PM Mitsotakis postpones Lebanon visit due to aircraft malfunction
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ visit to Lebanon has been postponed due to a technical issue with the government aircraft. The Prime Minister’s visit has been rescheduled and is expected to take place in the coming days.
PM Mitsotakis: Upcoming measures for consumer and depositor relief in banks
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking in the Hellenic Parliament during the debate on the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s bill on the minimum wage, stressed that the “present bill is a very important change in the labour market and a bold breakthrough in its development, based on the way the minimum wage is determined, which from 2027 onwards will follow an upward course.” Regarding the operation of banks, Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced interventions aimed at relieving consumers and depositors.
Androulakis calls for return of collective labour agreements in Parliamentary minimum wage debate
In his intervention in the Parliament during the debate on the bill on the minimum wage, PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis stressed that the conditions are now ripe for the return of Collective Labour Agreements.
PM Mitsotakis: OECD report acknowledges the very substantial progress that Greece has made
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday met the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann, who presented the OECD Economic Survey of Greece to the prime minister while visiting Athens. “It is a presentation that acknowledges the very substantial progress that Greece has made in the last five years. It also presents, however – and I consider this especially valuable – useful proposals regarding the course of our future actions. I believe that there is no doubt – and I think that this is confirmed by the report – that the Greek economy is now in a much better state than it was five years ago,” Mitsotakis said.
ATHEX: Growth with new features on bourse
Thursday’s stock growth may have followed the rise of three previous sessions, but ushered in a new situation in that its features included a universal upward trend and significantly increased turnover, the highest of the last five sessions. The market’s benchmark closed at a 10-week high, and if on Friday night Greece secures another credit rating upgrade by Scope Ratings, the rising momentum could continue into next week.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1255488/athex-growth-with-new-features-on-bourse
KATHIMERINI: 500 bln euro for Europe’s defense
TA NEA: Aegean Sea: Three-month extension for sea parks
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The regulations regarding the minimum wage are void of any meaning
RIZOSPASTIS: Hope lies with workers’ rallies!
KONTRA NEWS: Electricity subsidies for households and freelancers
DIMOKRATIA: A 13-year old Greek student came first in the Balkan Astronomy and Astrophysics School
NAFTEMPORIKI: Government ultimatum to banks regarding loans and fees for services
DRIVING THE DAY: MACRON-SORE TRADE DEAL
MISSING, EMMANUEL’S SWAY: Spare a thought for French President Emmanuel Macron, who is having one of those weeks. First, his prime minister gets turfed out in a vote of no confidence. Then, Ursula von der Leyen flies to Uruguay to finalize a trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc — despite a desperate phone call in which, the Elysée said, Macron stressed to the Commission chief that it would be an “unacceptable” threat to French farmers.
Then, this Saturday, Macron will have to grimace through a von der Leyen visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral. Amazing to think Donald Trump might not be the least welcome guest. (Playbook Paris notes Volodymyr Zelenskyy could also come, with the visit potentially giving the Ukrainian president another chance to talk to Trump about support for Kyiv.)
(Almost) done deal: Von der Leyen’s visit to the Mercosur summit in Montevideo today will formally begin with talks around 8:30 a.m. local time. She’s expected to shake hands with the leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia on the long-awaited deal. A press conference is expected at around 9:30 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. CET). Headphones are recommended to cancel out the sound of grinding Parisian teeth.
French misery, German delight: My colleagues have this excellent dispatch on the rupture that a final deal might cause between the EU’s biggest powers. Berlin has been desperate for a deal to give its manufacturers access to a new market. But France fears soybeans and steaks from the Pampas will now add the wrath of farmers to Macron’s list of urgent political woes.
Adding insult to injury: “Ursula von der Leyen could not have chosen a worse moment than this. It’s a big mistake to do this now. It really gives the impression of taking advantage of the crisis in France to try and get ahead on her own,” said Christophe Grudler, a French MEP from Macron’s liberal camp. Le Monde said it was a sign of France’s “waning influence.”
Next, more fighting: If things go as planned, today’s handshake in Uruguay will indicate that leaders on all sides believe the negotiations are over. But the final EU signature won’t come until it’s approved by the Council of the EU, representing governments, and the European Parliament. If France can rally a blocking minority in the Council, they will scupper the deal. On Thursday evening, an Italian government official told AFP that “the conditions are not in place” for a deal. “The battle is not over,” French Junior Trade Minister Sophie Primas told POLITICO.
