Support for Ukraine aligns with national interest, Mitsotakis says
Prime Minister Mitsotakis reaffirmed Greece’s support for Ukraine in his customary weekly social media post on Sunday, saying that it aligns with the country’s national interest.
Greece among 25 countries calling on Israel to withdraw E1 settlement plans
The approval of Israel’s plans to construct settlements in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem, “is unacceptable and a violation of international law,” said foreign ministers of 25 countries including Greece in a joint statement on Friday.
Parties on alert as former PM Tsipras signals political return
Former prime minister Alexis Tsipras is signaling a potential return to Greek politics, stoking uncertainty across the political spectrum as parties brace for shifting electoral dynamics.
Demographics: Population decline by almost 500 thousand people
Greece’s population and its demographic aging will continue to decline over the next three decades, while the birth/death balance will remain negative, according to the Laboratory of Demographic and Social Analyses – University of Thessaly.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/927515/Demographics-Population-decline-by-almost-500-thousand-people
Rising ASE tops 2,100 points again
Boosted by selected blue chips and several mid- and small-caps, the Athens Stock Exchange breached 2,100 points Friday. The ATHEX general index closed at 2,103.93, a 0.33% gain. Turnover was €192.29 million.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1278763/rising-ase-tops-2100-points-again
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Premiere for 4 non-state owned universities
TO VIMA: Geopolitical turbulence: minefield inside and outside Greece
REAL NEWS: “Shield” plan for navy borders
PROTO THEMA: Less tax for every child
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Tempe fatal rail crash: And now lawsuits
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: NHS collapses; PM is cheering
KONTRA NEWS: Colpo grosso regarding Golden Visa
DIMOKRATIA: Extreme lies regarding taxes
NAFTEMPORIKI: Heatwave for ATHEX
DRAGHI KEEPS PLEADING
EUROPE’S NTH WAKE-UP CALL: A year ago, former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi raised the specter of an ever-more impoverished and weakened Europe in a competitiveness report that was the talk of the town. Since then, the economic reform agenda has taken a back seat, overtaken by events. Now the man who saved the euro is back at it, warning that U.S. President Donald Trump’s evident ability to strong-arm the bloc into doing his bidding is conclusive proof that it faces irrelevance, or worse, if it can’t get its act together.
Trumpian reality check: “For years, the European Union believed that its economic size, with 450 million consumers, brought with it geopolitical power and influence in international trade relations. This year will be remembered as the year in which this illusion evaporated,” Draghi said Friday evening at a conference in the Italian seaside town of Rimini. Europe has received a “very brutal wake-up call from Trump,” he added.
Germany keeps sputtering: Right on queue, the EU’s biggest economy reported more gloomy economic data. Germany’s economy contracted more sharply than previously thought in the spring: GDP decreased by 0.3 percent in the second quarter of the year, a sharp downward revision from the negative 0.1 percent figure that it previously reported.
Lying flat: Economist Daniel Kral observed this means Germany’s economy hasn’t grown since the end of 2019, making it the worst-performing advanced economy.
Failing grade: A year ago, Draghi issued his comprehensive call to revamp the European economy by upping investment, relaunching European industry, integrating the financial system and building out a pan-European power grid. Speaking to Playbook, Jeromin Zettelmeyer, director of the economic think tank Bruegel, reckoned that when looking at the concrete actions launched by the EU since then, “the glass was 20 percent full.”
High hopes dashed: “The overall reaction has been disappointing,” Zettelmeyer said. Although the Commission has pursued a concerted campaign to slash red tape, the reaction elsewhere has been lackluster. The proposed envelope for the new EU budget is “modest,” foreclosing any large-scale infrastructure investment. Efforts to create a joined-up industrial strategy have turned into a national subsidies free-for-all, while any push toward a more integrated energy and financial system look dead in the water.
Bargain bin Draghi: The Bruegel director said the Commission had been hamstrung by a lack of buy-in from national capitals. “What you end up getting from the Commission is Draghi on a shoestring,” said Zettelmeyer. “Lots of soundbites, lots of compasses, strategies … but in the end there’s not a willingness to fight.”
Coming up: The ex-ECB chief will speak again on Tuesday in an address to the Lindau Nobel Meeting in Economic Sciences.
MIGRANTS DRIVING GROWTH: The ECB’s current president, Christine Lagarde, talked up migrants’ contribution to the European economy in a speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in Wyoming over the weekend. She said Germany’s GDP would be 6 percent lower if it weren’t for the contribution of migrant workers. No one tell Alice Weidel.
MIDDLE EAST RUCTIONS
FRANCE SUMMONS KUSHNER OVER ANTISEMITISM ALLEGATIONS: Last night, France summoned newly installed U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushner over what it called his “unacceptable” claim that President Emmanuel Macron’s government isn’t doing enough to combat rising antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and ensuing war.
Making an entrance: Kushner, the father of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, had earlier published an open letter expressing “deep concern over the dramatic rise of antisemitism in France and the lack of sufficient action by your government to confront it.”
French fury: Antisemitic incidents have surged in France over the past two years, though the foreign ministry said in a statement that it “firmly refutes” the idea it isn’t doing enough to respond. The ministry accused Kushner of violating international law, “particularly the duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of states,” and said his comments “fall short of the quality of the transatlantic relationship between France and the United States.”
