Greece showcases new air defense systems at Thessaloniki military parade
Greece showcased new air defense systems and other military equipment at a parade in Thessaloniki on Wednesday marking the anniversary of the country’s 1940 rejection of an ultimatum by fascist Italy. The parade along the city’s coastal avenue was attended by President Konstantinos Tasoulas, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias and other political and military officials. New systems designed to detect and disrupt communications between hostile drones, along with missile interception systems, were presented for the first time as part of Greece’s multilayered Achilles Shield air defense program. Leopard tanks and other military vehicles also took part, while the new frigate Kimon was anchored offshore.
Mitsotakis sets 40% election target
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has set a 40% electoral target for his New Democracy party in the 2027 elections, seeking to rally party officials and counter pessimism amid polling results below that level. Speaking in Neo Agioneri, in northern Greece’s Kilkis region, before traveling to New York for a UN Security Council meeting, Mitsotakis said the party would accept “nothing less” than a strong result, referring to “40s” as the desired percentage. The target marks a shift from his previously stated minimum threshold of 25%, a result he had said would raise internal party questions.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1319571/mitsotakis-sets-40-election-target
PM Mitsotakis to visit New York, chair UN Security Council debate on maritime security
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting New York to chair an open debate organised by the Greek presidency of the United Nations Security Council on the topic “Emerging technologies and maritime security: implications for peace and security”, which starts at 10:00 New York time on Thursday.
Greek 13-week T-bill yield rises to 2.44% at €400 mln auction
The yield at Tuesday’s auction of 13-week Treasury bills worth €400 million stood at 2.44%, up from 2.38% at the previous auction, according to the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA). Total bids amounted to €1 billion, covering the amount sought by 2.5 times.
ATHEX: Stocks’ rise gathers pace led by banks
On Tuesday, the Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,605.71 points, adding 1.40% to Monday’s 2,569.82 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 1.42% to end at 6,661.03 points.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1319533/athex-stocks-rise-gathers-pace-led-by-banks
KATHIMERINI: The return of migrants to Rwanda will begin in Spring
TA NEA: 120 installments for debts owed to the state: terms and limitations
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Banks are strangling households and businesses
RIZOSPASTIS: The large international strike coordination will take place tomorrow
KONTRA NEWS: Mayday regarding the safety of the railway
DIMOKRATIA: Government Spokesperson Marinakis and Chairman of Hellenic Olympic Committee Kouvelos entangled in the scandal regarding fixed basketball matches
NAFTEMPORIKI: Endless tax-evasion regarding rents
DRIVING THE DAY
HERE WE GO: Canada and the EU are racing to lock in closer ties at a summit today, with both sides hoping Donald Trump is too distracted by the U.S. midterms to retaliate, five EU officials and two Canadian diplomats told me.
It’s a full house: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and a small army of commissioners and EU officials are descending on Montreal for a grand two-day talkfest with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who wants to create an alliance of middle-power democracies as a counterweight to Washington.
Trump’s shadow looms: While von der Leyen has been at pains to clarify that Brussels and Ottawa’s alliance is “not against anybody else,” Brussels is not naïve and knows the U.S. is watching, a senior EU official said. Trump has already vowed to lash out in the form of “serious tariffs” if the two sides get too close for his comfort.
But that’s not stopping the EU, which is seizing this rare moment to secure expansive new ties with over 40 million Canadians and their €2 trillion economy, and won’t let the prospect of American retaliation get in the way, another senior EU official said. Carney knows he won’t get another chance like this and is pushing for “structural changes,” two Canadian diplomats said.
Now or never: Ottawa wants to lock in concrete gains before Europe’s political priorities shift, a Canadian diplomat said. “It’s very fortunate we’re doing this summit now and not in six months,” the diplomat said, referring to the French election, with far-right candidate Marine Le Pen leading the polls, and the seemingly unstoppable rise of the far right across Europe.
The stakes couldn’t be higher: Brussels and Ottawa will commit themselves to cooperate on trade, energy, security, education, the Arctic and more, according to a joint statement obtained by POLITICO.
A note on terminology: Their pact will not be called “associate membership” after that term was dropped from the summit’s joint statement due to opposition from Germany … although von der Leyen was notably still using it to describe the relationship in a statement — even after Berlin had made sure it got cut — and social post on Wednesday night.
