US lawmakers sound alarm over Turkey’s aggressive behavior, urge Trump to confront Erdogan
A bipartisan coalition of US lawmakers is raising serious concerns about Turkey’s increasingly unpredictable and hostile behavior under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging President Donald Trump to directly address him in any upcoming meeting. In a detailed and forceful letter, the lawmakers warn that Ankara’s conduct threatens NATO cohesion, undermines regional stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and stands in direct opposition to core US interests, allies and values.
Kasselakis convicted over discrepancy in wealth declaration
An Athens court on Thursday convicted Stefanos Kasselakis, the leader of the Movement for Democracy party, to a suspended prison sentence of 30 months and slapped him with a 50,000 euro fine over a discrepancy in the wealth declaration he submitted while he was president of leftist opposition SYRIZA.
IPTO: Trial operation of Crete–Attica power interconnection begins
Final equipment tests and inspections are nearing completion at the Damasta Converter Station in Heraklion, marking the start of the trial phase for the Crete-Attica electricity interconnection, according to the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO).
BoG: 40.7 million tourists visited Greece in 2024
Tourism revenues reached 21.6 billion euros in 2024, according to final figures announced by the Bank of Greece (BoG) on Thursday. This amount is an increase of 4.8% compared to 2023.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/902417/BoG-407-million-tourists-visited-Greece-in-2024
ATHEX: Stock prices take a weary step back
Greek stocks showed some fatigue on Thursday, with the main index dropping back to Monday’s levels, in contrast to the international sentiment that prevailed and led to gains across most bourses. The uncertainty and volatility that persist contained any bolder moves.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1269158/athex-stock-prices-take-a-weary-step-back
KATHIMERINI: Multitude of laws costs businesses dearly
TA NEA: New version of auxiliary pensions ante portas
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Prohibition of event at the Athens polytechnic school: Return to dark days
RIZOSPASTIS: We keep the flame alive in order for socialism to finally win
KONTRA NEWS: India-Pakistan: Global fear of a nuclear conflict
DIMOKRATIA: Curt ruling: Kasselakis is a fraudster
NAFTEMPORIKI: Reduction of direct taxes with surgical precision
HOWDY. Sarah Wheaton here, welcoming you to this Friday edition of Brussels Playbook. Amid all these celebrations of the end of World War II, we’ve been thinking of our late grandmother Susie, who enlisted at age 24 to serve in a pioneering women’s unit of U.S. Army nurses. A true badass, she treated wounded soldiers under torrents of buzz bombs at a hospital on the citadel of Liège. We wonder what she’d think if she were alive to visit her granddaughter in Belgium today.
Nick Vinocur takes the lead on Monday’s Brussels Playbook.
THE NEXT POPE IS AN AMERICAN GLOBALIST: Robert Francis Prevost, known as the “Latin Yankee” and now Pope Leo XIV, marks continuity with Francis’ progressivism, but offers a steadier hand after a divisive 12 years, report Ben Munster and Hannah Roberts.
Steve Bannon called Leo the “worst pick for MAGA Catholics,” my Stateside colleagues write. That vitriol comes after a social media account under the pope’s name repeatedly criticized the Trump administration over its stance on immigration, Ali Bianco and Gregory Svirnovskiy report.
Francis the bridge-builder — in death, at least. Whatever European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said to Donald Trump during their “brief exchange” on the sidelines of the late pontiff’s funeral seems to have had a miraculous effect. On Thursday, Trump said she is “so fantastic” and that he hopes to meet.
Possessed? Trump followed that up with a social media post promising to “stay committed to securing Peace between Russia and Ukraine, together with the Europeans.” Write-up here.
DRIVING THE DAY: A TALE OF 2 CITIES
GRASPING AT FORMER WORLDS: In Moscow, they’re trying to resurrect an empire. In Lviv, they’re trying to resurrect the international order.
Split screen: Russian President Vladimir Putin will host an expected 29 heads of state/government for a military parade to celebrate Russia’s success in World War II, when it sided with Western allies. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European foreign ministers — including Germany’s Johann Wadephul — will convene in Lviv to endorse a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes.
TRYING FOR A TRIBUNAL: “There will be no impunity,” Kallas told reporters Thursday, promising “accountability for the crimes committed” and “for those who have really started this war.”
