Von der Leyen, responding to Mitsotakis, outlines plan to lower energy prices
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday addressed high energy prices in the EU during a press conference in Brussels, responding to a letter by Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis last week.
Defense Min Dendias: Greece starting negotiations for a fourth Belharra-type frigate
Greece will begin negotiations for the procurement of a fourth Belharra-type frigate, in addition to the three built by France’s Naval Group, National Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announced during the launch of the second such frigate in France on Thursday.
Greece votes in favor of Palestinian resolution at UN General Assembly
Greece has backed the UN resolution, which is based on the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, regarding the serious consequences of Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank.
ATHEX: Local stocks cash in on Fed rate cut
Wednesday’s rate cut by the Fed predictably benefitted European stock markets too, though Greece’s did not follow the upward path at the same pace on Thursday. Nevertheless, it did register gains, on increased turnover too, but traders are still waiting for a domestic catalyst that will give Athinon Avenue the boost it requires to see its benchmark return to the vicinity of 1,500 points.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1248899/athex-local-stocks-cash-in-on-fed-rate-cut
KATHIMERINI: Tax evasion linked to VAT was reduced by 3 billion euro
TA NEA: Electricity for households will be subsidized in October as well
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The “opposition” of the 11 New Democracy MPs is putting down roots
RIZOSPASTIS: Tens of thousands gathered on the second day of the 50th Youth Festival of the Greek Communist Party
KONTRA NEWS: Mammoth-superprofits for super markets
DIMOKRATIA: The guerilla warfare within New Democracy is escalating
NAFTEMPORIKI: Technological leap with investments worth 13 billion euro
DRIVING THE DAY: VDL IN KYIV
WINTER IS COMING: And so European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine today. They’ll discuss the EU’s plans for keeping Ukrainians warm after Russia’s barrage of power stations and other infrastructure.
Victory plan: Maybe von der Leyen can tease out a sneak peek at Zelenskyy’s vision for how to win the war. He’s planning to share it with U.S. President Joe Biden during a trip to Washington next week (during which he’ll probably also meet with Donald Trump, per the Republican presidential candidate). More from Veronika Melkozerova.
DRIVING THE WEEKEND: ANOTHER GERMAN VOTE
CRUNCH BRANDENBURG ELECTION: Voters in Brandenburg, the eastern state surrounding Berlin, head to the polls on Sunday for a regional election that’s key to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ and his governing coalition’s fate. If the chancellor’s SPD party loses to the far-right AfD, Scholz could well be done, writes my Berlin-based colleague Gordon Repinski in a must-read curtain-raiser.
What could happen after that? It could mean a snap German election — or maneuvering the more popular Defense Minister Boris Pistorius into the prime electoral slot for a national vote in 2025. Read Gordon’s story here.
Economic reverberations: Morning Consult, an American business intelligence company, dropped Germany’s grade from B to B- in its latest round of political stability ratings. While Scholz’s approval rating didn’t change over the past few months in the firm’s polling, Morning Consult’s Sonnet Frisbie told Playbook reporter Šejla Ahmatović “there was a downshift in whether Germany is moving in the right track — so a little bit more overall pessimism about the direction of the country.”
MEASURING THE DRAPES
CABINET MATCH-MAKING SEASON BEGINS: The commissioners-designate have yet to survive their Parliament hearings, so they’re hunkering down in the Charlemagne building to prepare — and showing their optimism by hiring staff. But they can’t just employ whomever they want. It’s the EU; there are rules.
Casual dating: Who needs a Tinder profile when you have hard copies of your CV to dole out over coffee dates in the EU Quarter as you hunt for a Cabinet job? One small problem — no one’s ready to commit: The future commissioners don’t yet know exactly what the new rules will be.
It’s complicated: The European Commission has strict regulations on the composition of commissioners’ Cabinets. There must be diversity in nationality, gender and seniority. For example, a Lithuanian commissioner cannot have a Lithuanian head of Cabinet and a Lithuanian deputy. In the current mandate, each Cabinet had to have at least five different nationalities.
Set to be even more complicated: In her second term, von der Leyen will make these rules even stricter, six officials briefed on the rules told my colleagues Barbara Moens, Eddy Wax and Jacopo Barigazzi. Think an even wider mix of nationalities and more gender diversity — especially after von der Leyen failed to achieve parity at the top.
Why do these rules exist? In theory, the requirement for a mix of nationalities in each Cabinet is to ensure commissioners work for the whole of the European Union, and not just their own home countries. In practice, the rules allow each capital to position its people in influential Cabinets that are led by a commissioner of a different nationality.
Let the swapping begin: To ensure this all plays out, countries engage in so-called swaps. We are not making this up: You get to position someone from your nationality in my Cabinet if I get to plant my person in your office. It’s a complicated game, as it involves the heads of Cabinets, the ambassadors and the capitals, who don’t always see eye to eye and are often engaged in different swaps at the same time.
