Greece ‘one step closer’ to recognizing Palestinian state, says foreign minister
Greece is “already one step closer to its declared position on the recognition of the State of Palestine” with the launch of the first phase of a political solution for the region, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis has told his visiting Palestinian counterpart, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, in Athens.
Androulakis in Parliament charges gov’t with dismantling labor rights little by little
The new labor bill removes workers’ rights by imposing flexibility in work schedules while ‘protecting’ an employers’ negotiation position, PASOK-Movement for Change (KINAL) leader Nikos Androulakis charged in Parliament on Tuesday.
Court trial for Tempi train collision set for March 23, 2025
The court trial on the deadly Tempi train crash, which cost the lives of 57 people and shocked Greece, is set to begin on March 23, 2026, according to the chief Appeals Prosecutor of Larissa. The case is moving to trial more than three years after the fatal night of February 28, 2023 when two trains collided head-on, to investigate the responsibility for the worst railroad accident in Greece’s history.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/940729/Court-trial-for-Tempi-train-collision-set-for-March-23–2025
IMF: Greek economy to grow 2% in 2026, inflation to drop to 2.5%
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) foresees a 2% growth of Greece’s economy this year (2025) as well as 2026, against 2.3% in 2024, according to World Economic Outlook report subtitled “Global economy in flux, prospects remain dim” that was released on Tuesday.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/940786/IMF-Greek-economy-to-grow-2-in-2026–inflation-to-drop-to-25
ATHEX: Second day of losses for the bourse
Greek stocks suffered fresh pressure on Tuesday, both due to international concerns over the US-China trade conflict and the prolonged instability in France, and due to the strong gains recorded last week on Athinon Avenue that led many traders to cash in their gains. The theory that local stocks are overbought remains to be proven in the short term, though there is also the Standard & Poor’s verdict on the Greek economy this Friday to look forward to for direction.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1283817/athex-second-day-of-losses-for-the-bourse
KATHIMERINI: Penalties for plagiarism and violence use in universities
TA NEA: 4 out of 10 CT scans with no good reason
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Education in handcuffs
RIZOSPASTIS: Workers have spoken: The abominable labor bill has been rejected
KONTRA NEWS: OPEKEPE files were kept from the European District Attorney
DIMOKRATIA: Slap by the IMF regarding the course of the Greek economy
NAFTEMPORIKI: Asterisks from the new regulation for constructions have been removed
DRIVING THE DAY: WESTERN BALKANS CALLING
ACTION’S SOUTH OF SCHUMAN ROUNDABOUT: Sorry to drag you out of Brussels for my first home-ground Playbook, but that’s where the action is today — with Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrapping up her tour of the Western Balkans.
The eternal candidates club: Officially, it’s the Commission’s “annual visit” in the area. Unofficially, it’s another attempt to lift the spirits of countries that have been standing in the EU waiting room for a very long time.
Today’s itinerary: Von der Leyen kicks off in Belgrade, meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, then jets to Pristina for talks with Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani and caretaker PM Albin Kurti, before finishing in Skopje with North Macedonia’s leaders including President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and PM Hristijan Mickoski. A true tour de force — and all before dinner.
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Symbolism over substance: EU officials admit the trip is more optics than breakthroughs — a warm-up before the Commission’s enlargement package assessing the progress of EU hopefuls lands in early November. The goal: remind the region the EU still cares, while member countries keep arguing over qualified-majority voting and whether faster enlargement means anything at all.
And we’re back in Brussels again: Because in Brussels enlargement talk is — surprise — still stuck in neutral. My colleague Gabriel Gavin got hold of an early draft of next week’s European Council conclusions. There’s no dedicated enlargement section, just a mention of accession in the bits on Ukraine and Moldova.
The (non) agenda item: One diplomat told Playbook that a specific enlargement section could still sneak in — though it’s a long shot — if EU ambassadors decide to raise it at today’s preparatory meeting. “But I really see no reason why the Western Balkans should be in the EUCO conclusions right now,” another diplomat said, more bluntly.
