Pierrakakis elected Eurogroup chief
Greece’s Minister of National Economy Kyriakos Pierrakakis has been elected president of the Eurogroup, securing the post unanimously after Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem withdrew his candidacy, according to information released Thursday.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1289526/pierrakakis-elected-eurogroup-chief
Turmoil engulfs House committee hearing
In an atmosphere described as chaotic and dismissive of parliamentary procedure, Greece’s investigative committee wrapped up a nearly nine-hour session late Thursday, concluding the examination of Giorgos Xylouris, widely known as “Frapes,” over his alleged involvement in the OPEKEPE case. Tension repeatedly halted the proceedings as Xylouris selectively answered questions, invoking at will what he called his “right to silence,” while frequent interruptions from opposition lawmakers aligned with Course of Freedom leader Zoe Konstantopoulou further derailed the hearing.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1289527/turmoil-engulfs-house-committee-hearing
Five-day parliament debate on 2026 State Budget begins on Friday
The five-day debate on the 2026 State Budget will begin in the parliament plenary on Friday.
The debate will conclude on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Androulakis at InSocial event: ‘PASOK’s priority is the end of the regime of impunity’
PASOK’s priority “is to end this regime of impunity,” party leader Nikos Androulakis said on Thursday, addressing an event on “Challenges and necessities ahead of the constitutional revision” by the Institute of Social Democracy (InSocial) in Athens.
ATHEX: Industrial stocks and banks rise
Thursday was a day of gains for the majority of stocks at Athinon Avenue, as industrial companies and banks led the market higher and the benchmark above the 2,100-point level once again. The rise of the indexes increased as the day went along, while turnover remained below the 200-million-euro mark. Traders appear to be also focusing on the third-quarter results that mid- and small-cap companies are currently releasing.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1289530/athex-industrial-stocks-and-banks-rise
KATHIMERINI: Greece: From 2009’s “game over” to leading the Eurogroup
TA NEA: Greece makes comeback
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The government and the ruling party told OPEKEPE witness Xylouris what to say, covered for him and helped him escape
RIZOSPASTIS: One voice, one fist at the farmers’ fully justified blockades
KONTRA NEWS: New Democracy’s polling in rural regions collapses
DIMOKRATIA: Bitter and provoking Frappé
NAFTEMPORIKI: Selection of Pierrakakis as Eurogroup head vindicates Greece’s success story
DRIVING THE DAY
HANDS OFF OUR DEMOCRACIES … PLEASE? As rebukes go, it was gentle and carefully worded. Nonetheless, Ursula von der Leyen didn’t pull any punches in her message to Donald Trump at the POLITICO 28 Class of 2026 Gala Dinner last night. The European Commission’s top official suggested the U.S. president should leave the job of choosing Europe’s leaders to European voters.
Butt out: “Nobody else is supposed to interfere, without any question,” von der Leyen told POLITICO Europe’s Executive Editor Carrie Budoff Brown, in response to a question about the recently published National Security Strategy, which says Washington will strive to bring in MAGA-aligned leaders in Europe.
Let us decide, Donald: “It’s not on us [leaders] when it comes to elections to decide who the leader of the country will be, but on the people of the country,” the Commission president added. “That’s the sovereignty of the voters, and this must be protected.”
PEC vs. PCOM: It was, admittedly, a less muscular POTUS pushback than what European Council President António Costa has offered in recent days, underscoring subtle differences between Costa and PCOM (the acronym by which von der Leyen is known internally, apparently).
Shades of gray: The politically conservative Commission chief used her time in the limelight to emphasize her transatlantic cred. The Socialist Costa, by contrast, has increasingly taken on the role of Europe’s Greek chorus. Amid the barrage of MAGA attacks on the bloc, the former Portuguese PM has relentlessly promoted multilateralism, telling Trump this week to “show some respect” for European voters.
Do better! None of this deterred Andrew Puzder, Washington’s envoy to the EU, from hammering home Trump’s message about Europe’s economic decline to the Brussels glitterati assembled at Autoworld Brussels, in the Parc du Cinquantenaire. “Wouldn’t it be great if this part of the world, instead of deciding it was going to be the world’s regulator, decided once again to be the world’s innovator?” the Trump appointee told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns.
The state you’re in: In praising von der Leyen and a few European leaders, Puzder was more diplomatic than Trump — but only just. His scathing indictment of Europe’s per capita GDP, which he compared to that of Mississippi, or Germany’s, which he compared to that of West Virginia, was met with polite shuffling around the room, and no applause.
Billionaire distortions: The job of countering Puzder fell to — who else? — a French economist. The 39-year-old Gabriel Zucman, who shot to fame in his home country (and earned spot No. 15 in POLITICO’s annual ranking of the 28 most powerful people in European politics and policy) for promoting a wealth tax, argued there was far less difference between the European and U.S. economies than Puzder had let on — especially when the distortive effect of the wealth of America’s billionaires is stripped out of the equation.
Sadly for Europe, a panel of business leaders interviewed on stage leaned more toward Puzman than Zucman’s assessment. Their message, in a nutshell: Europe needs to get its act together.
News flash: Amid the transatlantic back-and-forth, von der Leyen let slip that some EU countries are asking for a second SAFE instrument — a €150 billion mechanism to let EU states borrow cheaply for defense purposes. It was “so oversubscribed by the member states that some are calling for a second SAFE instrument,” she said.
