Tripoli asserts claims against Athens
Libya continues asserting maritime rights in the Eastern Mediterranean against Greece through UN submissions, despite Athens’ attempts to improve bilateral relations. Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) operates as Turkey’s proxy, remaining heavily dependent on Ankara’s support and aligning with Turkish regional priorities.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1275662/tripoli-asserts-claims-against-athens
Opposition condemns House panel on ex-minister’s Tempe train crash role
Opposition parties PASOK, SYRIZA and New Left walked out of a meeting of the parliamentary committee tasked with investigating former transport minister Kostas Karamanlis in connection with the Tempe rail tragedy and determining whether to lift his immunity from criminal prosecution. A parliamentary vote set for Tuesday will decide whether former transport minister Kostas A. Karamanlis will be referred to the Judicial Council over alleged misconduct tied to the 2023 Tempe train disaster.
Greek PM, EU commissioner meeting focuses on reducing energy bills for households, businesses
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with European Commissioner for Energy & Housing Dan Jørgensen at Maximos Mansion on Thursday. They discussed priorities related to Jørgensen’s portfolio and issues of Greek interest, especially the reduction of energy price lists for households and businesses, as well as the importance of connectiviy projects of common European interest for the Union’s energy security.
IOBE: Greek economy to grow 2.2% in 2025, 2.4% in 2026
The Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOBE) reaffirmed its assessment of a +2.2% growth for the Greek economy in 2025, in its quarterly report on the Greek economy presented on Thursday.
For 2026, IOBE predicted a +2.4% growth.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/919751/IOBE-Greek-economy-to-grow-22-in-2025–24-in-2026
ATHEX: Another leap for bourse benchmark
The Greek stock market took a leap forward on Thursday, as the vast majority of stocks posted growth and the benchmark registered yet another 15-year high, revisiting levels unseen since mid-April 2010. The rise ion other eurozone bourses, the expectation of more mergers and acquisitions domestically, the flow of positive reports on local stocks (especially lenders) by foreign firms, and the upcoming second-quarter results of banks combined to give prices a fresh push on Athinon Avenue.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1275668/athex-another-leap-for-bourse-benchmark
KATHIMERINI: Libya is playing Ankara’s game
TA NEA: OPEKEPE scandal – EU attorneys: “Heavy” accusations
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The 1993 Presidential Decree refutes New Democracy’s claims regarding the fatal Tempi rail-crash
RIZOSPASTIS: “New national railway organization” is following the policies of the EU and profiteers which led to the deadly Tempi rail-crash
KONTRA NEWS: Black market in ferry tickets
DIMOKRATIA: The government is phobic towards Libya as well
NAFTEMPORIKI: EU: 3 shields with joint loans worth 400 bln
BREAKING OVERNIGHT — SANCTIONS BREAKTHROUGH: EU ambassadors have been called to a last-minute meeting at 8 a.m. today, per three diplomats, after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico indicated Thursday night that he was ready to lift his block on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia.
Reminder: Fico had been using the need for unanimous approval for sanctions as leverage in a different battle, over a planned phase-out of Russian gas. In a Facebook video Thursday, he boasted about vetoing the sanctions six times before obtaining written guarantees from the Commission this week to mitigate potential price spikes and shortages.
Fico’s lesson — this works: The PM said he’d authorized his envoy to clear the way for sanctions today. “But right after that, the second stage of our battle with the European Commission over Russian gas begins.” If the guarantees fall through, he continued, “then with a smile on my face I remind you that Brussels officials, detached from reality, are already working diligently on another useless package.”
HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here for this Friday edition of Brussels Playbook, where we are wishing a hearty congratulations to Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth for completing her seven-week, unpaid internship at the EU economics think tank Bruegel. It’s part of her pursuit of a masters in public policy at Harvard, the Belgian Royal Palace said on Insta. Playbook presumes that if the heir to the throne engaged in any celebratory overindulgence at Plux last night, it will not be documented on that account.
Nick Vinocur will help you recover from any weekend overindulgence on Monday.