Waiting for the Truth: Asked by Playbook’s own Zoya Sheftalovich whether the State Department shared Kushner’s view that France isn’t doing enough to combat antisemitism, spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, “Yes, we stand by his comments,” and noted Kushner “is doing a great job advancing our national interests.” Playbook has spent the night refreshing Trump’s Truth Social feed to see whether the president weighs in.
MEANWHILE, U.N. WARNS STARVATION IN GAZA IS “PRESENT AND RAPIDLY SPREADING”: A United Nations-backed food security body officially declared a famine in Gaza on Friday. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, half a million Gazans are living under outright starvation conditions, while another 1 million are classified as being in “emergency” levels of food insecurity.
“Shameful”: Speaking to Playbook, Juliette Touma, director of communication for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, described the famine as “man made.” “It’s a decision made by officials in the government of Israel to starve the people,” she said, adding that it was “shameful.” Israel denies reports of widespread starvation, but bars foreign journalists from accessing the Palestinian territory to verify conditions.
SECURING UKRAINE
BACK IN ACTION: After a fortnight of virtual emergency meetings, in-person diplomacy officially resumes this week, and Ukraine will be a key topic of conversation.
Looking ahead: Defense ministers will meet for dinner on Thursday, before on Friday discussing how to boost military support for Kyiv and to help its arms industry, per an EU diplomat. The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas will attend, as will NATO’s deputy secretary-general.
Security guarantees aren’t officially on the agenda, but they’re expected to come up. (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said he reckons joint U.S. and European security guarantees for his country will be “ready in the coming days.”)
Then, foreign ministers will meet Saturday. The Danish presidency, in an invitation letter seen by Jacopo Barigazzi, suggests they focus on how to “increase pressure on Russia to get Moscow to commit to a truce” — meaning the EU’s 19th sanctions package. They’ll also consider “further options for the use of revenues” from Russia’s frozen assets, the Danes wrote. For now Ukraine is getting the profits generated by those funds, while efforts to seize the approximately €275 billion have stalled.
TRUMP GIVES PUTIN 2 MORE WEEKS: President Trump reiterated his threat to slap harsh sanctions on Russia on Friday — before giving Vladimir Putin exactly what he wants: more time. “Over the next two weeks, we’re going to find out which way it’s going to go, Trump said.
Kyiv’s hands still tied behind its back: The Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon has for months quietly been stopping Ukraine from firing U.S.-made long range missiles into Russia. The paper notes that under a “review mechanism” that gives Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth final say over whether Kyiv can deploy ATACMS inside Russia, Washington has effectively reversed a decision by Joe Biden to allow their use.
PROBLEMS IN THE PIPELINE
PUTIN’S PALS WANT EU’S HELP: Meanwhile, Hungary and Slovakia, after accusing Ukraine of attacking the Druzhba pipeline that brings Russian gas to their citizens, have written to the EU asking for its help, my colleague Gabriel Gavin writes into report.
“Hello? Ursula? Are you there?” The two countries have used what was supposed to be a temporary sanctions exemption to increase their dependency on Moscow and cash in on discounted crude. Now, they want Brussels to pressure Kyiv to stop targeting the Druzhba, claiming that without it, “the safe supply of our countries is simply not possible.” They’re unlikely to get much sympathy, considering Commission spokesperson Eva Hrnčířová last week dismissing the idea that security of supply has been affected.
Transatlantic tiff: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been shopping for friends to drag into the row, given the Russian imports help prop up his increasingly unpopular government‘s spending pledges. He published a note he said was from Trump in response to an earlier strike on Druzhba. “I do not like hearing this. I am very angry about it. Tell Slovakia,” the message said.
IN OTHER NEWS
VON DER LEYEN DEFENDS U.S. TRADE DEAL: The “strong, if not perfect” EU-U.S. trade deal that will see European products slapped with a 15 percent tariff ensures “stability and predictability instead of escalation and confrontation,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argued in an op-ed published in papers around the continent over the weekend (here’s FAZ and here’s El Mundo).
“Just imagine if the two largest democratic economies had failed to reach an agreement and instead started a trade war — only Moscow and Beijing would be cheering,” von der Leyen said. Write-up here.
A different take: Europe likes to think of itself as a top supporter of the international rules-based order, but that sits uncomfortably with the pragmatic, not-so-free-trade-friendly deal struck with Trump. Camille Gijs has the story on how the EU is trying, and failing, to reconcile principles and reality.
BANKING COP FRUSTRATED AT GLACIAL PROGRESS: Europe’s banks remain parochial — with cross-border mergers a rarity. José Manuel Campa, chair of the Paris-based European Banking Authority, would like to see that change, but so far progress has been slow, Kathryn Carlson reports.
GREECE GRILLED: Brussels is investigating potential misuse of at least €11.9 million of EU funds in a recycling project in Greece, Nektaria Stamouli and Marianne Gros report.
LOVE-ALL FOR JANNIK SINNER: The world’s No. 1-ranked men’s tennis player — Italian Jannik Sinner — is set to hit the courts on Tuesday for his opening match with Vít Kopřiva in the U.S. Open. Your Playbook author looks at how the Italian tennis champ is building bridges and healing old wounds in Italy’s German-speaking region of South Tyrol.