PM Mitsotakis: ND proposes Constantine Tassoulas for President of Republic
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced his nomination of Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas for the position of Greek president on Wednesday. Mitsotakis emphasized Tasoulas’ ability to unify, citing his repeated election as speaker with overwhelming parliamentary support.
Tasoulas’ presidential nomination draws criticism from left-wing opposition
Left-wing opposition parties criticized Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday for nominating Parliament Speaker Konstantinos Tasoulas for Greek president, accusing him of breaking the tradition of selecting a nonpartisan candidate.
Greece advances Andravida base upgrade for F-35 arrival
The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) is progressing with plans to transform Andravida Air Base in the northwest Peloponnese into the country’s most advanced military facility, designed to host its incoming fleet of F-35 fighter jets.
Parliament suspends state funding for the Spartiates party
The plenary of the Hellenic parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of suspending the state funding for the party Spartiates by 267 votes in favour, 15 votes against and five abstentions. The suspension of the party’s funding was recommended by Parliament’s Ethics Committee, based on a Supreme Court ruling that its true leader is actually Ilias Kasidiaris, a jailed member of former far-right Golden Dawn, and that the Spartiates party replaces the actions of Golden Dawn, which has been ruled to be a criminal organisation.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/876707/Parliament-suspends-state-funding-for-the-Spartiates-party
ATHEX: Stocks show further trend for growth
Greek stock prices accelerated their growth on Wednesday, taking the benchmark back over the 1,500-point psychological level. Traders targeted specific stocks this time, with the rest of the market seeing little action on the day. In one case, main stakeholder Ivan Savvidis raised the price of Thessaloniki Port Authority by buying more shares, just as the Louis-Dreyfus family seeks to acquire a significant stake.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1258720/athex-stocks-show-further-trend-for-growth
KATHIMERINI: The backstage of Tasoulas’ selection for the Presidency
TA NEA: Right turn for the government
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Israel-Hamas ceasefire: glimmer of hope
RIZOSPASTIS: Farmers are getting to rally in order to promote their fair demands
KONTRA NEWS: Sweeping cabinet reshuffle with right turn
DIMOKRATIA: Beware of the right wing!
NAFTEMPORIKI: Cap and haircut for the increases in private health insurance
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DRIVING THE DAY: HOPE IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE
TENTATIVE CEASE-FIRE IN MIDDLE EAST: Israel and Hamas have reached a long-awaited agreement that will halt the catastrophic fighting in Gaza. The deal is expected to take effect on Sunday — the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration — with an initial six-week phase that includes the release of dozens of hostages taken by the militant group during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. Reuters reports that news of the cease-fire prompted scenes of joy and disbelief in Gaza.
What they’ve agreed: The deal brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt (European governments weren’t directly involved in the talks) has three phases, as reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Over the first six weeks … Hamas will incrementally release 33 of the nearly 100 remaining Israeli hostages … Israel will release some of the Palestinians it has detained (the number will depend on how many hostages Hamas releases, but Reuters estimates it could be between 990 and 1,650) … Israeli troops will gradually withdraw from the strip … Gazans can return to (what remains of) their homes in the north … and a massive amount of aid will be brought into the enclave.
Uncertainty looms: The second phase of the deal is still to be hammered out. Negotiations are due to begin on Day 16 of the cease-fire, but it is envisaged that this phase would include a permanent end to the fighting, a total withdrawal of Israel’s armed forces and the release of the remaining hostages. (If the peace holds … There was a negotiated cessation of hostilities in November 2023 but fighting then resumed.) Phase three would involve the return of dead hostages and the start of a major rebuilding effort in Gaza, under the auspices of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
What next for Gaza? Israel’s uncompromising response to the 2023 attack, in which Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, has devastated the territory. More than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials, and many more lost their homes. What happens to those who were forcibly displaced by the violence is one of the most pressing and uncertain questions now.
“Every stage will be heartbreaking as hostages come out over weeks, after 470-plus days in captivity, as families wait in uncertainty of who is coming out alive and as Gazans gradually return to the rubble that was once their homes and dig out the dead,” Anshel Pfeffer, a British-Israeli journalist, posted on X. “It is too soon to say the war is over,” he writes in the Economist.
