Civil Protection on red alert as storm ‘Adel’ approaches
Civil Protection is on “red alert” ahead of a new wave of severe weather, named Adel, which is expected to hit the North Aegean and the Dodecanese in the coming hours. According to the National Meteorological Service, the storm is expected to bring very intense weather phenomena to certain areas.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/952215/Civil-Protection-on-red-alert-as-storm-Adel-approaches
Gov’t to credit €3.7 bln to farmers by end of 2025
The government has announced that more than €3.7 billion will be credited to the accounts of beneficiary farmers by the end of 2025. Rural Development and Food Minister Tsiaras said farmers are receiving more money this year than any other, with total payments from direct payments, programs and national and European funds reaching €3.7 billion in 2025. He noted that 195,900 pastures and 15,166 parcels with KAEK discrepancies will be excluded until corrections are made.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1288091/govt-to-credit-e3-7-bln-to-farmers-by-end-of-2025
Attica water security questioned as analysis points to significant shortfalls
An expert advising Greece’s Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water (RAAEY) is urging the declaration of a state of emergency for drought conditions in the Attica region, citing persistent water scarcity and the need for rapid protective measures. The authority, however, reached no decision on the matter during its meeting on Thursday.
Assets of former Novartis protected witnesses frozen
The Anti-Money Laundering Authority has frozen the assets of two former protected witnesses in the high-profile Novartis case, along with those of 12 additional individuals who allegedly received unexplained payments linked to them. The measure follows their conviction in September for false testimony and libel against a number of political figures, for which they received suspended sentences.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1288061/assets-of-former-novartis-protected-witnesses-frozen
ATHEX: Profit taking on banks leads index lower
Thursday put an end to the Greek bourse benchmark’s rising streak, though this was a mixed session, with the majority of stocks closing with growth, as did the mid-caps index. Profit taking focused on banks, following the growth recorded over the previous sessions. Turnover was predictably smaller, owing to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1288116/athex-profit-taking-on-banks-leads-index-lower
KATHIMERINI: The National Cadastre will issue construction permits
TA NEA: Construction permits to be issued via the national cadastre
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The great scam regarding the payment of farm subsidies
RIZOSPASTIS: The people do not consent to the dangerous plans of the government, the USA and NATO
KONTRA NEWS: The Germans are setting up a war scenery
DIMOKRATIA: The District Attorney made clues about the 717 railway upgrade contract vanish
NAFTEMPORIKI: AI controls for construction permits
DRIVING THE DAY: BELGIUM TORPEDOES UKRAINE LOAN
NEE, NON, NEIN, SAYS BELGIUM: Under huge pressure from EU leaders to tap into a pot of Russian frozen assets, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has pushed back forcefully against the plans in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling the proposed scheme “fundamentally wrong.”
Throwing the book at it: In the four-page letter obtained by POLITICO’s Gregorio Sorgi, the Flemish nationalist leader lays out a series of legal, historical and even folksy arguments to spell out his case against using the €140 billion in Russian assets, which are currently being held at Euroclear, the Brussels-based securities depository.
Payback is real: De Wever’s main point is that the risks of retaliation by Russia and massive financial blowback against Belgium over any use of the assets “are unfortunately not academic but real,” and unacceptable to his government without ironclad financial guarantees from other EU nations.
Our lawyers vs. your lawyers: The letter brushes away legal arguments advanced by EU officials which claim that Belgium can be shielded from accusations of breaking international law via careful construction of the loan agreement. Instead, he cites “specialized law firms” consulted by the government to assert that Belgium — and Euroclear globally — could face huge financial liabilities, while confidence in the euro would be irretrievably shaken.
Plane crash: On the risk that Belgium could lose a case against Russia before an international arbitration court over the loan, De Wever reaches for an aviation metaphor: “Let me use the analogy of a plane crash,” he writes. “Aircraft are the safest way of transportation and the chances of a crash are low, but in the event of a crash the consequences are disastrous.”
Right on cue: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (just as De Wever’s letter was going out) that Moscow was drawing up “reciprocal measures” to punish the EU if it decides to use the value of Russian assets to finance a reparations loan for Ukraine, Sascha Roslyakov reports.
