Greece, US ink 20-year LNG contract
Greece’s DEPA and construction group Aktor signed a 20-year contract through their joint company, Atlantic-See LNG Trade, with US energy firm Venture Global for the supply of up to 4 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually, valued at €25 billion at current prices. The agreement, signed during the 6th Transatlantic Energy Cooperation Summit in Athens, takes effect January 1, 2030.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1286140/greece-us-ink-20-year-lng-contract
Mitsotakis calls for end to Crete’s gun culture and vendetta traditions
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for an end to Crete’s illegal gun ownership and vendetta traditions, urging a cultural shift in his weekly review on Sunday. “In our time, illegal gun ownership is a distortion and an insult to our tradition,” wrote Mitsotakis, whose family hails from Crete.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1286259/mitsotakis-denounces-cretes-illegal-gun-culture
Former PM Samaras accuses Mitsotakis of deviating from ND’s ideological principles
Former prime minister Antonis Samaras has sharply criticized Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in an interview with Antenna TV over his handling of the party’s leadership and his premiership, accusing him of turning New Democracy into a “personal party” and altering its ideological foundation.
Voridis denies involvement in OPEKEPE farm subsidy scandal
Former minister of rural development and food Makis Voridis has denied any involvement in the OPEKEPE farm subsidies scandal, insisting that no evidence links him to wrongdoing. Voridis, who resigned from the cabinet in June in the wake of the scandal over corruption and mismanagement of European Union agricultural subsidies, was testifying before a parliamentary committee investigating the case.
ATHEX: New decline paints trading week red
Despite their rather strong results for the third quarter of the year, banks continued to drag the Greek stock market lower on Friday, turning the net result for the week from positive to negative too. The relatively high turnover on a day of notable decline for prices showed that the short-term course of Athinon Avenue remains downward, despite the energy deals with the US that are certain to bolster the Greek economy.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1286137/athex-new-decline-paints-trading-week-red
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Trump’s 4 messengers
TO VIMA: Greece’s image in the mirror: opportunities, hazards and pathogeny
REAL NEWS: Athens’ “weapons” regarding the veto against Turkey’s participation in EU’s SAFE program
PROTO THEMA: Greek EEZ and American giants
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Cadaster: How to save property from… becoming a forest
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Traffic congestion is a… permanent resident of Athens
KONTRA NEWS: Former PM and New Democracy President Samaras blasts PM Mitsotakis
DIMOKRATIA: Thunderbolts by former PM and New Democracy President Samaras against PM Mitsotakis
NAFTEMPORIKI: Regrouping of forces in Athens Stock Exchange
DRIVING THE DAY: BUDGET SUMMIT
VDL BOWS TO PARLIAMENT: Ursula von der Leyen is racing to head off a rebellion by the Parliament’s political bosses by proposing changes to her plan for the next long-term EU budget (MFF). The Commission chief will present her offer during an online huddle at noon today with Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (representing the Danish Council presidency).
In a draft of VDL’s proposals scooped by Gregorio Sorgi and seen by Playbook, the head of the EU executive offers several olive branches to lawmakers, including an enhanced role for Parliament in the budget talks, handing some power back to regional leaders and pitching a “rural target” ensuring governments spend a part of their EU allocations on agriculture.
The tweaks aim to show the Commission is listening to Parliament, where key group leaders — including the EPP’s German boss, Manfred Weber — threatened to block the entire MFF plan if the Commission didn’t change it.
Humble pie: It’s a climbdown from the Berlaymont, which is desperate to de-escalate the spat at a time when many lawmakers see von der Leyen as politically vulnerable after a series of no-confidence votes (which she won). MEPs see the budget fight “as a way to win an institutional battle” against von der Leyen, said one EU diplomat granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Unhappy Council: With war raging on Europe’s doorstep, Donald Trump upending the global order and economic malaise deepening, EU capitals have little patience for rebellious MEPs. “The mood in the Council is that this isn’t the time to play institutional games — even if the points raised by group leaders are also things we’ve heard from member states,” said the same diplomat.
Speaking to the manager: Some EU leaders voiced these frustrations directly to Metsola during the most recent Council gathering in Brussels, arguing Parliament is delaying key pieces of legislation when Europe needs to act with speed and decisiveness, added the diplomat.
Parliament claps back: “It’s not about a fight between institutions. It’s about actually being able to move forward,” said a Parliament official.
What now: Expect conservative political heavyweights (ahem Metsola, cough Weber) to claim a “win.” (Coincidentally, Weber is due to deliver a speech on the future of Europe in Berlin this evening.) They got what they wanted and may want to quickly turn the page. The Parliament official cited above said a new resolution bashing the MFF proposal was now unlikely to eventuate.
But center-left, Green and perhaps even some EPP lawmakers may want to keep pushing, as they did when they voted down the Commission’s so-called omnibus simplification bill on Oct. 22 (more on that shortly).
What Council fears: The whole thing spiraling out of control. MFF talks are already shaping up to be the “most difficult in the EU’s history,” said the EU diplomat. If Parliament throws more spanners in the works, “that would probably make it impossible to continue negotiations.”
Nightmare scenario: The MFF talks drag on through 2026 and into 2027, when the French presidential election would make things even harder.
The bottom line: Today’s meeting may see a pause in hostilities between Parliament and the Commission — but lawmakers are in a rebellious mood and will continue to flex their muscles, no matter how much it annoys capitals.