DRIVING THE DAY: TRUMP TRADE WAR
EU PREPARES FOR “RETALIATORY RAT HOLE”: That’s how White House trade adviser Peter Navarro so vividly put the potential tit-for-tat as he offered some advice to Brussels on Thursday. “I would just urge the Europeans to work with us, acknowledge the unfairness of this, and don’t go down the retaliatory rat hole, because that will end badly for Europe.”
Was the conversation behind the scenes equally hostile? EU ambassadors will be hoping to find out from Maroš Šefčovič today, my colleague Camille Gijs writes in to report. The jet-setting trade commissioner is due back in Brussels after another emergency mission to Washington — this time to salvage a trade deal with Donald Trump’s administration.
While you were MFFing: The well-traveled Slovak boarded a United Airlines flight to Washington at short-notice on Wednesday to make a Thursday meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Latest Trump complaint: “It’s a difficult, difficult negotiation, because they cheat us so badly,” Navarro told Fox Business Network on Thursday, accusing the EU of being a “transshipment point” for goods coming from China.
In case those negotiations indeed prove too difficult: As my colleagues scooped on Thursday, Brussels is already prepping for a no-deal situation on Aug. 1, with 30 percent tariffs set to kick in. This third round of retaliatory measures could impose curbs on trade in services and procurement. Šefčovič floated the idea during a meeting of EU trade ministers earlier this week, and said preparatory work was under way for measures other than goods, four EU diplomats told Camille, Koen Verhelst and Gabriel Gavin.
Deescalation? One idea to break the impasse would be for both sides to drop auto tariffs by 10 percentage points — to zero for the EU and to 15 percent for the U.S., the FT reported late Thursday. We’ve heard steers coming out of Berlin, but haven’t had confirmation that this proposal has been brought to the negotiating table.
MFF’S DEATH BY TAXES
IN A WORD — NEIN: When it comes to funding the EU’s next seven-year budget, taxing companies is out, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters Thursday.
And, oh yeah, that’s a hard no on joint debt too. Full write-up from Nette Nöstlinger.
Reality check: This is the stage in the two-year negotiation process when everyone stakes out their most maximalist positions. We’d say it’s premature to fully rule out Berlin backing joint debt. Per Merz, it was “permissible as an exception” during the Covid pandemic — perhaps another permissible exception will reveal itself?
Still, the tax thing is gonna be a hard sell, Gregorio Sorgi writes in to report. National capitals are already wary of handing the Commission powers to tax. To make things worse, the Berlaymont’s new proposals ― targeting non-recycled electric waste, tobacco products and companies with a turnover exceeding €100 million ― have weak backing. “We do not see the need for new own resources,” said Sweden’s EU Affairs Minister Jessica Rosencrantz. Does it get any clearer than that?
Vibe check: Ahead of the Commission’s presentation to EU affairs ministers at the General Affairs Council today, the team at Morning Financial Services struggled to find a single country supporting the plan.
The idea of taxing corporations goes against the EU’s competitiveness drive and is a hard sell for big countries. The tobacco option is not a walk in the park either, as some countries ― Italy, Greece and Romania ― oppose introducing a levy on e-cigarettes in the first place. Several countries support the new tax, but are against funneling the extra revenue to the EU budget.
Drawing particular ire: a plan to tax companies with more than €100 million in revenue — especially because it would be paid whether the firm is turning a profit or not.
Turnover do-over? Zsolt Darvas, a senior fellow at Bruegel, said taxing turnover instead of profits is “very bad.” That makes the tax regressive, putting firms with different financial conditions in the same basket. “It is not correct, it’s just not fair,” Darvas said. “It is probably the worst option.” The full article by Giovanna Faggionato is a must-read.
DIGITAL TAX FALLBACK: The EU’s industry chief Stéphane Séjourné opened the door to a digital tax if the other options fall short of a majority in an interview with POLITICO’s Francesca Micheletti. “I was rather in favor of a digital tax, on digital companies,” said the Frenchman, reflecting Paris’ eagerness toward a tech tax.
MORE MFF
VDL TO EUROPE’S CITIES: DROP DEAD. Local leaders were shocked that the Commission’s MFF proposal not only waters down cohesion funding for developing cities but also makes it much more difficult to access.
