3 more earthquakes overnight in the sea area 18-24 km south-southwest of Amorgos
Three earthquakes measuring 4.3, 4.0 and 4.0 on the Richter scale were recorded during the night in the sea area 18 to 24 kilometers south-southwest of Amorgos, according to data released by the Geodynamic Institute of the National Observatory of Athens.
Androulakis: PASOK tabling a motion of censure so that a ‘morally inferior’ government will leave
Main opposition PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis spoke of an unreliable prime minister and a government “morally inferior” to what is demanded by the circumstances, in criticism of its handling of the tragic Tempi train collision, in his interview on Tuesday with MEGA TV.
PASOK seeks parliamentary probe into deputy minister over Tempe case
PASOK requested on Tuesday the establishment of a special parliamentary committee to investigate Deputy Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Triantopoulos over his handling of the Tempe disaster site.
Controversial alliance for EU parliament committee post sparks reactions
A decision by conservative New Democracy party MEP Fredi Beleri, whose past has been controversial, to support independent Cypriot MEP Fidias Panayiotou – a popular YouTube prankster – for Vice-Chairman of European Democracy Shield, a new European Parliament special committee, has sparked reactions both within and beyond the ND party.
ATHEX: Greek stocks rebound on tariff news
The suspension of US tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products saw global stocks rebound on Tuesday, even in Asia, with the Greek bourse also enjoying a session of recovery after Monday’s slump. If anything, this week has already shown that while the overall mood regarding Greek stocks remains generally positive, volatility remains a key feature of Athinon Avenue.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1260686/athex-greek-stocks-rebound-on-tariff-news
KATHIMERINI: Revealing report on the explosion that followed the Tempi rail crash
TA NEA: Real estate assets: Owners under intense scrutiny
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Minister of Maritime Affairs makes vile attack against Ombudsman after report on Pylos shipwreck
RIZOSPASTIS: Government lacks any plan for the protection of Cyclades residents despite intense seismic activity
KONTRA NEWS: Government under pressure due to PASOK’s proposal for a parliamentary probe into deputy minister over Tempi case
DIMOKRATIA: The Tempi “crime cleaner” will stand trial
NAFTEMPORIKI: “Tariffs” hit ATHEX profits as well
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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: Donald Trump said the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip,” permanently displacing about 1.8 million Palestinians, and build the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Speaking at a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the U.S. president insisted that Egypt, Jordan and other unnamed countries would resettle Gazans from the “pure demolition site” left by Israel’s 15-month bombing campaign.
“I do see a long-term ownership position, and I do see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe even the entire Middle East,” Trump said. He provided no details about how the U.S. would achieve ownership but didn’t rule out deploying American troops. Netanyahu praised the idea as “something that can change history.” More from my U.S. colleagues here.
The pushback was building overnight. Saudi Arabia said it would reject any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land and reiterated its “firm and unwavering” commitment to the creation of an independent Palestinian state. It would not establish formal ties with Israel without it, the foreign ministry posted on X after Trump’s press conference.
STARMER GETS AUDIBLE RESET: U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer got a very warm reception at Monday’s informal EU leaders’ summit. After speaking at dinner, “the leaders applauded him,” an EU official told my colleague Jacopo Barigazzi.
HOESKTRA ON SON’S CANCER FIGHT: Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra posted about his family’s battle with cancer, from the death of his mother when he was 20 to his youngest son being diagnosed with it as a 1-year-old — he’s thankfully been cancer-free since late 2021. “We need more prevention, earlier detection, and increased research into innovative cancer treatments for everyone,” the Dutchman wrote on LinkedIn.
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING. This is Eddy Wax. Nick Vinocur will be with you tomorrow.
DRIVING THE DAY
HOW VON DER LEYEN TOOK OVER FOREIGN POLICY: Ukraine. Israel-Palestine. The U.S. China. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen makes no secret of wanting to run a “geopolitical Commission.” But if one EU figure dominates the world stage, there’s less room for everyone else.
