PM Mitsotakis: EPP supporting von der Leyen for second term as European Commission president
The European People’s Party (EPP) will support the candidacy of Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission president, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday before the informal dinner of EU leaders began.
PASOK chief warns dissenters of expulsions
In his first public statement, made on state broadcaster ERT, since his leadership of the party was challenged in the wake of the European elections, socialist PASOK’s president, Nikos Androulakis, adopted a hard line on Monday threatening those who insist on “toxic speech, introversion and discord” with expulsions.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1241736/pasok-chief-warns-dissenters-of-expulsions
Kasselakis: I would run as candidate leader in a joint SYRIZA-PASOK party
If SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance and PASOK-KINAL join forces into a single entity, he wants to be a candidate for its leadership, SYRIZA President Stefanos Kasselakis said in an interview on Monday.
Tsipras calls for North Macedonia to respect Prespa agreement
The safeguards in the Prespa Agreement are very strong, former SYRIZA leader and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras insisted on Monday in a discussion with former PM of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev, at an event organized by Tsipras’ newly established institute.
ATHEX: Index drop minimized by closing
The week started at Athinon Avenue with an interesting session that started with gains, then swung to significant losses that were contained by the closing. Banks led the decline at the bourse, but several other stocks resisted, keeping the main index above the 1,400-point level in the end.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1241745/athex-index-drop-minimized-by-closing
KATHIMERINI: Half of hospital directors failed the evaluation tests
TA NEA: Three changes and one alternative for the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP)
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Alexis Tsipras: “The progressive response is ‘All together’”
AVGI: Kasselakis says he would run as candidate for the leadership of any center-left joint effort
RIZOSPASTIS: LARKO workers: Upheaval! The lay-offs will not stand!
KONTRA NEWS: PASOK leader threatens with expulsion of party members instead of resorting to party elections
DIMOKRATIA: A fine mess regarding the cleaning of land plots by owners and the State
NAFTEMPORIKI: Housing market is getting restructured
EUCO FOOD FIGHT
EU LEADERS FAIL TO FIND TOP JOBS DEAL: Sometime between when the breading on the pan-fried pollock started to get soggy and the rum was drizzled on the baba on Monday night, Playbook imagines, EU leaders could feel it in the pits of their stomachs: Their dinner was going to end with an embarrassing impasse over the division of the EU institutions’ top jobs.
Full bellies, empty hands, can’t choose: Under the Italian sun last week, key leaders had pre-baked a deal, in the wake of the European Parliament election. But then some of them got greedy. And some of them got grumpy. And it all fell apart — news that was delivered to the press just before midnight. POLITICO’s Barbara Moens, Jacopo Barigazzi and Stuart Lau have the story.
Right-wing race begins: The consequences for the political center, who thought they’d wrapped it all up, could be severe. It’s a bit of a long shot, but if the Melonis, Orbáns and Le Pens of the EU can suddenly get a lot more organized between now and the EUCO summit planned for June 27-28, when the negotiations will resume in a very concrete way, they could reshape the Brussels landscape.
The irony: The objections aren’t really about substance. The EU27 leaders broadly agree that Ursula von der Leyen should keep her post as Commission president, Roberta Metsola should stay on as Parliament president, ex-Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa should head the European Council and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas would do as the EU’s top diplomat.
BLAME GAME BEGINS: So,who/what sunk it? Essentially, variations on the argument that elections should have consequences.
Obstacle 1 — EPP greed: The center-right European People’s Party started arguing — as POLITICO’s Barbara Moens and Jacopo Barigazzi scooped ahead of the dinner — that maybe they should get a piece of the European Council pie. Sure, they reasoned, von der Leyen and Metsola both come from the EPP, but why should the Socialists get all the action when it comes to chairing EU leaders’ meetings?
The idea: Technically, a Council presidency term is 2.5 years. Typically, the individuals who’ve held the post have been granted two mandates, so they line up with the Commission’s five-year term — but the EPP proposed ending that tradition and splitting it up. Socialists didn’t love this idea, given they were set to take a turn holding that post.
Say it ain’t so, Plenko: Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković apparently floated this idea — he even X-posted about it — prompting Playbook to wonder if he had himself in mind for the job.
Obstacle 2 — Meloni miffed: All of von der Leyen’s careful courtship of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni seems to have been erased since the election. Negotiators from centrist parties held their own private pre-games ahead of the dinner — moves that at the time seemed designed to eliminate meddling from Charles Michel. But they also cut out Meloni. Big mistake.
