Rama theatrics with ethnic Greek properties
In what was seen purely as a public relations stunt, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the ethnic Greek town of Himare on Friday to announce the restitution of some 400 titles to houses in the area to residents who have been suing the Albanian state for more than 30 years.
PM Mitsotakis urges Greeks ‘to reaffirm the strong mandate’ for his government on June 9
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called upon voters to reaffirm the strong mandate given to his government when they go to the polls for the European Parliament elections on June 9, during an interview to the newspaper ‘Real News’ published on Sunday.
Androulakis: ‘We deserve more, both in Greece and in Europe’
Opposition PASOK-Movement for Change party leader Nikos Androulakis appeared confident that his party will do well in the upcoming European Parliament elections, in an interview with the newspaper “Macedonia” published on Sunday.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/822014/Androulakis-We-deserve-more–both-in-Greece-and-in-Europe
SYRIZA-PA leader Kasselakis visiting Palestine on Sunday and Monday
Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Stefanos Kasselakis is visiting Palestine from Sunday until Monday, 26-27 May.
Panathinaikos wins its seventh European crown
Panathinaikos has added a seventh European crown to its glorious history as it came back from 14 points down to beat Real Madrid in Berlin’s final on Sunday.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/sports/1239764/panathinaikos-wins-its-seventh-european-crown
ATHEX: Benchmark drops further from 1,500 pts
A few hours after the Dow Jones posted its biggest decline in percentage terms in a year at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, the Greek bourse reverted to a southward course on Friday, dropping further away from the 1,500-point milestone it had achieved last Monday. Traders may already be considering the upcoming verdict by Fitch in less than a week, on May 31.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1239670/athex-benchmark-drops-further-from-1500-pts
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Ozempic frenzy grips Greece as well
TO VIMA: Two changes in objective real estate values
REAL NEWS: Mitsotakis interview: “I ask for a strong mandate to keep us in a trajectory of progress”
PROTO THEMA: Minister for Citizen Protection Chrysochoidis to “split” the Greek Police
AVGI: Mitsotakis is covering-up vile profiteering and the Tempi rail-crash
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: On alert: Turkish exploration near the Imia islets
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The blood of donors is gifted to pharmaceuticals
KONTRA NEWS: Nuclear threat near our borders
DIMOKRATIA: The government belongs to the banks
NAFTEMPORIKI: June is a “hot” month regarding the state’s fiscal policy
FAR RIGHT ALARM GROWS
SOCIAL DEMOCRATS’ ULTIMATUM TO VDL: The lead candidate for Germany’s center-left SPD has said the Socialists won’t back Ursula von der Leyen for another term as European Commission president if she is also supported by the hard-right MEPs aligned with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Resolved: “We have issued a Berlin Declaration — all the social democratic parties in Europe — that we will not work with the far right,” Katarina Barley tells my colleague Gordon Repinski in the latest episode of POLITICO’s Berlin Playbook podcast.
Growing unease: It’s the latest sign of the left-leaning parties’ alarm at von der Leyen’s openness to working with Meloni’s Brothers of Italy in the European Parliament. On Friday, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz also warned von der Leyen against working with Meloni’s party, which sits within the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) bloc, after the June 6-9 election.
Scholz’s plea: “When the next Commission is formed, it must not be based on a majority that also needs the support of the far right,” the German chancellor said. “The only way to establish a Commission presidency will be to base it on the traditional parties … Anything else would be a mistake for the future of Europe.”
Socialist leader echoes Barley: “This is also the position of the president,” said an official close to S&D group Chair Iratxe García, referring to Garcia’s position on the matter. “If von der Leyen tries to get the support of the ECR in the Parliament, she won’t have the support of our group.”
Earlier this month, García initiated a declaration with the leaders of Renew, the Greens and the Left, first reported by Playbook, in which the centrists and leftists vowed to “never cooperate nor form a coalition with the far right and radical parties at any level.”
No more flirting: Other S&D officials say they want von der Leyen to state clearly that she would not negotiate with Meloni’s camp or make concessions on progressive policies such as the Green Deal.
But, but, but: Declarations before the election can be interpreted quite differently after the election. Von der Leyen is likely to need the backing not just of Germany’s Scholz but of Meloni as Italy’s PM.
MEANWHILE — LE PEN COURTS MELONI: French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen is inviting the Italian PM to form a far-right alliance that would be the second biggest party bloc in the European Parliament, my colleague Hannah Roberts reports.
Seizing her opportunity: Speaking to Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday, Le Pen said: “This is the moment to unite, it would be truly useful. If we manage, we will become the second group of the European Parliament. I think that we should not let an opportunity like this pass us by.”
Open to agreement: Meloni said she is willing to cooperate with any parties on the right.
COMPETITIVENESS
MACRON CALLS FOR BOLD INVESTMENTS: President Emmanuel Macron is in Germany for the first French presidential state visit to the country for 24 years. He’ll travel today to Dresden, where he’s expected to give a big speech on the EU’s future. It’ll be the Sorbonne speech translated in detail into German, reports our colleague Anthony Lattier.
On the agenda: Competitiveness, defense, democracy and EU enlargement to include Ukraine. Macron is expected to call for decisive investment in the green transition and future technologies such as AI to keep up with the rest of the world.
Bold financing needed: Speaking at Berlin’s Bellevue Palace on Sunday, Macron said Germany and France must “move forward together and make decisions together.”
What he said: Macron alluded to the success of the coronavirus recovery package (which was financed with eurobonds), saying: “I am quite sure that we will take many more historic steps. We have historic decisions to make: This is the responsibility of France and Germany.”