Who is the next Michel? Von der Leyen’s relationships with the EU leaders who were technically meant to run the EU’s foreign policy in her first term — former European Council President Charles Michel and former top diplomat Josep Borrell — were, shall we say, difficult. But as she starts her new term, von der Leyen has the chance to get off on the right foot with their successors António Costa and Kaja Kallas. How long might it be till the same cracks and tensions appear between the top EU leaders?
Geopolitical power grab: “Ursula von der Leyen has been grabbing the [smallest] crumb of foreign power on every occasion,” said Socialist MEP Nacho Sánchez Amor, who was close to Borrell. “Is not foreign policy the competence of the Council?” the Spaniard asked in an interview with Playbook in Parliament. “This has to be clarified because it’s very confusing for our interlocutors in the world.”
Who’s in charge? “We have assumed uncritically that foreign policy is bending towards the Commission, and this is not the treaties’ framework,” Sánchez Amor continued. He argued he wasn’t taking sides but called for a debate on this rather than allowing the shift to go unchallenged.
VDL’s world tour: Von der Leyen’s speech to 145 EU ambassadors at a conference in Brussels Tuesday was striking in its breadth. She pledged “maximum pressure” on Russia and described a new “hyper-transactional” geopolitics (one-upping Kallas). She covered the EU’s “intricate” relations with China, laid out her willingness to work with Donald Trump’s America and announced a summit with South Africa. She will lead all commissioners to India this month, too.
Unity … on paper: Outwardly, von der Leyen has been projecting unity with Costa and Kallas. Guests at a Berlaymont New Year reception last week noticed that they were invited by both von der Leyen and Costa. “We all hope the dynamic between von der Leyen and Costa will be better [than the one with Michel],” an EU ambassador to a South American country told Playbook. Costa himself stressed the need for himself, Kallas and von der Leyen to be “a well-coordinated and united force” when he addressed the ambassadors. Kallas and von der Leyen jointly announced Tuesday the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war criminals.
But: There are also early signs of trouble. As Jacopo Barigazzi reported this week, some officials view the creation of the Directorate General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf as a ploy by the Berlaymont to weaken Kallas’ External Action Service.
Ready, set, cut: Kallas might well be asking herself why she inherited the EEAS just as it faces massive budget cuts that are set to weaken its global footprint, as we have reported. Kallas is visibly unhappy about the EU’s current diplomatic presence, saying the bloc is losing ground to China, Russia and Turkey. “How can we not cover the whole of the world?” she asked at the conference of EU ambassadors.
Money woes: “We know there are budget cuts and we know we have to adapt to that reality,” said one EU ambassador stationed in Africa. “It’s a huge source of worry,”said the South America-based diplomat. The 145 ambassadors will have a dedicated meeting on “resource management priorities” Thursday.
Annoyed at VDL: Von der Leyen’s tight command of the EU’s foreign policy could be rebuked by national ambassadors today when they’re debriefed on her announcement last week of a €3 billion partnership with Jordan. Two EU diplomats told me that von der Leyen did not consult member countries before announcing it.
“We were confronted with a fait accompli while we’re the ones footing the bill,” one said. “It’s not the first time von der Leyen pulls a stunt like this because she wants to make nice with world leaders. [Member countries] are increasingly fed up with it,” the diplomat added.
In a nutshell: The European Council president and high representative for foreign affairs may have big titles … but von der Leyen’s hyper-centralized European Commission is where the money is, from trade to development policy. And that will make all the difference in the “harsher world” von der Leyen herself says is now here.
TRADE TALK
DRESSING-DOWN FOR CHINESE CLOTHING GIANTS: The Commission will today present plans to tighten up rules on Chinese online giants, such as Temu and Shein, that are selling dirt-cheap clothes and other products into the EU. Consumers are receiving billions of euros worth of small packages and more than 90 percent come from China. My colleague Pieter Haeck, who scooped the full proposal for Pros, writes that the Commission will declare the companies as online marketplaces, making them liable to pay tax.
MORE RUSSIA SANCTIONS: EU officials will debrief national diplomats today about the latest sanctions in the offing against Russia. The 16th package of sanctions would aim to disrupt Russia’s aluminum and sanctions-dodging oil fleet, but will not include a blanket ban on importing Russian liquified natural gas — much to the hawks’ consternation. Details here.
