Parliament backs legal referral of ex-minister over Tempe train disaster
Parliament voted Tuesday to refer former transport minister Kostas Karamanlis to a judicial council for potential prosecution on charges of breach of duty in connection with the 2023 Tempe train disaster that killed 57 people. The vote passed with 157 in favor out of 164 lawmakers present.
Greece to respond to Libya’s diplomatic notes with legal arguments, sources say
Greece is preparing a formal response to recent diplomatic notes from Libya, relying on “fully documented, strictly legal arguments,” diplomatic sources said Tuesday.
Heatwave continuing on Wednesday
The heatwave will continue across the country on Wednesday. Very high temperatures and winds from variable directions are forecast for Wednesday. Wind velocity will reach 5 on the Beaufort scale. Mostly fair in the northern parts of the country with temperatures ranging from 24C to 42C. Scattered clouds in the western parts with temperatures between 23C and 41C. Mostly fair in the eastern parts with temperatures between 24C and 43C. Sunny in the Aegean islands and Crete, 25C-41C. Fair in Athens, 26C-40C. Mostly fair in Thessaloniki, 26C-40C.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/920930/Heatwave-continuing-on-Wednesday
Wildfire in Corinthia region recedes after overnight battle
Firefighters battled through the night to contain a large wildfire that ripped through a virgin forest in the mountainous area of Feneos, in Greece’s Corinthia region, authorities said on Wednesday. By Wednesday morning, the fire had subsided, though crews remained on high alert to extinguish flare-ups near the village of Karteri and prevent potential reignitions, local officials said.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1276133/firefighters-battle-wildfire-in-corinthia-region
ATHEX: Further slide, as August 1 comes closer
The Greek bourse suffered more losses on Tuesday, almost to the same level as on Monday, though this time it was on increased turnover and with a far greater number of losing stocks than gainers. Stock markets across the eurozone see the deadline of August 1 approaching fast without any progress that would avert the imposition of US tariffs on European exports.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1276097/athex-further-slide-as-august-1-comes-closer
KATHIMERINI: Exclusive judges for public employees
TA NEA: The map of traffic cameras
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Tempi rail crash: the 57 dead were insulted with 157 signatures
RIZOSPASTIS: Greek Commmunist Party: The criminal liability of government officials is specific
KONTRA NEWS: Ruling party MPs enraged due to the OPEKEPE scandal and sovereignty issues
DIMOKRATIA: The marine parks of national retreat
NAFTEMPORIKI: The distribution of the public contracts “pie”
DRIVING THE DAY: EU WARNS ZELENSKYY OVER RULE OF LAW
HUNDREDS OF UKRAINIANS TOOK TO THE STREETS IN PROTEST on Tuesday after the country’s parliament voted in favor of a bill critics said will weaken the independence of key anti-corruption agencies. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the bill into law last night, giving his office more control over anti-corruption bodies.
It’s the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion that protests have been held in the streets of Kyiv, in defiance of the fact Ukraine remains under martial law and the daily bombardment by Vladimir Putin’s forces. People are angry at the “outrageous” reforms and directing their rage toward Zelenskyy and his office, POLITICO’s Veronika Melkozerova reports from Kyiv.
What the law does: It gives Ukraine’s prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president, power over the previously independent National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Zelenskyy defended the reform in the early hours of this morning,insisting in a Telegram post that “The anti-corruption infrastructure will work … NABU and SAPO will work.”
What’s behind it: On Monday, Ukraine announced its state security service had raided NABU and arrested two top officials as part of a massive hunt for alleged Russian moles. But critics argue the evidence against the agents is murky and the arrests were a pretext for undermining the independent agencies.
The big risk for Kyiv: This reform could undermine international support for Ukraine’s war effort at a highly sensitive moment and dismay its staunchest European allies, who’ve been backing its bid to join the EU. The German Foreign Office took a pop last night, saying: “The independence and strength of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions have been key to reform efforts of recent years. #Ukraine will continue to be measured against their progress.”
BRUSSELS SEES RED: In a series of statements on Tuesday the European Commission voiced its alarm at the turn of events. A spokesperson told reporters at the midday press briefing Brussels was “concerned” and monitoring developments.
Then Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said she was “seriously concerned,” noting “The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU’s independence is a serious step back.”
And as for joining the EU, Kos added: “Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO, are essential for [Ukraine’s] EU path. Rule of Law remains in the very center of EU accession negotiations.” She later said she’d had “frank” discussions (meaning a big bust up) with new Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s EU integration lead. “We’ll continue working with Ukraine on the necessary rule of law reforms & progress on its EU path,” Kos said on X.
