PM says Greece in position ‘to view the future with confidence’
Greece is able to “look to the future with optimism and self-confidence,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday, in comments to mark the anniversary of Ochi Day – the country’s rejection of an Italian ultimatum to surrender on October 28, 1940.
OPEKEPE inquiry enters final phase amid political tension and new scrutiny
The parliamentary investigative committee looking into Greece’s disgraced farm aid agency, OPEKEPE, is entering its final stage where ministers from the Conservative government and officials appointed in the state body will be called to testify. The inquiry has intensified political tensions and produced ripple effects, including the resignation of OPEKEPE vice president Ioannis Kaimakamis announced Monday, shortly after his deposition.
Mitsotakis tests positive for coronavirus
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said. According to officials, he has very mild symptoms and has been in his office since this morning. He will participate via video conference in the cabinet meeting scheduled at noon and, according to the same sources, will attend the event at the national defense ministry as planned, wearing a protective mask, since it will be held in an open space.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1285153/mitsotakis-tests-positive-for-coronavirus
State budget: Primary surplus at 9.45 bln euros in the period Jan-Sept 2025
A strong hike in state revenues and the collection of taxes was also recorded in September, driving the primary surplus to 9.45 billion euros in total for the nine-month period from January to September 2025. Specifically, in September, total net revenues of the state budget amounted to 6.204 billion euros, exceeding the monthly target by 373 million euros.
ATHEX: Pressure on banks weighs on benchmark
Monday’s bourse session started off with promising gains but ended up in losses, as banks took most of the selling pressure, even though the majority of stocks finished the day in the black. Just when the benchmark dipped below the 2,000-point level there was some reaction that returned the index above that psychological threshold, albeit marginally. Turnover dipped, partly due to the national holiday on Tuesday.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1285023/athex-pressure-on-banks-weighs-on-benchmark
KATHIMERINI: The secrets of the agreement for the Turkish Eurofighters
TA NEA: Cyprus’ Check Mate move: Agreement with Lebanon for the EEZ
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The PM is “selling” patriotism in order to gain votes
RIZOSPASTIS: Simple folks’ security pressured by the profit-oriented policy
KONTRA NEWS: Government executives caught by the wiretappings of EU chief prosecutor Kövesi
DIMOKRATIA: Which construction permits are unblocked by the new construction legislation
NAFTEMPORIKI: Marathon race for Greece’s convergence with the EU
DRIVING THE DAY: GOING DUTCH
NECK AND NECK IN THE NETHERLANDS: Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV, Frans Timmermans’ GreenLeft-Labor party and the liberal D66 of Rob Jetten are within a few seats of each other in the final polls ahead of the Netherlands’ nail-biting election today. Here’s our guide to watching like a pro, and Playbook will take you through the runners and riders — plus we have an interview with Jetten below.
WILDERS, THE FAR-RIGHT FIZZLER: Wilders led the polls for months, but the PVV leader’s edge has narrowed in the lead-up to election day. His final tally will depend heavily on turnout — and today’s forecasted rain is unlikely to help get people to the ballot boxes.
BONTENBAL, THE STUMBLER: Former favorite Henri Bontenbal of the center-right CDA slipped in the polls amid controversy surrounding his comments about religious schools’ rejection of homosexual relationships. (He said freedom of education would sometimes clash with the ban on discrimination, but has since walked back on that remark.)
TIMMERMANS, THE BRUSSELS COMEBACK KID: One-time EU Green Deal architect Timmermans remains a strong contender. Heading the GreenLeft-Labor list, he’s warning voters on social media that the only way to secure a centrist coalition is to back him — arguing that D66 and the CDA could otherwise form a center-right government without his party.
PASSING THE LIBERAL BATON? The Netherlands was long dominated by Mark Rutte’s VVD, the fiscally conservative, socially liberal force now led by Dilan Yeşilgöz. But if projections hold, D66 could overtake the VVD and claim the mantle of the country’s leading liberal party.
Lesson for Manfred: For D66 MEP Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, the Dutch election could mark the end of the “experiment” of conservatives flirting with the far right. “Polls indicate that voters didn’t like the outcomes of that experiment and are turning to parties that want to re-engage with Europe and the green agenda,” he told Playbook.
JETTEN, THE LIBERAL WONDERKNAAP: Meanwhile, Jetten has had a sizzling rise in polling over the last week and is the first D66 leader with a real shot at the top job. Observers credit his optimism in an otherwise gloomy campaign, though critics say his party still feels too elitist and technocratic for many voters.