If not in Brussels, maybe in London: Next week’s Berlin Process summit — the 2014 German-born initiative to boost Western Balkans cooperation — will be held in, wait for it, London. The meeting, the day before the EU summit, will feature German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and leaders like Albanian PM Edi Rama, three sources told Berlin Playbook’s Hans von der Burchard.
HOW’S THE TRIP GOING SO FAR? Von der Leyen kicked things off Monday with the enlargement frontrunners. First stop: Albania, where she met Rama and President Bajram Begaj. The order of her stops sends a political message, given Tirana is aiming to wrap up accession talks by 2027.
28 by ‘28: Then von der Leyen brought both political promises and cold hard cash to Montenegro, signaling that the EU is getting “serious” about bringing the small Balkan nation into the fold, a senior Montenegrin diplomat told Playbook’s Seb Starcevic. Podgorica hopes to become the EU’s 28th member by 2028.
At long last: In Tivat’s postcard-perfect setting, von der Leyen hosted an EU–Montenegro investment conference and announced more than a dozen joint projects with European companies, showing Brussels is “finally realizing that third actors will lose oxygen to interfere when political integration is followed by much more economic convergence,” the diplomat added. Translation: The EU is putting its money where its mouth is.
Keeping Putin’s pals away: “This trip is about keeping hope alive,” Green MEP Thomas Waitz, the head of the European Parliament’s delegation for Montenegro, told Playbook. “There’s massive Russian influence — sometimes direct, sometimes via Belgrade. Friends of Vučić are in Montenegro’s government.”
PROBLEMS START TODAY: And speaking of Vučić, today’s meeting with the Serbian president is going to be the tricky bit of the trip for von der Leyen. Belgrade is the key player in the region: too important to ignore, too unpredictable to trust. Brussels needs Serbia on side — or risks watching it drift back toward Moscow.
No appeasement, please. “If you want to pacify the region, you need to talk to Serbia,” Waitz said, before adding: “I sincerely hope she’s not doing another appeasement today.” (Von der Leyen has in the past been criticized for hailing “progress” in Serbia, even as the government backtracked on reforms. The risk today: déjà vu in high definition.)
The red-carpet trap: Slovenian liberal MEP Irena Joveva says it’s time for Brussels to ditch the kid-glove treatment. “Vučić uses that ‘red carpet’ to fuel surreal propaganda at home — showing fake European support while his actions are the opposite of EU values,” she said.Joveva warned von der Leyen not to look away from harsh reality: “For almost a year, Serbians have been protesting in numbers larger than those that brought down the Milošević regime.”
Civil society speaks up. Meanwhile, 20 civil society organizations from Serbia and across the Western Balkans have sent a joint letter — seen by fellow Playbooker Sarah Wheaton — urging the Commission not to “inadvertently legitimise repression” or lend credibility to anti-democratic actions.Their plea: Anchor Serbia’s EU path in real democratic progress, not in short-term political convenience.
EYES ON THE PRESSER: All eyes will be on von der Leyen’s joint press conference with Vučić later today — will it be red carpet, reprimand or real talk? Brussels insiders tell Playbook they’ll be watching closely.
DEFENSE GETS A SEAT AT THE … TABLE
A COPENHAGEN WIN: One of the few tangible takeaways from the informal (and largely insubstantial) Copenhagen summit two weeks ago is bearing some fruit today: EU defense ministers are now trying to meet more often — and Brussels wants to bring them closer into the fold.
First up: NATO defense ministers will meet in Brussels this morning, and a key issue will be whether national rules are hampering the alliance’s top military officer from tackling the threat posed by drones and Russian jets in European airspace. Victor Jack and Paul McLeary have the curtain-raiser.
Then it’s dinner time: After wrapping up their NATO meeting, EU defense ministers will head to the Europa Building for dinner at 7:30 p.m. Because nothing says “strategic autonomy” like a working meal.
What’s on the menu: Ministers are expected to give their technical blessing to the Defence Readiness Roadmap, which the College of Commissioners will formally approve Thursday morning — before EU leaders give it their political blessing next week.