OMNIBUS ROUND 2
NEXT UP IN PARLIAMENT: The coalition that got von der Leyen elected is negotiating a deal to cut red tape for businesses ahead of a final vote on Thursday, Marianne Gros and Max Griera report. If it fails, the EPP may rely on votes from the far right to pass its own suggested changes to the bill.
Clock ticking: After choosing this option last week, group leaders held an urgent meeting at which they committed to finding a compromise, according to two officials. “We have until Wednesday to find a pro-European solution,” said Green MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen.
Far-right watch: The Patriots group wants to vote with the EPP, making itself a key ally for von der Leyen’s deregulation drive — and it’s not happy that the EPP is trying to find a workaround with the liberals and center left. “The EPP is betraying its electorate,” said the Patriots lead negotiator on the file, Pascale Piera.
SPEAKING OF DEREGULATION: The Commission will unveil a “digital omnibus” package later this month to simplify tech laws — and draft documents obtained by POLITICO show officials are planning far-reaching changes to the General Data Protection Regulation to the benefit of AI developers, Ellen O’Regan reports.
CELAC SUMMIT
TRICKY TRIP: A group of top EU officials are in Santa Marta, Colombia for the EU-CELAC conference — risking Trump’s ire, after his administration recently sanctioned the host, President Gustavo Petro, for allegedly failing to stop drug trafficking.
Who’s coming: Representing the EU at the summit, which kicked off Sunday and brings Europe together with Latin American and Caribbean states, are Council President António Costa (co-chairing with Petro), top diplomat Kaja Kallas and Commission EVP Teresa Ribera. From the EU capitals, it’s Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez, Dutch PM Dick Schoof and Portuguese PM Luís Montenegro, among others.
No shows: Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni are among the major European names staying away lest they incur Trump’s wrath. (A spokesperson for the U.S. ambassador to the EU declined to comment citing work limitations linked to the U.S. government shutdown.)
Asked why von der Leyen is absent despite having previously said she’d go, Commission spokesperson Olof Gill last week cited the “quite low level of participation of heads of state.” A person familiar with Merz’s plans gave a similar reason.
ON THE RECORD: Kallas said the summit was a “huge opportunity” for the EU to build ties in the region, brushing off concerns about sparse attendance. “The conference is about much more than who is sitting in the room. It’s the substance that matters,” she said in a written statement, highlighting “billions” in EU investments.
OFF THE RECORD: Leaders “gave in to pressure” from the Trump administration not to attend, said an EU official granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters. Von der Leyen’s cancellation is to be understood in this context, they added, venturing she may have been “too scared” to appear in Santa Marta with Petro. (ICYMI: Trump officials have been accused of threatening lower-level EU officials to get them to drop positions that go against Washington’s wishes.)
Leaning in: Sitting alongside Petro — who has called Europe’s investment in defense a “mistake” and said “Russia is not the enemy” — Costa gave a speech on Sunday praising multilateralism, the very thing Trump hates.
SPEAKING OF TRUMP AND LATIN AMERICA: COP30 kicks off in Brazil today — and the Trump administration isn’t sending any high-level representatives. Without the U.S. to act as the “shock absorber and chief powerbroker,” the EU will shoulder a heavy burden, Zia Weise writes in this must-read walkup. Find all our COP coverage here.
RUSSIAN WAR
ORBÁN WINS SANCTIONS REPRIEVE: After a visit to the White House, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán won a one-year exemption from U.S. oil sanctions targeting Russian energy suppliers. Trump said it had been “difficult” for Hungary to wean itself off Russian fuels due to its landlocked position. (Other landlocked EU countries have succeeded.) Orbán exulted after the meeting saying it opened a “golden age” between Washington and Budapest. More here.
ZELENSKYY TEASES 20TH SANCTIONS PACKAGE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said Kyiv was already working with the EU on a 20th round of sanctions against Russia, which he said he expects within a month.“We propose including Russian legal entities and individuals that are still profiteering from energy resources,” he said.
BELGIUM GETS DRONE HELP: The U.K. is following France and Germany to provide staff and equipment to help Belgium counter drone incursions around sensitive facilities.
SÁNCHEZ THE PEACEMAKER: Pedro Sánchez insisted in an interview with El País on Sunday that Spain is pulling its weight in countering Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “neo-imperialism.” The Spanish PM pushed back against Trump’s demand that Madrid spend at least 5 percent of GDP on defense, saying “we need to do diplomatic work so that by 2035 we don’t have a Europe armed to the teeth, but rather one of solidarity and a guarantor of international law.”
Staying put: Sánchez also dismissed the possibility of calling a snap election — though his minority government lacks the votes to pass legislation. The PM insisted the “parliamentary complexity is not a problem” and vowed to keep negotiating legislation with all political forces.
IN OTHER NEWS
SEARCH FOR A CUSTOMS AUTHORITY HQ: France’s crusade against the flood of imports from China has a new battlefield, with Lille lobbying to host the future European Customs Authority. Giorgio Leali has a dispatch.
TOP READ: The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Trump’s Project 2025 roadmap, is partnering with European nationalist far-right movements to export its playbook for countering progressive policies, Hannah Roberts reports.
SHUTDOWN LATEST: Senators reached a deal overnight that could pave the way for the U.S. government to reopen later this week, my Stateside colleagues report.
TRUMP TOUTS TARIFF PAYMENTS: Trump on Sunday claimed “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person” will be paid to Americans “not including high income people” as a result of his tariffs on foreign goods. Write-up here.
TRUMP’S NEW BELARUS ENVOY: Trump named John Coale as his choice for special envoy to Belarus. More here.