Details: A group of 42 countries has been working on the legal basis for this tribunal for over two years, Hans von der Burchard writes in to report while en route to Ukraine. Based at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, the court could soon begin its work if two-thirds of the Council’s members vote in favor.
Missing ally: Under Trump, Washington has withdrawn its support for the tribunal — at least for the time being. The other G7 states are on board, as is the EU, apart (as usual) from Hungary and Slovakia. Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Guatemala have also signed on.
MEANWHILE, IN MOSCOW …
PUTIN FLEXES HIS INFLUENCE: Chinese President Xi Jinping is Putin’s guest of honor at today’s military parade in Red Square. On Thursday, the two agreed to “defend the formation of a more just and democratic multipolar world order,” according to a Kremlin readout, via CNN. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was also expected to hold a bilateral with Putin.
Also on parade: Militaries from 13 countries, including several former Soviet republics, are expected to join the parade, the Kyiv Independent reports.
EUROPEAN LEADERS ATTEND, TOO: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is set to be the only EU leader in attendance, along with Aleksandar Vučić, president of Serbia, an EU accession aspirant. Here’s a video of Fico and Vučić palling around in Moscow, posted to the Serb’s Instagram account, and another of Vučić shaking hands with Putin.
That’s awkward: Council President António Costa is booked to visit Belgrade on Monday. “We don’t engage only to pass easy and good messages,” an official told reporters in a briefing ahead of Costa’s trip.
FIDIAS’ EXCELLENT “ADVENTURE”: Cypriot internet-prankster-turned-MEP Fidias Panayiotou will also be on the ground in Moscow, report my colleagues Max Griera, Eliza Gkritsi and Nicholas Vinocur.
YOLO: “He says that we have to talk to the Russians, that we have to exercise diplomacy. He got the opportunity to go, and he is now going to practice it,” said an adviser, who specified that Panayiotou won’t attend the parade. “He goes on the adventure to document what he sees.”
Also going: MEPs from Germany’s far-left BSW alliance and Fico’s SMER party.
BALTS AIM TO RAIN ON RUSSIA’S PARADE: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania closed their airspace to diplomats and dignitaries traveling to Moscow for the parade. Fico, for one, had to travel through Dagestan, Reuters reported.
THERE’S A NEW CHANCELLOR IN TOWN
MERZ IN BRUSSELS: Friedrich Merz will be in Brussels today for his first visit since becoming the German chancellor. But blink and you’ll miss him — he’s only here for five hours, reports Hans von der Burchard in today’s Berlin Playbook.
Packed schedule: Merz plans to meet Council chief Costa, Commission President von der Leyen and Parliament boss Roberta Metsola, as well as NATO’s Mark Rutte. Timing in the agenda section.
Making things awkward: A Table Media report, which the government denied, that Germany was planning to declare a national emergency so it could tighten border controls. That ruffled feathers across Europe on Thursday; no doubt Costa will have questions this morning.
Also on the agenda: The EU budget as well as joint EU defense debt. On the latter, Merz isn’t saying no, Hans reports, but wants to ensure greater efficiency in rearmament and in how funds are used.
Donald debrief: Ukraine and Trump will be the focus of Merz’s visit to NATO headquarters, per Hans, with the chancellor expected to debrief Rutte on his Thursday call with the American president. (During the conversation, Merz and Trump agreed to “close cooperation with the goal of ending the war in Ukraine,” according to the German side, with Trump vowing to “strongly support” efforts for “a lasting peace.” The two leaders also agreed to “resolve trade disputes quickly.” Speaking of which …
TRADING BLOWS
A (REAL) BREXIT DIVIDEND: Nine years ago, Barack Obama said Brexit would put Britain at the “back of the queue” for a U.S. trade deal. On Thursday, Britain was at the front of the line — securing the U.S.’s first bilateral carve-out deal from Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The American president said London had “Brexit in particular” to thank. POLITICO’s transatlantic team has the blow-by-blow of how the deal came together — a must-read this morning.
BOURBON (TAX) IS BACK ON THE TABLE: But back in Brussels, the European Commission unveiled its latest proposals for retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on Thursday.
Holy spirit: One of the more eye-catching products is bourbon, making a comeback after it was removed under pressure by wine-making countries from the previous round of EU retaliations back in April. Aircraft, meanwhile, are the biggest-ticket items on the 200-page catalog of more than 4,800 goods.
