Anti-money laundering authority launches probe into agricultural fund scandal
The country’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority has launched a wide-reaching investigation into the alleged misuse of EU agricultural subsidies distributed through the OPEKEPE agency. The probe will go back as far as ten years and will not focus solely on the farmers who received the funds but also on anyone who played a key or intermediary role in granting the subsidies.
PM pledges €100 million in EU funding to Mt Athos
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis began a two-day visit to Mount Athos in northern Greece on Friday, announcing €100 million in EU funding through 2030 for infrastructure, restoration, and heritage preservation projects.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1274377/pm-pledges-e100-million-in-eu-funding-to-mt-athos
Androulakis at youth conference: We can change politics together, provide a voice to the voiceless
PASOK-Movement for Change (KINAL) party leader Nikos Androulakis called on young people to participate in politics and help overcome the “conservative, clientelistic political system that conveys the message of ‘don’t hope for anything if you don’t have a party connection, if you are not a cadre, if you do not belong to the ‘system’,” during an address at the party youth national conference at the Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF) on Sunday.
Threat Evaluation Committee meets over heatwave forecast Mon-Wed
Civil Protection Secretary General Nikos Papaefstathiou convened the Threat Evaluation Committee on Sunday morning, ahead of high temperatures forecast in Greece as of Sunday through Wednesday.
Eight-month rally of 35.10% at Athens Stock Exchange Nov 2024-June 2025
The Athens Stock Exchange completed 8 months of gains, an unprecedented record for stock exchange history, with a series of positive returns, positive gains, and an increase in transactions. From November 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, the general index of the market registered 35.10% in total gains, while the bank index ended the 8 months with gains of 68.41%. The market’s total capitalization increased by 20 billion euros in the same period.
ATHEX: The only way is up for stock market
Greek stocks rebounded in the letter half of Friday’s bourse session and took the market’s benchmark to yet another 15-year high, even if the turnover was quite reduced, the lowest of the week, owing to the US holiday. Rising and falling stocks finished in a dead heat.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1274395/athex-the-only-way-is-up-for-stock-market
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: OPEKEPE scandal: the clans, the party and the scams
TO VIMA: Double axe for the OPEKEPE scandal
REAL NEWS: Tax alleviations for families with children
PROTO THEMA: 10 years of the referendum: The night of the great “kolotoumba”
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: The new caps: More inheritors without tax
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: A fine mess regarding the executive state’s rent return
KONTRA NEWS: New Democracy’s parliament group to convene extraordinarily demanding the ousting of PM’s associate Mylonakis
DIMOKRATIA: The illiterate PM divided Mount Athos as well
NAFTEMPORIKI: Check mate by PPC for entry in the AI field
DRIVING THE DAY: VDL FACES PARLIAMENT
VON DER LEYEN CALLS IN BACKUP AHEAD OF NO CONFIDENCE DEBATE: In a display of raw power that brings to mind scenes from “West Side Story,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to bring her entire College of Commissioners into the Parliament hemicycle in Strasbourg this afternoon in a show of support during a debate leading up to a vote of no confidence, a Commission spokesperson and Parliament official told Playbook.
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Clear as day: The likely presence of 26 commissioners standing behind the president sends a message to lawmakers who will be voting on the motion Thursday: Vote me out of office, and this entire College will fall with me, plunging the EU into a massive institutional crisis in the midst of a trade brawl with Washington and war on our doorstep.
Expect to hear similar lines from the president. Von der Leyen is set to take the stage shortly after 5 p.m. when the Parliament debate kicks off (the first agenda item will be devoted to commemorating the Srebrenica massacre).
What she’s likely to say: We can’t afford this distraction, folks.
Manfred to the rescue: That’s also what we’ll get from her conservative ally, European People’s Party (EPP) chief Manfred Weber, who said in written comments shared with Playbook: “Ursula von der Leyen is negotiating a trade deal with the U.S. that will have direct impact on the daily lives of 450 million Europeans … It is now important to stand strong and united, and not to fall into the trap of this motion, which was set up by the pro-Putin fringes in the European Parliament.”
