Youth takes lead in new government lineup
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis unveiled a Cabinet reshuffle Friday, the largest of his tenure, bringing in younger officials, consolidating power at the prime minister’s office and adjusting key ministries amid ongoing political challenges.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1264123/youth-takes-lead-in-new-government-lineup
Newly appointed deputy minister Doxiadis resigns
Aristos Doxiadis, Deputy Minister for Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Development, has resigned barely 24 hours after joining the government. In a statement, Doxiadis claims that he is entirely innocent of charges leveled against him – that he represented a now defunct company twice convicted of unfair competitive practices which also owes significant sums to suppliers and to the state, in the form of unpaid taxes – and that he resigned in order to spare the government from a “witch hunt.”
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1264301/newly-appointed-deputy-minister-doxiadis-resigns
Androulakis: The government produces corruption and failed policies
PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis visited Feres, Evros region, on Sunday. Asked about the development and reconstruction plan announced by the government for Evros, the leader of the main opposition noted: “The state is not preparing and is not investing in the infrastructure that the region needs. “I think we must fight to make Mitsotakis executive state a thing of the past as soon as possible. All it produces is corruption and failed policies.
Moody’s upgrades Greece’s economy to investment grade
Moody’s Ratings upgraded Greece’s rating to Baa3 from Ba1 on Friday. According to Moody’s, the upgrade reflects its view that Greece’s sovereign credit profile now has greater resilience to potential future shocks.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/890408/Moodys-upgrades-Greeces-economy-to-investment-grade
ATHEX: Index grabs more than 4% in one week
Banks were not alone in pulling the Greek stock market higher on Friday, as almost all blue chips posted gains and took the main index to yet another 14-year high. The rise of the benchmark in these two-and-a-half months so far this year has exceeded 15%, as the local market is firmly on the radar of foreign investors, partly thanks to the strong activity in mergers and acquisitions among local firms and, of course, the new dividend policy introduced by lenders.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1264156/athex-index-grabs-more-than-4-in-one-week
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: The shock of polls and ruling New Democracy’s new year-book
TO VIMA: New government: Rendezvous in September
REAL NEWS: Changes in the public sector and Justice
PROTO THEMA: Can the Government turn the tables?
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: EU plan – Greek involvement: War preparations…
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Deputy Minister Doxiadis resigns from the government of the… excellent
KONTRA NEWS: Insulter Deputy Minister Doxiadis resigned
DIMOKRATIA: Perfect fiasco for the PM
NAFTEMPORIKI: New scenery for the economy and the Athens Stock Exchange
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he planned to speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, as he seeks to get the Kremlin to agree to his 30-day ceasefire proposal. “A lot of work’s been done over the weekend,” Trump said. “We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. Maybe we can, maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”
Asked about concessions that could be discussed during the call, Trump said: “We will be talking about land. We will be talking about power plants … we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides, Ukraine and Russia. We are already talking about that, dividing up certain assets.” More here.
GOOD MONDAY MORNING and welcome to Brussels Playbook. Suzanne Lynch in the driver’s seat at the start of a high-stakes week, with EU leaders due in town for yet another European Council summit that kicks off on Thursday.
Silver lining: Despite all the doom and gloom about the state of the world, there is some cause for optimism this morning: 1) It’s St Patrick’s Day, and 2) Eurostat has delivered the happy news that we’re all living longer. Life expectancy in the Union rose to 81.4 years in 2023, according to the EU’s official statistics body.
Sarah Wheaton will be with you Tuesday.
DRIVING THE DAY: FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET
MINISTERS IN TOWN: EU foreign ministers gather in Brussels this morning, with defense center-stage ahead of new proposals from the Commission due Wednesday, on the eve of Thursday’s summit.
On the table: EU High Representative Kaja Kallas’ plan for countries to send up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year, which ambassadors discussed Friday. (It’s not to be confused with Ursula von der Leyen’s ReArm Europe plan, unveiled earlier this month.)
The Kallas plan … which envisages a “coalition of the willing”-type arrangement to bypass the problem of a Hungarian or Slovak veto, already faces headwinds, and diplomats have little expectation of a decision on specifics either today or at the summit later in the week. However, the latest draft of the communiqué to be discussed by leaders on Thursday, seen by Jacopo Barigazzi, specifically references Kallas’ initiative.
East-west divide: What’s becoming clear at the start of another crunch week for European defense is that a new east-west fault line is emerging within Europe, with countries on the frontline of the war in Ukraine — the Baltics, Nordics and Poland — prepared to stump up money for defense, while those further away, like Portugal, Spain and Italy, are more hesitant.
A question of priorities: Some countries — including France — are confronting the budgetary implications of spending more on defense. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez ruffled feathers by arguing in a Financial Times interview Friday that cybersecurity and efforts to fight climate change should be categorized as defense spending.
Buying European: Another diplomatic battle is underway about whether the new rearming initiatives should apply to EU companies only, rather than weapons-makers from places like the United States, Turkey or the U.K.
Setting out his stall: French President Emmanuel Macron used a series of interviews in French media Saturday to make the case that Europeans should stop buying American, Giorgio Leali reports. Those who buy U.S.-made Patriot missile defense systems “should be offered the new-generation Franco-Italian SAMP/T,” the French president said. And Europeans should buy French Rafale fighter jets rather than American F-35s, he continued.
Sanctions showdown: Following a series of tetchy meetings last week, EU countries agreed to renew sanctions on Russia ahead of Saturday night’s deadline — but only after bowing to Hungary’s demands and taking four Russians off the blacklist.
But in a significant development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s commissioner for sanctions policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, told my colleague Gabriel Gavin in an interview that Kyiv was open to sanctions being relaxed and European countries striking deals with Russia — provided it comes as part of a lasting peace deal.
