Tempe train crash and Thessaly farmers in focus this week
The Tempe train crash will remain at the top of the political agenda for another week, as political parties submit their – divergent – findings to the parliamentary investigative committee, effectively agreeing that they disagree. Farmers from the flooded Thessaly region are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while a team of Dutch experts will present their proposals for the reconstruction of the affected area.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1233777/tempe-train-crash-and-thessaly-farmers-in-focus-this-week/
Beleri imbroglio freezes prospects of bilateral deals
Greece’s decision to block Albania’s EU accession process in the wake of mayor-elect of Himare Fredi Beleri’s prosecution and sentencing will inevitably impact Greek plans to reach an agreement on the delimitation of maritime exclusive economic zones that Athens hoped would serve as a blueprint for the more important negotiations with Turkey.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1233701/beleri-imbroglio-freezes-prospects-of-bilateral-deals/
Parliament passes bill establishing private universities in Greece
The bill on the founding of private universities in Greece passed by majority vote in parliament plenary on Friday night, on the strength of the votes of ruling New Democracy.
Bill establishing minimum corporate taxation submitted to Parliament
The Economy and Finance Ministry has submitted to Parliament a draft taxation bill that foresees the establishment of a minimum tax rate of 15% for large multinational companies as well as large Greek groups.
ATHEX: Seventh week of gains on local bourse
The seventh consecutive week of gains for the benchmark of the Greek stock market closed on Friday with a mixed session that saw rising stocks edge out losers by the narrowest of margins. The corporate results published in the current period also played a part, sending each stock concerned in different directions.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1233641/athex-seventh-week-of-gains-on-local-bourse/
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Wealth “veins” in Greece’s subsoil
TO VIMA: The secrets of the Petrakis monastery
REAL NEWS: The foreign universities that are coming to Greece
PROTO THEMA: Illegal constructions to be demolished within 43 days
AVGI: Greece’s food inflation is worse than that of Ukraine
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: New thriller regarding the safe operation of the Attica suburban railway
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Massive response to the hate mob
KONTRA NEWS: Androulakis’ balancing is shrinking PASOK
DIMOKRATIA: Tempi rail crash: Black page
NAFTEMPORIKI: Businesses and professionals are unable to pay their debts to the social security fund EFKA
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
PORTUGAL VEERS RIGHT: After almost nine years in power and a corruption scandal that tainted António Costa’s government, voters in Portugal punished the Socialists. The center-right Democratic Alliance coalition led by Luís Montenegro claimed victory in Sunday’s election, set to win 76 seats (up from 71), while Pedro Nuno Santos’ Socialist Party is on track to win 77 seats (down from 117). Amid a surge in support for the far-right Chega party, which came in third and looks set to have at least 48 lawmakers in the new parliament, there’s no clear majority for either of the traditional forces.
Whatever the final result is, it’s going to be exceptionally close. Early vote counts on Sunday night showed Montenegro’s alliance leading by just a few hundred votes. Then, just as Playbook was being sent this morning, the Socialists nosed 2,058 votes ahead of AD.
Controversial concession: Delivering his concession speech overnight, Santos said he wouldn’t seek to block Montenegro’s bid to take power, and the Socialists would assume their position at the head of the opposition. The speech came as a shock to many because it was delivered while ballots were still being counted and Santos’ party was ahead. But the Socalist leader said the combined size of the center right and far right made a left-wing government impossible.
What’s next: Following consultations with party leaders, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is expected to invite Montenegro to form a government.
Turbulence ahead: Santos said the Socialists wouldn’t help Montenegro pass legislation. With his coalition failing to win an absolute majority and Montenegro vowing not to enter into any sort of political agreement with the far right, it’s unclear how he’ll be able to govern.
Bad day for Socialists: The election result is a blow for Europe’s Social Democrats, who now govern in just four of the EU’s 27 member countries. Meanwhile, Chega’s strong performance is likely to bolster the far-right groups projected to make major inroads in the June European Parliament election. My colleague Aitor Hernández-Morales has this report from Lisbon.
NOW READ THIS: Can anything stop the rise of French far-right leader Jordan Bardella? POLITICO’s Victor Goury-Laffont reports that officials close to President Emmanuel Macron are struggling to find an effective way to break the charismatic 28-year-old’s momentum as the EU election nears.
MIDDLE EAST
NETANYAHU DEFIES BIDEN, VOWS TO INVADE RAFAH: Israel’s embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with an invasion of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, where around half the strip’s population are seeking refuge.
Pressing ahead: “We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is: that October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again,” Netanyahu told my Axel Springer colleague Paul Ronzheimer in an interview when asked whether Israeli forces would move into Rafah.