POLITICO spoke to Jetten ahead of today’s vote to discuss his vision for Europe. “I want a return of the Netherlands to the role of kingmaker in Europe,” Jetten told Max Griera. “We used to play that role.” The D66 leader said he wants the Netherlands to be a leading voice in shaping Europe’s future: “We want to stop saying no by default, and start saying yes to doing more together.”
In Putin’s shadow: Europe must transform itself into a serious “democratic global power,” Jetten said. “That means giving the EU the power and the resources to do what citizens all across Europe are asking it to do: defend our territory against Putin’s aggression, grow the economy, protect the climate.”
Not the “young” or “gay” candidate: If he succeeds, Jetten would be the Netherlands’ first openly gay and youngest prime minister. (He is a stark contrast to Dick Schoof, the 68-year-old ex-top civil servant picked by Wilders to lead the last right-wing government.) But Jetten dismisses any focus on identity politics. “I’m not the gay candidate, nor the young candidate,” he said. “Much more relevant is that voters are rejecting a failed experiment with the far right … My party wants to infuse a renewed optimism into Dutch politics.”
Beyond left and right: When it comes to potential coalition partners, Jetten brushed off traditional political labels. “The whole left-right discussion is outdated,” he said, adding that he wants to form a pro-European government that invests in education, builds homes for everyone and ramps up climate action. “We are ready to work with all those democratic forces who want to make that happen.”
BOOKIES’ CORNER: For those who put stock in the betting odds, on Polymarket last night Jetten led the race for next prime minister, followed by Timmermans, then Bontenbal.
BRUSSELS IN THE AMAZON
VDL AT COP30: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is heading to Brazil next week for the COP30 U.N. climate summit in Belém, a Commission official told Playbook. (The confirmation of this trip comes after POLITICO revealed the Commission chief was planning to travel to Brazil to finally seal the Mercosur deal in December.)
Costa joins the convoy: European Council President António Costa will also travel to Brazil for the global leaders’ summit that kicks off the COP30, his spokesperson told Zia Weise. An official schedule will follow later this week.
Low turnout: So far, few European leaders beyond British PM Keir Starmer have confirmed they’ll be at this COP. Partly that’s because of Belém’s tricky logistics — it was chosen for its symbolic location near the Amazon rather than for convenience. It’s also why this year’s leaders’ gathering takes place before formal COP negotiations begin on Nov. 10.
Since they’re in the neighborhood … The Brazil trip comes just ahead of another summit in Santa Marta, Colombia (more than 3,000 kilometers from Belém). A Commission official confirmed both von der Leyen and Costa will join the meeting bringing together EU27 leaders and the 33 nations of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
MFF MAYHEM
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S BUDGET REVOLT: My colleagues Max Griera and Gregorio Sorgi obtained a draft letter showing the Parliament’s four centrist groups are preparing to demand that Ursula von der Leyen rework her plan for the EU’s next seven-year budget, aka the MFF.
Who’s behind it: The letter comes from the same coalition that props up von der Leyen — her own center-right European People’s Party (EPP), the center-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the liberal Renew Europe group and the Greens. Together, they form a majority in Parliament and von der Leyen needs them to approve the €1.8 trillion budget.
This time they mean it: The groups plan to threaten to reject a key part of the 2028-2034 budget unless their conditions are met, including earmarking funds for rural development and all regions and overhauling the proposed cash-for-reforms model. MEPs are pushing back against the Commission’s idea of creating national plans — single funding pots for farmers and regions managed by national governments. That’s a big shift from the current system, in which regional authorities play a central role.
Crunch time: Lawmakers have already added a debate on the MFF to Parliament’s plenary session on Nov. 12.
REST OF THE HOUSE FEELING SIDELINED: On the MFF, von der Leyen’s majority is holding together (ironically, against her plan) — even as the omnibus file (see below) causes friction. But other groups aren’t thrilled about being left out.
The European Conservatives and Reformists, Patriots for Europe, Europe of Sovereign Nations and even some Greens complain that the EPP, S&D and Renew quietly divided up key MFF-related files behind closed doors.
What happened: In Parliament’s industry committee (ITRE), those three groups carved up important reports — including on Horizon Europe, Connecting Europe Facility, the new Competition Fund and Euratom’s research and training program — among their own rapporteurs.
How it’s supposed to work: Normally, files are distributed through a coordinators’ meeting and a formal (very complicated) points system between groups. This time, smaller groups say they simply received an email announcing the “agreement.”
A matter of principle. “This matter goes to the heart of the credibility and integrity of the ITRE Committee’s work,” ECR coordinator in ITRE Daniel Obajtek fumed in an email chain seen by Playbook. He’s calling for a formal vote at the next ITRE meeting on Nov. 5 — though insiders admit it’ll be mostly symbolic.
