Lawmakers vote on North Africa asylum ban as rights groups cry foul
Greek lawmakers were set to vote on legislation on Thursday that would temporarily halt the processing of asylum applications of people coming from North Africa, a move rights groups have called illegal. The vote comes amid a surge in migrant arrivals to the island of Crete and as talks with divided Libya’s Benghazi-based eastern government to help stem the flow were cancelled acrimoniously this week.
Former deputy PM raps ‘absurd’ plan to suspend asylum claims
Former deputy prime minister Evangelos Venizelos weighed in on an increasingly heated political debate about a controversial new measure aimed at curbing unregulated migrant arrivals from North Africa by suspending their right to apply for asylum and expediting their deportation. Venizelos, who is also an expert in constitutional law, responded to the government’s announcement of the new legislation on Wednesday with a message on social media in which he criticized the conservative administration for invoking Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to pass this extraordinary measure. Article 15 of the ECHR, he said, is “equivalent to Article 48 of the Greek Constitution, which refers to a state of siege.”
Parties condemn attack at home of journalist Yiannis Pretenteris
Authorities are investigating the discovery of an explosive device outside the home of journalist Giannis Pretenteris in the northern Athens suburb of Neo Psychiko. Greek parties condemned the terrorist action.
Motor Oil and GEK TERNA to form new energy giant in major merger
Two of Greece’s largest industrial groups, Motor Oil and GEK TERNA, have agreed to merge their core electricity and natural gas businesses to create a new, powerful energy company that will be a dominant player in the Greek market. The deal, announced Thursday, will combine the retail electricity and gas supply activities of Motor Oil’s nrg and GEK TERNA’s HERON brands, creating a new, equally-owned joint venture. The new company will immediately become one of the country’s largest energy providers, serving nearly 500,000 electricity customers and holding a market share of approximately 17%.
https://www.iefimerida.gr/english/motor-oil-gek-terna-new-energy-giant-major-merger?utm_source=rss
ATHEX: Bourse index dismisses profit taking
The selective profit taking across certain blue chips did not stop the benchmark of the Greek bourse from continuing its ascent toward the 2,000-point milestone on Thursday, recording yet another 15-year high in the process. This was the eighth straight session of index growth, while turnover remained at impressive levels. The banks index outperformed, despite pressure on Alpha and Optima, as National and Piraeus led the way higher.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1274969/athex-bourse-index-dismisses-profit-taking
KATHIMERINI: Harsh stance for the reduction of migrant waves
TA NEA: Double medical degree by the University of Athens and the University of Exeter
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Amendment against asylum seekers shames Greece
RIZOSPASTIS: Universities: Students ask for support not suppression and deregistrations
KONTRA NEWS: Far-right delirium by the government after Haftar’s slap
DIMOKRATIA: Come forth!
NAFTEMPORIKI: Greek police enters the battle against tax evasion
DRIVING THE DAY: TRADE BLOWS
WAITING BY THE MAILBOX: The EU could finally get one of Trump’s dreaded tariff letters today, after the American president last night told NBC News he’d be putting it out “over the next couple of hours.” Trump suggested he was considering tariffs of 15 or 20 percent on all countries that don’t do a trade deal with the U.S. before the levies are set to go into effect on Aug. 1, Seb Starcevic reports.
Oh, Canada: After the interview aired, Trump posted his letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Truth Social, announcing a higher-than-expected 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods. Playbook has spent the past four hours hitting refresh on Trump’s page for any sign of the EU letter, but so far, bupkis.
WHILE BRUSSELS AWAITS TRUMP’S LETTER … The European Commission could strike a political agreement with the U.S. to fend off a transatlantic trade war any moment now.
When they meet late this afternoon in Coreper II, top EU envoys may finally have somethingto review before the bloc’s trade ministers take up the issue at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
By the way: The Commission had been assured it wouldn’t receive a Trump letter while trade talks are still on. “I frankly don’t know where we will be tomorrow — whether it will be an agreement in principle or not,” an EU diplomat told our colleagues at Morning Trade on Thursday. “One of the difficulties in the course of negotiations has been that nobody knows what Trump wants. And at the end of the day, he’s the one to approve an agreement.”