Sounds like a swingers’ party? With so many people and nationalities involved, “you may as well leave your ID card behind at the entrance of the Berlaymont,” one EU diplomat quipped.
First loves: Scroll down for a list of transition chiefs and Cabinet favorites.
WHO’S HIRING
WHERE TO SEND YOUR CVs: Here’s who will be assisting the Commission nominees prepare for their hearings — and if you’re angling for a major role in a Cabinet, they’re the folks to send your CVs to.
Bertrand L’Huillier, Stéphane Séjourné’s deputy Cabinet chief in the French foreign ministry, will now lead the commissioner-designate’s transition team.
Grzegorz Radziejewski is set to be head of Cabinet for the would-be Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin. Radziejewski was the head of Cabinet for a former Polish budget commissioner and is into endurance sports — which may serve him well in budget negotiations.
Simonas Šatūnas is set to be head of Cabinet for Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius.
David Ciliberti is the head of the transition team for Malta’s commissioner-designate Glenn Micallef.
Claudio Casini is one of the frontrunners to become head of Cabinet for Italy’s Raffaele Fitto.
Ioannis Hadjiyiannis from the European Commission is the top official in the team of Cypriot commissioner-designate Costas Kadis.
Marko Makovec from the EEAS is leading the team of Slovenian commissioner-designate Marta Kos.
MORE COMMISSION NEWS
HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY MOVES FORWARD: When it comes to Budapest, we’ve gotten to the point where it counts as news when things go normally. That happened on Thursday evening when the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU moved forward with the necessary paperwork and procedures to advance the Commission nomination process.
So great is the fear of Hungary stonewalling that EPP MEPs plan to vote through all the nominees after their confirmation hearings, one of them told Mari Eccles — including Olivér Várhelyi. The concern is that voting down the Hungarian commissioner, nominated to handle health and animal welfare and who called MEPs “idiots,” could allow Budapest to hold everything up by refusing to name a replacement.
One last note on Hungary: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will debate his presidency priorities with the European Parliament plenary on Oct. 9, according to an agenda seen by Max Griera. He postponed this week’s planned appearance in Strasbourg to deal with extreme flooding at home.
IT’S GETTING UGLY: The step forward comes after Slovenia was able to officially nominate Marta Kos, von der Leyen’s pick to oversee enlargement. Yet as soon as that was dealt with, the same group of allies of ex-Prime Minister Janez Janša who held up Kos’ candidacy in Ljubljana are once again drawing the ire of the Brussels establishment. This time, it’s ex-Interior Minister Aleš Hojs’ homophobic tweet about French Commissioner-designate Stéphane Séjourné.
Calling Janša out: Saying Hojs’ post “follows other baseless political manoeuvres,” top Renew MEP Valérie Hayer accused Janša & Co. of “trying to destabilize Europe and weaken our democratic foundations.” (Janša’s party is linked to the EPP, though it opposed von der Leyen’s bid for a second term.)
SCHMIT IN SNIT OVER JOB(LESS) TITLE: Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit largely pulled his punches when he ran against von der Leyen as the Socialist’s lead candidate in the June EU election. But now that won’t be returning to the Commission at all, he’s letting it rip. On X, he vented about the fact that his “jobs” title will be retiring with him. (The equivalent role is now the EVP for people, skills and preparedness.)
“I have pushed skills but social and labour rights cannot be limited to skills and preparedness what ever this word means,” he tweeted.
IN YOUR EARS: Hosted by your Playbook author, this week’s EU Confidential podcast analyzes the new Commission pyramid, with colleagues Eddy Wax and Marion Solletty. Plus, we sit down with Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, get to know future foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and — on a completely different topic — consider why left-leaning leaders are studying at the feet of the far right on migration, with Hans von der Burchard in Berlin and Rosa Prince in London. Listen and subscribe here.
WEEKEND READING: You may have missed some of our stellar profiles of the commissioners-designate. Catch up on them here: Hungary’s Olivér Várhelyi, the “incredibly rude” choice for health commissioner … Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič, the Mr. Fix It who’s got his toughest mission yet … Austria’s Magnus Brunner, who’s so good at tennis he once beat a future U.S. Open champion … Slovenia’s Marta Kos, Europe’s new enlargement czar … Spain’s Teresa Ribera, the second-most-powerful person in Brussels … Luxembourg’s Christophe Hansen, the center-right’s golden boy … Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius, the EU’s first defense commissioner … Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, the veteran who will reassure Germany … and Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who cements Greece’s hold over the EU’s transport file.
Friday funny: Paul Dallison takes you behind the scenes of the new European Commission in his Declassified humor column.
POLICY HEATS UP
COMMISSION FLOODED WITH MEP DEFORESTATION REQUESTS: The EPP group — Ursula von der Leyen’s own political family —has renewed its crusade against the EU deforestation rules. “We urge you to postpone the application of the Regulation by at least twelve months to allow for necessary guidance and compliance system to be developed,” EPP chief Manfred Weber wrote in a letter to von der Leyen, seen by Max Griera.