Details: With Trump having opened negotiations with the Kremlin last week (not to mention Tuesday’s expected call with Putin), the Ukrainian sanctions chief said a return to business with Moscow is “a matter of time.” According to Vlasiuk, sanctions are clearly hurting the Russian economy and could be used as “leverage” in exchange for security guarantees and justice for Ukrainians. (More on Trump’s impact on Russia sanctions by Gabriel here.)
Elephant in the room: Hanging over today’s foreign ministers’ meeting is the glaring fact that negotiations are taking place between the United States and Russia about the future of Ukraine — and Europe isn’t at the table. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke Saturday about the “next steps” in the Ukraine ceasefire proposal.
Backroom diplomacy: But in a sign of some transatlantic engagement, Germany’s national security adviser Jens Plötner, Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne and their British counterpart Jonathan Powell met with U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz at the White House on Friday, Chris Lunday reports.
SYRIA IN FOCUS
AFTER ASSAD: Foreign ministers will wrap up their meeting earlier than usual in time for this afternoon’s conference on Syria. Though it’s the ninth Brussels conference on the topic, it’s the first since the dramatic collapse of Bashar Assad’s government in December.
New minister in town: Significantly, Syria’s new Foreign Minister Asaad Shaibani is expected to attend — the first time a Syrian government representative will be at the forum. But the timing is tricky, given the deterioration in the situation in the country over the past 10 days.
From the front line: Over the weekend, more horrific details emerged — including in this chilling dispatch by the Times — of massacres and extra-judicial killings in the coastal areas of Latakia and Tartus .
Carrot and stick: While new Syrian leader and former al-Qaeda commander Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to punish those responsible, the slide into violence has prompted difficult questions about the EU’s recent decision to lift some sanctions on Syria. Though the idea was to help the country on its path to reconstruction, the explosion of violence leaves many countries uncomfortable about cutting the new regime slack.
Migration challenge: Also looming over today’s conference, which is expected to focus on the reconstruction and humanitarian aspects of the fallout from the Syrian war, is the migration question. The uptick in violence has upended any notion — pushed by some member countries after the fall of the Assad regime and discussed at last week’s Home Affairs Council — that migrants who fled to Europe should return to a so-called safe country.
ALSO HAPPENING TODAY
TALKING ENERGY: EU foreign ministers aren’t the only political leaders in town today. Energy ministers also meet, and will kick offdiscussions on overhauling the bloc’s approach to securing gas and electricity supplies as Europe faces growing threats of sabotage, climate change and cyberattacks.
Early warning: POLITICO’s energy team has seen a private note to capitals from the Commission warning that existing regulations are outdated. “Critical energy infrastructure, vital for the EU, remains vulnerable to damages and sabotage,” it says, adding that it would propose a revamp in the first half of next year. “Renewed action including prevention and detection is necessary.” Check out all the details in today’s Morning Energy and Climate newsletter.
NEW CANADIAN PM TOUCHES DOWN IN EUROPE: Newly appointed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit Paris and London today, in his first foreign trip since succeeding Justin Trudeau on Friday. It follows a phone call last night between Carney and Ursula von der Leyen during which they discussed “new transatlantic business opportunities.”
Skipping Trump: Macron will host the Canadian leader at the Elysée Palace, where they’ll discuss the war in Ukraine and their “strategic partnership.” Carney, who also has British and Irish citizenship, has said he has no plans to meet with Donald Trump. He declared on Friday that Canada “will never, ever, in any way shape or form, be part of the United States.”
IN OTHER NEWS
TRAGEDY IN NORTH MACEDONIA: Dozens of people died at a nightclub fire about 100 kilometers east of North Macedonia’s capital Skopje on Saturday night, with many more injured. European leaders sent messages of condolences throughout Sunday. Fifteen people were detained.
HUAWEI LATEST: The European Parliament banned Huawei lobbyists from entering its premises following a police probe into alleged bribery of MEPs and parliamentary assistants, Max Griera reports. Over at the Berlaymont, all European commissioners’ cabinets and directorates-general have been instructed “to immediately suspend contacts and meetings with Huawei until further notice,” a Commission spokesperson told POLITICO.
Everything we know about the scandal so far … is here.
From Playbook’s inbox — naming a scandal: Thanks to those who replied to my fellow Playbooker Sarah Wheaton’s call last week for monikers that are easier to pronounce than “Huawei-gate.” Some suggestions revealed deep concerns about widespread corruption (“China-gate,” “EU-gate”). Others were more playful and/or practical, such as “Huawei-hem” (as in mayhem) … “Huagate” … and, Sarah’s top pick: “Gate-Wei.”
NOT SO FAST: The EU is lagging behind China and the U.S. in rolling out full-fledged 5G — with only 2 percent of Europeans connected to it. More from Mathieu Pollet and Giovanna Coi here.
IL CASO AL-MASRI: Italy’s mysterious decision to release Libyan warlord Osama Al-Masri Njeem within 48 hours of his arrest on a warrant from the International Criminal Court has put Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s entanglements with the North African nation under scrutiny. Ben Munster and Elena Giordano have the riveting yarn.
SILENCING THE MEDIA: Trump is gutting the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and funds outlets like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Cutting off their funding would be a “massive gift to America’s enemies,” RFE/RL’s boss Stephen Capus said Saturday. The channel, established during the Cold War 75 years ago with a focus on Eastern Europe, reaches a weekly audience of 50 million people. More reactions here.
PEDDLING CONSPIRACIES: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán denounced the EU and what he deemed a “shadow army” of NGOs and journalists in a speech marking his country’s national day on Saturday. He also dug down on a baseless conspiracy theory embraced by elements of the American right which suggests there’s a plot to replace white people. Write-up here.