SEFCO FACT-CHECKS TRUMP: At an informal Council meeting in Warsaw, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič took issue with comments by Donald Trump about the size of the EU-U.S. trade deficit, Koen Verhelst reports from Warsaw. “If you sometimes hear that the EU buys very little, or nothing, I’d invite you to look at the figures,” Šefčovič suggested.
EU PREPARES BAZOOKA TO HIT BIG TECH: Brussels is planning to target U.S. technology giants with retaliatory measures if Donald Trump imposes tariffs on the EU, the FT reports this morning.
KYIV LURES TRUMP WITH SHINY TREASURE: Ukraine has been dangling the promise of its massive resource of critical raw materials in front of Trump, suggesting they could be offered in exchange for more U.S. support against Russia. The U.S. president appears to be taking the bait … but does he realize that those key minerals are in parts of the country hardest hit by Russia’s war? Read more from Veronika Melkozerova, Zoya Sheftalovich and Jamie Dettmer here.
IN THE PARLIAMENT
SOCIALISTS GO GOOEY ON ECR: Another day, another retreat in Belgium. Top Socialists and Democrats (S&D) lawmakers set a defensive course for the coming years when they met in Genval, Wallonia, on Tuesday.
“Hostile” takeover: “We are facing an international alliance of extreme right-wing and nationalist forces who seek to divide us and destroy our collective achievements,” says the final declaration seen by my colleague Max Griera. “Our European Union has become the target of hostile forces, both inside and out, who are hell-bent on destroying our historical, peaceful, rules-based and democratic project.”
If you can’t beat ‘em? The Socialists dedicated the afternoon to discussing how to deal with the far-right surge and the Parliament’s new right-wing majority. A group spokesperson vowed to keep looking for majorities among the European People’s Party, Renew and Greens, but added: “We are realistic, and we know that on parliamentary work [on a] daily basis this will be sometimes difficult.” The S&D will accept the involvement of other groups “when the pro-European majority is not reachable” and “only if they are willing to exclude the extreme right … case-by-case,” the spokesperson added.
TIMMERMANS IN TOWN: Former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans is back in Brussels today, addressing the S&D group about the merits of merging Social Democratic parties, like his own Labour, with the Greens. On Tuesday, Timmermans announced plans to develop the Green-Left alliance he leads in the Dutch parliament into a formal party.
MEPs TRAVEL TO ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Renew’s Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann leads an MEP trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories today. The lawmakers will monitor the EU’s non-armed peacekeeping work on the Rafah crossing into Gaza, which recently restarted after an 18-year hiatus.
NEW ISRAEL DELEGATION HEAD: Daniel Caspary, the top CDU MEP in Parliament, stepped down as chair of the Parliament’s delegation for relations with Israel, ceding his place to his party colleague Hildegard Bentele. In her latest speech, she said the EU is “not a political player in the region.” ECR’s Bert-Jan Ruissen and S&D’s Dan Nica were elected vice chairs.
5 STARS JOIN LEFT: The Left group in the European Parliament has permanently accepted the membership of the Italian Five Star Movement, with its eight MEPs, after a six-month probation period.
IN OTHER NEWS
SWEDEN SHOOTING: Eleven people are dead after a shooting at an adult education center in Sweden, Reuters reports. It was the country’s deadliest gun attack. The gunman is believed to be among the dead.
D-DAY FOR BAYROU: France’s centrist Prime Minister François Bayrou faces the fight of his political life today when the French parliament votes on the first of several no-confidence motions expected against his government. If he falls, Bayrou would be the shortest-lived premier in modern French history and France could be left without a budget at a time when investors are questioning whether the country can pay its debts. Clea Caulcutt has the full story.
AUSTRIAN TALKS FALTER: Coalition negotiations between the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the right-wing Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) appeared to be bogged down on Tuesday, but the parties denied media reports that the talks had collapsed. More here.
RETURN HUBS INCOMING: The European Commission is set to propose so-called return hubs to process asylum applications outside EU territory in an upcoming revamp of deportation law. Euronews got the scoop.