ND gains from energy, US, poll shows
Ruling New Democracy gained modestly in a Pulse poll conducted for Skai, buoyed by energy initiatives and strong cooperation with the US, the survey showed. ND rose 0.5 percentage points to 24.5%, maintaining a double-digit lead over second-place PASOK, which increased to 11.5%.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1287380/nd-gains-from-energy-us-poll-shows
Farming subsidies case witness refusal ignites Parliament uproar
A major political confrontation erupted on Thursday after Giorgos Xylouris, known as “Frapes,” refused to testify before the Parliament’s investigative committee examining alleged irregularities in agricultural subsidies.
Russia accuses Greece of ‘confrontational course,’ says it will respond
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Athens on Thursday of pursuing a “provocative, confrontational course” against the Russian Federation and taking “openly unfriendly steps” due to its decision to cooperate with Ukraine in constructing and using unmanned maritime vessels (UMVs).
Greece’s 2026 state budget projects higher borrowing and early debt repayment
The State will proceed with higher borrowing and early repayment of loans from the memoranda in 2026.
According to the State Budget submitted to Parliament by the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the State’s net borrowing will reach 13 billion euros in 2026 from approximately 8 billion euros this year.
ATHEX: New advance for majority of stocks
The Greek stock market moved in harmony with most other eurozone bourses on Thursday, extending the gains it had recorded on Wednesday. There was across-the-board growth, with all sectors and capitalizations contributing, though the day’s turnover lagged somewhat. The heights that the benchmark at Athinon Avenue achieved on previous occasions could not be sustained, so it remains to be seen whether the situation will be different this time, and whether the index will actually reach new heights.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1287378/athex-new-advance-for-majority-of-stocks
KATHIMERINI: The Greek SAFE procurement list
TA NEA: LSE survey: Greece is a “coffee economy”
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Parliament’s investigative committee into farm subsidies scams: Full-on cover-up
RIZOSPASTIS: State budget 2026 is a tool escalating the tax-heist and war preparations
KONTRA NEWS: Farming subsidies case witness Giorgos Xylouris, known as “Frapes“, was helped by New Democracy to escape Parliament’s investigative committee – The lottery tickets of the “butcher”
DIMOKRATIA: New Democracy’s collusion with farming subsidies case witness Giorgos Xylouris, known as “Frapes“
NAFTEMPORIKI: State-budget: the record and the challenges of 2026
DRIVING THE DAY: UKRAINE DIPLOMACY
U.S. TOUTS “AGGRESSIVE TIMELINE” FOR PEACE: European officials are scrambling to weigh in on a peace deal that Washington wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign in the coming days. The deal, which Axios and others have published in full, requires Kyiv to make significant concessions.
Europe speaks up: Following reports that the 28-point plan would force Kyiv to reduce the size of its army, hand over the entire Donbas and legally recognize territories seized by Moscow’s forces, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas weighed in to say it contained “no concessions from Russia.” Among other measures, the plan would see Russia invited to rejoin the G8.
Ceasefire first: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Russia must “immediately halt the attacks on energy infrastructure” now that winter is beginning, Hans von der Burchard reports. Wadephul added that he had spoken with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff — who is behind the 28-point plan — as well as his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. Read more on Europe’s reaction by Tim Ross, Veronika Melkozerova, your Playbook author and Eli Stokols.
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Talking up a storm: An EU official texted Playbook that there was a “flurry of diplomacy” ongoing as Europeans try to shore up the Ukrainian position and avoid a agreement that’s lopsided in Russia’s favor. “We can’t afford a deal that endangers European security,” the official said.
Limited options: But there is also recognition in Brussels that, despite the fact Europe is now footing most of the bill for Ukraine, options are limited: “There’s only so much we can do,” wrote the same official.
U.S. Ambassador Julie Davis told reporters in Kyiv (including my colleague Veronika) that work would be ongoing along an “aggressive timeline” in coming days to seal the deal, with U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll remaining in Ukraine today to continue talks following an hour-long meeting with Zelenskyy on Thursday. The FT reports that the Trump administration wants a deal by Thanksgiving, on Nov. 27.
Toning it down: Dave Butler, communications adviser to the U.S. Army’s chief of staff, said the U.S. and Ukraine were discussing a “collaborative” and “comprehensive” plan to end the war.
Behind closed doors: The emphasis on collaboration hints at flexibility on some demands in the plan — which Ukraine’s foreign minister blasted on Thursday during closed-door comments with EU foreign ministers, according to a person aware of his remarks. “They want Ukraine to capitulate,” Andrii Sybiha said during a video call, per the same person.
Mystery plan: One U.S. official who was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations declined to confirm what exactly was in the plan presented by Driscoll to Zelenskyy, saying “there are reports in the press, some of which are well-founded and some of which are not.”
Running short on cards: But Kyiv remains in a vulnerable position following the revelation of a major corruption scandal affecting people close to Zelenskyy, and with a major cash crunch coming early next year.
The bottom line: Ukraine has been here before, namely when Trump sought to impose a lopsided mining agreement on Kyiv. The Ukrainian side ultimately agreed to the plan, with considerable modifications. But despite all the drama, the deal didn’t bring peace any closer. This time may be no different.
EU-PALESTINE
CRITICS BLAST TALKFEST: The EU’s Palestine Donor Group meeting was billed as an attempt to influence the Gaza peace process and claim a spot on Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which was set up to supervise Hamas’ disarmament and Gaza’s reconstruction. But EU lawmakers from the right and left blasted Thursday’s conference as ineffectual, Seb Starcevic, Max Griera and Gerardo Fortuna report.