Held fire goes cold: But one thing that does look increasingly clear, my Trade colleagues report: the EU’s appetite for retaliation is fading. Some say that amounts to a squandered hand, with Tobias Gehrke, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, noting: “Deterrence only works if the other side believes you’ll use it.”
Counterpoint: In his letter announcing the mammoth Canada tariffs, Trump lamented: “Instead of working with the United States, Canada retaliated with its own Tariffs … If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 35%.”
ALSO WAITING FOR DONALD: In the NBC interview above, Trump teased: “I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday.”
PRESSURE ON ISRAEL TIES
MOMENTUM BUILDS FOR EU ACTION: Days before EU foreign ministers will weigh the fate of Israel’s association agreement with the bloc, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government offered Brussels a big win. On Thursday, both sides confirmed a deal to boost the flow of aid into Gaza “in the coming days,” as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas put it. Meeting with his German and Austrian counterparts in Vienna, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar confirmed the commitment to “more trucks, more crossings, and more routes for the humanitarian efforts.”
Too little, too late? The Israelis’ concession could help stave off calls for the EU to seriously alter their association agreement after a review suggested the country is violating the deal’s human rights clause. On Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs Council will weigh a menu of options for how to respond — and that document has been viewed by POLITICO’s Jacopo Barigazzi.
“Full suspension” is one option, notes the document, prepared by the European External Action Service, as is a “partial suspension” that would cut off dialogue between Brussels and Netanyahu’s government. Both would need unanimous agreement by the EU27 — so it’s safe to assume they’re not realistic.
An easier sell: Suspending just the trade element of the deal, which could make it harder for Israeli products to enter the EU market, would only require a qualified majority. Individual capitals could take measures such as banning products from the occupied West Bank if the EU27 don’t unanimously agree, the EEAS document notes. Full write-up from Jacopo and Gabriel Gavin here.
EX-ENVOYS MAKE THE CASE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY: A “clear message, beyond declarations, needs to be sent to the Israeli government that the EU will take effective action,” write 27 former EU ambassadors with experience in the broader region, in an open letter to top Commission and Council leaders sent Thursday. They echo options in POLITICO’s EEAS leak, floating measures that can be adopted without unanimity, like slashing trade preferences or kicking Israel out of the Horizon research program.
Appealing to the home front: Lack of action will “further tarnish the EU’s already damaged reputation in the region,” the diplomats argue, as well as give “sustenance to bad actors at home and abroad who search for a ‘cause celebre’ for their violent extremism.” Signatories include Hugues Mingarelli, a former EEAS managing director for North Africa and the Middle East; Thierry Béchet, former head of mission in Jerusalem; Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, former EU representative to the Palestinian territories; James Moran, an ex-EEAS principal adviser on the Middle East and North Africa; and Androulla Kaminara, former EU ambassador to Pakistan.
Reminder: The Israeli government has called Brussels’ decision to reexamine its association agreement “outrageous and indecent” and accused EU officials of relying on biased evidence and failing to give it a fair chance to respond.
GRAPPLING WITH HOW TO CALL OUT ISRAEL: An internal EEAS document obtained by EU Observer shows EU27 diplomats wary of the Netanyahu government’s efforts to cast criticism of Israeli human rights abuses as equivalent to anti-Jewish bias, in an exchange with the Commission’s coordinator for fighting antisemitism, Katharina von Schnurbein.
ANTISEMITISM, STILL A THING
MEP UNDER FIRE FOR HOLOCAUST DENIAL: While the line between criticizing Israeli actions and antisemitic speech might be hard to define, Holocaust denial is a bit more concrete. Right on cue, a Polish far-right MEP could be facing prosecution for denying the existence of gas chambers at Auschwitz during an interview with Polish radio, calling it “a fake.”
Part of a pattern: It’s just the latest culture war provocation from Grzegorz Braun. As a member of the Polish parliament, Braun made international headlines for extinguishing a Hanukkah menorah and destroying a pro-LGBTQ+ exhibition, as well as storming a hospital to confront a doctor performing abortions.