Aiming for a deal: Thegoal remains to go back to the way things were before, with practically no mutual tariffs.
… but if not: “If we don’t get down from 10 percent, there’s no negotiation, no deal,” a senior Commission official said, referring to the baseline tariffs that the U.S. is imposing on pretty much everyone — and that could go up to 20 percent against the EU. Full coverage from Camille Gijs, Koen Verhelst and Giovanna Coi.
SEJOURNÉ’S PITCH TO STICK AROUND: Commission Industrial Strategy EVP Stéphane Séjourné is aiming to counter businesses’ temptation to move to the U.S. (or China) amid Trump’s tariff threats — with an onslaught of op-eds.
The gist: Europe’s more socially responsible “model offers the long-term predictability that is essential for anyone wishing to invest,” he argues, while promising to unravel some of the red tape that resulted from that approach.
Where it’s running: News outlets in 17 EU countries plan to publish the piece over the coming days: France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Spain, Austria, Greece, Latvia, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria.
NOW READ THIS: Chinese companies bought up European ports — and Brussels is starting to worry.
GREEN DEAL GOES GRAY
HOW CARMAKERS FOUGHT CO2 RULES AND WON: After months of intense lobbying, Europe’s automakers scored a massive political win on Thursday after the European Parliament approved an amendment that will change how carmakers’ emissions are calculated.
Why it matters: The victory is the first crack in the climate agenda that dominated the previous Commission as competitiveness and industrial policy push the Green Deal to the sidelines.
Catch up: Originally, automakers had to reduce their carbon emissions by 15 percent by 2025 compared to a 2021 baseline. Those that failed to hit the target would have to pay €95 for every gram of CO2 emitted above the limit per kilometer per non-compliant vehicle sold. Now, carmakers emissions will be averaged over three years. Read more from Jordyn Dahl.
THROWING CASH AT FARMING DISASTERS: The European Commission wants to give out more cash to support farmers hit by natural disasters while weakening the very green rules that are meant to safeguard the environment, report Louise Guillot, Lucia Mackenzie and Jakob Weizman.
Green rollback: That’s the main takeaway of a planned package of reforms to simplify EU farm policies, which account for over a third of the bloc’s total spending, according to a draft seen by POLITICO. It follows up on a major rollback of the Green Deal last year, as rural protests overshadowed campaigning for the European election last June.
IN OTHER NEWS
ALBANIA VOTES: The Republican strategist who guided Donald Trump’s 2024 political resurrection is helping Albania’s main opposition party stage an unlikely revival ahead of Sunday’s high-stakes national election, Una Hajdari reports.
ISRAEL INITIATIVE REVERBERATES THROUGH DUTCH COALITION: Days after Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp wrote to the EU’s top diplomat asking for an urgent review of the bloc’s association agreement with Israel over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, far-right leader Geert Wilders slammed the government’s “ridiculous anti-Israel measures.” He also demanded to know why his PVV party, which controls the most seats in parliament and underpins the four-party coalition, wasn’t consulted beforehand.
Shrugging it off: A Dutch government official told POLITICO that the foreign minister was not obliged to get all parties on board before sending the letter. The government’s coalition agreement mentions speaking out about human rights violations, the official said — and dismissed Wilders’ objections as simply using the issue to stir up his base.
LISTEN UP — RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE: Why are Germans and Romanians feeling so bitter about the political establishment — and will the Trump effect help or hurt the pro-Western mainstream? POLITICO reporters join this week’s EU Confidential podcast, with Nette Nöstlinger parsing Merz’s weakened state, while Carmen Paun and Tim Ross shed light on why so many Romanians feel left behind as they choose their next president. Listen and subscribe here.
Speaking of Romania’s election: Presidential hopefuls George Simion and Nicușor Dan faced off in a marathon debate lasting more than four hours in Bucharest last night, hosted by Euronews. POLITICO’s Carmen Paun writes in to report independent candidate Dan said he backed continued support for Ukraine, while nationalist Simion said he’d put his country first and that he wanted Kyiv to repay Bucharest for some of the help it has provided over the past three years.
More from Simion … In this interview with Max Griera.rica, former service personnel enjoy far better aftercare, Emilio reports.