Watch all the speakers here … and check out this week’s episode of EU Confidential, with host Sarah Wheaton reporting from the room at the P28. She’ll also be bringing you a conversation with someone who sees Donald Trump’s growing influence in Europe not as a threat, but an opportunity: Balázs Orbán, the political director for Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán.
Go deeper: My colleague Tim Ross has a piece out this morning on Europe’s faltering center, in which he writes that the West’s political map will be disrupted more in the next four years than at any time since the end of the Cold War — with profound geopolitical implications.
PLAYBOOK EN ESPAÑOL: At the gala dinner last night, POLITICO’s CEO Goli Sheikholeslami announced a major expansion of our presence in Europe, including launching in Spain, rolling out a daily podcast in Brussels and deepening our partnership with the Munich Security Conference. Read the announcement here.
WORKING AROUND HUNGARY
THE QUEST TO DEEP-FREEZE RUSSIAN ASSETS: EU capitals are set to formally sign off on a an emergency measure to make sure Russia’s frozen billions aren’t put into the defrost when the bloc’s sanctions regime comes up for review, the Danish Council presidency announced on Thursday.
Making it permanent: The move is meant to quash the risk that when the sanctions regime comes up for review every six months, one or several EU countries opposed to backing Ukraine (*ahem* Hungary; *cough* Slovakia) will veto the rollover, throwing the entire sanctions policy into disarray.
Speaking of whom … In a letter addressed to Costa and obtained by Gabriel Gavin, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico wrote that he would not “under any pressure, endorse any solution to support Ukraine’s military expenditures in which the Slovak Republic would participate.” In a statement, Hungary challenged the decision on the grounds that it violates EU law and undermines the Commission’s neutrality.
So be it: Slovakia and Hungary may not approve, but they’re unlikely to have much say. Under the legal mechanism approved by ambassadors on Thursday, individual countries won’t be able to block the rollover of sanctions. This will offer Ukraine a major boost, with the country still hoping to benefit from the frozen assets to bolster its war effort against Russia, Gregorio Sorgi reports.
Making it legal: Keeping the assets frozen “is a measure that is appropriate in order to avoid further repercussions of unprecedented magnitude on the economic situation of the Union caused by Russia’s actions,” the Commission wrote in the legal text, which adds a clause to the EU treaty’s Article 122 on emergency powers.
Why it matters: The EU executive proposed the legal mechanism to strengthen plans to mobilize the €210 billion in frozen Russian assets, most of which are held by the Belgian-based Euroclear. Belgium still opposes the unfreezing of the assets, but the decision is expected to come down to the wire at a European Council gathering on Dec. 18-19.
Heart of the matter: The question of financing for Ukraine — and the frozen assets — is central to the ongoing peace negotiations being led by the United States. It remains unclear whether the Trump administration still plans to profit from Russian assets held in Belgium, as it had previously suggested.
EPP €200B PLAN
HIGHER, FASTER, FURTHER: The European People’s Party (EPP) wants to combat Europe’s innovation deficit with a massive cash injection: at least €200 billion is to be invested in research and development. It’s part of an action plan set to be adopted next week, obtained by Berlin Playbook’s Rasmus Buchsteiner.
Catching up: The group’s executive committee has been meeting for a three-day retreat in Heidelberg since Wednesday.
Diagnosis: Europe is losing momentum compared to the U.S. and China, and urgently needs to close the “innovation and productivity gap,” according to the draft of the EPP’s modestly titled Heidelberg Declaration. Member states should recommit to the 3 percent target for research spending — a target the EU as a whole has so far missed.
The biggest lever is to be a doubling of funding for the Horizon Europe program: from currently less than €100 billion to at least €200 billion. In addition, the EPP is calling for more money for defense research and more capital for innovative companies, so they can grow in Europe instead of moving abroad.
IN OTHER NEWS
WINNING THE EUROGROUP RACE: Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis beat Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Van Peteghem Thursday in a two-horse race for the Eurogroup presidency. Few diplomats initially expected the 42-year-old computer scientist and political economist to prevail, but Belgium’s continued reluctance to back the European Commission’s plan to finance Ukraine’s war defense helped to sink Van Peteghem’s candidacy, Nektaria Stamouli reports.
HOLOLEI IN LIMBO: Remember Henrik Hololei, the former DG MOVE director who was moved into a non-managerial role following reports that he accepted free flights aboard Qatar Airways?
Since becoming an hors classe adviser, he’s faced an internal disciplinary procedure helmed by a committee of high-ranking Commission officials. According to an official with direct awareness of those proceedings, the committee finalized its recommendations some time ago and sent them to the secretary-general’s office to be put on the agenda of the College of Commissioners, which is the only group that can pass judgment on Hololei.
In no hurry: Per the source, recommended penalties could range from no action at all to financial penalties or even dismissal. But the Commission has yet to put the recommendations on the agenda, which means that no action is being taken. Asked to comment, a Commission spokesperson wrote: “The procedure is still ongoing hence we are not in a position to comment further.”
FRIDAY FUNNY: Paul Dallison examines the U.S. government’s war on woke fonts in his latest Declassified column.
AGENDA