Latest: Before the Wnet radio host abruptly cut off the interview, Braun accused the Auschwitz Museum of blocking research and promoting a “pseudohistorical narrative.”
Response from Warsaw and Brussels: Historian Piotr Cywiński, the director of the museum, said on X that Braun’s comments were not only an “expression of antisemitism” but also a crime. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola reposted that message (Braun, elected as an MEP last year, is not aligned with a group in Parliament), and a prosecutor in Poland is looking into the case.
GENOCIDE, STILL A THING: “It is our duty to remember — to speak out against hatred and division, against genocide denial, and against the glorification of war criminals,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos will say in a video message in Bosnian at a ceremony in Bosnia and Herzegovina today to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.
RUSSIA’S WAR
SANCTIONS STALL AS FICO FEUDS: The EU’s 18th sanctions package is on the agenda when the bloc’s ambassadors meet in Coreper II today after failure to find agreement earlier this week.
Slovak slow-walk: Incensed by the deadline to ditch Russian gas in a separate proposal, Slovakia has been holding the sanctions hostage — including a ban on fuels refined from Russian oil, restrictions on Nord Stream-linked firms and support for a $45 per barrel crude price cap.
Down to the wire: It’s not looking good, for now. At least according to a statement Thursday from Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, who said he had yet to receive “clear guarantees, not political promises” about shoring up Slovakia financially for the loss of Russian gas.
Fact check: Commission analyses find Bratislava is unlikely to see gas prices skyrocket as a result of the plans to end reliance on Russian fuel. According to estimates seen by POLITICO, Slovakia historically made as much as $500 million from transiting the gas elsewhere, however.
Berlin vs. Bratislava: “I urgently ask Slovakia and its prime minister to give up the resistance and to free the way,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Rome Thursday.
Fico shot back that on behalf of the 900 German companies in Slovakia, Merz “should also care that after January 1, 2028, Slovakia has sufficient gas supplies at reasonable prices.”
Bilat? A direct meeting with Merz, Fico said, could “significantly move the matter forward.”
“COALITION OF THE WILLING” GETS HQ: The Coalition of the Willing will have a new permanent headquarters in Paris, with plans for a future coordination cell in Kyiv, as command structures for the future reassurance force are finalized, London announced. The multinational operational headquarters, led by the U.K. and France, will oversee all tactical and operational arrangements. The headquarters will rotate to London after the first year.
LISTEN UP — WHEN THE HALLWAY IS THE ONLY SAFE-ISH PLACE TO SLEEP: This week’s edition of the EU Confidential podcast offers a striking juxtaposition. The host (your Playbook author) reports on the partisan squabbling over a largely symbolic vote in Strasbourg. Then, we transport you to Kyiv, where POLITICO’s own Veronika Melkozerova brings an arresting first-person account of life under constant threat of Russian missiles, from prosaic pains from sleeping in the hallway, to the existential dread of knowing you could die any day. Listen and subscribe here.
CONFIDENCE TRICKS
MEPS STAND THEIR GROUND BY … NOT SHOWING UP: Among lawmakers’ multiple cross-party grievances with Ursula von der Leyen: The Commission president’s recent moves to bypass the European Parliament on a key defense spending plan. Some MEPs are so mad they want to sue the Commission.
And yet, and yet: When MEPs had the chance to weigh in directly on keeping this same Commission afloat, some 166 out of 719 didn’t vote on the motion to censure. That meant only 553 MEPs made a choice (for, against, abstain).
By comparison: Just a few minutes later, 636 cast a ballot on a resolution calling for the release of a British citizen detained in the United Arab Emirates.
Maybe they were just late? The censure vote passed so quickly after the plenary started that you’d miss it if you blinked, or were running a few minutes behind. Playbook spied one European People’s Party MEP buzzing around the entrance to the hemicycle after the session had started. She indeed appears to be one of 19 EPP members who didn’t vote, despite unequivocal promises from EPP boss Manfred Weber that the whole group would back von der Leyen — though her name does appear on the roll call of the following vote.