METSOLA’S OMNI-BUST
MEPs REBUFF METSOLA: Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s “whatever it takes” call to push through the EU’s simplification drive hasn’t gone down well in her own house.
All aboard the omnibus (or not): Speaking after last week’s EUCO, Metsola said she was asked by EU27 leaders to find the votes “where you find them” to pass the bloc’s omnibus simplification rules. She warned that if the centrist majority couldn’t do it, the Parliament would “deliver regardless,” opening the door to alternative majorities, including on the right.
Stay in your lane: “It’s not up to the president of the [Parliament] to make majorities,” Greens Co-Chair Bas Eickhout told POLITICO. “She is not running the Parliament as a Commission president can run the Commission.”
Parliament ≠ Council: Socialist MEP René Repasi struck a more conciliatory note, saying Metsola was right to apply pressure but stressing that Parliament “needs its time” to find a majority “in its own ways.” After all, the institution “is not accountable to the heads of state or government of the member states.”
Doubling down: In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Metsola didn’t rule out passing the file with a right-wing majority. “I’m ready to work with everyone,” she said — drawing more fire from her colleagues.
More raised eyebrows: “Roberta Metsola is the president of the European Parliament, not the chair of the EPP,” snapped the Left’s Co-Chair Martin Schirdewan in response to the FT interview.
Eying a third term? Metsola’s remarks have fueled speculation that she’s courting the right to shore up support for a third mandate as Parliament president — while the Socialists say it’s their turn to chair the hemicycle in 2027. “It is never wise for an EP president to seek support from the extreme right,” Schirdewan warned.
Striking back: Metsola’s spokesperson, Jüri Laas, said the president had made clear in her press conference after the EU summit that she respects the Parliament’s democratic independence and that “majorities are always strongest from the center out.”
EPP’S FAR-RIGHT FLIRTATION FACES A MOMENT OF TRUTH: Meanwhile, the EPP has less than two weeks to decide whether to slow its deregulation push to keep centrist allies on board — or team up with the far right to ram the omnibus bill through. Marianne Gros and Max have the story.
Red-tape politics: The bill is the first in a string of Commission proposals meant to cut red tape — and it’s dividing the Parliament, with the EPP, liberals and Socialists split over how far to go.
Scene-setter: Last week, centrist forces failed to pass a bill cutting green reporting rules after some Socialist MEPs rebelled. Now, populist groups are calling on the EPP to dump its centrist partners and join them when the vote returns on Nov. 12.
Bring back Venezuela: “A number of EPP members realized that they had made a mistake in allying themselves with the architects of the Green Deal,” said Patriots for Europe negotiator Pascale Piera. She urged the EPP to return to the so-called Venezuela majority, a loose alignment of political factions on the right to far right.
IN OTHER NEWS
COMMISSION-INDUSTRY CHATS UNDER THE LENS: The EU Ombudsman opened an inquiry into whether the European Commission acted secretively in its dealings with industry before launching a series of business-friendly initiatives.
COMPLAINT FILED, BRUSSELS SHRUGS: The Irish Council for Civil Liberties filed a complaint on Tuesday — citing reporting from POLITICO — asking the EU to investigate a former tech lobbyist’s appointment to a key privacy role in Ireland. But the Commission said it “is not empowered to take action.” Ellen O’Regan has the full story.
STAFF UNEASY OVER SHAKE-UP: Commission staffers are up in arms over a sweeping overhaul of the EU’s executive branch aimed at streamlining its administration, with many fearing junior officials will end up shouldering the burden.
TECH LOBBYING UP: Tech firms are spending more than ever on lobbying the EU amid mounting opposition to the bloc’s digital rules, according to new analysis.
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE ON TRIAL: Four Bulgarians suspected of vandalizing a Paris Holocaust memorial go on trial today, with investigators strongly suspecting the incident was one of many attempts by Russia to destabilize France. My colleagues Marion Solletty and Laura Kayali explain why France in particular is being targeted.
SOLIDARITY FRAYING: Politicians in Germany and Poland are expressing concern about a sharp increase in the number of young Ukrainian men entering their countries in recent weeks after Kyiv loosened exit rules. Details here.
BRIDGING ITALY’S DIVIDES: Matteo Salvini’s pet project — a bridge connecting the Italian mainland to Sicily — faces a critical test today when the Court of Auditors decides whether it complies with Italian and EU law. Carlo Martuscelli and Ben Munster have the details.
IT’S NOT EASY BEING BART: Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever is facing yet more pressure, with a top judge telling POLITICO that underfunding of the country’s justice system must be addressed to tackle drug-fueled violence and corruption.