Mitsotakis holds first meeting with Androulakis as main opposition leader
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis on Wednesday, marking their first meeting since the socialist party became Greece’s main opposition.
New tax bill passes Parliament
The National Economy and Finance Ministry’s new tax bill passed Parliament on Wednesday by majority vote, on the strength of ruling New Democracy votes.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/868009/New-tax-bill-passes-Parliament
Tsipras defends legacy, debunks ‘myths’ of Greece’s bailout era
Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s former left-wing prime minister, has sought to defend his political legacy, including the controversial decision to hold a referendum on the bailout terms proposed by international creditors during the critical summer of 2015.
Greece’s economy forecast to grow by 2.2% in 2025 and 2.5% in 2026
Greece’s economy is strong and is projected to grow at a rate of 2.3% in 2024, 2.2% in 2025 and 2.5% in 2026, according to the biannual OECD Economic Outlook report released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/867843/Greeces-economy-forecast-to-grow-by-22-in-2025-and-25-in-2026
ATHEX: Credit sector remains the protagonist
For yet another day – the third in a row – bank stocks outperformed at Athinon Avenue and led the Greek bourse to more growth on Wednesday, while the daily turnover continued to expand as well. This has taken the benchmark to a six-week high, with traders now awaiting the report by Scope Ratings on the Greek sovereign debt and the third-quarter growth figures this Friday.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1255386/athex-credit-sector-remains-the-protagonist
KATHIMERINI: German “pirouette” regarding the “debt break”
TA NEA: Banks “trim” charges for services
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Ungoverned States of Europe
RIZOSPASTIS: Take back the minimum wage bill!
KONTRA NEWS: Turkey torpedoes the power interconnection between Greece and Cyprus
DIMOKRATIA: Where did the monster [police officer accused of molesting his children] find so much money?
NAFTEMPORIKI: The state is a “bad debtor” with debts of 3,634 bln
FRENCH EXIT: Michel Barnier’s short-lived government fell last night, as far-right and left-wing blocs in the French parliament united to pass a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. The vote was also a rejection of Barnier’s austere national budget proposal that aimed to reduce the ballooning French deficit.
The spiraling political crisis in the EU’s second-largest economy leaves the bloc politically weakened and the Eurozone exposed at a moment when Germany is distracted by an upcoming election and Donald Trump is preparing to take office in the U.S.
What happens next? After Barnier officially submits his resignation to Emmanuel Macron this morning, the French president will be under pressure to act with unusual speed in naming a new prime minister, if only to put an end to the growing calls for his own resignation. Macron could name Barnier again, or at least ask him to hold down the fort for a while as a caretaker. The president will address the French nation on TV at 8 p.m. tonight.
Another reason Macron is feeling the heat: The president may want to get on and name a successor to Barnier to give a sense that his country is not a total shambles when Trump and other global luminaries attend the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris this weekend.
Catch up: My colleagues Clea Caulcutt and co. in Paris have a great explainer here … The French political crisis is also the subject of this week’s Power Play podcast.
TIME TO SNEAK MERCOSUR THROUGH? The European Commission could capitalize on the French chaos this week by signing the Mercosur deal, a huge trade agreement between the EU and several Latin American countries that France vehemently opposes.
Meeting in Montevideo: The Financial Times, citing two unnamed officials, reported last night that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would soon fly to the Uruguayan capital where she is expected to sign the deal. We’ve reported that Friday is the most likely day for doing so, at a Mercosur summit. But going behind France’s back would likely inflame anti-EU sentiment in the country at a critical moment.
GOOD THURSDAY MORNING. This is Eddy Wax. Esteemed colleague Karl Mathiesen takes the Playbook plume Friday.
DRIVING THE DAY: DIDIER OR DIDN’T HE
ORBÁN ALLIES REVEL IN REYNDERS’ CRIME PROBE: A few days ago Didier Reynders was the EU’s face of justice and the fight for rule of law. Now, according to media reports, Belgian authorities are investigating whether he was involved in a money-laundering scheme that may have continued up to as recently as last year.
Collective shrug: That sounds like a serious allegation — but you wouldn’t guess it from the muted reaction from Planet EU to the bombshell news.
Recap: According to media reports, Reynders’ properties were raided and Belgian police questioned him this week, just days after his five-year mandate as the EU’s justice commissioner ended. It’s all the more surprising, since up until relatively recently Reynders was strongly rumored to be in line for a second term as European commissioner, after a failed bid to run the Council of Europe.
To be clear: All POLITICO has independently established is that there is indeed an ongoing investigation into Reynders. And it is of course entirely possible there is nothing to it.
You could hear a Pinho drop: There was barely a peep out of anyone Wednesday, after the Reynders news dropped Tuesday night. “The Commission had no previous information about this,” said Paula Pinho, the institution’s chief spokesperson. “We have no comments whatsoever,” she added. The pan-European liberal party ALDE declined to comment and Reynders’ Reformist Movement party did not reply to a request to comment.
