PM Mitsotakis: Our intention is to continue implementing bold structural measures
“Our intention is to continue implementing bold structural measures,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during his visit to the development ministry in Athens on Wednesday. “The interventions we have made in the market and will continue for at least another six months are interventions which, I want to note, have started to bring the first results. In the month of May we had the seventh lowest inflation rate in Europe and we are starting to see signs of prices falling,” the prime minister said.
Hezbollah head threatens Cyprus in televised address
The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Wednesday that nowhere in Israel would be safe if a full-fledged war breaks out between the two foes, and he also threatened Cyprus and other parts of the Mediterranean.
Brussels asks Athens to curb spending next year
The European Commission recommended on Wednesday that Greece curb the rise of net expenditures in its individual member country recommendations in socioeconomic policy in 2025, in the context of the European Semester.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1241936/brussels-asks-athens-to-curb-spending-next-year
Civil war grips PASOK over party elections
As calls within the party for leadership elections get louder, the turmoil that is threatening to upend socialist PASOK in the aftermath of the European election was on full display at Wednesday’s joint meeting of the party’s Political Council and the Parliamentary Group.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1241982/civil-war-grips-pasok-over-party-elections
Ten-year bond auction concluded; yield at 3.56%
There was considerable investor interest during an auction for re-opening a 10-year Greek Government Bond held on Wednesday.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/828334/Ten-year-bond-auction-concluded-yield-at-356
ATHEX: Moderate rise for index at Athinon Ave
Blue chips at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday maintained their rising course that had started on Tuesday, though the majority of stocks finished the day with losses, on a day of reduced turnover, partly due to the national holiday in the US (Juneteenth). Banks outperformed for a second day in a row, while investors will be watching Terna Energy on Thursday as its general meeting may offer some much anticipated news on stake shifts.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1241963/athex-moderate-rise-for-index-at-athinon-ave
KATHIMERINI: Civil war grips PASOK over party elections
TA NEA: Hard poker within PASOK
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Wildfires have begun and we’re still at the beginning of the summer period
AVGI: Greeks have become 8,3% poorer during Mitsotakis’ tenure
RIZOSPASTIS: Rally at Syntagma Square today against LARKO’s shut-down
KONTRA NEWS: Greeks are European champions in the reduction of income
DIMOKRATIA: Reactions against PASOK leader Androulakis: “You are toxic and a political dwarf”
NAFTEMPORIKI: X-ray for 8 public companies which are being reformed
GET IN LOSERS, WE’RE GOING VOTE SHOPPING: Manfred Weber told his EPP grouphe “will not let left-liberal election losers decide who he can talk to” when forming coalitions in the next Parliament, according to two people who heard his pitch to remain chairman on Wednesday.
LEAKY INSTITUTIONS: Slovenian journalist Peter Žerjavič spotted buckets laid out to catch water dripping from the ceiling of the Parliament press room. I found a Cadbury’s chocolate tub filling up with rain at the European Council. No wonder everyone thinks the Commission is the driest institution.
DRIVING THE DAY: RENEW’S WOES AS ECR GROWS
MELONI UP, MACRON DOWN: Giorgia Meloni’s Euroskeptic European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) announced triumphantly that it is now the European Parliament’s third-largest force, stealing the place held since 2019 by Emmanuel Macron’s Renew. ECR now has 83 seats, compared to 69 in the outgoing Parliament. (The EPP is way out in front, followed by the Socialists in second position.) Write-up here.
Will it hold? It looks like another reversal for the weakened liberals, adding to Macron’s political woes. But with 80 MEPs, Renew could yet catch up with ECR — the jostling for third place continues today with the liberals expected to unveil a couple more members.
Mixed reactions: “Meloni Rulez!” Czech ECR veteran Jan Zahradil blurted online. “Size of political group matters, but it’s not [a] key target,” said a slightly more circumspect Roberts Zīle, a senior Latvian ECR member.
Reality Czech: Does narrowly overtaking Renew mean Meloni and her Czech ECR counterpart Petr Fiala can demand much bigger jobs at next week’s European Council, as they’re indicating they plan to?
Answer: No. A senior Parliament officialdownplayed what it means for the EU power balance: “I think there are no real consequences,” they told Playbook. “A deal has to be fixed between PPE, S&D, Renew and possibly Greens. Otherwise, a majority will fall apart.”
Hatching a plan: Rob Roos, a Dutch ECR politician, said as the third-biggest group it can “conquer better positions according to the D’Hondt method,” referring to the formula for allocating seats in a proportional system. “More presidencies in Parliament and committees, more and better rapporteurships, etc.” But, in a WhatsApp to Playbook last night, Roos also cautioned: “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.” Renew has been much slower to add members but is eyeing five Volt MEPs — who are also negotiating with the Greens — and others.
Coup de PR: The moment is being savvily exploited by the ECR’s new members, chief among them Marion Maréchal, a darling of the French far right and Marine Le Pen’s niece. “It’s obviously an extra force to be able to put pressure on all the subjects we care about,” she said in a video on X last night.
