Turkey issues Navtex for Piri Reis research vessel in Aegean waters
With a Navtex (navigational telex) notice – widely seen as a sign of Turkey’s irritation over developments in the Eastern Mediterranean – Ankara announced that beginning Monday, and for the next ten days, its research vessel Piri Reis will conduct scientific surveys in parts of the Aegean Sea.
Greece rebuts Libya’s UN letter on maritime zones
Greece has submitted a letter to the United Nations rejecting Libya’s recent claims over maritime zones, which Athens says are based on the Turkey-Libya Memorandum, regarded as illegal by the Greek government because it disregards the existence and rights of Greek islands.
Opposition leader Androulakis promises wholesale reforms, if elected
Opposition leader Nikos Androulakis, head of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) promised wholesale change in a speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair Saturday.
Greece wins bronze in 2025 Eurobasket
Greece won Finland 92-89 on Sunday and earn third place in the 2025 Eurobasket in Riga, Latvia.
The national team has now won six medals at EuroBasket (gold in 1987 and 2005, silver in 1989 and bronze in 1949, 2009 and 2025).
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/932867/Greece-wins-bronze-in-2025-Eurobasket
ATHEX: Bourse grabs almost 2% last week
The Greek bourse ended the week on a high with significant gains for the vast majority of stocks across the board thanks to selective moves by traders that also took the daily turnover higher. This was the third consecutive session of growth for the benchmark at Athinon Avenue, adding to the week’s increase of almost 2%. Even so, the market is still searching for a significant medium-term catalyst that would help it move to higher levels again after a spectacular summer.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1280726/athex-bourse-grabs-almost-2-this-week
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Facing the divide with Generation Z
TO VIMA: Satellites in the Aegean Sea
REAL NEWS: How 25,000 apartments will re-enter the market
PROTO THEMA: Who were the ones that “listened” to the handouts of Mitsotakis
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Is your pension correctly calculated?
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: OPEKEPE scandal: The noose tightens for Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Mylonakis
KONTRA NEWS: Coast Guard uprising due to the migrant waves being out of control
DIMOKRATIA: “Invasion” of migrants with boats from Libya
NAFTEMPORIKI: Energy market in transition: the shares of power companies
DRIVING THE DAY: TRUMP’S PUZZLING LETTER
HOW TRUMP’S NATO LETTER IS GOING DOWN IN BRUSSELS: U.S. President Donald Trump once again set the cat among the pigeons with a weekend Truth Social post. He demanded NATO countries stop all purchases of Russian oil and gas — setting compliance as a condition for Washington moving ahead with its own sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Three cheers: The post was welcomed over the weekend by EU officials as they scramble finalize the bloc’s latest round of sanctions against Russia (more on that below).
Turning the screws: By shining a harsh light on continued purchases of Russian oil and gas, Trump is lending Brussels a helping hand with Hungary and Slovakia, Russia’s top European energy clients. Diplomats pointed to comments last Friday from U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who told my colleague Gabriel Gavin that both countries “absolutely” need to stop importing their energy products, as another positive sign.
Energy boost: “There is a new dynamic,” said one EU diplomat who was granted anonymity to discuss non-public deliberations. “In particular, it appears Washington now feels it’s possible to push Russia into negotiations through economic pressure.”
Helping hand: EU capitals have struggled for years to work around Hungary’s opposition in particular to any move designed to pressure Russia or help Ukraine. The push from Trump is all the more surprising given he’s repeatedly singled out Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for praise as MAGA’s foremost ideological ally in Europe.
Saying no to Donald? That special relationship makes it more difficult for Orbán to resist Trump’s calls to wean Hungary off Russian energy imports, two European diplomats argued in conversations with your Playbook author.
Not so fast: However, the diplomats admitted it’s unclear whether Trump’s words will bring about any quick results given Hungary’s deep dependence on Russian energy imports, and the fact Orbán has so far resisted any attempt to diversify away from Moscow’s product.
Been there, tried that: Ongoing efforts by the European Commission to force Hungary and Slovakia to stop buying Russian energy via the RePowerEU scheme have yet to deliver amid slow-moving talks on how both countries might be compensated for the cost of switching to other energy suppliers.
Turkey, too? Perhaps more troubling, they say, is the fact Trump included non-EU NATO member Turkey in his demand.
Plugged in: As a major buyer of Russian energy via its TurkStream pipeline, which is plugged directly into Moscow’s supply, Turkey has so far shown no interest in cutting itself off from a source of cheap energy.
Blind spot: There’s little Brussels can do to compel Turkey, which isn’t an EU member. And it’s doubtful whether a Truth Social post from Trump will be enough motivation for Ankara to suddenly about-face on tens of billions of dollars in annual purchases of Russian energy.
Finger-pointing: During a recent gathering in Copenhagen, European foreign ministers urged the United States to get on board with sanctions against Russia, arguing that only Washington could convince Putin to finally come to the table with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Fading hopes: But hopes of Washington moving ahead anytime soon with “bone-crushing” sanctions touted by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham are now fading. By setting such a high bar for American participation, European officials quietly fear Trump may in fact be putting it off for the foreseeable future.
In other words: The two-week deadlines Trump previously set (and ignored) on Russia accepting a ceasefire have now been replaced by this fresh demand — which could take months or years to achieve, if it’s even possible.