One place that’s not quiet: Hungary. Media allied to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán went into overdrive about the news, my colleague Csongor Körömi reports.
What’s schadenfreude in Hungarian? Several Orbán-allied publications splashed headlines about the “anti-Hungarian” commissioner, as Reynders was an outspoken critic of the deterioration of the rule of law under Orbán and was responsible for withholding billions of euros in EU funding from his government. As recently as Nov. 19 Reynders was on stage in Brussels discussing “important concerns” about Hungary’s democracy.
Well, well, well: The weekly Mandiner went with the headline: “He slammed the door in our face when we asked him about his credibility — now the EU commissioner suspected of money laundering has been searched.” (Reynders stormed out of an interview with the outlet in 2021 when he was asked about another corruption case around him.)
Christmas comes early: The daily Magyar Nemzet quoted Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör: “He and others like him are teaching democracy these days. Europe deserves better. Especially Hungary.” His fellow MEP, Kinga Gál, called the case “the latest chapter of Brussels’ hypocrisy,” and the broader Patriots for Europe grouping in the European Parliament described the revelations as a “staggering blow to the credibility of the EU’s institutions.”
Tumbleweed exceptions: “If the judicial system confirms these allegations, that would constitute another deplorable scandal for the image of Belgian and European political life,” said Belgian Green MEP Saskia Bricmont, one of the few European lawmakers to speak up so far.
Prescient? “It’s all the time a possibility,” said Reynders about corruption when discussing the Qatargate scandal with my colleague Vincent Manancourt back in 2022. By coincidence, we are almost exactly at the two-year anniversary of the eruption of that scandal — which also engulfed Belgian politicians.
More irony: Reynders’ liberal MR party is part of the Renew grouping in the European Parliament — and Renew chose Wednesday to announce that it was calling off negotiations on a new EU anti-corruption law until after the end of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU, when Poland takes over.
Renew’s point-person Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle described it as “unfortunate optics” but added that the “fact remains: extreme levels of state corruption in Hungary make the Hungarian presidency unfit to lead negotiations on this directive.”
What else Hungary is going to be furious about: Budapest is on the brink of losing €1 billion in EU money that was frozen because of rule-of-law breaches, several officials told POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi.
NOW READ THIS: Csongor also has this must-read profile of MEP Péter Magyar, who has gone from being a servant of the system to a game-changer in Hungarian politics, and looks set to give Orbán and his Fidesz party a run for their money in an upcoming election.
TALKING TO RUSSIA
LAVROV FLIES TO MALTA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov enters the EU for the first time since his country launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago. He’ll be in Malta today to attend a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, my colleague Koen Verhelst reports. The OSCE is a regional security body that has 57 states as members, but is suffering from a leadership vacuum, as RadioFreeEurope’s Wider Europe newsletter explained this week.
Who else is going: Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will also attend. High Representative Kaja Kallas will represent the EU.
Prepare for walkouts: Lavrov can attend the meeting because he’s not sanctioned by the EU in order to keep the minimum diplomatic channels open. Poland did refuse Lavrov’s visa in 2022 for an OSCE meeting there, though. And this time Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who is sanctioned by the EU, had her visa revoked by Valletta, after objections from EU countries. A Polish minister said Lavrov’s presence in Malta would be “inappropriate,” with Polish and Czech officials indicating their ministers will walk out of the meeting if Lavrov shows up.
Who’s meeting with Lavrov? According to the Russian foreign ministry, Lavrov plans to hold bilateral meetings with foreign ministers “from a number of countries” on the OSCE sidelines.
RED HOTLINE: Valery Gerasimov, the architect of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, called U.S. President Joe Biden’s top military adviser last Wednesday to discuss how to manage escalation concerns, officials told the New York Times. The call came six days after Russia hit Ukraine with an Oreshnik, a nuclear-capable, intermediate-range ballistic missile.
MORE SIGNALS RUSSIA IS READY TO TALK: Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told state-run media that Russia is “ready to welcome all mediation efforts” when it comes to the war in Ukraine, while Chechen warlord and top Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov said “I am more than certain that it won’t be long before the war ends.”
KYIV’S ENVOY IN WASHINGTON: Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are holding high-level talks with the incoming Trump administration, as they seek to plead their case for continuing U.S. support. Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide, met on Wednesday with Keith Kellogg, Trump’s nominee as special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, and Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, the Wall Street Journal reports. Vice President-elect JD Vance joined in the discussions, per the paper.
RUSSIAN INFLUENCE
DECLASSIFIED DOCS REVEAL GEORGESCU GOT RUSSIA-STYLE BOOST: Romania’s ultranationalist presidential candidate Călin Georgescu benefited from a TikTok campaign that was similar to influence operations run by the Kremlin in Ukraine and Moldova, according to declassified Romanian intelligence documents, Carmen Paun reports.