The real prize: The EU–Canada partnership could serve as a model for other countries seeking to join a Carney-style alliance with the bloc at the center, a third senior EU official said.
Bigger fish to fry: Another EU official predicted the U.S. president would be too focused on the Nov. 3 midterms to care about what’s happening up north. His Republican Party is polling badly in key races and is expected to lose the House.
Managing expectations: Trump won’t be bothered, a fifth senior EU official predicted, but only because the EU–Canada summit will mostly just produce “some nice pictures,” which won’t be enough to “trigger” the president.
Who’s who: Here are the key players on either side of the Atlantic at today’s summit, from Playbook’s Zoya Sheftalovich and POLITICO’s Ottawa Bureau Chief Nick Taylor-Vaisey.
What to watch: Von der Leyen will deliver a keynote on EU-Canada relations at 2:50 p.m., Brussels time, with Costa addressing the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations at 6 p.m. and both EU leaders joining Carney at a business forum at 7 p.m. View it live here. More details below, in Agenda.
O NO, CANADA! Meanwhile, Ben Makuch and Mike Blanchfield write that Canada is a major fossil fuel producer whose climate ambitions fall far short of Europe’s … and that under Carney those ambitions are weakening.
BIG AND BREAKING
RISING TOLL OF SPANISH TRAIN CRASH: The regional government of Castilla La Mancha had confirmed the death toll of at least 68 people in Wednesday’s high-speed train accident in the Toledo province, with another 58 people receiving medical treatment, AP reports. The disaster has raised fresh questions about Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s management of public infrastructure, weeks ahead of a snap election.
Lawmakers respond: In a statement to Playbook overnight, the European Parliament said that “in mourning and solidarity with Spain,” it had lowered the Spanish flag to half mast in all three places of work, as well as at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Madrid and the regional EP office in Barcelona.
ISRAEL FRAUD ALLEGATIONS: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has said voter fraud perpetrated by Arab citizens prevented its leader from winning a clear victory in the country’s election. The claims come as Netanyahu’s rivals weigh joining forces with Arab parties to secure a majority.
FRONTEX VS. FREE SPEECH: New powers proposed for the EU’s border police Frontex to monitor social media pose a threat to free speech, European lawmakers and civil society groups told Eliza Gkritsi.
UKRAINE’S PEACE CONCERNS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy worries that a new escalation in the U.S.-Iran war could derail negotiations over a truce in Ukraine, as diplomatic activity ramps up in a fresh attempt to close in on a ceasefire.
TRUMP-PROOFING THE ICC
OSLO VOWS TO KEEP ICC AFLOAT: Norway stands ready to provide material help to the International Criminal Court to ensure “active business continuity” as it faces the threat of U.S. sanctions, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Nick Vinocur.
It takes a village: “We are in close contact with the Netherlands, with Germany, Iceland, with a number of like-minded countries looking for ways not only to speak up for the ICC, but to ensure business continuity, whether it’s economic continuity or helping them continue to operate,” Eide said in a phone interview.
Weak spot: The United States does not provide funding for the ICC. But the court is heavily dependent on U.S. service providers for payments and IT systems, which would be shut off if the sanctions come into effect, with potentially dramatic effects on its ability to operate.
Warning: Eide didn’t spell out how Norway or others could help the ICC (EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas extended a similar offer of operational support when she visited The Hague earlier this month). But he did argue that Europe should develop alternatives to U.S. technology if these are “weaponized to punish things important to Europe.”
Make it in Europe? “The only answer,” he added, “is to supplement U.S. technology with European alternatives,” while a “longer-term” response is to “boost European autonomy in data platforms.
Zoom out: The United States, which has already sanctioned 13 senior officials from the ICC, has announced sanctions against the court itself, but these won’t apply for another six months. Meanwhile, the Netherlands is looking to convince the U.S. not to follow through with its sanctions threat — while supportive nations such as Norway, along with the EU, try to prepare for a worst-case scenario.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
The EU has delayed the deadline to apply to build AI data centers … but what is the plan and why a delay? The Commission fired the starting gun in July for consortia to bid on the construction of seven gigafactories (large-scale facilities dedicated to the development and training of next-generation AI models) at a total estimated cost of €30 billion. The new deadlines (of either December of February, depending on the size of the project) are to give “member states the necessary time to complete their national budgetary process and submit financial commitments.”