For Ukraine’s EU allies, it’s a nightmare. The irony is that Hungary’s leader Viktor Orbán, Europe’s most infamous bad boy on “rule of law” infringements, has been the one holding up progress on Ukraine’s accession negotiations. Now he can, should he wish, point to rule of law concerns on the other side to justify his continuing obstruction.
Terrible timing: Momentum seemed to be building in the U.S. for tougher sanctions on Russia, with Donald Trump setting Putin a new deadline for a peace plan and allowing more American weapons to be supplied to Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are meeting in Turkey today for their first peace negotiations in almost two months. Predictably, Russian state media is relishing in the saga.
Hard to defend: The EU’s Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius was in Washington Tuesday, making the case for more American support for Ukraine. He met Senator Lindsey Graham, author of a major plan to hit Russia with punitive new sanctions. Then the corruption story broke.
“In war trust between the fighting nation and its leadership is more important than modern weapons — difficult to build and to keep, but easy to lose with one significant mistake by the leadership,” Kubilius said pointedly on X. “Transparency & open European dialogue is the only way to repair the damaged trust.”
Not normal: Needless to say, criticism of Ukraine is highly unusual in Brussels. In fact, Playbook can’t remember a time since Putin invaded in February 2022 when so many EU types have been so outspoken in public against Kyiv. Many of Ukraine’s European allies will now be bracing themselves for a withering reaction from MAGA Republicans who have never been sold on Zelenskyy. Trump himself may even weigh in.
THE PRESIDENTS’ ASIAN TOUR
VON DER LEYEN AND COSTA FIND FRIENDS IN JAPAN (JUST DON’T MENTION CHINA): Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa are on a joint mission to Asia this week, trying their best to strengthen ties in Japan while limiting the potential damage from a trip to Beijing.
First the easy part: In Tokyo, the EU chiefs should have an easy time and may even find a new ally for the bloc’s critical raw materials strategy, POLITICO’s Morning Trade team reports. That might see Japanese businesses joining strategic projects under the EU’s umbrella, according to one official.
The benefit would be to help ensure, for example, an EU mine had enough demand around the world to continue operating amid global competition.
What to watch: Von der Leyen, Costa and Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba are expected to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Brussels time.
They might get asked about this: Trump announced a trade agreement with Japan overnight.
THEN IT’S GOING TO GET CHILLY IN CHINA … The EU-China summit on Thursday is universally expected to be a complete dud, at best.
No substantive talks are expected on economic issues. While the two sides will likely swap completely incompatible opinions on the Russia-Ukraine war, and maybe a few notes on climate action, there is not expected to be a joint communiqué to wrap things up, as Nick reported on Monday.
Xi Jinping is expected to host von der Leyen and Costa on Thursday morning and the leaders are likely to discuss geopolitics over lunch, POLITICO’s Antonia Zimmermann and Koen Verhelst report.
“It’s going to be a fruitless summit that will fail to reverse what’s likely to be a long-term collision course,” says Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group. “Largely irreconcilable differences will severely constrain potential cooperation, despite mutual interest in countering some of President Donald Trump’s policies.”
Lucky escape: With the EU itself neck-deep in sensitive negotiations with the U.S. on tariffs, making friends with Beijing probably wouldn’t go down well in Washington. “I think the summit is going to be a disaster — as it should be,” Bruegel think tank senior fellow Alicia García-Herrero told POLITICO.
Any communiqué would have been “dangerous” for von der Leyen and Costa because it would likely have been limited to climate issues, she said. “We are not going to cover overcapacity and export controls, we are not going to cover tariffs. Why is this dangerous for the EU? Because you’re going to signal to everybody including European companies suffering export controls that you don’t care.”
MEANWHILE, IN PARIS … JAZZ AND A BITE TO EAT: French President Emmanuel Macron heads to Berlin today for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The two leaders will listen to some jazz, take a stroll and then have dinner. Despite the sweet vibes, there are some pretty big disagreements that not even a boys’ night out is likely to resolve.
Chief among them, what to do with Trump. As we reported earlier this week, France has lost patience with Brussels’ negotiating position and wants the EU to take a much harder line. It’s better to wait, officials in Paris told us, than to rush into a deal at any price. But Berlin has been pushing for a speedy resolution.
Now read this: POLITICO’s Nette Nöstlinger and Giorgio Leali offer a health check on the Franco-German engine in this comprehensive primer ahead of the Macron-Merz dinner.
What else the U.S. is mad about: The EU’s “Orwellian” approach to free speech vis-à-vis the DSA, Brussels’ tech and social media rulebook. Yes, seriously.
