PM Mitsotakis at UN General Assembly: Türkiye must withdraw its casus belli
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, addressing the 80th UN General Assembly, called on Türkiye to withdraw its casus belli, stressing that the way forward is dialogue, not the language of arms.
Unions stage 24-hour general strike on Wednesday, disrupting transport and public services
Greece will face a 24-hour nationwide general strike on Wednesday, as private- and public-sector workers walk off the job in protest against the government’s new labor law, organized by the country’s two largest unions, GSEE and ADEDY.
Stefanos Duskos crowned world champion
Greek Olympic champion Stefanos Duskos claimed the gold medal at the World Rowing Championships in Shanghai.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/936420/Stefanos-Duskos-crowned-world-champion
Moody’s: Greece’s bad-loan front remains open
International rating agency Moody’s describes Greece’s credit conditions as a thorn in the side of Greece’s credit rating, as while they have improved in recent years, they remain negative, with significant challenges on the lending front affecting the prospects of the economy and banks.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1282265/moodys-greeces-bad-loan-front-remains-open
ATHEX: Banks fail to keep index on the rise
While the daily turnover at the Greek bourse has consolidated at a minimum of 200 million euros on most days, Friday’s moderate trading volume and the balance between rising and falling stocks painted a rather weak picture for those used to stronger activity in the last few weeks at Athinon Avenue, especially given the rising trend across most other eurozone markets. This time the small rise of the banks index did not suffice to take the benchmark out of the red, but did keep the weekly result in the black, albeit marginally.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1282163/athex-banks-fail-to-keep-index-on-the-rise
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Turbulence in Greek-Turkish relations
TO VIMA: Athens and Ankara: Trump is changing the rules of the game
REAL NEWS: “Radio silence” by Ankara and Athens
PROTO THEMA: What the future holds for us regarding Erdogan
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Weird military gathering in the USA: The big night of the generals
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Hunger strike – 15th day : The government is asphyxiating the father of a Tempe rail-crash victim
KONTRA NEWS: EU Commission axes subsidies for farmers due to the OPEKEPE scandal
DIMOKRATIA: Was PM Mitsotakis’ photo with President Trump fake?
NAFTEMPORIKI: The government will adapt the Italian energy formula to Greek standards
DRIVING THE DAY: MOLDOVA CHOOSES EU
IT AIN’T OVA FOR MOLDOVA: Moldova’s pro-Western government is set to secure a renewed majority after a campaign marred by reports of widespread Russian interference. With over 99.5 percent of ballots counted, the incumbent Party of Action and Solidarity is on course for a decisive victory with 50.03 percent of the vote, compared to just 24.26 percent for the rival pro-Russian Patriotic Bloc.
Dodgy dealing: Leading up to Sunday’s election, warnings of hybrid tactics designed to spread fear and disinformation hit fever pitch. On voting day itself, there were threats against polling stations (with tear gas sprayed at one in Romania), key media outlets were hacked and police moved in to arrest groups accused of planning violent unrest.
Closer to home: The Moldovan embassy in Brussels, which served as an overseas polling station, was evacuated Sunday as police investigated a bomb threat. That bore out warnings from the country’s security chief, who told POLITICO last month that “hoax bomb threats at polling stations in European cities” could be used to try to stop pro-EU diaspora voters from casting their ballots.
Influence on show: Moldovan President Maia Sandu “is America,” said one elderly woman, berating PAS leafleters on Chișinău’s central street. She declined to give her name or explain further, but the claim mirrors Russia’s attack lines against Sandu. Meanwhile, Vlad, an entrepreneur in his 30s, told Playbook he didn’t support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine but wanted to see his country “be neutral” — a tall order given the war is raging just next door.
Inside the machine: According to disinformation experts, Moscow wasn’t even trying to hide its intentions to corrupt the vote. According to Ksenia Iliuk, co-founder of LetsData, a Ukrainian firm that provides intelligence on information operations, more than 700 influence operations were detected in the run-up to the election, many aimed at discrediting Sandu personally. “That’s how they fight — if the EU comes and builds a bridge, there’s not much you can do about it, but you can attack the person who represents the idea of joining the EU.”
Coming soon to a polling station near you: “What’s happening right now in Moldova, it’s just the beginning,” Alain Berset, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, told Playbook. “It is a wake-up call. We saw these kind of developments in other countries and the question now is what do we do to make sure that it will be possible in these new context to have good democratic processes? … AI, social media, foreign interference, disinformation, deep fakes — they are all here to stay.”