Hamas’ chief negotiator said the militant group won’t forget the suffering that was inflicted on Palestinians in the past 15 months. “We will not forget and we will not forgive,” Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya said, according to AFP.
The EU has a reconstruction plan: “We are already taking forward a multi-year support program for the Palestinian Authority, to help pave the way for a two-state solution,” Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica told Playbook. “We will work on a dedicated reconstruction plan and recovery process for Gaza with international partners, including the Gulf countries.”
But Europe remains starkly divided. The war aggravated preexisting political divisions in the Union, with some countries recognizing a Palestinian state (Spain, Ireland) and others standing staunchly by Israel (Germany, Hungary, Austria). Those dynamics also played out in EU institutions, where, despite their efforts to counter the perceptions, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was widely viewed as more attuned to Israeli suffering and her then-High Representative Josep Borrell was seen as more sympathetic to the Palestinians.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump both claimed credit for the cease-fire last night. President-elect Trump, who doesn’t take office until Monday, claimed on his Truth Social platform that the long-sought deal only happened because he was reelected. (His incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was involved in the negotiations.) Biden claimed it was the product of his administration’s relentless diplomacy and based on a plan he proposed in May last year. When a reporter asked the outgoing president whether he or Trump deserved the credit, Biden replied: “Is that a joke?”
No surprise whom Bibi thanked first: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Trump first last night, according to his office. He praised the incoming president for “helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families” and promising that the U.S. “would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism.” The pair intend to meet in Washington “soon.” Netanyahu then called Biden and “thanked him as well for his assistance,” the PM’s office posted, almost as a footnote.
EU REACTIONS
CAUTIOUS APPROVAL: European leaders welcomed reports of the long-awaited cease-fire and expressed cautious optimism it could lay the groundwork for a lasting peace — provided all parties honor its terms.
Notable responses: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the cease-fire agreement “a stepping stone toward lasting stability”… European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said it “can be a turning point for a sustainable peace, a surge of aid, and a catalyst that changes despair to hope” … EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas was even more enthusiastic, describing it as a “major, positive breakthrough” … while her predecessor Borrell said the peace agreement was “long overdue” and that both sides “must honor it fully.”
Whither the two-state solution? Of the top institutional players in Brussels, only António Costa (the only socialist among them) invoked the EU’s official view on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “The EU remains committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the Two-State solution.” Another top European socialist, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, also insisted on this point, as did his voice in Brussels, Iratxe García.
Bottom line: “A political solution must come,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, who described the past 15 months of conflict as an “unjustifiable ordeal.”
Specific requests: Calling the deal “good news,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the “mortal remains of the deceased [hostages] must also be handed over to the families for a dignified burial.”
… and longer-term ideas: Prime Minister Simon Harris of Ireland, one of Israel’s fiercest critics in Europe, said the international community should support “a renewed Palestinian Authority to bring stability and governance to Gaza.” (An idea likely to cheer only the Palestinian Authority.)
Read more: My colleague Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing has a rundown of the EU reaction here.
TODAY IN BRUSSELS: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa is in Brussels today to meet Council President Costa, Mediterranean Commissioner Šuica and Metsola. He will likely convey his message that his Palestinian Authority should be the sole governing body in Gaza from now on‚ which would be unacceptable to the Israelis.
SECURITY
GREENLAND IS NOT FOR SALE: Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had a phone call with Donald Trump on Wednesday and told the president-elect that Greenland should decide its own future — despite his insistence that the mineral-rich territory is vital to U.S. national security. Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing wrote it up.
SPLASH THE CASH TO PLEASE TRUMP, URGES TUSK: The Trump administration will be less likely to abandon Ukraine if European countries show they are serious about defending themselves, Polish PM Donald Tusk said in Warsaw alongside Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Read more from Veronika Melkozerova and me.
Tusk accuses Russia of plotting terror in the skies: At the same press conference, Tusk said that Moscow “planned acts of air terror, not just against Poland but against airlines across the globe,” without providing specific details. Report here.
DATE FOR THE DIARY: The European Commission’s hotly anticipated “white paper” on how the EU should fund more defense spending should be ready by March 19.
STARMER IN UKRAINE: Britain’s Keir Starmer is in Ukraine today for the first time since becoming prime minister to announce more weapons for Kyiv and pledge a “100-year partnership.” POLITICO’s Tim Ross reports that the treaty will primarily beef up security in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Azov Sea, but also include a commitment to build stronger economic and cultural ties between the two countries.