MIND THE BUDGET GAP
UKRAINE LOANS OPEN €35B BUDGET HOLE: The EU’s next seven-year budget will have to find at least €35 billion to repay old loans to Ukraine, as leaders race to agree fresh funding for Kyiv during an upcoming summit, Gregorio Sorgi reports.
Summit twins: The Commission has doled out €171 billion in loans to Ukraine since 2014, with most disbursements coming after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Commission wrote in a note seen by Playbook. EU leaders will gather in Brussels for a special summit on Nov. 26-27 to negotiate the next seven-year budget and commit themselves to raise a further €45 billion for Ukraine in 2027.
The EU will repay last year’s €90 billion loan after the war ends, but the interest rates are already weighing on the next budget. The EU stands to repay €35 billion in borrowing costs from 2028 to 2034 — or €41.9 billion, if interest rates rise by 1%, according to the note sent to EU governments.
“The Union budget is equipped to address these costs and has sufficient financial capacities within the headroom [financial cushion],” a Commission official told Playbook. But the EU executive wrote in the note that “a source of coverage [for the borrowing costs] is to be defined.”
EUCO showdown: This sets the scene for tough discussions, as Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Bulgaria insist that they don’t want to service the borrowing costs for any future loan — creating annoyance among Ukraine’s allies.
DASHBOARD
Many EU citizens think highly of Canada — but that doesn’t necessarily mean they think of the country as a key ally. In a September POLITICO Poll, independent pollster PF Global asked respondents in France, Spain and Germany to pick their country’s most important allies. Canada ranked lower than other EU countries and also consistently behind the U.S. Results from a June POLITICO Poll, however, showed that many Europeans hold Canada in high regard. Large shares of respondents in France and Germany said Canada has the happiest citizens and is the best place to live.
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3 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
AI SELL-OFF: Investors piling into a small number of mega technology companies could have a “significant impact” on the economy if the artificial intelligence bet doesn’t pay off, according to outgoing European Securities and Markets Authority Chair Verena Ross.
SHRINKING THE CIRCLE: After Playbook reported on a somewhat tense meeting at DG COMM a couple of weeks ago, the invitation list has been restricted to senior officials to prevent further leaks, Gerardo Fortuna has learned.
CUE VIOLINS: Coffee-machine prices have jumped 20% at the European Commission’s Berlaymont headquarters, with a cup now setting staff back 60 cents, up from 50 cents, an EU official griped to Sebastian.
BRUSSELS CORNER
WEATHER: Mostly sunny, with a high of 15C.
AMBASSADOR MOVE: Helen Winter, Germany’s Coreper 1 ambassador, is leaving her post to return to Berlin, where she will take up a new role in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, according to an EU diplomat. Viel Glück!
MUSICAL LUNCH, ANYONE? The weekend isn’t that far away … So, why not upgrade your midday break with a free Ancienne Belgique concert and every Belgian’s go-to lunch (bread)? On the menu today: Young musical talent Frans Kalf will preform, with his favorite sandwich on offer for €2,50: bread, butter and aged Dutch cheese, “prepared in the morning and left in a lunchbox for a few hours.”
LET’S BOOGEY, MAN: The spookiest night of the year is drawing closer (Halloween, not another European Council). If you’re ready to rave, C12 is throwing an eight-hour bash, with fog machines and DJ Luke Slater; the “Hangar Festival — Halloween Edition” will take place at Brussels Gate; Brasserie Illegaal is throwing a costumed rave; and Halloween XXL — The Brussels Hidden Theater is predicting 1,000 partygoers will dance the night away at Grand Casino. Some of these events are selling out, so grab tix sooner rather than later.
If you’re looking for something a tad more family-friendly, Pumpkimania promises “an autumn spectacle for the whole family.” There’s also a “nearly one-kilometer-long Halloween event,” replete with “moving puppets, light and sound effects in a spooky setting.” Consider us spooked. Get tix here.
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