Greek PM reiterates warning to North Macedonia
Greece has once again warned North Macedonia that failing to respect the name deal between the two countries will jeopardize the Balkan state’s path to European Union membership.
US Ambassador Tsunis: New North Macedonia gov’t must comply with the Prespa Agreement, avoid unnecessary tensions
US Ambassador to Greece George Tsunis called on the new government of North Macedonia to comply with the Prespa Agreement in order to avoid unnecessary tensions, in an interview on Thursday.
Money laundering investigation ordered in Mykonos surveyor’s murder case
A money laundering investigation has been ordered for the suspect in the murder of surveyor Panagiotis Stathis in Neo Psychiko, along with another individual being probed for possible involvement.
Greek merchant fleet sees slight increase in 2024 amid decreased tonnage
The Greek merchant fleet increased by 0.2% in May 2024 compared with May 2023. A decrease of 0.6% was recorded in May 2023 compared with May 2022, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) announced on Thursday.
ATHEX: Stocks post minor gains on quiet day
The growth of most banks weighed decisively on the Greek stock market on Thursday for the final color of the benchmark, which reverted to black upon the closing after a rather narrow session, while turnover continued to decrease. Markets appear satisfied with the decline of the US inflation rate in June, which strengthens the scenario of two rate cuts by the Fed by year-end.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1243774/athex-stocks-post-minor-gains-on-quiet-day
KATHIMERINI: “PPC model” for 8 state-owned companies
TA NEA: Extraordinary benefit for the vulnerable
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: PM admits Greece’s teriffying high-risk involvement in the war in Ukraine
RIZOSPASTIS: Bill on mental health: Rally against the new abomination
KONTRA NEWS: Fear, rage and disappointment: Citizens don’t trust the political system any more
DIMOKRATIA: Confession of a national crime [regarding Greek arms shipped to Ukraine]
NAFTEMPORIKI: Block against frauds of the “carousel” style
IS THIS GOODBYE-DEN? As the NATO summit in Washington closed last night — and with the eyes of the world on him — U.S. President Joe Biden mistakenly introduced Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as … Vladimir Putin, before correcting himself. At a press conference soon after, there was another awkward flub when Biden mixed up his vice president and Donald Trump …
I’m up to the job! The closely watched press conference was billed as crucial to the president calming his party’s intensifying calls for him to step aside. It was long and tense, as Biden dismissed questions about his fitness, promoted his foreign policy record and insisted he still has the best shot at beating Trump in November. It wasn’t a repeat of last month’s disastrous TV debate performance, but will it be enough to save his faltering candidacy? The days ahead could change everything. (Our Stuart Lau has more below on the NATO summit, which was overshadowed by the questions about Biden’s health.)
GOOD FRIDAY MORNING. This is Eddy Wax. Nick Vinocur will be with you on Monday.
TR-EU DETECTIVE: Someone has created what looks like a shrine in the European Parliament, my colleague Seb Starcevic discovered. The weird assemblage consists of a candle, a bottle of crémant, a “use your vote” bookmark and a biography of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev. Could it be dedicated to the Parliament’s patron saint? Or maybe it’s a space for departing MEPs to reflect quietly? Email us if you know what the hell it is.
BOATS FOR VOTES: MEPs arriving in Strasbourg for the first time next week might be startled to discover that they can travel by water to the Parliament. It is laying on a shuttle boat that will go from the city center to the hemicycle in 17 minutes. Just flash your badge!
DRAGHI DRAGS IT OUT: Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s much-anticipated report on competitiveness has again been delayed and won’t come out until September, Giovanna Faggionato reports.
DRIVING THE DAY
DID THE EU MAKE A DEAL WITH HUNGARY ON UKRAINE? When Brussels last year suddenly released €10.2 billion to Hungary that had been blocked because of rule-of-law breaches, many speculated it was part of an under-the-table deal to get Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to agree to a €50 billion package for Ukraine, which was up for discussion at a European summit the next day. A few months later, Hungary dropped its opposition to the aid for Ukraine.
Nothing to see here: Diplomats denied that Orbán was given concessions to agree to the Ukraine package and the Commission has insisted that its decision to release the frozen funds — though the timing was curious — was determined solely by Hungary’s reforms to guarantee judicial independence. But hold on a sec …
In a lunchtime interview with Playbook, Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas provided a tantalizing, if somewhat ambiguous, addition to the backstory — and one which, if we understood him correctly, could raise awkward questions for his boss, Ursula von der Leyen, days before a crunch vote on her second term as Commission president.
Rule of law trade-offs? During the lunch, we raised the Hungarian funds with Schinas. The Commissioner praised von der Leyen’s handling of Orbán’s rule-of-law backsliding, saying she was “very clear on the money issue,” and that the best way to deal with Orbán is to launch infringement actions whenever he breaches EU law. “This method has helped us to redress some things,” he said.
“This Commission tried as much as we can to exploit the leverage [over Hungary], as we did with the Poles,” Schinas went on, referring to the Commission’s attempts to clamp down on similar concerns in Poland under the previous Law and Justice government.
