Rallies throughout Greece in memory of the victims of the Tempi tragedy
Rallies and demonstrations have been planned across the country on Friday, in memory of the 57 people who lost their lives in the train tragedy in Tempi two years ago.
Experts unveiling report slam handling of Tempe crash site
Vital information was lost by the improper handling of the accident site at Tempe in central Greece, where two trains smashed into each other head-on on the night of February 28, 2023, experts with the National Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Organization (EODASAAM) said at the unveiling of its much-anticipated report on the deadly disaster on Thursday.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1262796/experts-unveiling-report-slam-handling-of-tempe-crash-site
Androulakis on Tempi: I will immediately take the initiative to submit a motion of censure
Whoever saw the press conference and saw the evidence, on which we have focused our attention for many months, reaches one conclusion: that there are great responsibilities on the part of the New Democracy government, criminal mistakes, and that is why I will immediately take the initiative to submit a motion of censure,” underlined main opposition PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis in an interview on Thursday with SKAI TV. He was commenting on the report of the Hellenic Aviation and Railway Safety Investigation Agency (HARSIA) about the 2023 rail collision in Tempi, which was released on Thursday.
PM Mitsotakis meets with UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met on Thursday in Abu Dhabi with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for talks focusing on bilateral economic relations and on international and regional developments, particularly Syria.
ATHEX: Stock losses contained by the close
The Greek stock market managed to contain its early losses on Thursday, with the benchmark ending the day with a negligible decline and the banks index finishing with small gains.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1262854/athex-stock-losses-contained-by-the-close
KATHIMERINI: Tempe rail crash: criminal mistakes and pathogenies
TA NEA: Tempe rail crash: The secret lies in the second engine
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Anatomy of a crime
RIZOSPASTIS: Today the people speaks
KONTRA NEWS: Justice
DIMOKRATIA: Everybody hit the streets!
NAFTEMPORIKI: 6,3 bln bonus for the reduction of the debt
DRIVING THE DAY: TRUMP IS MESSING WITH EU
MAKE AMERICA FUNNY AGAIN: While European leaders come to sing, dance, suck up and give Donald Trump the hard sell, the American president just sits back and laughs.
It’s good to be king: Where Europeans see an existential crisis from Trump’s circus of uncertainty (even more so the Ukrainians!), it’s increasingly clear that the Republican is having as much fun as a king barking commands at unwitting court jesters in the form of European heads of government as they try to talk him out of tariffs and into guaranteeing security on their continent.
After the charmer, Starmer: Following French President Emmanuel Macron’s performance of bromantic flattery on Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived Thursday, true to clichés, in the mode of nerdy, sensible little brother. The tag-team appears to be making incremental progress in getting Trump to offer American security guarantees in exchange for promises of European troops on the ground to back up a potential Ukraine-Russia truce.
Or maybe Trump is just messing with them. In an Oval Office exchange with reporters, Trump essentially made Starmer the straight man in his vaudeville double act.
He’s trolling everyone: “I’ve always found about the British, don’t need much help. They can take care of themselves,” Trump said — apparently forgetting a couple of world wars and a lost colony that became a superpower, just to name a few counterexamples. Dan Bloom has a write-up.
Rhetorical question: “Could you take on Russia by yourselves?” Trump asked Starmer, who responded with nervous laughter. Rather than wait for a reply, Trump just gestured at him with his thumb and laughed. Watch the moment here.
Another memory lapse: Asked about calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator, Trump replied: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that,” the corners of his mouth curling upward ever so slightly. Video here.
So much for the fact-check: The Europhiles of Bluesky loved the moment when Macron — quieting Trump with a caress of the thigh — pushed back against Trump’s claim that Europe is just loaning Kyiv money while the U.S. donates. But the correction obviously didn’t stick: Trump repeatedly griped on Thursday that “they get their money back.”
MEETING THE REAL COMEDIAN: Trump said he was expecting Zelenskyy (a man who once played a president on TV before becoming one in real life) at the White House today for a public signing of their minerals deal. “We’re gonna get along really well,” Trump predicted.
De-facto backstop: Trump seemed to confirm speculation that the mining deal would serve as an unofficial American guarantee of any potential peace deal with Russia. “It’s a backstop you could say. I don’t think anybody’s gonna play around if we have a lot of workers” in Ukraine, he said.
BUT SERIOUSLY, FOLKS … Trump delivered his usual combination of vague assurances and clear provocations sure to be parsed in diplomatic cables, Commission cabinets and newspaper columns throughout the weekend.
Vague assurances: “We’re going to certainly try and get as much of [Ukraine’s] land back”… “But if they need help, I’ll always be with the British” … and “I support it” (in reference to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause).
Clear provocations: “I think he’ll [Putin] keep his word” … “I don’t think we’re gonna be even necessary” … “The British can take care of themselves” … Ukraine’s NATO bid “is just not going to happen.”
Vague provocation: Trump repeatedly said that hashing out security guarantees would be the “easy part,” compared to securing a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow. “If it doesn’t happen quickly it might not happen at all.”