Finally, De Wever argues that by using the reparation loan, the EU would be “preventing reaching an eventual peace deal” in the Russia-Ukraine war. Instead he presses the Commission to pursue “alternative ways to put our money where our mouth is,” arguing for the use of headroom in the EU budget to cover Ukraine’s financial needs to the tune of €46 billion in 2026.
Why it’s important: EU diplomats have repeated for weeks that using Russia’s frozen assets is the best, if not the only realistic option, that Europe has to keep Ukraine financially afloat in the coming year. De Wever’s pushback — three weeks away from a European Council meeting where the financing is meant to be sorted — throws a massive spanner in the works, potentially forcing the EU to pursue other risky avenues to finance Ukraine.
Crucially, De Wever doesn’t slam the door shut on the reparation loan. In the penultimate paragraph, he sets a high bar for agreement: a “full guarantee by willing member states” that would enable Euroclear to maintain liquidity of the Russian assets for their full amount. He wants that guarantee “delivered and signed by member states at the time of decision” — presumably at the Dec. 18-19 EUCO.
The bottom line: Belgium is digging in its heels. Unless EU countries can give ironclad financial guarantees amounting to tens of billions of euros, Brussels won’t sign on to the reparation loan scheme. Such guarantees may materialize — but De Wever’s laundry list of reasons not to agree to the scheme, including that it jeopardizes U.S.-led peace talks, suggests he’s already made up his mind.
EU PRESSES AHEAD
EU DIPLOMATS BRACE FOR LEGAL PROPOSALS: De Wever’s letter lands at an awkward time — just as EU diplomats are expecting to receive the Commission’s legal proposal for the reparation loan as soon as today.
What’s more: The legal proposals, which two EU diplomats said could be spread out over 11 legislative texts, may well call for mobilizing substantially more than €140 billion to help Ukraine, with a headline figure as large as €210 billion under consideration for the total package, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to Playbook and Gregorio Sorgi.
Mixed bag: The larger outlay, covering Ukraine’s financial needs for the next two years, would include assets held in other countries beyond Belgium and provisions for repaying a G7 loan as well as covering immediate financing needs via a “bridge” facility, the same people said.
Footing the whole bill: The larger amount suggests Brussels wants to send a powerful signal regarding continued support for Ukraine amid U.S.-led peace talks to end Russia’s war against Kyiv, from which Europe has been largely excluded.
Not letting up: With so much at stake, it’s unlikely that other EU states — including France and Germany — will simply throw up their hands and give up on the reparation loan. On the contrary, EU capitals are ramping up pressure on Brussels just as de Wever digs in his heels, accusing Belgium of profiting from tax receipts linked to the immobilized assets.
What are you hiding? In this must-read piece out today, Gregorio and Hans von der Burchard report, citing five diplomats, that tax revenue generated from the frozen assets is being folded into the Belgian national budget, making it impossible to determine whether Brussels is living up to its commitments to Kyiv.
Beg to differ: A Belgian official pushed back on that argument, saying all tax earned from the Russian reserves had been “earmarked” to Kyiv, but didn’t answer a question directly on whether it had all been paid out to Kyiv.
Not convinced: “In view of the data, there are doubts as to whether Belgium is delivering on its promise to send its windfall tax gains to Ukraine,” one of the diplomats said.
LATEST ON PEACE TALKS: Vladimir Putin has doubled down on core demands to end the war, namely that Ukraine relinquish control of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are mostly but not entirely controlled by Russia. “If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force of arms,” the Russian president was quoted as saying.
Negotiations between Ukrainian and U.S. officials will continue through the weekend, per Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — while European officials remain largely in the dark about the shape of the latest draft proposal. A senior EU diplomat said the latest version was being closely kept to avoid a repeat of last week’s frenzy after the leaking of a 28-point plan.
“It’s an unprecedented situation from a diplomatic point of view,” the diplomat said. “None of us have that information.”
