another thorny part of the puzzle: how to get funds to regions and farmers — and who gets to control that process, Gregorio Sorgi reports.
Away from the rough-and-tumble of the main budget negotiations, Commission official Declan Costello is meeting with governments and regions to explain how to secure payouts as soon as the new Multiannual Financial Framework enters into force on Jan. 1, 2028, according to four officials granted anonymity to discuss the confidential talks. Costello runs SG REFORM, a task force within the powerful Secretariat-General reporting directly to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
New structure: The meetings come in the wake of open concern from regions and cities about the Commission’s plan to lump local funding, known as cohesion policy, and farmers’ subsidies — which jointly make up almost half of total EU spending — into a single money pot handled by national governments.
Moving the responsibility for disbursing the cash into governments’ hands also raises questions about the future role of the Commission department traditionally responsible for regional funding, led by Executive Vice President Raffaele Fitto.
Regions are particularly concerned about the Commission’s plan to tie cohesion funding to the fulfillment of economic reforms outlined in a grand program known as the National and Regional Partnership Plans — with some warning they might lose money if central governments fail to carry out the required measures.
To appease these worries, Costello told Germany’s powerful regions, or Länder, during a recent visit to Berlin that the Commission won’t bypass local leaders and demand reforms that can only be undertaken at a national level, said one official attending the meeting.
Extra checks: Andrey Novakov from the European People’s Party, who is negotiating the file in the European Parliament, told Playbook he wants to go even further. The Commission should withhold funds from countries if national governments could not prove “they had involved regional and local authorities” in designing their plans, he said.
In its budget negotiating document earlier this month, Ireland already diluted the Commission’s cash-for-reforms model. At a subsequent EU ambassadors’ meeting, the Commission confirmed Dublin’s changes would prevent links between EU payouts and national-level economic reforms, said three diplomats with direct knowledge of the talks.
The clock is ticking: Meetings between Costello and national capitals and regions are set to intensify in the coming months, as the Commission’s end-of-2027 deadline looms large. The draft plans for how regions and farmers can access their money should be presented in 2027, to “ensure that the EU funding can reach beneficiaries without interruption in January 2028,” Commission spokesperson Maciej Berestecki told Playbook.
BIG AND BREAKING
ITALY’S ALPHA GENERAL: Roberto Vannacci, the former paratrooper challenging Giorgia Meloni from the far right, is making a deliberate appeal to the so-called manosphere to transform himself into a heavyweight political force, Hannah Roberts writes.
MERZ’S RECURRING EASTERN NIGHTMARE: The AfD is pushing to install a far-right state premier in Saxony-Anhalt and regional Christian Democrats could help it succeed, risking a major rift in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party.
WHO SHOULD TALK TO PUTIN? European governments know they may soon need to nominate someone to face Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine peace negotiations — but it’s much less clear who is best placed to do it.
Putin is ready “in principle” to resume three-way talks with Washington and Kyiv as soon as next month, the Kremlin said yesterday after the Russian president met Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg. The negotiations could take place in Abu Dhabi.
Trump’s diesel deal with Russia gave Moscow “time to breathe” and set back efforts to secure a ceasefire, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network (which includes POLITICO).
BRING BACK THE GAS: AfD co-leader Alice Weidel called for a swift resolution to Ukraine peace talks and for German industry to regain access to cheap Russian gas during her press conference in Strasbourg yesterday. Max Griera was there.
FIGHTING RUSSIANS AND RED TAPE: Foreigners who volunteered to help defend Ukraine say they’re being hampered by bureaucracy — and it could jeopardize Kyiv’s efforts to continue resisting Russia.
ENVOY, AHOY!
A NEW CROP OF AMBASSADORS: Nineteen ambassadors will present their letters of credence to the presidents of the European Council and European Commission at a ceremony this morning, including envoys from Canada, the U.K., Ukraine, India and South Korea, Sebastian Starcevic writes.
A letter of what? The presentation of the letter of credence is a largely symbolic step that accredits an ambassador to represent their country. Until it’s done, the diplomats are technically an ambassador-designate, rather than a fully accredited ambassador. The ambassadors will also present their predecessors’ letters of recall to António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, formally ending their postings.
New faces in town: Caroline Wilson, Britain’s envoy to the EU, is a former ambassador to China and speaks Mandarin, Russian, French and German; Canada’s Jonathan Wilkinson used to be Ottawa’s energy minister; Taras Kachka was Ukraine’s deputy prime minister in charge of joining the EU; India’s Pranay Verma formerly represented New Delhi in Bangladesh; and Byeongdo Lee was Seoul’s envoy to Belgium.