Scant comfort: The view in Brussels is that, at the least, Trump’s pressure could help push Budapest and Bratislava to wave through the latest round of sanctions against Russia.
The bottom line: Europe is cheering Trump’s rhetorical about-face on how to force Putin to end his war against Ukraine. It comes after relentless diplomatic efforts by Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other EU leaders to convince Trump that only pressure on Moscow can help deliver a ceasefire. But for now, the change remains just that — rhetorical.
NOW READ THIS: Eva Hartog explains in this must-read piece why Putin won’t end his war against the West: he’s tied his political survival to a continuous confrontation with NATO. Reverting to a being peacetime president would amount to a demotion — one he can’t accept, she writes.
RUSSIA SANCTIONS
CLOSING IN: European Commission officials are scrambling to finalize their 19th package of sanctions against Russia, consulting with G7 allies over the weekend as they fine-tune new measures.
Timeline slippage: Playbook reported, citing EU diplomats, that the Commission was likely to present its proposal to diplomats by the end of last week. That deadline slipped amid talks with G7 partners and Russia’s latest provocations against Poland and Romania, the two EU diplomats mentioned above indicated.
This week, promise: The sanctions package, which the Commission is trying to make “as ambitious as possible,” per one of the diplomats, is now expected to land on ambassadors’ desks early this week, likely by Wednesday.
Working overtime: “Officials have been working all weekend,” the same diplomat said. “The violations of Polish airspace and now Romania’s airspace have only increased the resolve in the large majority of capitals.”
Energy, finance: As previously reported, the sanctions are expected to target Russia’s financial and energy sectors, with the potential addition of new restrictions on sanctions-busting by third countries.
Individual sanctions renewed: Meanwhile, on Friday EU diplomats greenlit the renewal of sanctions against Russian individuals and entities for the coming six months. The measure passed with unanimous support, including from Hungary and Slovakia, the two EU diplomats said.
No delistings: While the renewal of such sanctions is usually an opportunity for some countries to seek the delisting of certain Russian figures, this time no such effort proved successful, the diplomats said.
EU’S NEW PITCH TO MOBILIZE RUSSIAN ASSETS: The Commission is floating a new idea of how to send billions of euros of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, by replacing the money transferred to Kyiv with EU-backed IOUs. The new proposal — described by one official as “legally creative” — could release a major stream of additional funding for Kyiv’s war effort without technically expropriating the Russian assets themselves, which would be legally risky, reports Gregorio Sorgi.
VISA SCOOP: The EU is preparing to tighten restrictions on issuing visas to Russian travelers, Seb Starcevic reports. The plans are part of a strategy review expected to be finalized by the end of the year, Seb reports. But the measure is controversial, with critics saying it would unfairly hurt dissidents.
MACRON’S LAST ROLL OF THE DICE
FRANCE’S NEW PRIME MINISTER IS AN UBER MACRON INSIDER: If you want to understand who France’s new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is — and why he’s Emmanuel Macron’s last chance of keeping a grip on the government’s policy agenda — read this piece by ace Paris colleagues Clea Caulcutt, Pauline de Saint Remy and Elisa Bertholomey.
Killer quote: Lecornu, most recently Macron’s defense minister, is “the guy [Macron] drinks whiskey with at 3 a.m.,” they quote a government adviser as saying.
ICYMI: Lecornu stepped into the role last week after predecessor François Bayrou crashed out after less than nine months on the job.
Last chance dance: Turning to such a close aide to become France’s fifth prime minister since the middle of last year “has the air of a last desperate throw of the dice,” write Clea, Pauline and Elisa. “If Lecornu can’t save Macron, it’s hard to see who can.”
PARLIAMENT POWER PLAYS
PATRIOTS GROUP SUES PARLIAMENT OVER FUNDING: The far-right Patriots for Europe is taking legal action after the European Parliament suspended access to millions in public funds over alleged misspending. In two separate cases, the Patriots are contesting rulings by the Parliament and the EU’s party watchdog that resulted in them losing access to more than €4 million, arguing the decisions were illegitimate and the product of bias and lack of impartiality, Max Griera reports.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR ITALY’S LEFTISTS: With four years to go until the end of their mandates in the European Parliament, Italy’s Democratic Party MEPs are already plotting their return home. And their focus on Italian politics is making them increasingly irrelevant in Brussels, report Gregorio Sorgi and Max Griera.
IN OTHER NEWS
COPS ENTER THE CHAT: Police should be allowed to access certain end-to-end encrypted messages to address threats to European security, the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter told POLITICO’s Sam Clark.
FAR RIGHT ADVANCES IN WESTERN GERMANY: The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party nearly tripled its support in municipal elections in Germany’s most populous state on Sunday, according to initial results. The outcome in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the west of the country, underscored the party’s growing appeal to voters outside its strongholds in the states of the former East Germany, where it is the strongest political force. But as my Berlin Playbook colleagues report, the results will provide some relief for the CDU’s Friedrich Merz and SPD leader Bärbel Bas … because things could’ve gone much worse for them.
ISRAEL-SPAIN TENSIONS BOIL OVER: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of “inciting” what he called “pro-Palestinian mobs” that had gathered to protest the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team in Spain’s premier multi-stage cycling race. “The sporting event that had always been a source of pride for Spain was canceled,” Sa’ar wrote, calling Sánchez and his government “a disgrace to Spain!” Aitor Hernández-Morales has the story.