Not so insignificant: All of which suggests this vote of no confidence isn’t the political non-event that some EPP lawmakers are making it out to be.
Indeed, Weber has warned his lawmakers that their presence for the vote on Thursday (which will only take place if the motion’s backers don’t withdraw it) is “compulsory,” per an internal note seen by Playbook. Not exactly nonchalant.
More than a distraction: While the motion has little chance of passing, as Max Griera reported last week, today’s speeches will contain political fireworks rarely seen in the EU’s normally laced-up political system.
A chance to vent: The liberal Renew group and the center-left Socialists and Democrats — who are still fuming over the Commission’s steamrolling of their concerns about the Green Claims Directive — are set to rebuke the president over their treatment and her flirtation with the hard-right allies of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Attitude adjustment: While the leaders of both Renew and the S&D have said they will reject the motion, the speeches will be an opportunity for angry lawmakers to send a clear message to von der Leyen that she needs to shift her political orientation, per one Renew official.
Real friends: “The EPP should look carefully who they want to build bridges with, us or the ones who initiate votes of censure,” said a spokesperson for S&D chief Iratxe García.
Stand back. Von der Leyen will survive this no-confidence vote — if it eventuates. Support for the motion is deeply divided even within the right-wing ECR group, with the Polish and Romanian delegations planning to support it and the Italians to reject it. The vote isn’t secret, meaning each lawmaker will have to stand publicly behind their decision.
History lesson: Back in 1999, the Santer Commission also survived a no-confidence motion, only to be forced to resign en masse a few weeks later when the Party of European Socialists withdrew its backing. That earthquake in EU history will be on a lot of minds as lawmakers and the College converge on Strasbourg today.
BONUS: Be sure tofollow our live blog for all the no-confidence action.
TARIFF EXTENSION
TRADE WAR CRASHES INTO YOUR SUMMER VACAY: The Trump administration over the weekend extended the deadline for countries to make trade deals to avert brutal tariffs to Aug. 1. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the date … while also denying it was actually a new deadline, as Ari Hawkins wrote on Sunday.
Chlorine chicken, anyone? The U.S. is threatening a 17 percent tariff on EU food imports, citing frustration with Brussels’ rules. This may well be linked to longtime American pressure to lower EU food safety standards to allow more U.S. food imports into the bloc, such as the infamous chlorine-rinsed chicken, as my Berlin colleagues reported here.
What happens in the interim: The EU had been bracing for a 20 or even 50 percent tariff from Tuesday, but that will now — presumably — stay on 10 percent through July, our Morning Trade colleagues report.
Out of office: U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was supposed to meet with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič last Thursday, but Lutnick had already left town for a family vacation in Italy, a person familiar with the matter told POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman and Daniel Desrochers.
Glimmer of hope: Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Trump adviser Stephen Miran said he’d heard “good things” about Washington’s negotiations with Europe.
BRICS TO THE WALL: Trump threatened overnight to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS.” His post on Truth Social came hours after the bloc of big emerging economies voiced “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff” measures at a summit in Brazil.
FRENCH CONNECTION
MACRON CAN NOW CALL ANOTHER SNAP ELECTION. WILL HE DO IT? It’s been a year since French President Emmanuel Macron made the fateful decision to dissolve the lower house of parliament and call a snap election, tipping his country into a long period of political instability.
Now the question looms: Will he do it again? As my Paris-based colleague Pauline de Saint Remy writes in this piece out today, Macron has now regained the constitutional right to dissolve parliament again if he so chooses.
There are strong reasons in favor. Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government runs the risk of being toppled in the fall over a controversial budget vote. Bayrou is one of the least-popular French prime ministers in postwar history, with a recent poll showing he has the support of just 14 percent of respondents.