Berlin pours cold water: While we wait for the details, early reactions to the Commission’s Readiness 2030 plan aren’t exactly glowing. As my colleague Chris Lunday reports, Berlin’s contribution to the roadmap urges a focus on industrial coordination and NATO coherence — not new EU-level structures. In other words, Germany is pouring cold water on the Commission’s bid for more control over defense policy.
Behind the scenes: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has been pushing for one last round of ministerial discussion before the roadmap moves up the chain, diplomats told my Defense Pro colleagues. The timing was no accident — aligning it with the NATO ministerial made logistics (and attendance) easier.
How it will work: Kallas and Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius will provide the ministers with the latest updates on the roadmap for which member countries’ input has been collected by the Commission since last August, said an EU official.
The key issue: Which country will take the lead in building the coalitions to boost EU strength in the nine areas identified.
KINDEREGGULATION
THIS ISN’T COMING FROM ME. For once, I’m not the one making the improbable analogies to explain complex EU stuff. Enter Denmark’s Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who spoke with my colleague Camille Gijs in Horsens on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a meeting of trade ministers.
Kinder surprise! The EU can cut red tape on its own terms — and not just to please Donald Trump. “It’s like a Kinder egg. It serves more than one purpose,” Rasmussen said. “We should go down that track in our own self best interest. But at the same time, it also serves others’ interest as well.”
Up the leaders’ ladder: Rasmussen’s comments come ahead of the crucial meeting of EU leaders next week, where von der Leyen’s deregulation drive will take center stage. Leaders are expected to urge the Commission to speed up efforts to slash red tape — a push the Danish minister said is vital to keeping Europe globally competitive. “If our investors are met with the red carpet in the U.S. and by red tape in Europe, they will, at the end of the day, choose the U.S.,” he said.
LOCAL FIREWORKS
DON’T WORRY, THEY’RE NOT SPIES! If you’ve spotted a swarm of unfamiliar faces in Brussels this week — relax. They’re not spies (those are here year-round). They’re mayors, regional leaders and council members, in town for the EU’s annual love-in with local government.
It’s Regions Week, the EU’s biggest annual gathering on regional development and cohesion policy.
Don’t expect fireworks: Most come with the same goal: to represent their cities, make their case in Brussels and defend their share of the EU budget (there are always cuts to fight).
Actually, there are some fireworks. I met Carola Schouten, the mayor of Rotterdam — and formerly one of the deputy PMs in Mark Rutte’s third Cabinet — who came with one clear message: It’s time to reopen the 2013 Pyro Directive and the 2019 Regulation on Explosive Precursors.
There’s a directive for everything. Those two laws, Schouten said, leave loopholes for the misuse of explosives and pyrotechnics — in intimidation attacks by organized crime groups, assaults on homes, businesses and ATMs, in football stadiums, or as improvised weapons against police. “Last year in the Netherlands we had over 1,500 attacks by what’s called fireworks — what I call bombs,” Schouten said.
Mayors turn up the heat: Schouten, together with fellow local leaders from Sweden and France as well as Europol, used Regions Week to lobby the Commission to close the loopholes — banning so-called flash bangersand fireworks. The push follows a letter signed in June by 17 mayors from eight countries.
“Where’s the market for grenades”: Flash bangers are technically non-lethal but used at close range, they can cause serious injuries. “There’s no professional use for them — only criminal or threatening ones,” Schouten said. The Commission’s first evaluation agrees on the misuse, but how quickly it will act remains unclear. Hence the mayors are keeping up the pressure — before Brussels’ next round of fireworks.
PARLIAMENT CORNER
EPP SETS EU BUDGET REJECTION DEADLINE: The EPP lawmakers dealing with the EU budget will reject part of the proposal in a resolution during the November mini plenary in Brussels if they can’t find an agreement with the Commission, according to three officials familiar with the discussions. It follows major opposition by von der Leyen’s party to the Commission’s plans to pool funds for farmers and regions in single pots managed by the national capitals.
Not flinching: As previously reported, EPP lawmakers are in repeated contact with the three commissioners in charge of the national plans to find an agreement before Nov. 12. “I had meetings with [Agriculture] Commissioner [Christophe] Hansen … we are trying to improve the proposal,” said lead EPP agriculture MEP Herbert Dorfmann, though he cautioned they “are ready to support a rejection if there is no move.”