When we pressed on that, Schinas said: “We still have blocked money [destined for Hungary] but clearly — and this is not the Commission — when we had to discuss the money for Ukraine, there was a broader deal, the €50 billion.”
Between who? “I don’t know,” Schinas said. “But clearly, there was a deal. Money is not decided here, money is decided there.”
What did he mean by ‘there‘? After the interview, we sought clarification from Schinas’ spokesperson, who said: “The €50 billion deal for Ukraine was agreed at the European Council.” (The European Commission is tasked with upholding the rule of law, and thanks to a newish mechanism it can withhold funds for countries when democracy is compromised.)
If we interpreted Schinas’ remarks correctly (and his spokesperson didn’t push back), it could raise awkward questions for Commission President von der Leyen, who is also a member of the European Council. The Parliament is suing the Commission over its decision to unfreeze the €10 billion, alleging it was a misuse of EU taxpayers’ money. Watch this space …
THE HIGH LIFE: Schinas, the Commission vice president for Promoting Our European Way of Life, sat down for lunch with Playbook in the Commission’s fancy in-house restaurant, the Salon de Convivialité, on the Berlaymont’s top floor, just across from the spaceship-style room where the 27 commissioners hold weekly meetings.
At the only other occupied table, Margrethe Vestager was having lunch.
LIBYA MIGRATION DEAL COMING? We also asked Schinas if the EU is preparing to strike another Tunisia-style deal on curbing migration. “We will continue to work on the external dimension [of migration] as we did … so next week I will go to Libya,” Schinas said. He pointed to von der Leyen’s recent public letter on migration, which talked about strengthening Libya’s southern border. “This is what I’m going to operationalize,” he said.
WHY ‘COLD-BLOODED’ URSULA MUST WIN: Schinas said von der Leyen deserves a second term because she made the right calls at big moments like the Covid-19 pandemic and the Belarus migration crisis. “It’s undisputed that she has this leadership quality,” he said. “She has cold blood and she is also pro-European.”
What would happen if the vote goes against her? “A major institutional crisis … would not be the outcome that any reasonable person would like,” he said. “There is only Plan A.”
STICK OR TWIST? Schinas, a European People’s Party man through and through, needs the backing of Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis for a second term as commissioner. Would he like to stay on? “Yes, because if he thinks that he would like someone like me to continue, of course I will continue. It would be a great honor.” He pointed out that no Greek commissioner has ever got a second term.
STOP TALKING SO MUCH: Schinas, who was the Commission’s chief spokesperson for five years until 2019, now says there’s no need for the Commission to hold a press conference every single weekday. He points out that not even the White House holds a daily press briefing anymore. “Macron once told me that sometimes when I was spox, they were watching me and they were laughing at me, [saying] ‘This is the guy who still does a daily briefing,’” Schinas said. He reckons it should be reduced to three times a week.
NATO SUMMIT
ORBÁN RILES ZELENSKYY AT NATO SUMMIT: Unlike last year, the NATO summit in Washington ended without an angry tweet from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. NATO leaders promised to support Kyiv’s “irreversible path” to membership. But there were a couple of things Zelenskyy was riled up about at a press conference on Thursday, our NATO correspondent Stuart Lau writes in to report — long-range firing capabilities and Viktor Orbán.
The calm before Trump: This week’s summit felt like a temporary moment of transatlantic harmony before the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House. Several European diplomats told Stuart they’re stepping up efforts to engage Trump’s circle, including those who are skeptical of aiding Ukraine.
Plea to strike Russia: “If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations,” Zelenskyy said, taking a swipe at the Americans’ continued refusal to allow Ukraine to carry out strikes deep into Russia using Western weapons.
Orbánism backfires: Zelenskyy also took a hit at Hungarian PM Orbán’s self-assigned role as a globetrotting peace mediator. “When he was in Kyiv, I didn’t know that he would go to Putin,” he said. “We have to accept that not all the leaders can make negotiations. You need to have some power for this.” Ouch.
If that’s not clear enough … Former Ukraine PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk told my Stateside colleague Miles Herszenhorn: “Maybe Prime Minister Orbán decided to get another supplemental job … as special envoy of President Xi to the European Union and to former President Trump.” Stuart has more on the Hungary-Turkey headache for NATO.
MORE TOP READS FROM POLITICO’S COVERAGE OF THE NATO SUMMIT … Weakened Macron keeps low profile at NATO summit … Stoltenberg bashes China for creeping closer to NATO … Biden introduced Zelenskyy. It didn’t go well … Scholz joins shaky chorus of world leaders sticking with Biden.