Orbán ditches ECR dream: Getting Europe’s far-right forces to join up is becoming even trickier. Despite long banging on the door of the ECR, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is now no longer interested. Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs re-upped a Fidesz MEP blaming differences of opinion with ECR’s new Romanian members for the change of heart. Italian paper Corriere della Sera reported this week that Meloni had slammed the door in Orbán’s face.
Still exploring: The Polish Law and Justice party and Fidesz are actively exploring the idea of merging the ECR and far-right ID groups, potentially creating a new confederation in which each side would remain technically separate and, crucially, wouldn’t have to agree on Ukraine and Russia, said another ECR lawmaker. Zahradil sees a merger as “rather unlikely,” though he’s an Orbán fan. Others are holding out hope. “The window of opportunity is still open,” said a Pole in the ECR group.
MORE WOES FOR RENEW: One of the group’s new Czech MEPs, Jana Nagyová, already faces the prospect of losing her parliamentary immunity, Ketrin Jochecováreports. According to Czech media, the former aide of Czech billionaire ex-PM Andrej Babiš was caught up in an EU fraud scandal. The pair have been acquitted twice already but the public prosecutor appealed.
RUSSIAN GAS SANCTIONS
DEAL TODAY — ‘UNLESS SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS’: Diplomats say they’ll imminently reach an agreement to sanction Russia’s lucrative gas sector, with discussions set for 9:30 a.m. EU countries will strike a deal today “unless something crazy happens,” one of the diplomats texted my colleagues in POLITICO’s Pro Energy and Climate team last night.
Realpolitik: Germany became the new Hungary when it blew up the sanctions last week because of a so-called no-Russia clause. The provision made Berlin nervous because it would require a broader range of companies to ensure some of their products aren’t being shipped onward to Russia. But the Commission may now have addressed Berlin’s worries.
SOCIALISTS VS. ECR
LEFT-RIGHT SHOWDOWN OVER ‘SALUTE’ ACCUSATION: A major conflict between the Socialists and ECR is set to play out in the Parliament’s most senior political forum this morning, Playbook’s Sarah Wheaton reports.Giorgia Meloni’s chieftain in the European Parliament, Nicola Procaccini, and S&D leader Iratxe García are beefing over the latter’s allegation that Procaccini performed a “fascist” salute.
How it started: Investigative news site Fanpage, claiming to have infiltrated the youth wing of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, published a video last week that allegedly showed young activists chanting fascist slogans. It included a brief clip of Procaccini greeting a supporter with what the website claimed was a “gladiators’ salute” used by some fascist militants.
García pounces: “We are shocked,” García tweeted Friday, with a link to the footage. “Among several outrageous videos, a picture is clearly showing ECR co-chair Procaccini doing the so-called ‘fascist salute,’” she said.
‘Colossal lie’: “This is a colossal lie, gratuitous and violent,” Procaccini replied on X, noting that García didn’t post an image of the alleged salute. He said he’d sue for “aggravated defamation” and ask this morning’s meeting of all political group leaders to “formally condemn this unacceptable way of doing politics.”
Bring it on: Procaccini’s legal threat is part of a “clear strategy to silence opponents,” said an S&D spokesperson. “If the leaders at the EP don’t denounce this jointly, today it might concern the S&D leader but tomorrow it will be another group or leader put in the same place.”
In the middle of all this: Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, will debrief MEPs on Monday night’s inconclusive top jobs summit. Speaking of which …
TOP JOBS
DOES EPP SECRETLY WANT 5 YEARS OF PARLIAMENT? A rumor is circulating that the EPP will drop its demand for half of the European Council presidency and instead ask for five years of the Parliament’s top job.
Does Roberta Metsola want that? “I will work to build a majority, and then I will work to build a bureau,” the incumbent told me after getting the EPP’s unanimous backing to stand again for 2.5 years. “The rules say that the election has to happen every two and a half years, so we’ll see. Step by step.”
COSTA SCHTUM: Former Portuguese PM António Costa publicly asked for the European Council to be given more time to come to an agreement on the top jobs, according to Portuguese media — but he wouldn’t comment on his candidacy for Council president.
CHAIRMAN GENAU: Manfred Weber was also elected unopposed for a fifth term as EPP group chairman, with 95 percent support in a secret ballot that wouldn’t be out of place in North Korea. He also remains the EPP party chairman.
4 WOMEN, 1 MANDL: The EPP group voted in six men and four women as its vice chairs. Some of the candidates, including Bulgarian Andrei Kovatchev and Austrian Lukas Mandl, dropped out before the vote. Mandl said it was “to enable the planned proportion of female candidates.” Greek Vangelis Meimarakis was voted out. Ten winners here.