THAT’S NOT EVEN CLOSE TO MACRON’S BIGGEST HEADACHE: In an address to the nation on Thursday evening, Macron dismissed the notion that he would stand down before his term ends in 2027 and promised a special budget law would be passed in December.
The president lashed out at “anti-republican” forces on the left and right who voted to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Barnier resigned on Thursday, but Macron asked him to stay on as caretaker until he can find a new PM “in the coming days.” Read more.
Markets aren’t freaking out about France’s failure to pass a budget. Yet. Story here.
DIDIER REYNDERS
REYND IN: MEPs are pressuring von der Leyen to investigate the official dealings of recently departed Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, after reports emerged this week that he was the subject of a money-laundering investigation by Belgian authorities.
Reminder: Reynders has not been charged in this matter.
From the left … On Thursday, Greens MEP Daniel Freund wrote to Commission Secretary-General Ilze Juhansone asking what von der Leyen knew about the investigation and when. Playbook has seen the note. Freund also wants to know whether any of the allegations touch on Reynders’ Berlaymont duties or those of his staff.
… and the right: On Thursday, Polish ECR lawmakers Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik also began circulating a letter calling on von der Leyen to open an investigation into Reynders. It’s not clear which MEPs will sign the letter, if any. The Greens have ruled out doing so.
Shadow boxing: That letter, seen by POLITICO’s Barbara Moens and Max Griera, said the investigation “casts a great shadow on the seriousness of the European Commission, but also on the credibility of the European Parliament.” Especially, it says, because Reynders came into his 2019 confirmation hearing in Parliament facing similar allegations — although prosecutors dropped a formal investigation in the days before the grilling.
Were the Brexiteers right all along? The only parliamentarian who zoned in on the corruption charges during that 2019 hearing was the Brexit Party’s Ann Widdecombe. She asked Reynders whether he had considered stepping aside “while the issues were resolved.” Reynders brushed it off, stressing that the investigation had been dropped.
Scrutiny much? This all feels very fresh since Parliament recently grilled and rejected exactly none of the candidates proposed for the new Commission. Freund noted that the Parliament has no powers to properly investigate allegations against Commission nominees. “It’s not an integrity check. It’s mostly a joke,” Freund said in a phone call on Thursday evening.
ROMANIAN ELECTION
CRUNCH TIME: Far-right EU- and NATO-skeptic Călin Georgescu could be Romanian president by Sunday evening. Georgescu shocked the political establishment two weeks ago by coming from nowhere to win the first round of the presidential race. He is now facing off against center-right local mayor Elena Lasconi in Sunday’s winner-takes-all election.
Fears for the future: At a rally in Bucharest on Thursday evening, Tim Ross and Andrei Popoviciu heard from pro-EU voters who fear they are being dragged into dictatorship — and blame Moscow. “We are in grave danger of becoming like Belarus, where Russia will completely rule our country,” said Andrei Buterez, a 29-year-old software engineer. Read the story here.
What’s Vlad got to do with it? Georgescu’s sudden rise was boosted by campaigning on TikTok, and Romanian authorities declassified evidence this week suggesting that this may have been coordinated by a foreign state. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken flat-out blamed the Kremlin. “Romanian authorities are uncovering a Russian effort — large in scale and well-funded — to influence the recent presidential election,” he said.
EU pressures TikTok: On Thursday, the European Commission ordered TikTok to preserve data related to the Romanian election to aid in a future investigation into the company’s role in the election. POLITICO’s Peter Haeck has more.
For their part: Georgescu’s team claims the declassified Romanian intelligence documents linking his campaign to Russia (which outgoing President Klaus Iohannis agreed to release on Wednesday) are a politicized smear.
“Clown in a tuxedo”: “In this moment there is a feeling of urgency and a fear — and fear is a very good campaigner,” said Dan Barna, who is a leading MEP in Lasconi’s party. Barna described Georgescu as a “clown in a tuxedo,” and said his sudden rise was less about his qualities than a broad dissatisfaction with the political class. “The people are perceiving this candidate, [whom] they didn’t actually know two weeks before, like a new messiah,” the Renew Europe MEP added.