U.S. pressure mounting: Netanyahu spoke after Joe Biden’s interview with MSNBC, where the U.S. president said that while he would never leave Israel undefended, “there’s red lines … we cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.” Biden also warned that Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel.”
No Ramadan cease-fire: Netanyahu also dismissed Biden’s plan for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started Sunday, saying that “without a [hostage] release there’s not going to be a pause in the fighting.”
2 months to go? Instead, Netanyahu insisted Israel was close to achieving its goal of beating Hamas’ “fighting terrorism battalions and we’re close to finishing the last part in warfare.” Fighting would not “take more than two months.”
No 2-state solution: Israelis “support my position that says that we should resoundingly reject the attempt to ram down our throats a Palestinian state. That is something that they agree on,” Netanyahu said.
CYPRUS-GAZA CORRIDOR: A Spanish ship was set to leave Cyprus for Gaza loaded with humanitarian aid in the early hours of Monday, as part of a humanitarian corridor backed by the EU. The ship carries its own floating platform, as there are no ports in Gaza — which will make the delivery of further shipments along that corridor difficult until the U.S. military builds a temporary dock, as announced by Biden. U.S. officials said the construction could take up to two months.
MORE ON THE ROAD TO EU ELECTION
LIBERALS PICK STRACK-ZIMMERMANN: European liberal party ALDE will today name German MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann its lead candidate for the EU election.
It’s official: Strack-Zimmermann was the only candidate to nominate herself before an internal deadline of Feb. 29, and is supported by a “clear majority,” according to a spokesperson, Eddy Wax writes in to report. The announcement comes after Estonian PM Kaja Kallas ruled herself out of the role last week.
Who is MASZ: Strack-Zimmermann, the chair of the German parliament’s defense committee, has become one of Germany’s most prominent and outspoken voices on Russia’s war — tirelessly calling for stronger support for Ukraine’s defense and not shying away from criticizing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who governs in a coalition with her Free Democratic Party.
3’s a party: The three big liberal streams represented in the Renew Europe group — ALDE, the European Democratic Party and Macron’s Renaissance — agreed to put forward a trio of candidates rather than just one Spitzen. The EDP named MEP Sandro Gozi as its lead candidate; Strack-Zimmermann is ALDE’s pick. The question now is whether Renaissance will propose someone new at the European level or stick with Valérie Hayer, the MEP and Renew president who is leading Macron’s list in France.
Defense first: A first draft of the three streams’ “joint priorities” (standing on a platform called Renew Europe Now) puts defense at the top of the agenda. “We need to ramp up our defence capabilities, from research to military cooperation, to help Ukraine win the war against the Russian aggressor,” the document says.
And speaking of defense: European politicians mustn’t forget security threats in space, implores former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen in this opinion piece for POLITICO.
GOTINK LEADS DUTCH PARTY NSC’S LIST: New Social Contract — Pieter Omtzigt’s new party which did very well in the last election in the Netherlands — has named Dirk Gotink as list leader for the EU election. Gotink, whom many in Brussels and Strasbourg would know as European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber’s spokesman, has stepped down from that role. He told Playbook that while NSC is not yet a member of the EPP, it “will become so shortly.”
CLIMATE EMERGENCY
EU UNPREPARED FOR ‘MEGA-DROUGHTS’ AND OTHER CLIMATE CATASTROPHES: The EU isn’t ready for climate change and risks catastrophic losses over the coming decades, the European Environment Agency warns in its first-ever report on climate change risks. My colleague Zia Weise has the details here. In summary …
Start preparing now: Climate-proofing Europe “deserves to be among the top priorities of the next policy cycle,” EEA Director Leena Ylä-Mononen told reporters. The risks range from tropical diseases and lower agriculture yields, to energy crises, as droughts knock out nuclear power plants and hydroelectric dams.
Water wars: The EU executive will publish its response to the assessment on Tuesday. My Pro colleagues have seen a leak of the document — which warns of “conflicts within and among the Member States” over water resources.
IN OTHER NEWS
“20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL” WINS OSCAR: “20 Days in Mariupol,” the harrowing film that records the suffering of those who stayed behind in the besieged Ukrainian city as Russian forces moved in, won the Academy Award overnight for the best feature-length documentary.
You can see the full list of Oscar winners here — with Oppenheimer emerging the victor in seven categories, including best picture, actor, supporting actor and director.
BORIS JOHNSON’S MISSION TO VENEZUELA: Former British PM Boris Johnson last month held secret talks with Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, to discourage him from aiding Russia, the Sunday Times reported.