GAZA CRISIS ‘UNBEARABLE’
STARVING TO DEATH: Four childrenwere among 15 people to die of starvation in 24 hours, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Tuesday. That took the total of those who have starved to death to 101 in Gaza since the start of the war.
“The images from Gaza are unbearable,” von der Leyen said Tuesday. “Civilians in Gaza have suffered too much, for too long. It must stop now.” As health workers said people in Gaza were facing “forced starvation,” von der Leyen reiterated her call for Israel to allow in humanitarian aid.
Killing lines: According to U.N. figures, more than 1,000 people have been killed while seeking food from the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been distributing aid since May. Israel has previously disputed the figures.
Slap in the face: Last week, the Commission was celebrating how Israel was making progress on the distribution of aid to relieve the pressure on Palestinians in Gaza. “We have seen positive signs on the ground,” spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said. “We see more trucks and supplies that are reaching Gaza.”
Reminder: The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas has reviewed the bloc’s relationship with Israel and came up with options for penalizing Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over the human rights crisis in Gaza. A deal between Israel and the EU contained assurances that more aid would make it through and EU governments refrained from pushing for punishments at a meeting earlier this month.
Kallas then: “This deal means more crossings open, aid and food trucks entering Gaza, repair of vital infrastructure and protection of aid workers. We count on Israel to implement every measure agreed.”
Kallas now: “The killing of civilians seeking aid in Gaza is indefensible,” the EU’s foreign affairs chief said on Tuesday, noting she spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to “make clear the [Israel Defense Forces] must stop killing people at distribution points.”
More pressure from ex-envoys: Thirty-four former EU ambassadors have penned a second letter calling on the bloc to take “immediate and effective measures” against Israel. The letter, which you can read here, calls on the EU to suspend all preferential arrangements for Israel under its association agreement and sanction ministers, government officials and military commanders, among other measures.
What next? It’s not clear what the EU will do, if anything, but the External Action Service, which Kallas leads, will give European ambassadors an update on Israel’s “implementation of its commitments” on allowing aid into Gaza at a meeting today.
More than 100 NGOs, charities, campaigners and other organizations are also issuing a joint statement sounding the alarm over the humanitarian crisis. The statement is signed by groups including Amnesty International, Caritas, Oxfam, ActionAid, Christian Aid, Danish Refugee Council, DanChurchAid and Médecins Sans Frontières.
TUSK’S TOUGH TASK
NEW TEAM: Seven weeks after a failed bid to install his associate as Poland’s new president, Prime Minister Donald Tusk is expected to present a revamped line-up of his government this morning at 10 a.m., looking to breathe new life into the apparently adrift cabinet, POLITICO’s Wojciech Kość reports.
Less is more: There will be fewer ministries, with speculation that Finance Minister Andrzej Domański will head a new giant super-ministry managing the country’s finances, state-owned companies and industry.
More is more: The internal political dynamics of the four-party coalition, on the other hand, might lead to the creation of additional deputy prime minister posts, including one for Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. Tusk might also announce some policy initiatives as part of the relaunch. Those, however, are expected to meet stiff resistance from the hard-right new president, Karol Nawrocki, who takes over on Aug. 6.
IN OTHER NEWS
MIGRATION PRESSURES: Greece is pushing the EU to take a tougher line on migration, using a meeting of ministers in Denmark Tuesday to float strict plans for more deportations, including “return hubs” outside Europe. But a new report from the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights today will warn countries not to punish migrants but to target the smuggling gangs and hostile states that are instrumentalizing them to put pressure on European societies.
MUSIC COMPETITION: The European Commission announced it’s launching a full-scale antitrust probe into Universal Music Group’s proposed acquisition of Downtown Music over concerns it will restrict competition in the music industry. Universal is the home of some of the world’s most famous musicians, including Taylor Swift, Elton John and Sabrina Carpenter, Jacob Parry reports.
EU RECOVERY CASH FOR BELGIUM: The European Commission greenlit the third tranche of Recovery and Resilience Facility funds for Belgium after the country met dozens of targets.
GREECE NABS MOLDOVAN FUGITIVE: Moldovan fugitive oligarch/politician Vladimir Plahotniuc, once considered the country’s most powerful person who is accused of a €850 million bank fraud as well as corruption, was on Tuesday detained in Greece. Details here.
FRENCH CORRUPTION TRIAL: France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati and former Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will face trial on charges of corruption. The politician allegedly lobbied for the French carmaker while sitting in the European Parliament.
TRUMP QUITS UNESCO: The White House announced the U.S. is pulling out of what it called the “woke” cultural arm of the United Nations. Emmanuel Macron offered his “unwavering support” for UNESCO, saying the departure of the U.S. “will not weaken our commitment.”