GREENS SEEK EPP: German MEP Terry Reintke remains one of the Greens’ co-presidents and is joined by Dutchman Bas Eickhout after a group vote Wednesday. “The Greens are stable, solid, have a clear leadership now and we are ready to deliver on the negotiations, and to deliver a stable majority,” Eickhout said at a press conference attended by POLITICO’s Louise Guillot.
Carbon Sink-evičius: Louise also spoke to the commissioner and soon-to-be Green MEP Virginijus Sinkevičius, who argued that forming a coalition between the center-right EPP and the Greens would “ensure that the Commission has a strong mandate and comfortable conditions to be ambitious.”
Is the EPP listening? Despite the Socialists pressuring for the Greens to be brought into a coalition, there is little public sign so far that the EPP is keen to do so. The fact an Austrian Green minister defied her EPP chancellor to push through the controversial nature restoration law is unlikely to smooth the path.
Now read this — Whatever happened to the climate kids? Back in 2019, hundreds of thousands of students walked out of school to demand climate action and turned that year’s EU election into a Greens triumph. Now the Greens have lost more than a quarter of those seats — Karl Mathiesen explores what happened.
LE PEN PUSHER: French National Rally MP Thibaut François is eyeing the top administrative role in the ID group, my colleague Sarah Paillou told Paris Playbook readers. Current sec-gen Philip Claeys had no comment.
ALMOST OUT OF THE RUTTE: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte looks set to be formally declared NATO’s next secretary-general today, my colleague Stuart Lau writes in to report. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, his only opponent, is expected to make a statement saying he will make way for Rutte, following the decision by Hungary and Slovakia to join all other NATO allies in backing him.
ONE LEFT-WING EP GROUP? Ex-Greek PM Alexis Tsipras called for the formation of a single left-wing political group in the European Parliament consisting of the Socialists, the Left and the Greens, my colleague Nektaria Stamouli reports. “Reality, electoral mathematics, the pressing needs of society, require the parties of the left and the center-left in Greece, as in Europe, to speak in the plural and not in the singular,” said the left-winger, who is rumored to be preparing a comeback.
AND FOR THOSE ASSISTANTS WHOSE MEPS HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS — NEW JOB NETWORK: Public service announcement for the many parliamentary assistants who will now need to find new jobs: Flavien Deltort has launched a new professional alumni network in town called Expert Europe, which promises to help connect them to employers keen to tap their EU experience.
ITALIAN FAR RIGHT
THAT’S ONE WAY TO JUMP INTO POLITICS: The Italian far-right League’s best-known new MEP, Roberto Vannacci, promised in a recent interview to parachute into the European Parliament. Instead, Vannacci, a general whose reactionary bestseller catapulted him into politics, huddled with journalists in Parliament — including our Gian Volpicelli — after arriving on foot.
What he said: The Green Deal “needs to be completely rewritten” … the EU should stop “pretending that there’s no difference between man and woman,” or between Europeans from different nations … and Vannacci would be very happy to work with lawmakers from Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz. It was nothing new to anyone who had skimmed his self-published polemic — The World Upside Down — in which he expounds on everything from immigration to environmentalism and LGBTQ+ rights.
Pulling the emergency cord? The press wanted to know if Vannacci is mulling a swift return to Italy, where some think he could oust and replace the League’s beleaguered leader Matteo Salvini. Vannacci said he is in Brussels “for a five-year mission. But of course, there are always contingency plans.”
OTHER NEWS
WHAT FRANCE IS TALKING ABOUT TODAY — ANTISEMITIC ATTACK: Emmanuel Macron warned antisemitism is rife in French schools and asked the institutions to hold a “discussion hour” on racism and antisemitism this week, after a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped in what police called a hate crime. Three boys have been arrested, with two charged with gang rape, antisemitic insults and violence, and issuing death threats, the BBC reported. The incident drew condemnation from politicians and public figures and sparked demonstrations.
FRENCH ELECTION — WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: POLITICO’s Clea Caulcutt breaks down the snap parliamentary election that has massive consequences for the EU and NATO.
CENTRISTS STRUGGLE WITH MIGRATION: For German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, it was a nightmare political scenario: Nine days before the EU election, an Afghan migrant stabbed a policeman to death, inflaming an already highly charged national debate about asylum. But it’s not just in Germany that migration is vexing centrist political leaders. Migration is animating voters on both sides of the Atlantic — with potentially enormous electoral consequences. POLITICO’s James Angelos, Myah Ward and Emily Schultheis have the deep dive.
SCORCHED-EARTH SUMMER: Three unpopular leaders fighting for survival in volatile political environments — Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Rishi Sunak — are waging negative campaigns that reflect their growing desperation, my colleagues write.
HEZBOLLAH THREATENS CYPRUS: In a televised address on Wednesday, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, warned Cyprus that allowing Israeli forces to launch military operations from its territory would be considered an act of war.
Cease-fire stalled: American officials are increasingly doubtful that Israel and Hamas will agree a comprehensive peace deal under the framework proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden, my Stateside colleagues report.