BOTTOM LINE: For all the debate about whether to take the U.S. president at his word, it’s increasingly clear: Trump doesn’t take his European counterparts particularly seriously. Eli Stokols and Dan Bloom capture the scene in Washington.
SUNDAY SUMMIT
LONDON DEBRIEFING: Keir Starmer will host a cadre of his European colleagues on Sunday — and the fact they’re gathering in London underscores that Trump’s pivot on Ukraine has put rocket boosters under U.K.-EU cooperation.
What they’ll talk about: Downing Street said just now that the meeting is aimed at “driving forward” European action on Ukraine, looking at strengthening Kyiv’s position and seeking a lasting peace deal. Starmer’s official spokesman also accepted there “need to be further discussions” about a security backstop after the PM’s meeting with Trump, saying “security guarantees will be on the agenda” on Sunday.
Who’s invited: Zelenskyy, Macron, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, plus the leaders of Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Sunday choreography: First up, Starmer will chair a call with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia … Starmer will then welcome Zelenskyy to Downing Street … next he’ll hold a bilat with Italy’s Meloni to discuss issues including migration, Ukraine and European security … the PM will then convene the summit in the afternoon.
Brexit exception: Diplomats from two EU member states told my colleague Esther Webber it was now time to treat defense discussions between the EU and the U.K. separately from broader negotiations on a host of issues including fisheries and youth mobility.
Let’s go: One said there was “an obvious need for enhanced cooperation on security issues” but treating it as part of the wider reset “means you’re automatically opening Brexit negotiations 2.0 and we don’t think that should be the case.”
THEN ON TO MARCH 6
SO, WHAT DO WE THINK OF TRUMP? Ahead of the March 6 summit of EU27 leaders, António Costa asked capitals for their take on three issues, my colleague Gabriel Gavin writes in to report:
1 — What a peace settlement with Russia could look like.
2 — What security guarantees Kyiv needs.
3 — Whether Brussels should appoint a special envoy to take point on the talks.
Poles apart: In an interview with Gabriel, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Poland’s undersecretary of state for European affairs and a driving force behind Warsaw’s Council presidency, said Warsaw is trying to wake up fellow member countries and push them to do more on security and foreign policy — before it’s too late.
Cough up the cash: “We need higher expenditures on defense in every member state,” Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said. “We cannot just be looking around, waiting for the moves of other global actors and then decide what to do next — we need to do it the other way around.”
SNEAK PEEK: DRAFT EUCO CONCLUSIONS — ALL ABOUT THE FLEX: Supercharging a European defense industry means getting all loosey-goosey on spending and regs. That’s what EU leaders are set to agree when they meet for their emergency summit on March 6, per a draft of the Council conclusions nabbed by the inimitable Jacopo Barigazzi. Here’s Playbook’s take on the key points …
More guns, less butter: For capitals to “substantially increase defence expenditure,” the draft calls on the Commission to advise on using “flexibilities” within the EU’s rules on domestic spending, the Stability and Growth Pact. It also wants the Berlaymont to issue proposals for “additional funding sources for defence at EU level, including by means of additional flexibility in the use of structural funds.”
Untie the arms: The Council wants the Commission to throw a hand grenade at procurement bottlenecks, calling for a “defence-specific simplification omnibus.”
Loans: Nope, it’s not about Eurobonds — there’s no mention of joint debt. But it should be easier for weapons-makers to get European Investment Bank loans.
NOW READ THIS: Macron has been pushing for years to make Europe more independent of U.S. military support. Now his concept of “strategic autonomy” is finally resonating, write Laura Kayali and Marion Solletty.
LISTEN UP — ZEITENWENDE FOR REAL? Will the German election actually bring about a turning point this time? POLITICO’s Nick Vinocur and James Angelos discuss that with Jana Puglierin of the European Council on Foreign Relations on this week’s episode of the EU Confidential podcast. Plus, interviews with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra. Listen and subscribe here.
And speaking of De Wever: His new Cabinet is a boys’ club, writes Ketrin Jochecová.
TRADING BLOWS
IT’S GETTING REAL: Brussels threatened to use its trade bazooka after Trump said the EU was created to “screw” America. “We have an Anti-Coercion Instrument, and we will have to use it,” Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said in Paris on Thursday.
We’ve been waiting for you: Designed in the wake of the first Trump administration, the trade “bazooka” foresees a broad range of retaliation measures in response to trade discrimination, such as quotas and tariffs or restricting foreign investments.
No self-censorship: Trump repeated his complaints about the EU during his Oval Office session with Starmer. “It’s politically correct to say that [the U.S.-EU relationship has] been good, but it hasn’t been good,” he said. “Whatever they charge us we’re gonna charge them.”
Spain’s response: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his country will “stand up to those who attack us with unfair tariffs and veiled threats to our sovereignty.” During a press conference Thursday, the Socialist leader said EU countries had been preparing for this eventuality “for months” and would “adopt strong response measures … as a bloc.” He added that Madrid would provide support to Spanish companies affected by an “absurd trade war that nobody asked for and that benefits no one.”