The circus is in town: Georgescu’s spokesperson Crenguta Pally asked why Barna had worked under Georgescu’s supervision on a public policy strategy several years ago if he was a clown.
Playing too nice: Barna is frustrated that the Commission — which reiterated Thursday it doesn’t get involved in national elections — is not taking sides or speaking up in favor of Lasconi. “This is not about not interfering … we are talking about defending our house or letting someone [set] fire to it,” said Barna.
TRANSPARENCY
COSTA WANTS ETHICS WATCHDOG TO WATCH HIM: European Council President António Costa has written to national EU leaders informing them he wants his office to be overseen by a cross-EU ethics body that was set up last year, but which the European Council did not join.
Oversee me: “It is my strong belief that to maintain the trust citizens place in the institutions that serve them, these institutions need to be exemplary,” Costa wrote in the letter, seen by Playbook. Leaders will need to approve the move. A Council spokesperson said they would be asked to decide at the December leaders’ summit.
What isn’t in the letter: Costa outlined the political priorities he has heard from leaders on his listening tour of capitals. Notably absent from a list that included defense, competitiveness, migration and enlargement were the words “climate,” “Green Deal” and “decarbonization” — all of which are key parts of von der Leyen’s three-pillar vision for her next term.
COMMISSION BROADENS ETHICS RULES FOR LOBBY MEETINGS: Many more Commission officials will soon be covered by the EU’s transparency register, meaning they should only meet lobby groups that have signed up to the database. The Commission this week extended the scope of those who must comply with the register to include all its staffers down to the head of unit level — a significant move, given that up until now the rules only applied to commissioners, their cabinet members and directors-general.
Coming next year: “This is a considerable step forward in terms of transparency,” the Commission’s Tanya Verrier told MEPs this week, saying the rules will take effect in 2025.
IN OTHER NEWS
DUDE, WHERE’S MY STAFF? During a hearing in the European Parliament Thursday about the European External Action Service, freshly minted top diplomat Kaja Kallas told lawmakers it was not her decision to downsize staff in EU embassies. POLITICO first reported late last month on the prospect laid out by the EEAS, which she leads. Kallas said she has talked to her boss, von der Leyen, and the two “tried to, you know, look into … where is it coming from.” Read more.
HAPPENING TODAY — SCHOLZ GETS GRILLED: Hamburg’s parliamentary investigation committee will question German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the third time today over his alleged involvement in the country’s biggest tax fraud scandal. Nette Nöstlinger has the details.
SANCTIONS PACKAGE, TAKE 3: The EU’s top ambassadors will try again today to conclude talks on the bloc’s 15th sanction package, hoping to get final approval before the end of the year, POLITICO’s Koen Verhelst writes in to say. Some diplomats he spoke to think there will be a deal today.
OSCE WRAP: European and U.S. officials took aim at Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the war in Ukraine during Thursday’s meeting in Malta of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “My message to the Russian delegation is the following: We are not taken in by your lies. We know what you’re doing. You’re trying to rebuild the Russian empire and we will not let you. We will resist you every inch of the way,” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said in his speech.
Not in the room where it happened: Sikorski, along with several other Europeans, left the room when it was time for Lavrov to speak, while the Russian walked out during U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks. “I regret that our colleague Mr. Lavrov has left the room, not giving the courtesy to listen to us as we listened to his,” Blinken said. “And of course, our Russian colleague is very adept at drowning listeners in a tsunami of misinformation.” Reuters has a wrap.
And speaking of Lavrov: His interview with Tucker Carlson is now live, if you’ve got an hour and a half to waste today.
NOW HEAR THIS: After months of post-election paralysis, the EU’s new leadership team is finally in place — but is it already out of touch? On this week’s episode of the EU Confidential podcast, host Sarah Wheaton and some of POLITICO’s sharpest minds dig into whether Brussels’ new power trio — von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas — can tackle challenges like Trump’s disruptive influence and fading support for Ukraine.
And speaking of Trump: Forget his tariffs against the EU — what really terrifies Brussels are the tariffs he’s threatening against China, report Camille Gijs, Barbara Moens and Giovanna Coi.
FRIDAY FUNNY: Giulia Poloni is back in the Declassified humor column, writing about Christmas’ most endangered species: The Gävle goat.