Committee allocation delayed: The political group leaders were meant to hash out a deal today on which committees will have a say on which parts of the EU budget, but as EPP negotiations with the Commission continue, the discussion has been postponed to an unspecified date. The next meeting of leaders is scheduled for next Wednesday, but the committee allocations are not on the agenda yet, according to an official. The recommendation by the conference of committee chairs to the political group leaders, seen by POLITICO, established the employment, agriculture and regions committees would jointly deal with the cross-cutting national plans, while the rest would issue opinions.
SUPREME ASK: Spain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday requested the European Parliament’s permission to investigate far-right MEP “Alvise” Luis Pérez for the alleged illicit financing of his Se Acabó La Fiesta (“The Party’s Over”) political party. Spanish prosecutors accuse Pérez of having used €100,000 in cash he received from a businessman to fund his campaign ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election. Last July Madrid similarly requested the Parliament’s permission to investigate the lawmaker for allegedly harassing the deputy prosecutor for hate crimes in Spain’s Valencia region.
PARTYING HARD OR HARDLY PARTYING
TAPPED OUT: The Bavarian mission in Brussels threw an Oktoberfest — in October (sic!) — bash in Parc du Cinquantenaire last night, inviting MEPs and Commission Cabinet staff (mostly the German-speaking crowd). But the party went flat fast when the beer tap broke, sending guests scrambling for the exits. “A Bavarian soft-power fail,” one attendee sniffed to my colleague Seb Starcevic.
Those who stuck around were eventually rewarded. “Beers keep flowing for us,” one triumphant reveler told Playbook once the tap was fixed. But the night wasn’t entirely saved — the food arrived late, creating that notorious Brussels imbalance between flowing alcohol and missing snacks. People got a little … lively, two guests admitted — before adding the night was good fun.
AT THE NIGHT’S OTHER BIG PARTY: Meanwhile, at Albert Hall, your Playbook author attended YouTube’s 20th anniversary party, drawn in by the music — Lost Frequencies himself behind the decks. The Belgian DJ, who said he lives two minutes from the venue, found it “a bit awkward” playing a full Eurovision-style setup at a Brussels corporate event.
Spotted at the YouTube bash: Chamber of Progress’ Kayvan Hazemi Jebelli … CCIA’s Daniel Friedlaender and Boniface de Champris … Dot Europe’s Constantin Gissler and Fernanda Schröter … Sky’s JB Amilhat … TikTok’s Hugh Kirk … ITI’s Marco Leto Barone … FTI’s Sara Fornasiero … An-Minh Dang from the Belgian perm rep … Euronews’ Romane Armangau and Letitia Cabanas … AFP’s Raziye Akkoc … Bloomberg’s Gian Volpicelli … and POLITICO’s Mathieu Pollet and Eliza Gkritsi.
IN OTHER NEWS
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS: MEPs have adopted their position on the draft law involving compensation for delay flights and on-board hand luggage free of charge this week. And ind it’s miles apart from the Commission’s and EU Council’s, meaning interinstitutional turbulence ahead, with negotiations kicking off today. Tommaso Lecca has all the details.
DONALD TRUMP IS “VERY UNHAPPY WITH SPAIN”: And when Trump’s unhappy, tariffs usually follow — you know the drill. The U.S. president reportedly fumed that Madrid hasn’t raised its defense spending to 5 percent, and is now mulling “trade punishment through tariffs because of what they did.” Read more here.
HARDEST WORKERS IN EUROPE: In an EU first, Athens is set to introduce 13-hour workday.
MACRON’S PENSION U-TURN: To save his latest government from the short-lived fate of his last, French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday appeared to give tacit approval to PM Sébastien Lecornu to freeze an unpopular law raising the retirement age. Details here.
TIME TO GET THE SINGLE MARKET DONE: European national leaders must stop cherry-picking EU policies and instead fully complete the single market by 2028, argue former Italian PM Enrico Letta, former European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in an op-ed for POLITICO.