Some were voting with their feet: As this excellent, data-driven analysis of the vote by my colleague Hanne Cokelaere shows, 44 percent of European Conservative and Reformist MEPs no-showed. That’s ironic, given the motion was put forward by an ECR lawmaker. Yet delegations from Italy, Czechia and others announced that they were intentionally disengaging.
“In a complex international context — while the European Union is engaged in finalizing trade negotiations with the United States and discussions are ongoing in Rome regarding Europe’s role in the reconstruction of Ukraine — we believe it would be counterproductive to allow internal divisions within the Union to prevail,” they said in a statement, sounding downright centrist.
Still, there’s unity and there’s apathy, and looking at those numbers, it’s hard to tell the difference.
IRISH IRE OVER GAZA: Eighteen lawmakers showed up and voted to formally abstain. Irish MEPs were disproportionately among them, including Renew’s Barry Andrews, who cited von der Leyen’s inaction on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Ciaran Mullooly was the only member of the Socialists & Democrats who voted for the censure; he likewise said it was a statement about Gaza.
ANOTHER NOTABLE ABSTENTION: Lithuanian S&D member Vytenis Andriukaitis, one of the few MEPs who has actually been part of the College of Commissioners. (He led health under Jean-Claude Juncker.) “I see lack of leadership and lack of genuine EU efforts addressing main challenges of our time,” he told my colleague Mari Eccles, laying out a laundry list of concerns ranging from the European Health Union to “building a strong global coalition against Russian aggression.”
VON DER LEYEN’S SUBTWEET: The Commission president marked this muted show of support with her own indifferent reply, posted on X about half an hour after the vote: “We need everyone to deliver on our common challenges. Together. … Thank you, and long live Europe.”
VDL, DAY 1: In this must-read analysis, Nick Vinocur calls Thursday “the true political start of von der Leyen’s second term in power.”
There will be grudges: If you talk to Socialists, they cast this as the type of marital quarrel that makes long-time spouses realize how much, in the end, they love each other. “I think that she finally understood what is happening in Parliament,” trumpeted MEP René Repasi, a top S&D MEP from Germany.
But if you talk to EPP players, you hear a very different tone — anger at the Socialists for using the motion to extract concessions. “It shows the extreme right groups that if they do crazy stuff, it’s only the left that … will claim victory for it,” said Dirk Gotink, an EPP lawmaker from the Netherlands who is close to Weber.
“It’s for the center parties to evolve,” he continued. “If you claim to be one of the winners of this process, as the S&D is doing, then you have to think, ‘OK, what exactly is your purpose?’”
NOW READ THIS: Von der Leyen vs. Weber: The EU’s climate fight reaches its endgame, by Karl Mathiesen and Zia Weise.
IN OTHER NEWS
THE TRACTORS ARE COMING: Lucia Mackenzie has everything you need to know about the Common Agricultural Policy, which accounts for a third of the EU’s current long-term budget. With the EU’s next seven-year budget proposal due to be presented on Wednesday, Massimiliano Giansanti, the head of Europe’s powerful Copa farming lobby, warns: “I have the tractor and I’m ready.”
Also bracing for the next MFF: The EU’s club of wannabe autocrats. The Commission is set to tighten the screws on countries that breachdemocratic norms by linking billions in payouts to adherence to European standards, Gregorio Sorgi reports.
BERLIN SPEAKS TRUMP’S LANGUAGE: The German government plans to purchase 15 additional F-35 fighter jets, several people familiar with the matter told POLITICO’s Chris Lunday and Josh Groeneveld.
KYIV’S NEXT TRUMP WHISPER: Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is the leading contender to be Kyiv’s next ambassador to the United States, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday. The close Zelenskyy ally would replace Oksana Markarova, who has fallen out of favor with Republicans over her role in a controversial 2024 visit by the Ukrainian president to a Scranton munition plant with Democratic lawmakers up for reelection. More in National Security Daily.
NOW READ THIS: Is the Trump-Putin bromance really over? Jamie Dettmer takes a deep dive.
FRIDAY FUNNY: Paul Dallison is back at the helm of the Declassified humor column (the title of which this week is a little NSFW).