JAPAN OPENS MISSION TO NATO: The Asian nation inaugurated its new embassy to NATO Wednesday, under the auspices of new Ambassador Osamu Izawa.
FROM BUDA WITH LOVE: Next Tuesday in Strasbourg, MEPs will discuss “the Hungarian government’s illegal espionage of EU institutions and investigative bodies,” according to a draft calendar, spotted by Max Griera.
BIG TECH
MEPs TO DEFEND DIGITAL LAWS: Top MEPs got their teeth into the Commission Wednesday, grilling tech chief Henna Virkkunen for over an hour about the institution’s handling of American tech giants, Max reports.
Be “more active”: Socialists and Democrats (S&D) President Iratxe García wasn’t satisfied with Virkkunen’s answers and argued that the Commission should be “more active,” “firm,” and less “ambiguous” when enforcing the Digital Services Act against X, Meta and TikTok.
S&Do something: “We ask her for this action plan with the European Commission and we hope that during the plenary session debate [next week] we can have more info, for example, when will [it] be finalized, the investigation?” García said.
Scolded: “I think it was [a] very good discussion and we will continue,” she said. “Everybody is hoping that we could … move rapidly, but … we are doing it very carefully,” she added when asked about the ongoing investigations relating to X.
Say why about X: Led by Polish S&D MEP Krzysztof Śmiszek, 50 lawmakers from four political groups have sent questions to Virkkunen asking whether Elon Musk’s meddling in EU politics could constitute a violation of the DSA. Similarly, the liberal Renew group’s Chair Valérie Hayer said on X she has sent additional questions to the Commission.
HOW WARSAW SEES THE EU’S RETICENCE TOWARD MUSK: “The problem is about courage,” Poland’s Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski told a pack of European journalists.
MEPs FOLLOW MUSK’S LEAD: The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group proposed a European Parliament debate on the U.K.’s grooming gangs scandal, in a weekly spot reserved for human rights abuses. French centrist MEP Nathalie Loiseau said of the MEPs who proposed the debate: “They were already aligned with Putin. Now they follow Musk’s instructions.” But the debate is highly unlikely to happen.
Also never gonna happen: Meanwhile, as Euractiv reports, some MEPs have nothing better to do than nominate Elon Musk for the Nobel Prize. Guys, if he couldn’t even get into the last three of the Sakharov Prize two years running …
NOW RUNNING THE HOUSING AND DEMOCRACY COMMITTEES: Italian S&D MEP Irene Tinagli will chair the new special committee on the housing crisis in Europe, two parliamentary sources told Max. Loiseau, the French liberal lawmaker, will chair the democracy shield committee, Renew’s leader Valérie Hayer told reporters on Tuesday.
IN OTHER NEWS
VON DER LEYEN RECOVERY: Ursula von der Leyen will on Friday have her first in-person engagement since being hospitalized with severe pneumonia when she attends a European People’s Party summit in Berlin, hosted by the CDU’s candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz, Euractiv reports.
BIDEN’S GRIM FAREWELL: Joe Biden used his final address from the Oval Office to warn that an “oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence.” The outgoing president didn’t mention his successor by name, but said he was concerned about the future of U.S. democracy and called for the Constitution to be amended to “make clear that no president is immune from crimes.” My Stateside colleagues have more here.
TRUMP INAUGURATION: Donald Trump’s guest list for his Jan. 20 inauguration as U.S. president is shaping up to be a global who’s who of right-wing populists, my colleagues Nick Vinocur and Nahal Toosi write. Heads of state and governments aren’t usually included, but Trump has invited the likes of Argentinian President Javier Milei and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
How to woo Trump: Former British diplomat Tom Fletcher, now the U.N.’s humanitarian aid chief, shares his advice with POLITICO’s Power Play podcast.
BAYROU’S BUDGET: The EU is broadly supportive of new French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s efforts to get his austerity budget through parliament, Giovanna Faggionato and Giorgio Leali report.
FICO UNDER FIRE: Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico’s recent trip to Moscow is backfiring politically at home, with opposition parties now proposing a vote of no-confidence in his government. Ketrin Jochecová has the story.