PM Mitsotakis in Rome on Monday; to meet with Georgia Meloni
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit Rome on Monday and will have a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. The Greece-Italy High Cooperation Council meeting will follow.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/903008/PM-Mitsotakis-in-Rome-on-Monday-to-meet-with-Georgia-Meloni
Greece-Turkey dialogue to continue despite problems
The Greek and Turkish foreign ministers, George Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, are expected to meet Wednesday-Thursday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Antalya to discuss possible dates for a bilateral meeting between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, likely within the next two months.
Androulakis: It is obvious there is no plan on electrical interconnection of Greece-Cyprus-Israel
Main opposition PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis on Sunday addressing Crete’s regional congress of PASOK referred to the electrical interconnection of Greece-Cyprus-Israel. “It is obvious that there is no plan. The country has committed 650 million euros for a project and I have asked the Prime Minister in Parliament, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Foreign Affairs to tell us something simple: what is the timetable for the implementation of this project. It is not only the money, it is also our sovereign rights”
Greece’s inflation stands at 2% in April, ELSTAT says
Greece’s inflation rate was 2% in April compared to 2.4% in March, up from 3.1% in the same month last year, according to figures released by Hellenic Statistical Authority ELSTAT on Friday.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/902641/Greeces-inflation-stands-at-2-in-April–ELSTAT-says
Benchmark jumps to 15-year high
The main index of the Greek stock market ended last week reaching highs unseen since mid-2010, on the news of a possible softening of Donald Trump’s tariff policy against China, and on the very positive results that Greek banks (Alpha, National and Eurobank) reported in the last 17 hours before Friday’s session regarding the year’s first quarter. Alpha’s figures were significantly better than expected.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1269321/benchmark-jumps-to-15-year-high
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Public sector: evaluation or salary deprivation
TO VIMA: Behold the plan regarding taxes and wealth tax-criteria
REAL NEWS: How and when will the wealth tax-criteria be abolished
PROTO THEMA: Appointments with doctors in 2 instead of 30 days
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Multi-gear construction permits
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Scandalous case in Saronida linked to the “snatch” of a cooperative’s real estate assets
KONTRA NEWS: The joint actions in the Center-Left have begun
DIMOKRATIA: The secrets to getting electricity subisidies
NAFTEMPORIKI: The investment “piggy bank” of listed companies
QATARGATE, HOLD MY BEER: In a move that makes Brussels’ Qatargate scandal look quaint, the New York Times reported that Donald Trump’s administration planned to accept a luxury jet as a gift from the Qatari royal family. Per the report, the plane was to be converted into a new Air Force One — and then donated to Trump’s presidential library when he leaves office, so he can continue to use it then.
Cue: Cries of blatant corruption and unconstitutional behavior from Trump’s critics.
Qatar’s non-denial denial: “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made,” Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s media attaché to the U.S., told POLITICO.
WHILE WE’RE AT IT: The Elysée presidential palace has clapped back at conspiracists who levied a wild accusation of cocaine use during a meeting of European leaders with a little meme action of its own. Just another day in the neighborhood, folks.
DRIVING THE DAY: UKRAINE-RUSSIA
ZELENSKYY CHALLENGES PUTIN TO DIRECT TALKS: The weekend’s whirlwind diplomacy culminated in a landmark offer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold direct talks with Vladimir Putin on Thursday. No such talks have taken place since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
Rewind: The offer follows a call by the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, the U.K. and Ukraine for an immediate 30-day ceasefire starting today. The group, gathered in Ukraine last week, even managed to get Trump on board during a six-way phone call.
What’s changed? Friedrich Merz’s presence, for one. The new German leader changed his government’s tone on the war within days, putting his stamp on the ceasefire call and warning that future arms deliveries to Ukraine would be kept secret.
Rug-pull: However, no sooner had Putin responded saying he wants talks in Turkey than Trump seemed to forget about the call for an immediate ceasefire. “President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY.”
Mano à mano: Zelenskyy upped the ante, saying he was ready to meet Putin personally in Ankara later this week, but making clear he still expects a full ceasefire today. “I will be in Türkiye this Thursday, May 15, and I expect Putin to come to Türkiye as well. Personally,” he posted on X Sunday. “And I hope that this time, Putin won’t be looking for excuses as to why he ‘can’t’ make it.”
Is this it? Putin has cannily avoided any binding commitments on Ukraine until now. Previous calls for ceasefires have fallen away almost as soon as they’ve been pronounced. But this one feels different — while Trump is pressuring Zelenskyy, he also sounds fed up with Putin. Meanwhile, the war drags on with no sign the Kremlin plans to change the dynamic. Even newly elected Pope Leo sounded skeptical of Putin’s intentions, in a major shift compared to his predecessor.