Quick background: The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which comes into force in December, will require companies to prove their wood, coffee, cocoa, soy, palm oil, rubber and cattle have not been produced on deforested land. The EPP’s argument is that businesses will be clobbered by administrative burdens unless there’s more time to implement the new rules.
Then came the flood: The Socialists & Democrats and Renew also sent letters, obtained by POLITICO, to von der Leyen on Thursday — urging the Commission to stick to the December deadline.
BIG PICTURE — POLITICS PERSISTS AFTER PASSAGE: After a first term heavy on environmental legislation, von der Leyen’s second mandate was expected to be more focused on implementing what had already been passed, rather than writing new laws. But this push for a delay is a clear sign that the EPP doesn’t consider these discussions closed, especially after the election. And if this is how things are starting for deforestation, just imagine how the internal combustion engine ban is going to go …
CHINA TO GET SECOND CHANCE ON TARIFF TALKS: The EU and China did not reach a breakthrough in high-level talks on duties for made-in-China electric vehicles, the bloc’s trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said on Thursday after Chinese Minister for Commerce Wang Wentao had left — but Beijing will get another chance. More here for Pro Trade subscribers from Koen Verhelst and Camille Gijs.
NATO TO EU: GOOD LUCK WITH THAT
STOLTENBERG WARNS EU AGAINST COMPETING WITH NATO: After a decade at NATO’s helm, Jens Stoltenberg has stopped playing nice with the EU (not that he’s tried too hard). Speaking at a farewell event on Thursday, the outgoing Stoltenberg said that while it was good for the EU to focus on eliminating defense industry barriers within member countries, it should stay out of NATO’s core business: setting capability targets, running intervention forces or setting military standards, Stuart Lau reports.
Saying the quiet part out loud: His remarks, at the German Marshall Fund, are an expression of years-long skepticism among NATO officials on what the EU plans to do on defense. They come shortly after the European Commission named its first ever commissioner responsible for the issue.
Pay in, don’t duplicate: While Stoltenberg praised ambitions to defragment the EU’s defense industry, wishing the bloc “the best of luck,” he then proceeded to question EU countries’ focus on building an alternative force, rather than contributing to NATO’s command structure. He also praised the U.S. for criticizing Europe for not spending 2 percent of its GDP on defense. “The good news is that we have delivered on the pledge we made 10 years ago,” he said.
The bad news? “This is [no] longer enough,” he added, though he stopped short of saying there should be a new target.
BALKANS
FIGHTING WORDS: A long-simmering standoff between Kosovo and Serbia is poised to return to the boil as the leaders of the two countries ratcheted up the rhetoric this week. After Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused him of “irrationality,” “desperation” and of pursuing an “aggressive campaign for new conflicts,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić shot back in an interview with POLITICO’s Matt Karnitschnig and Una Hajdari, saying: “If irrationality and aggression is to have democratic elections … OK, many thanks to him.”
ALBANIAN PM SHRUGS OFF MIGRANT CENTERS: Don’t like Italy’s plans to house migrants intercepted at sea in camps in Albania? That’s not Albania’s problem, reckons Prime Minister Edi Rama. “It’s not our problem, this is the EU’s problem, they have to manage it,” he told Playbook’s Šejla Ahmatović during an appearance in Brussels. Denying that Albania has a role in the project, he added: “I’ve offered [Italy] the possibility to do it on our soil, but they’ll manage it.”
Italian privilege: And if you do like Italy’s plans … that’s also not Albania’s problem. There’s no room for more migrants, Rama told Euronews: “This is an exclusive agreement with Italy because we love everyone, but with Italy we have unconditional love.”
IN OTHER NEWS
NEW FRENCH GOVERNMENT DEAL: Prime Minister Michel Barnier has reached a deal with centrist and conservative lawmakers to form a new French government, his office said in a statement Thursday. Our Playbook Paris colleagues reckon we’re likely to get the details of the new team today or Saturday. Full details here.
VENEZUELA UPDATE: The European Parliament on Thursday recognized Venezuela’s exiled presidential candidate Edmundo González as the country’s legitimate and democratically elected president.
TRUMP DITCHES DUDA: Donald Trump’s joint appearance with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Pennsylvania is off, Reuters reports, though it doesn’t reveal why.
MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Israeli fighter jets launched a wave of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Thursday, prompting calls from allies in Washington and London for urgent diplomatic action to avoid an all-out conflict with Hezbollah. The intense bombardment followed the device explosions that killed at least 37 and injured about 3,000 others earlier this week, which Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged had caused a “severe and cruel blow” to the militant group. Nasrallah said Israel had “crossed all red lines” and Hezbollah would inflict a “just punishment.”
How did Israel do it? Antoaneta Roussi answers five key questions about the pager blasts.
The repercussions: The attacks on militants’ wireless devices are amping up concern about ways in which the global electronics supply chain can be compromised — and the risks for companies operating in adversarial countries, my Stateside colleagues Ari Hawkins and Joseph Gedeon report.