Full details: Camille Gijs, Giorgio Leali, Jordyn Dahl and Bartosz Brzeziński have the story on how EU leaders reacted to Trump’s latest threat to hit the EU with sweeping tariffs.
SCOOP — SAVING THE AUTO INDUSTRY: My colleague Jordyn Dahl nabbed a draft of the Automotive Action Plan, which aims to boost demand for electric vehicles, building up the EU’s share of tech such as batteries, and ensuring a “level playing field” against competitors. More for Mobility, Competition and Trade Pros here.
REPUBLICAN DEMANDS INFO ON “CENSORSHIP REGIMES”: U.S. Representative Jim Jordan demanded that tech firms hand over information on how they have to comply with “censorship regimes,” also known as online content moderation rules, Marianne Gros reports. As a courtesy, he also warned Ursula von der Leyen and others that he’d be looking for their correspondence with Google, Apple, Meta, X and others.
MEPs cry corporate capture: EPP lawmaker Pablo Arias Echeverría, a member of a European parliamentary delegation from the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee that has been in the U.S. this week, met with Representative Jordan shortly before he sent the letter. “The message is coming directly from the Silicon Valley companies,” the MEP told Max Griera. “I said that we don’t understand the problem. It’s not against freedom of speech, it’s the opposite.”
PILGRIMAGE TO INDIA
MAKING FRIENDS WHERE YOU CAN: Top European Commission officials are in New Delhi today for the Trade and Technology Council with India — right when the European Union could really use a new, reliable partner.
VDL’s message: In a keynote speech shortly before Playbook hit your inbox, Commission President von der Leyen said the EU and India were natural allies in a world “fraught with danger,” with the potential to form “one of the defining partnerships of the era.”
Trade deal hopes: Von der Leyen said a closer alliance with India would be “a cornerstone of Europe’s policy in the years and decades to come,” built on enhanced cooperation on trade, technology, security and defense. That would include a long-sought free trade agreement, which von der Leyen said she and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed “to push to get it done during this year.”
Closer together: Von der Leyen also announced that Brussels is exploring a security and defense partnership with India similar to those with Japan and South Korea, to counter common terrorism, maritime security, cyberattacks and threats to critical infrastructure. “There is a lot that we can build on,” von der Leyen said.
COALITION NEGOTIATIONS
STARTED — GERMANY: The center-right Christian Democrats and center-left Social Democrats will begin talks today to explore forming a coalition that is all but certain to elevate CDU leader Friedrich Merz to the chancellorship. More from Chris Lunday.
Questioned: The German election was subject to “clear” and “successful” manipulation by Russia and other foreign actors, the head of the Bundestag’s intelligence committee, Green Konstantin von Notz, said in an interview with the FT.
FINISHED — AUSTRIA: The firewall against the far right holds as a conservative-led coalition teams up to shut out the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ). Chris has got you on that one, too.
BUYER’S REMORSE — IRELAND: A lopsided deal with independents could throw Dublin into paralysis, Shawn Pogatchnik reports.
IN OTHER NEWS
COP16 — BIODIVERSITY DEAL: Countries meeting in Rome for a U.N.-convened summit clinched a deal last night on a strategy to boost funds for biodiversity conservation, Louise Guillot reports for Sustainability and Energy and Climate Pros.
GREECE ON STRIKE: Greece will come almost entirely to a standstill today, with transport, schools, supermarkets, shops, cafés, theaters, bars and clubs shutting their doors as huge demonstrations are expected to paralyze the country. The protests are timed to mark the second anniversary of Greece’s worst-ever rail tragedy, but go beyond that and present the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis since he took office in 2019. Nektaria Stamouli has the full story.
MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI CHARGED: Former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki from the Law and Justice (PiS) party has been charged with abuse of power for attempting to organize a presidential election at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020 using mail-in ballots. Details here.
Now read this: PiS’ enthusiasm for Trump isn’t dimming despite his attacks on Ukraine and cozying up to Russia, write Jan Cienski and Wojciech Kość.
NO PRIDE IN HUNGARY: Hungary’s government said Thursday that Budapest Pride, the LGBTQ+ parade, “will not take place in a public form” this year.
IT’S COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUS(ING CRISIS): Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni said he considers the continent-wide housing crisis a “social emergency” of such magnitude that it could endanger the bloc’s broader democratic system.
A different take on the Vance thesis: In an interview with Aitor Hernández-Morales, the socialist politician said the crisis was an internal threat equivalent to the external danger posed by Russia. “We’re running the risk of having the working and middle classes conclude that their democracies are incapable of solving their biggest problem,” the mayor said. While the creation of the EU’s first-ever housing commissioner is a positive development, Collboni said Brussels needs to go further to tackle the issue with concrete policies — and cash.
LEADER TELLS PKK TO LAY DOWN ARMS: Imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan called for the disarmament and dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Thursday.