That’s how you do it! According to Siegfried Mureșan, the Romanian MEP who chairs the committee for relations with the country, “Moldova’s pro-European victory is a lesson for all of Europe on how to defeat Russian interference,” one that other capitals will have to learn from. Now, he said, “we must act swiftly, advancing the European integration of the Republic of Moldova in line with the will of the people.”
GROWING PAINS
A 29-MEMBER BLOC? The victory of the government in Chișinău presents a new challenge for Brussels — now Moldova has again chosen the EU, how to make sure the EU chooses Moldova? For months, its accession path has been held up by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s veto on Ukraine’s application, given the two neighboring countries are twinned in the process. Now, leaders are hatching a plan to move ahead anyway.
Just the Costa’ doin’ business: European Council President António Costa has been pushing the idea of relaxing rules that require unanimous support from all 27 member countries to progress through the reforms needed to become a full EU member, according to five diplomats and officials who were granted anonymity to speak to me and Nick Vinocur.
Creative plan: Costa is suggesting that EU capitals could vote by qualified majority to open so-called negotiating clusters, the main legal milestones required for membership. While full agreement would still be needed to sign off the clusters as completed, lowering the bar for them to be opened would maintain momentum and ensure progress could be kept up.
Hungarian connection: Orbán’s government continues to insist Ukraine should not join the EU, blocking it at every level, with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó claiming on Friday that Kyiv was pursuing an “anti-Hungarian policy” against ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine. “And in return they expect our support for their EU membership? They can’t be serious,” he said.
Calling his bluff: In a symbolic move, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, will travel to Ukraine today, she confirmed to Playbook. Her first order of business? Meeting the Ukrainian Hungarian community. “It is important to start my visit with a meeting of different minorities in Ukraine,” Kos said. “European integration has brought strong protection of minorities across our Union. Through our accession process, we can repeat these successes in Ukraine as well.”
Time to go: “All clusters have been screened, in record time. Ukraine has delivered. Ukraine is ready for the next step. It’s now up to member states to give the green light,” Kos added. “Both Ukraine and Europe cannot afford to see Ukraine’s momentum for reforms slow down. This is the moment to accelerate.”
DEFENDING THE EU
EU’S CRISIS SUMMIT: Presidents and prime ministers from across the EU will meet this week in Copenhagen for high-stakes talks on how to ensure the bloc is ready to deal with spiraling threats from Russia. The informal summit, hosted by Denmark and chaired by António Costa, will focus on how to bolster shared defensive capabilities, uncharted territory for the political and trade union.
Heavy agenda: “Leaders will meet in the context of the successive airspace violations by Russia in the EU’s eastern flank. These provocations are a challenge to the EU as a whole,” one official close to Costa told Playbook. “This moment calls for accelerated, concrete progress in strengthening Europe’s common defense. In Copenhagen, the leaders’ discussion will center around developing concrete capabilities and joint projects that will serve our common goals in the field of defense,” including the much-touted “drone wall,” they added.
Under attack: The scale of the threat was again reinforced this weekend, as Poland was forced to close its skies and scramble fighter jets in the early hours of Sunday in response to a massive Russian air raid across the border in Ukraine. Copenhagen airport itself has seen drone sightings described by the government as a “hybrid attack” and on Saturday sounded the alarm after unmanned aerial vehicles were seen above military installations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “testing” NATO and plans to “open up” the war on other fronts.
Further reading: Jacopo Barigazzi, Bjarke Smith-Meyer, Gregorio Sorgi and I have this curtain-raiser with all you need to know.
It’s a nein from Berlin: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, meanwhile, is threatening to derail the Copenhagen summit with complaints about Europe’s economic woes. “We must now put a stick in the wheels of this machine in Brussels so that this constant regulation from the European Union’s legislative machine comes to an end,” the center-right leader said, promising to attend the meeting with a concrete list of demands to turn around Berlin’s sluggish growth.
PILING ON PRESSURE: Meanwhile, the centrist Renew group, key partners in Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s pro-EU coalition, is pushing for decisive action against the Kremlin. Its leader, Valérie Hayer, will visit Estonia’s border with Russia on Tuesday, Playbook can reveal.
Eye on the sky: Alongside Estonia’s liberal Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Hayer will call for a common European intelligence “capacity,” common European nuclear deterrence provided by France, and the completion of the European Sky Shield to fend off missiles, according to a declaration seen by POLITICO.
ASK THE EXPERTS: Following the wave of Russian drone incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace in recent days, top Zelenskyy adviser Andriy Yermak said Ukraine stood ready to assist the EU. “Everybody understands, next generation is a war of drones … we are the leaders in production of different kinds of drones; let’s work together … the president is very open to start partly to open the export of some kinds of weapons and joint production … to work with the EU and our friends,” Yermak said.