DEATH LIST: The U.S. and Germany foiled a Russian plot to kill the CEO of German arms maker Rheinmetall, CNN reported on Thursday. Asked about it at the summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he would not “go into that specific report,” before adding: “What I can say is that we have seen a pattern, a Russian campaign, organized by their security services to conduct hostile actions against NATO allies across the alliance.” POLITICO’s Csongor Körömi, Hans von der Burchard and Henry Donovan have more here.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
MELONI’S MEPs KEEP THE DOOR OPEN TO VDL: Nicola Procaccini, Co-President of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), told reporters Thursday that, as things stand, the Brothers of Italy can’t foresee voting for von der Leyen to get a second term, the Italian newswire AGI reported.
What he meant: Our 24 MEPs could still vote for her if she gives us something we can sell back home.
REAL ESTATE FIGHT: “Everyone is fighting for offices … MEPs, staff … especially in Strasbourg. It is a nightmare … ” one official from a political group told Playbook.
Renew Europe might have to hand over the keys to its offices in the Brandt building to the larger far-right Patriots for Europe group, Playbook hears. MEPs had to clear out their old offices by Thursday.
WAYS TO SAY BYE: OutgoingMEPs are finding ways to bid farewell on social media. Maria Manuel Leitão Marques walked us around her favorite Brussels haunts … Demetris Papadakis took a selfie in the Tractor Bar … Caroline Roose made a sad speech as she walked out for the final time … Dimitrios Papadimoulis published his greatest hemicycle hits … Jérémy Decerle made a collage … Othmar Karas showed us his boxes … Frances Fitzgerald strutted out to some Taylor Swift … and Pierre Karleskind joked that he would publish the names of people who keep applying for jobs with him although he’s not coming back.
MEET THE NEXT COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Playbook reported this week on how the political families in the Parliament are sharing the committee leadership roles. Now let’s take a look at who’s in the running, with help from my fab Pro colleagues.
Reality check: For all the fighting over committee chairs — a role that is essentially a glorified moderator — they’re not the most important people in any committee. Instead, the coordinators of each group wield much more power, although their work is barely visible to the outside.
The chairs will be decided on July 23, when each committee meets to vote on their new leadership. But if the broad deal between the non-far-right groups holds, a single candidate should get the backing of a broad cross-party majority.
Here are the names we’re hearing:
Foreign affairs: The EPP’s David McAllister is a shoo-in to retain the committee chair.
Security and defense: German liberal Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has won the battle inside Renew to head the subcommittee.
Industry: The Polish EPP delegation wants it, but we’re hearing that it could go to German Christian Ehler.
Agriculture: Could the ECR propose a Pole? Will the Spanish or Polish EPP demand that it comes back to them?
Environment: What was the biggest committee in the outgoing Parliament is likely to be run by an Italian Democrat from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D). We’re hearing that Alessandra Moretti, Annalisa Corrado and Antonio Decaro are options.
Economic and monetary affairs: French Socialist Aurore Lalucq is the group candidate, her team told our Paris Playbook colleagues.
Regional development: Veteran Belgian Socialist Elio di Rupo wants it, we hear, but it could go to an Eastern European or Italian Social Democrat instead.
Women’s rights: Should go to a Spanish socialist, we hear.
Legal affairs: French centrist Pascal Canfin has been floated.
International trade: No surprise that German Social Democrat Bernd Lange is the frontrunner.
Budget: Theoutgoing chair, the ECR’s Johan Van Overtveldt, is broadly seen as a safe pair of hands who others can work with. The uncertain factor is whether he will take a job in a possible NVA-led Belgian government.
Internal market: The Greens voted for German MEP Anna Cavazzini to stay in the role.
Human rights: The Greens voted for French MEP Mounir Satouri to lead the subcommittee.
Employment rights: The Left’s Finnish MEP Li Andersson.
Health: The Polish EPP is interested in the subcommittee, we’re hearing.
Drop us a line if you’ve got intel on the committees that we haven’t mentioned here.
WEBER RESHUFFLES TOP TEAM: EPP Chair Manfred Weber has been making moves. His head of Cabinet, Ouarda Bensouag, will become the group’s secretary-general from November 1. Bensouag, who is French, will take over Simon Busuttil, a Maltese former Nationalist Party leader, who told colleagues in a note that his term as sec-gen was “an extraordinary experience that I shall treasure forever.” Several people told Playbook that Bensouag was previously being lined up to be a director specializing in IT.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides won’t run for another term. The news about the EPP commissioner didn’t travel far outside the Greek-speaking media when it was announced a few days ago.
BETS FOR NEXT HEALTH COMMISSIONER: Some of the most talked-about names in health circles, Malta’s former Health Minister Chris Fearne or Belgium’s Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke,would need to overcome serious obstacles to get the job, Mari Eccles writes.
BETS FOR NEXT CYPRIOT COMMISSIONER: Likely candidates to be Cyprus’s next Commissioner are former Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis and current Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, Nektaria Stamouli writes in to report. President Nikos Christodoulides told local state radio he has two candidates in mind, without naming them, and that he is talking to von der Leyen about a specific portfolio.
NOW READ … THE HABSBURG EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: Matthew Karnitschnig on the Patriots for Europe, a Habsburg coalition that gives Viktor Orbán the European platform he craves.