(National) government takeover:Moreover, national governments are poised to have absolute power over shaping and administering these funds, and there are no safeguards to stop them from punishing political rivals by refusing to allocate or distribute funds to the cities they govern. Aitor Hernández-Morales has more here.
LISTEN UP — BUDGET WINNERS AND LOSERS: In this week’s edition of the EU Confidential podcast, POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi and Bartosz Brzeziński break down the power struggle over Ursula von der Leyen’s long-term spending vision. And you’ll hear highlights from a POLITICO Pro panel featuring trade reporters Camille Gijs, Ari Hawkins, and trade and agriculture editor Doug Busvine. Listen and subscribe here.
ISRAEL-GAZA PIERCES THE BUBBLE
ANTI-ANTISEMITISM COORDINATOR UNDER PRESSURE: Fallout is building over remarks about the EU-Israel Association Agreement reportedly made by Katharina von Schnurbein, the Commission’s coordinator for fighting antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.
MEPs call for ouster: Reacting to a leaked diplomatic cable reported in EUObserver last week, 26 MEPs have called for von Schnurbein’s “immediate replacement,” saying alleged interventions “fall far outside the mandate of the EU antisemitism coordinator, and are undermining it.”
Signed by Renew, Socialist, Green and Left lawmakers, the letter to the Commission (also first reported by EUObserver) continues: “They are particularly problematic coming in a global context where legitimate criticism of the state of Israel is increasingly being obfuscated with antisemitism.”
Bummed bakers: According to the leaked cable, von Schnurbein described emerging “ambient antisemitism” and cited “bake sales for Gaza” in the EU institution as situations that create an uncomfortable atmosphere for Jews.
TheEUStaff4Peace group, which has been organizing such bake sales (including one at the EEAS this week) said it was “disturbed by the alleged accusations” made by von Schnurbein and that it hoped she would issue a “firm denial” of the reporting of her position, according to a statement seen by Gabriel Gavin.
RISING TO HER DEFENSE: The European Jewish Congress, an umbrella organization of national Jewish communities, condemned an “unfounded campaign against” von Schnurbein and sent out a press release supporting her. It said the Bavarian baroness, who has been in the role for nearly a decade, has been a “tireless champion of Jewish life in Europe” and that calls for her resignation are “based on false accusations and a misleading narrative.”
Commission’s unequivocal support: “The president supports all the coordinators in their difficult and challenging work,” a Commission spokesperson told POLITICO, adding that there would be “no comment whatsoever on unverified leaks from a closed meeting.” Von Schnurbein did not reply to a request for comment.
IN OTHER NEWS
CLIMATE FILE ONDŘEJ GOAL: MEP Ondřej Knotek, who recently called for the EU to abandon its 2040 climate target, is now in charge of leading negotiations on the new goal, Karl Mathiesen reports.
EU REALITY CHECK: France’s budget bombshell is a wake-up call for Europe as it veers toward bankruptcy, writes Carlo Martuscelli.
U.K. REALITY CHECK: Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government wants detailed negotiations on a planned agri-food agreement with the EU to begin in the fall and conclude in the first part of 2026, Jon Stone reports.
RO DIPLO SALARY SALVO: Senior Romanian diplomats penned are griping that the foreign ministry’s compensation levels haven’t kept up with other government departments, local outlet stiripesurse.ro reports.
FULL DETAILS OF THE UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT RESHUFFLE.
FASCINATING LONG READ: A double murder in Tehran has exposed growing anger over Iran’s brutal judiciary, reports Kourosh Ziabari.
WHAT’S TRUMP UP TO: The president last night said he’d sue the Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch over a bombshell report about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin unsealing grand jury testimony in the disgraced financier’s criminal case (write-up here).
Bruised: Trump was diagnosed with a common vein condition after he noticed swelling in his legs, the White House announced last night. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said bruising in his hands was “tissue damage from frequent handshaking” while taking aspirin. POLITICO has more details.
FRIDAY FUNNY: Giulia Poloni explores the great European vanishing act in the Declassified humor column.