Plus: Adamou Moumouni (Niger) … Aïcha Nanette Conté (Guinea) … Abhimanu Mahendra Kundasamy (Mauritius) … Mark Talbot (New Zealand) … Albana Dautllari (Albania) … Esteban Moctezuma Barragán (Mexico) … Malebo Mabitje-Thompson (South Africa) … María Dolores Agüero Lara (Honduras) … Marciano Edgar Armaketo (Suriname) … Andrea González Nader (Ecuador) … Jorge Carlos Tarud Daccarett (Chile) … Nguyen Huong Tra (Vietnam) … Joash Arthur Maangi (Kenya) … and Mariam Ali Moussa (Chad).
Who’s not included: The ambassador of the Federated States of Micronesia was invited but can’t attend. Japan is also getting a new ambassador, but he hasn’t arrived in Brussels yet.
One fell swoop: Brussels tends to welcome its envoys in batches. The last ceremony, with 13 ambassadors, was in May.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
Liechtenstein was in the news after its prince vetoed an abortion bill, but what is the relationship between the principality and the EU? Nestled between Austria and Switzerland, Liechtenstein is a member of the European Economic Area (which means it has access to the single market and also has to adopt some EU laws), the European Free Trade Association and the Schengen area of passport-free travel. It also has an agreement on sharing information on tax. However, Liechtenstein doesn’t use the euro, but rather the Swiss franc.
UKRAINE’S ACCESSION PUSH
NOW OR NEVER TO OPEN CHAPTERS, KYIV SAYS: Ukraine is looking to a gathering of Europe ministers on Dec. 15 as an ideal date to open the remaining negotiating chapters in its EU accession talks, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister in charge of EU integration, Vsevolod Chentsov, told Playbook’s Nick Vinocur.
Only going to get tougher: “It’s good to finish this year because after that, it gets super difficult politically,” Chentsov added, referring to upcoming elections in the EU.
Chentsov said he’s concerned about the potential “decoupling” of Kyiv’s accession bid from that of Moldova, in light of Commission road maps for candidate countries that project technical accession talks to end in 2028 for Moldova and 2029 for Ukraine. The two countries’ bids have, until now, been informally tied.
Full credit, please: The Commission’s road maps for candidate countries, which are due to be shared formally with EU capitals by the end of the year, don’t fully reflect Kyiv’s progress on internal reforms, one of the key sticking points for Brussels, the deputy PM said.
Asked about the Commission’s timelines, an EU official said: “We cannot confirm any specific deadline of the technical accession negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine. This will depend on the pace of the accession-related reforms of the candidate countries.”
DASHBOARD
The number of migrants arriving in Europe this year is down — but the death toll on the Central Mediterranean route, which runs from North African countries like Libya and Tunisia to Italy and Malta, is still increasing, the International Organization for Migration has warned.
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6 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
SECURITIZATION BREAKTHROUGH: The Irish EU presidency and the European Parliament have struck a provisional agreement to revive Europe’s securitization market, freeing up capital for businesses and strategic projects, a presidency spokesperson announced late last night.
BREAKING WITH TRUMP: Billionaire tech investor and Republican donor Peter Thiel has said the U.S. shouldn’t have launched a war against Iran, my stateside colleagues scooped. Meanwhile, the State Department has ordered nonessential staff to leave Saudi Arabia as the Houthis step up attacks.
FAR-RIGHT OFFICES GET A VISIT: European prosecutors searched European Parliament offices used by Patriots for Europe staff on Wednesday as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of funds by the defunct Identity and Democracy group.
PRETTY HUGE PROBLEM: The Commission is rushing to update its systems after cyber researchers using OpenAI tools found a critical flaw in PHP, a programming language that underpins much of the internet. But there’s no sign its services or data were compromised, my Morning Cybersecurity colleagues report (for subscribers).
ITALY HITS A ROADBLOCK: Truckers and farmers protesting soaring fuel prices and living costs have blocked roads, highways and ports across southern Italy, disrupting food and fuel supplies. Rome is scrambling to negotiate with the truckers, while Brussels keeps a watchful eye. More in Morning Mobility (for subscribers).
HANDS OFF OUR CONTENT: Europe’s biggest publishers want Brussels and London to block new Meta terms that they say would let it copy their websites to train artificial intelligence.