UNPACKING THE PEACE PLAN: This week’s EU Confidential looks back at the scramble that followed the surprise peace blueprint, with yours truly as guest host. I check in with Veronika Melkozerova in Kyiv on how the talks are landing amid continued Russian strikes. Later, POLITICO’s Bjarke Smith-Meyer and Wouter Verschelden,author of Belgium’s influential political newsletter W16,explain why the EU still can’t agree on using Russia’s frozen assets — its biggest financial leverage — to support Ukraine. Listen and subscribe here.
CORDON COLLAPSES
SHOUTING MATCH IN STRASBOURG: The clearest sign of the growing rift between the European People’s Party (EPP) and its center-left allies in the European Parliament came on Wednesday, at the launch of a working group created by the right-wing majority probing whether the Commission funded NGOs to lobby lawmakers on Green Deal files.
Walkout: MEPs from the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Renew Europe and Greens — who vowed to boycott the working group amid claims that it was a “witch hunt” against civil society — stood up to walk out of the meeting after filibustering. EPP and Patriots for Europe MEPs stayed in their seats, shouting at their departing rivals, according to a video clip of the confrontation posted by my colleague Max Griera.
“Shame on you,” said an EPP member. “Come to do your job!” hollered a Patriots lawmaker.
Venezuela in action: The right-wing majority comprising the EPP, European Conservatives and Reformists, Patriots and Europe of Sovereign Nations was on full display in this week’s plenary, Max reports. It passed a bill delaying for a year the implementation of an anti-deforestation bill; passed a non-binding report urging the Commission to regulate less and defer to member countries’ parliaments and sovereignty; and approved a declaration on ways to improve access to financing for SMEs and scale-ups.
TECH ENFORCEMENT
SOCIALISTS WANT INQUIRY INTO EU TECH RULES ENFORCEMENT:The S&D, Parliament’s second-largest group, is gearing up to launch an inquiry into whether the Commission has gone soft on enforcing the EU’s digital rulebook, Max Griera, Eliza Gkritsi and Pieter Haeck write in to report.
Shein hits the fan: The move follows outrage over child-like sex dolls popping up on major platforms, including Shein. The S&D group will start hunting for the 44 extra signatures needed to reach 180 MEPs once its own lawmakers sign it off. Then it’s up to political group leaders to approve and the plenary to vote on it.
Go get ’em: The committee should investigate if the Commission has properly enforced its tech regulations “by looking into instances where online marketplaces designated as very large online platforms may have circumvented or failed to comply with their obligations,” according to the draft proposal seen by POLITICO.
Clock ticking for the Commission: If green-lit, the 12-month inquiry would grill whether the EU’s digital rules are being enforced with real bite, as the bloc investigates AliExpress, Meta, Temu, TikTok and X without having issued a single fine so far.
IN OTHER NEWS
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: U.S. President Donald Trump said in a late-night Truth Social post that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover.” It came after Trump announced that one of the two National Guard members shot by an Afghan national near the White House on Wednesday had died.
LOBBYING OFFENSIVE: The UAE’s top lobbyists rolled into Parliament this week — with a private room next to the hemicycle to conduct meetings — as MEPs weighed a resolution on Sudan’s brutal civil war. Abu Dhabi’s envoy Lana Nusseibeh blitzed key lawmakers insisting the Emirates are peacemakers, not arms suppliers to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia accused of ethnic massacres and sexual violence. And it worked, according to Max Griera and Seb Starcevic.
NO PAMPERING FOR COMMISSIONERS: Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin said Thursday that the Commission doesn’t pay for “beauty treatments, hairstyling, massage or physical personal training” for President Ursula von der Leyen or any other member of the College. He was responding to a parliamentary question submitted by the Danish Patriots MEP Anders Vistisen, who told my colleague Elena Giordano he was inspired by a report in the Telegraph that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spent €12,500 on make-up and hairstyling in his first three months in office.
DEFENDING JEWISH ARTISTS: Germany has put the canceling of performances by Jewish artists in Europe on the agenda of today’s meeting of EU culture ministers. It warns that “hostilities, disinvitations and public calls for boycotts contradicts European values and the freedom of art and culture,” according to a paper seen by POLITICO’s Pieter Haeck. In September, the Ghent Flanders Festival canceled an appearance by the Israeli conductor Lahav Shani.