Video worth a thousand words: Meloni was obviously peeved heading into the dinner — we didn’t need any exclusive sources to read the expression on her face. But our colleagues with exclusive sources learned that Meloni was mad that leaders started from their pre-baked top jobs plan — rather than discussing the election (in which her hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists performed well around much of the bloc, mind you) and looking for signals from voters.
Viktor Orbán echoed the point, railing against the foregone conclusion. “They don’t care about reality, they don’t care about the results of the European elections, and they don’t care about the will of the European people,” the Hungarian PM said on X.
Reminder — another election is coming: Meloni’s point man in Brussels, Nicola Procaccini, made the mindset clear in a Saturday interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera. Asked whether he thought the top jobs discussion was happening too fast, the top Brothers of Italy MEP said he found it “disconcerting” that the result of the French snap election wouldn’t also be taken into account. The first round of the French vote — in which the far-right National Rally is expected to win big — is slated for June 30, just days after the formal EUCO.
RISKY GAME: Ultimately, Meloni’s protests probably couldn’t have stalled the process if the EPP hadn’t also spooked the socialists with their Council-split-up idea. The delay could have disastrous consequences for von der Leyen.
Far-right supergroup? It would involve complicated math — and even more complicated compromises. But if the ECR and other far-right players like Fidesz and AfD could quickly overcome their differences and form a mega-group ahead of the June 27 EUCO, all bets about the division of power are off. Even marginal gains could make it harder to justify hoarding top jobs within the center.
It’s clearly something Budapest is already thinking about. “We will not give in to this!” Orbán tweeted. “We will unite the forces of the European right and fight against pro-migration and pro-war bureaucrats.” (Scroll down to hear more on this from his trade minister.)
MEANWHILE, IN PARIS: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire was quoted by Le Figaro bemoaning his country “is going to the dogs” and expressing frustration at the snap election. My colleague Clea Caulcutt reports on how Macron’s inner circle is losing faith.
HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY
THE SPOILER YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR — BUDAPEST’S PLANS: Hungary will unveil the priorities of its six-month Council presidency at 2 p.m. today. But POLITICO’s Camille Gijs and Jacopo Barigazzi scored this preview from Hungarian EU Affairs Minister János Bóka on the EUCO sidelines.
Trolling EU: The presidency logo will be a Rubik’s cube. Officially, it’s a tribute to the puzzle’s Hungarian inventor, Ernő Rubik. But the symbolic link to the Brussels-Orbán relationship ain’t subtle.
Policy priorities: Competitiveness, defense, migration, reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and cohesion policy will top Budapest’s agenda.
No to VDL: Hungary won’t support von der Leyen’s reappointment as Commission president, but is fine with all the other names in the top jobs package, Bóka said.
Playing hard to get: Orbán met one-on-one with Meloni, the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformist’s top player, earlier on Monday. Nonetheless, Bóka insisted, Orbán still hasn’t made a decision about whether he’ll make a play to join the ECR or the far-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament.
Restructuring: “There is a need for a new political right,” Bóka said, pointing to the EU election results. The existing parties might need “restructuring,” and “it’s very difficult to imagine this restructuring on the right without Fidesz,” the minister added.
ICE MELTING ON RUTTE? Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte buttonholed Orbán on the EUCO sidelines — presumably not during a bathroom break — to make a last-ditch pitch for the NATO sec-gen post. The U.S. hopes to finalize Jens Stoltenberg’s replacement ahead of next month’s NATO summit in Washington, and Budapest’s opposition is essentially the last hurdle.
Conciliatory tone: An official with knowledge of the meeting described it as a good and open conversation, adding that Orbán agreed to focus on the future. “I’m cautiously optimistic about Hungary,” Rutte told the media, Stuart Lau reports.
Now read this: Rutte promised Orbán that if he lifts the opposition to his candidacy, Hungary could opt out of NATO activities in support of Ukraine during his tenure, two people briefed on the discussions told the FT.
MORE TOP JOBS
THE JOBS NO ONE WANTS: It’s hard to find competent people for Commission posts that don’t relate to an EU competence.
No thanks: Radek Sikorski definitely doesn’t want to be the EU’s first ever defense commissioner. (No surprises there.)
Can’t spare him: Frank Vandenbroucke’s Belgian party probably isn’t going to let him be the EU’s health commissioner.
NATURE RESTORATION, RESURRECTED
REVENGE OF THE LAME DUCKS: In the twilight of their power, the bloc’s top Green pols saved the nature restoration bill from yet another near-death experience, Louise Guillot reports. The deeply contested initiative to safeguard Europe’s degraded ecosystems is on its way to the Official Journal after adoption by EU countries on Monday — thanks to a surprise, late-stage betrayal.