As Pauline writes in to report, Macron can’t stand the laconic centrist who was not his choice for the role. The president is also getting increasingly annoyed by his inability to carry out a domestic agenda.
What’s more: Macron’s gamble to dissolve the parliament last year resulted in a fiasco, leading to an increased share of seats for Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, the implosion of his own camp and the resurrection of the moribund center-right Les Républicains.
So will he do it? The jury is still out. As Pauline writes in her piece, not even Macron’s wife, Brigitte, was a fan of his idea to dissolve parliament the first time around. A new election could spell even more uncertainty. But this president can’t seem to say no to a gamble.
EUROGROUP TOP JOB RACE
WILL DONOHOE PULL IT OFF? Eurozone finance ministers today will crown the new Eurogroup president in a secret vote at the Council. The odds are on Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe securing his third term at the group’s helm ― but it’s not a done deal, Gregorio Sorgi writes for Morning Financial Services.
SO WHAT? Donohoe’s win would ensure continuity in the eurozone-wide group of finance ministers. His main rivals for the top job, Spain’s Finance Minister Carlos Cuerpo and his Lithuanian counterpart Rimantas Šadžius, are pushing for major changes.
11 is the magic number: A simple majority — 11 votes — is necessary to win, and Team Donohoe is confident the incumbent will reach the magic number after the first round of voting. If there’s no majority after the first round, the third-placed candidate is expected to step down.
Paschal’s assets: Donohoe can theoretically rely on the backing of six colleagues from the European People’s Party and several small countries that are aligned with Ireland. Big states like France, Italy and potentially Germany are expected to vote for Cuerpo ― although they’re all keeping their cards close to their chests. Candidates were lobbying fellow ministers well into Sunday evening.
What we don’t know: Whether a lack of majority support for Donohoe after the first round will ignite calls for a unity candidate. This scenario would be worthy of a conclave, but it’s unlikely.
WHAT’S ON TRUMP’S MIND
NETANYAHU MEETING: Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House today, with the president telling reporters Sunday evening that “we’re close to a deal on Gaza.” Netanyahu said he hoped his talks with Trump will “help advance” progress toward a deal. Israel sent a delegation to Qatar on Sunday to discuss the deal with Hamas mediators (more on that here).
“SADDENED” BY HIS OLD MATE ELON: Saying Elon Musk was “essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK,” Trump on Sunday said he was “saddened” that his formerly loyal supporter has decided to form a new political party. Trump said Musk had gone “completely ‘off the rails.’” Write-up here.
IN OTHER NEWS
FARMERS’ RECKONING: The European Commission tried to gut the EU farm budget, flirting with folding the Common Agricultural Policy and cohesion funds into broader national envelopes. Farmers, ministers and lobbyists fought back and won, and the next CAP will look much like the current one, with its basic structure intact. But the Commission is still expected to propose significant cuts to overall CAP funding when it officially unveils its budget proposal on July 16, and with funds shrinking, the pain is only delayed, report Bartosz Brzeziński and Oliver Noyan.
ROMANIA’S RECKONING: Romania has been spending way beyond its means for years. On Tuesday, ministers from EU countries will vote to decide on a strict plan setting out exactly what Bucharest must do to restore order. Tim Ross and Gregorio Sorgi have the primer.
DISPATCH FROM KYIV:POLITICO’s Veronika Melkozerova has this dispatch from her daily life in Kyiv, revealing she sleeps on the floor in her corridor to protect herself from shards of glass from shattered windows during Russian attacks.
BELARUS OPPOSITION CALLS FOR TRUMP TO PUNISH LUKASHENKO: Belarus unexpectedly released the imprisoned husband of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya last month after a visit to Minsk by U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg. But that’s no reason to ease up on the country’s authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, she argues. “Don’t normalize the situation where people are released for some concessions from your side,” Tsikhanouskaya told POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy. “Lukashenko has to be punished, not rewarded.”