Strike 1: “Brussels would like to give the impression of leadership, but in reality the Palestine Donor Group is yet another symbolic meeting,” Anders Vistisen, chief whip of the far-right Patriots for Europe group, told POLITICO.
Strike 2: Hana Jalloul, a Socialists and Democrats MEP, said the conference had no chance of making the EU a real player in Gaza — “but dreaming is free.”
What they pledged: The EU, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Spain committed an additional €82 million to the Palestinian Authority, bringing the amount pledged this year to €88 million. “We want to be players,” Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica insisted this week, “and not only payers.”
What’s behind it: It’s all about backing the Palestinian Authority, which Europe hopes will play a post-conflict role in Gaza. But the power and relevance of the body, which exercises partial control over the Palestinian areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has faded in recent years amid corruption allegations and low support from Palestinians.
Glass half empty: Several critics argued that the EU was repackaging things it has previously done — send money and hope for the best.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
PLUM JOB: EPP chief Manfred Weber’s right-hand man Udo Zolleis is on a shortlist of candidates to become the director for academia, research and foresight within the Parliament’s research services, a new position that two officials said has been created for him, Max Griera reports. (Zolleis made our 2025 POLITICO 28 list for being the brain behind EPP’s rapprochement with Parliament’s far-right forces.)
Omertà: On Monday, the Parliament’s vice presidents are due to sign off on the shortlist of candidates for the job. But while the EPP seems to have it all sewn up, other groups aren’t expected to raise a stink, given all parties are guilty of trying to place their soldiers in high positions, a third senior official with knowledge of the discussions told POLITICO.
Officially, the new department Zolleis is likely to lead has been created as part of a bigger reshuffle of the administration that aims to allocate more resources to policy-making departments.
The move to beef up Parliament’s research capacity, which follows a rejig of the communications department, aims to“ensure structured collaboration with the academic community, enabling Parliament to consistently access a network of experts who can ensure timely input of high scientific quality at every stage of the legislative process,” according to a note from the secretary-general, seen by POLITICO.
Unofficially, the two first officials argue that the job has been tailored to Zolleis (as first reported by Euractiv).
Filling Macron’s building: Zolleis has a side job lecturing at the University of Tübingen, and some have suggested the fact the new post will be based in Strasbourg is for his convenience (it’s just 2.5 hours from Tübingen). More likely: Parliament is increasingly sending non-legislative posts to Strasbourg to fill up the gargantuan Osmose building that the French government forced it to rent in 2023, two officials said.
COP ON FIRE
“FIRE, IT IS FIRE, FIRE”: Delegates fled the venue at the U.N. climate talks Thursday after a fire broke out. Video footage showed huge flames briefly consuming a part of the site set aside for events and national booths. The fire was contained, the U.N. said, and there were no injuries. The cause was unknown, Karl Mathiesen writes in to report.
Eyewitness: “We only heard the rush, everyone running, running, and then someone shouted, ‘It’s fire, it is fire, fire,’” said Reginaldo Santos, a member of the summit’s technical support team.
File under metaphors too obvious to use: The talks, supposed to stop the planet from burning, were heading for a critical final act last night, with wealthy countries and developing nations divided over how fast to cut emissions and who should pay. The Brazilian presidency was due to propose a final deal when the fire broke out. But that was delayed. A U.N. spokesperson said delegates would be updated with a new plan.
Rapid-fire spin: “We don’t know how the fire at COP30 started, but we do know who set the climate ablaze: the fossil fuel industry. It’s time we hold those arsonists accountable and make polluters pay for the damage they’ve done,” said Jamie Henn, a spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign.
IN OTHER NEWS
THE FAR RIGHT GOES PRO: What happens when the far right stops being a protest movement and starts competing for real power? In this week’s episode of the EU Confidential podcast, host Sarah Wheaton looks at the collapse of the cordon sanitaire in Brussels and around Europe with POLITICO’s Tim Ross, Max Griera and Marianne Gros, and Aitor Hernández-Morales analyzes the counter-trend in Denmark, where voters in local elections lurched leftward. Listen and subscribe here.
EUROPOL CHIEF WARNS OF CHILD GROOMING VIA VIDEO GAMES: Criminal networks are “weaponizing children” in Europe to commit torture and murder, recruiting them through games and smartphones — and parents often have no idea, Europol’s Catherine De Bolle said in a joint interview with POLITICO and Welt.
GREENING CORPORATE FLEETS FATE UNCERTAIN: The greening corporate fleets measure is so politically controversial that the Commission may opt to delay the legislation or drop it entirely, three sources familiar with the matter told my colleague Jordyn Dahl. The initiative, along with the reform of the 2035 de-facto combustion engine ban, is set to be presented by the Commission on Dec. 10 as part of a broader automotive package. The Commission declined to comment.
GRIM READ: Alex Perry has this detailed profile of TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné, who struck a deal that would see his company accused of complicity in war crimes.
SÁNCHEZ VS. THE JUDGES: Spain’s Supreme Court on Thursday banned Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz from holding public office for two years for allegedly leaking details of a tax probe involving the partner of Madrid’s regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a rising star among the country’s conservative voters. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has long accused conservative judges of pursuing baseless cases against his allies and family, and the latest ruling — which has raised eyebrows among legal experts due to the lack of evidence against García Ortiz — risks turning the clash between the executive and judicial branches into a full-blown constitutional crisis. Aitor has the story here.
TRUMP DOES DAVOS: Donald Trump agreed to return to the World Economic Forum in Davos in January after organizers promised his team that “woke” topics would be off the agenda, the FT reports.
FRIDAY FEATURE: Paul Dallison investigates crimes against Italian food in this week’s Declassified humor column.