Going rogue: The law was on track for rejection. Until Sunday, that is, when Austria’s Green environment minister, Leonore Gewessler, announced that she would flip her country’s vote — defying her government’s position and risking her job.
Rage in Vienna: Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, from Austria’s EPP-aligned party, said he will challenge the outcome of the vote in the EU’s top court. He also accused Gewessler of breaking the country’s constitutional law and filed a lawsuit against her. “The constitution also applies to climate protectors,” Nehammer said. “No one is above the law.”
Standing her ground — and grandstanding? “My conscience tells me unequivocally: When the healthy and happy lives of future generations are at stake, courageous decisions are needed,” Gewessler said. But her defiance might also have some nearer-term motivations. Austria’s Greens are expected to experience heavy losses in an election this September, and this move gives Gewessler fresh prominence as her party prepares to be part of the opposition.
Last gasp: With Greens losing ground in recent elections, both at national and EU levels, and a right-wing surge, Monday’s vote — on a measure that was already watered down — was a preview of what’s to come for climate policymaking in Brussels, Louise notes: Majorities to pass ambitious environmental rules are likely to be more difficult to build, and they’re likely to be slim and hard-fought. Read Louise’s full report on the dramatic rescue.
BRUSSELS BRUSSELS
IMAGINE IT — MICHEL THE DIPLOMAT: Charles Michel’s name is emerging as Belgium’s potential next foreign minister, two Belgian officials told POLITICO, confirming a report from local newspaper De Tijd.
Political picture makes sense: Michel’s party, the francophone liberal Reformist Movement, was the big election winner in Francophone Belgium. It’s on track to get several powerful portfolios in the next government, and it traditionally claims the foreign ministry. Michel would make sense given his experience as a former prime minister and European Council president, the officials indicated. “It’s too soon too call, but it’s not unrealistic,” one of them said.
Playbook fact check: Partially true. Michel does indeed have experience as the European Council president. But does that experience illustrate his qualifications as a diplomat? Ehhh.
BELGIUM’S ASCENDANT CENTRISTS TO JOIN RENEW: Les Engagés, the French-speaking centrist party that came out as one of the other winners in Belgium’s election, formally voted on Monday to leave the EPP and join Renew instead, Belgian outlets reported. Rumors of such a move were floating around for some time, with the party not feeling at home with the EPP’s center-right vision. Les Engagés has one MEP — Yvan Verougstraete.
EU-CHINA
CHINA RETALIATES: Beijing on Monday announced its first trade retaliation after the EU’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, launching an anti-dumping probe against EU pork and by-products. That’s despite EU exports of animal products dropping to a four-year low in 2023.
Spain, the world’s largest pork exporter, is worried. “We are already working through the European Union to find solutions that will provide a way forward without damaging the sector,” Economy and Trade Minister Carlos Cuerpo said. Alessandro Ford, Stuart Lau and Antonia Zimmermann have the story.
Timely talks: Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang will have an EU-China high-level environment and climate talk with European Commission EVP Maroš Šefčovič today, and two EU diplomats say they expect Ding, a key aide to President Xi Jinping, to ask Brussels to roll back the EV tariffs.
OTHER NEWS
REPORT ACCUSES GREEK COASTGUARD OF THROWING MIGRANTS OFF BOATS: The BBC has documented nine incidents in which witnesses said Greek authorities deliberately threw migrants into the water. In all, a BBC analysis found at least 40 cases of migrants dying after being pushed out into international waters — or forced back onto boats after reaching Greek islands. The Greek coastguard told the BBC it strongly rejects all accusations of illegal activities.
NATO — DEFENSE SPENDING UP: A record 23 NATO countries out of 32 are hitting the alliance’s 2 percent defense spending target, according to the latest NATO statistics released late Monday. Poland tops the chart at 4.12 percent, followed by Estonia (3.43 percent), the U.S. (3.38 percent), Latvia (3.15 percent) and Greece (3.08 percent). Stuart Lau has the write-up.
PUTIN VISITS HIS ARMS DEALER: Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea for the first time in 24 years today, meeting leader Kim Jong Un for talks. In a letter published in North Korean state media, Putin lauded Pyongyang for “firmly supporting” his war in Ukraine. BBC has a curtain-raiser.
BIBI DISSOLVES WAR CABINET: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his war Cabinet Monday, in an anticipated move following Benny Gantz’s resignation. Associated Press has more.