Top revelations: The documents, which outgoing liberal President Klaus Iohannis released Wednesday following a request from Romanian journalists and civil society groups, allege that paid influencers, members of extremist right-wing groups and people with ties to organized crime promoted Georgescu’s candidacy online. The documents appear to contradict Georgescu’s claims that he didn’t receive any foreign campaign support. And while they don’t directly state Russia tried to swing the election in Georgescu’s favor, they strongly suggest it. Full details here.
What’s at stake: Georgescu on Wednesday vowed to ban Ukrainian grain exports through Romania and further military aid to Kyiv if he wins the presidential runoff this weekend, and said Bucharest isn’t obliged to stick to NATO’s defense spending commitments.
Teaming up: Four major Romanian political parties formed a coalition Wednesday night, vowing to keep the country on a pro-EU and pro-NATO path, Carmen reports.
MEANWHILE, IN GEORGIA: For seven nights running, pro-EU demonstrators have taken to the streets in Tbilisi to protest the Georgian government’s decision to suspend the country’s EU membership bid. Last night’s demonstrations ended peacefully, but throughout the week over 300 protesters have been arrested amid brutal beatings by police, reports my colleague Dato Parulava.
Campaign of intimidation: According to Georgia’s Public Defender, an ombudsman that oversees the observance of human rights and freedoms in the country, 80 percent of those who have been detained reported poor treatment. “Deliberate, punitive violence amounts to torture,” the ombudsman declared. In a crackdown widely seen as attempted intimidation, police raided opposition offices and searched activists’ homes on Wednesday. Several opposition leaders were arrested, among them Nika Gvaramia, leader of Coalition for Change, and Aleko Elisashvili of Strong Georgia.
Not budging: As Tbilisi teeters between the West and Russia, the ruling Georgian Dream party has resisted domestic pressure. Pro-EU President Salome Zourabichvili urged international partners to “put strong pressure on the ruling party that is driving the country off a cliff!”
Kyiv hears you: “It is shameful what they are doing to their own people,” said Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, announcing sanctions against Georgian officials. The U.S. is preparing to do likewise.
AZERBAIJAN
BAKU TIGHTENS GRIP: Two weeks after the curtains came down on the U.N.’s COP29 climate talks in Baku, the Azerbaijani regime has reminded the world of how it treats political critics, reports my colleague Suzanne Lynch. Human rights campaigner Rufat Safarov was arrested Tuesday night.The same day, Narimanov District Court in Baku rejected an appeal by another government critic, Gubad Ibadoghlu, against a travel ban imposed on him.
Sakharov dimension: The court’s refusal to lift Ibadoghlu’s travel ban risks wrecking his planned appearance at the European Parliament this month to pick up the prestigious Sakharov prize. Ibadoghlu, a prominent critic of the oil and gas industry, met MEPs at the climate talks and received an official invitation to the ceremony in Strasbourg from Parliament President Roberta Metsola. Ibadoghlu’s daughter Bayramova Zhala addresses a Parliament committee today.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
BELT-TIGHTENING SEC-GEN PLANS MORE REFORMS: The European Parliament’s top official Alessandro Chiocchetti is pushing ahead with his plan to boost the €2 billion-per-year assembly’s work on legislation, by making cuts elsewhere in the administration. “We have not enough staff for committees,” he told MEPs Wednesday. “In the Council, they have seven officials for one file; we have one official for seven files.”
Chiocchetti has asked for all DGs to conduct reviews of their resources. He plans a unit dedicated to cutting red tape and is pushing ahead with the plan to quadruple the number of DGs working on legislation, which we scooped.
EX-MEPs SUE OVER DOUBLE PENSIONS: Chiocchetti said the Parliament is facing 406 court cases from people frustrated with the Parliament’s plans to slash an old double pension scheme for former MEPs. “I am confident that we will win,” he said. Context here.
RACE TO REPLACE TOP GREENS OFFICIAL: With Vula Tsetsi’s departure after 20 years as the Greens’ secretary-general in Parliament, the hunt is on for her replacement, writes Parliament reporter Max Griera. Two names are circulating among MEPs and staff: Italian Maria Giovanna Manieri, who currently works on the ecological transition, and France’s Catherine Olier, who focuses on rights and democracy.
Not before Christmas: The Greens will elect the new secretary-general “in the new year,” said spokesperson Simon McKeagney. He said there is no formal procedure yet and no official nominees, adding that “it is important not to prejudice the process by naming potential candidates.”
NORTHERN IRISH “OBSERVERS” IN PARLIAMENT? The opposition in the Northern Irish assembly wants to send non-voting representatives to the European Parliament, to forge closer post-Brexit ties, Hugo Murphy reports.