Cold shower: Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova shot down any hint of a ceasefire. “Putin was clear: first negotiations about the root causes [of the conflict], then talk of ceasefire,” she said.
Cliffhanger: Will Zelenskyy travel to Ankara, even if Russian bombs keep falling today? Will EU leaders uphold their pledge of ramping up pressure on Russia if Moscow doesn’t heed their call for a ceasefire? Stay tuned.
TODAY IN LONDON: The non-stop Ukraine diplomacy continues in London today where top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas is huddling with national ministers from France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Germany and Poland for talks focused on Ukraine, defense and European security, according to a French official. Participants are due to check in on the latest developments from the leaders’ gatherings. French Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad plans to use the meeting to call for increased pressure on Russia, “which continues to bomb civilians and civilian infrastructure daily,” his spokesperson said in a text.
HOW THE WORLD VIEWS TRUMP’S AMERICA
POLL — U.S. POPULARITY TANKS: Donald Trump’s return to the White House isn’t helping U.S. popularity abroad, according to the results of the 2025 Democracy Perception Index, which canvassed more than 110,000 respondents across 100 countries.
Down the tubes: A majority of respondents worldwide now have a negative view of the U.S., the survey shows — a sharp decline from last year.
-5 percent: That’s the U.S. net global perception score — down from +22 percent last year.
China ahead: In the past year, U.S. popularity has fallen below that of China, which registered 14 percent positive views, and is now just 4 percentage points above Russia (which is on -9 percent, up from -14 in 2024). Given how Trump has criticized EU countries and imposed tariffs around the world, former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he is “not surprised that perceptions of the United States have fallen so sharply.” (Rasmussen is also the founder of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which coauthors the index.)
Europe leans to Beijing: Remarkably, China is now more popular than the U.S. in most of Europe, with only Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and the United Kingdom rating Washington higher than Beijing.
Steepest fall: Sentiment is particularly negative in the EU, which Trump has called “horrible,” “pathetic” and “formed to screw the United States.” Read the full story by Giovanna Coi, and stay tuned for updates from the Democracy Summit in Copenhagen, where your Playbook author will be headed this week.
KLINGBEIL’S DEBUT
NEW GERMAN FINANCE MINISTER MAKES BRUSSELS DEBUT: Lars Klingbeil, Germany’s vice chancellor and finance minister, arrives in Brussels today amid great expectations (some say too high) for the new coalition in Berlin.
Kling-who? In case you haven’t been bingeing German news, Klingbeil is co-leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), an ally of ex-Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the son of a former Bundeswehr officer and a one-time pacifist who says he changed his views about military strength after the 9/11 attacks.
Co-pilots: Klingbeil is also Merz’s wingman in a ruling coalition that got off to a rocky start when the chancellor failed to win the votes needed to confirm his coalition government on his first try. (Germany watchers reckon that was a warning to Merz — likely from SPD MPs — that he could not steamroll them.)
Background: As Klingbeil arrives in Brussels, fellow ministers will be listening closely for any insight he can offer into Berlin’s budget plans. Germany has cast aside its former ironclad commitment to avoid deficits with a pledge to spend €1 trillion on infrastructure and defense over the coming decade.
Things get complicated: The problem, outlined by top Morning Finance colleagues Kathryn Carlson, Gregorio Sorgi and Giovanna Faggionato, is that Germany’s spending plans are likely to blast a huge hole in the EU’s fiscal rules. Merz said last week Berlin would support an EU plan to exempt defense from fiscal spending rules, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether Merz was referring to flexibility already signposted by the Commission, or a broader exemption.
Either way, the sums flagged by Berlin are so large that it looks likely Germany will strain against the rules, if not break them outright. Here’s the killer quote from a person briefed on ongoing talks in Berlin: “At the finance ministry, they are saying that Klingbeil has to look deep into the eyes of [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen and tell her that Germany cannot be constrained fiscally.”
Ouch: “These rules are made for countries like Italy or Greece, or Spain. They’re not made for Germany,” this person reported a top German official as saying.
Not so fast: An EU diplomat told my MFS colleagues that there was “no appetite” in Brussels to accommodate Berlin. “We would hope that the Commission will apply [the rules] in a consistent way.”
Rising tide: Jan Techau, head of Europe for the Eurasia Group, a think tank, argues there may be more hunger for German spending than the above-cited diplomat is letting on. “The big hope is that German stimulus will help other countries because Germany will be spending on their services. There is a spillover effect … If the German economic dynamic starts to go up again, all of Germany’s neighbors will benefit.”