Hungarian front? That comes just days after Ukraine accused Hungary of flying drones into its airspace. Zelenskyy said Friday that “preliminary assessments suggest they may have been conducting reconnaissance on the industrial potential of Ukraine’s border areas” and has ordered an urgent investigation.
RUSSIA WRAP
NOWHERE IS SAFE: Kyiv has Donald Trump’s green light to strike targets deep within Russian territory, U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg told Fox News Sunday. “The answer is yes,” Kellogg said when asked whether Trump had approved Ukraine using Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike Russia. “Use the ability to hit deep. There are no such things as sanctuaries.”
PUTIN POPS UP: From election results in Moldova to a domestic fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes, it’s been a bad few weeks for Putin. The beleaguered Russian autocrat is now preparing for a “major appearance” later this week, according to state media. The Kremlin has declined to give any details ahead of time, my colleague Eva Hartog writes in to report.
HOW TO HOLD THE KREMLIN’S PROPAGANDISTS ACCOUNTABLE: Peter Pomerantsev considers how to deal with the Kremlin’s propagandists, who are creating “information alibis” to give Russia a veneer of deniability for planned atrocities.
ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH? Donald Trump’s criticism of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night comedy show sparked an outcry over free speech. But why do strongmen struggle to see the funny side of the joke? Playbook’s own Zoya Sheftalovich asked a comedian blacklisted by Putin just that. More here.
TECH CORNER
NOT IMPRESSED WITH BUDAPEST: Four civil society groups have written to the European Commission demanding infringement procedures against Hungary for breaching the EU’s AI Act ban on real-time facial recognition to police public places.
Backsliding? Orbán’s government threatened to use the technology at a banned Pride event over the weekend, although questions remain about whether it is genuinely “real-time.” “Every time Hungary violates EU law and systematically dismantles the rule of law without consequences, it chips away at the foundations of the Union,” said Eva Simon, head of tech and rights at the human rights group Liberties.
RIBERA CALLS TECH SUPPORT: Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera called into question the decision by her colleague, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, to delay the implementation of the EU’s anti-deforestation plans. Roswall claimed another year-long pause before implementation was needed because of IT issues.
Did you try turning it off and on again? “There may be — I don’t know — technical issues, difficulties,” Ribera told POLITICO’s Karl Mathiesen and Leonie Cater. “But I’m sure that we can find alternatives that are already being used. And that we can solve these technical issues as soon as possible.”
Get your popcorn out: Ribera and Roswall will hold a joint press conference on the environment at 11 a.m., so watch for sparks flying.
TRUMP WORLD WRAP
TRUMP TO MEET WITH NETANYAHU TODAY: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is back in Washington later today for Gaza war ceasefire talks with Donald Trump. The American president claimed “something special” is coming, though Israeli officials have hosed down expectations of a deal, CNN reports.
LET TRUMP BE TRUMP TO SET BELARUS POLITICAL PRISONERS FREE, is opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s takeaway from the American president’s softly-softly approach to dictators. Full interview here.
CHINA WARNING: Czech security researcher Erika Langerová warned that Europe’s dependency on Chinese solar, wind and battery technology leaves it open to cyberattacks. “The Chinese have remote access to all these devices. And remote access means they can completely control the device remotely from China, and they can shut it down,” she said at an event hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Brussels.
The host was no coincidence: Trump is pushing Brussels to join in with tariffs against Beijing’s technology. But as POLITICO has previously reported, Brussels is reluctant to jump aboard, not least because of Trump’s unpredictability when it comes to foreign policy.
Exhibit A: The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that China’s President Xi Jinping is using Trump’s eagerness for a trade deal with Beijing to get the American president to agree to oppose Taiwanese independence.
IN OTHER NEWS
COMING FOR YOUR CASH: Wunderkind or enfant terrible? Gabriel Zucman, a 38-year-old economist, is splitting opinions in France with his proposed wealth tax of at least 2 percent on all households worth more than €100 million. Our resident financial guru Giorgio Leali has a profile on the man taking on the mega-rich.
CONSERVATIVE CONCLAVE: Manfred Weber, chair of the European People’s Party, will meet this morning with Pope Leo XIV in Rome to discuss “European issues and Europe’s Christian heritage.” “Christian values are an important cornerstone of the European way of life,” Weber told Playbook ahead of the visit. “They are also crucial in today’s politics and a constructive answer to overcome increasingly polarized European societies.”
POLISH BOOZE BAN: Poland wants to ban shop booze sales at night to curb excessive drinking, cut crime and prevent ill health, Wojciech Kość reports.