Fast friends, or frenemies? The bigger question hanging over Klingbeil and Merz is whether they can reverse the longstanding trend of German inertia and dissonance at the European Council table. Milan Nič, a senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, is skeptical: “There are tensions in both parties,” he told Playbook. “We will never know who voted against the chancellor. Plus, [the coalition] has a tiny majority of 18 votes, and his [Merz’s] ambitions have already been tamed by the result of his first vote.”
Now it’s up to Klingbeil and Merz, added Nič, to “stick together and prove themselves” despite the rumblings in the SPD and even in Merz’s Christian Democratic Union.
The bottom line: “I don’t think that German money that’s going to come online over a protracted period of time will somehow unbalance European fiscal harmony,” said Techau.
VICTORY PARADE AFTERMATH
THE HANGOVER — MOSCOW EDITION: Putin’s victory parade has come and gone, but the hangover isn’t letting up for some Europeans (and aspiring EU members) who saw fit to spend May 9 in Moscow watching the goose-steppers file by.
Exhibit A: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who’s facing further ire at home over his friendship with Putin. AP reports protesters flooded Bratislava’s Freedom Square chanting “Slovakia is European” on Friday, the latest in a wave of demonstrations denouncing Fico’s pro-Moscow moves. Members of Fico’s coalition weren’t happy either, with Education Minister Tomáš Drucker clarifying the PM “was not there for the entire government coalition.” Which begs the question: Who exactly was he there for?
Exhibit B: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. He’s expecting a high-profile visit from European Council President António Costa on Tuesday, part of a major diplomatic push to keep the Western Balkans on an EU path. But his Moscow trip has soured things.
Don’t go, António: Former Estonian defense minister and current MEP, Riho Terras, posted a letter on social media over the weekend urging Costa to nix the trip which, he wrote, would “express support” for someone “who endorses a war criminal.” (Terras is gathering signatures for the letter until 3 p.m. today.)
Just in time for Costa’s visit, a group of Serbian student protesters arrives in Brussels for meetings with MEPs, including from the Subcommittee on Human Rights. “While President Vučić travels to Moscow to celebrate May 9th, these students are turning to Brussels to champion their vision for a future aligned with European values,” wrote Rok Lesar, assistant to Slovenian MEP Irena Joveva, in an email.
Blowback: Jessica Rosencrantz, Sweden’s Europe minister, hit the same note: “Both EU member states and candidate countries are expected to sign up to and stick to our fundamental values. The EU has been crystal clear that with candidate countries such as Serbia that relations with Russia cannot be business as usual,” she said on social media. “While Moscow celebrated war on May 9th, Europe celebrated peace. The choice should have been easy.”
But Costa’s plans haven’t changed. An official close to the Council president said: “For President Costa what is important is to engage. We don’t engage only with people we agree with, and we don’t engage only to pass easy and good messages. We engage because these partners are important to us, and we believe that Serbia’s future is European.”
IN OTHER NEWS
ALBANIA ELECTION UPDATE: Hours after polls closed in Albania, it remains unclear whether the ruling Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama clinched a historic fourth term or if the opposition Democratic Party edged ahead. Not a single Albanian news channel released exit polls, leaving voters and observers in the dark. Election officials expect the result to be known by Tuesday, Una Hajdari reports.
PFIZERGATE WEEK FOR VDL: Ursula von der Leyen faces a big challenge this week, with the EU’s top court due to rule on the secret text messages she exchanged with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Wednesday’s Pfizergate decision will have sweeping implications for how the bloc’s top officials conduct business behind closed doors — and could cast a shadow over von der Leyen’s second five-year term as Commission chief. Read the full story by Elisa Braun and Mari Eccles.
POLAND POINTS FINGER AT RUSSIA OVER MAJOR FIRE: A huge fire that burned the largest shopping center in Warsaw to the ground a year ago was set deliberately by people acting on behalf of Russia, Polish PM Donald Tusk said Sunday. Joe Stanley-Smith has the full story.
U.S.-CHINA — MORE INFO TODAY: The U.S. and China agreed to establish a new platform for more tariff negotiations after two days of talks in Geneva over the weekend. More info is expected today, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer due to address the press this morning in Geneva.
TRUMP TO SIGN PHARMA ORDER: Donald Trump announced he’d sign an executive order today to bring down the costs of some medications by tying the amount the U.S. government pays for them to lower prices abroad. Our Stateside colleagues had details of the expected executive order last week.