What he meant: After the election there’ll be a discussion on the next EU budget, and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner better get used to the idea that there’ll be some sort of new financing instruments.
BRETON WARNS OF DEPENDENCY ON CHINA’S GREEN TECH: Despite spending hundreds of billions on the green transition, “Europe risks becoming a net importer” rather than exporter of green tech, Commissioner Thierry Breton will warn today.
EU subsidizes demand: While the EU mobilized almost €300 billion for green energy, “the focus was mostly put on the installation of new solar panels or wind parks, or the purchase of heat pumps or electric vehicles, and not in fostering Europe’s manufacturing capacity,” the commissioner said in a draft blog post seen by Playbook.
Europe needs to change tack, Breton argues, or the Green Deal risks becoming a massive program for transferring wealth from the EU to China. The commissioner cited the Net Zero Industry Act, which will be formally adopted today, as the example to follow. He also calls for more subsidies to be injected into EU production sites via “a much more ambitious Sovereignty Fund.”
EU-UKRAINE
EU FEARS BLOCKADE OF FROZEN ASSETS: Foreign and defense ministers meet this week to discuss how to give more military aid to Ukraine. Senior officials now fear they will have no deliverable after the latest reimbursement tranche from the European Peace Facility is being blocked by — you guessed it — Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.
Why they’re angry at Budapest: Diplomats hoped to have a new €6.6 billion package ready for this week. Budapest, the most pro-Russian EU member, has blocked partial reimbursements for arms sent to Ukraine under the off-budget European Peace Facility (EPF) for almost a year. The backlog is now €9 billion, up from €8.3 billion in March.
There was a political agreement a few weeks ago to allow for the creation of the €5 billion Ukraine Assistance Fund under the EPF, but in recent days Hungary is again hunting for reasons to kill the whole package.
Hungary playing hardball: Several diplomats say they no longer expect a solution until a leaders’ meeting in June. They fear Budapest is using the blockade to blackmail the EU into granting Hungary more EU funds, some of which remain frozen over corruption and rule of law issues. The even bigger risk, officials warn, is that Budapest could block the use of the profits generated by Russia’s frozen assets, which are supposed to be channeled via the EPF.
Shifting reasons: Initially Budapest said it was blocking the EPF reimbursement because one of its banks, OTP, was on an unofficial Ukrainian list of war sponsors. But now, according to diplomats, Hungary has shifted the goal posts and said at a meeting last week that the problem is that Hungarian companies are discriminated against by Ukraine.
Not even tried: After a first attempt to reach a deal on Wednesday EU ambassadors were meant to try again on Friday, but in the end they didn’t bother. “I have to calm myself [when] I talk about this issue, because it’s getting really ridiculous now,” said a senior EU diplomat. Another said: “I can’t even say anymore how frustrated I feel.”
HAPPENING TODAY: The Foreign Affairs Council will also discuss air systems for Ukraine; growing the European defense industry; and Czech plans to provide more ammunition to Ukraine. Stuart Lau reported for Pro subscribers that Prague is on track to deliver about 48,000 rounds by June 10, out of the 800,000 rounds it promised.
ORBÁN SEEKS ‘NON-PARTICIPATION’ IN NATO: Hungary’s leader said Friday his country was looking to redefine its membership in NATO to ensure the country can’t be involved in operations outside of the military alliance’s territory. “We are not a participant now,” Orbán said in an interview with Kossuth Radio, according to a report by Hungarian news portal Telex.
Context: Orbán has been running an EU election campaign on fears of a direct confrontation with Russia, parroting Kremlin talking points by accusing NATO and the EU of warmongering. In election posters, interviews and pro-government media, his ruling party Fidesz is playing to a strong anti-war sentiment and stoking fears of nuclear armageddon.
NATO ALLIES SEEK ‘CLARITY’: Outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg’s plan to pledge a massive €100 billion in support for Ukraine to “Trump-proof” financial support for Kyiv remains a thorny issue among alliance members, POLITICO’s Stuart Lau reports.
IN OTHER NEWS
ECB FLAGS RATE CUT: The European Central Bank is poised to start cutting interest rates from their historic highs next week, Chief Economist Philip Lane hinted to the Financial Times in an interview. “Barring major surprises, at this point in time there is enough in what we see to remove the top level of restriction,” Lane said, ahead of the crunch June 6 meeting.
LITHUANIA — NAUSĖDA REELECTED PRESIDENT: Incumbent Gitanas Nausėda was returned for a second term after a runoff in the presidential election on Sunday. Nausėda won roughly three-quarters of the vote, defeating his challenger, the current Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. Security concerns dominated the campaign.
MIGRATION — ALBANIA DEAL A ‘ONE-OFF’: Albania’s migrant deal with Italy is a “one-off” despite interest from other governments, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama told the Financial Times in an interview. Albania earlier this year ratified a controversial deal to hold on its territory thousands of migrants detained by Italian authorities in the Mediterranean each year, as they await processing.
“It is a one-off, 100 percent a one-off,” Rama said, despite other governments approaching his country. “I said no. Because it doesn’t make sense to me. Italy is very special to us, more than a strategic relation. It’s a very deeply rooted friendship.”
Now read this: Over in the U.K., Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda asylum policy has repeatedly been declared illegal. But that hasn’t put off some European leaders, who increasingly like what they see, reports Jon Stone.
MICHEL CHIEF OF STAFF’S NEXT MOVE: Frédéric Bernard, the chief of staff of European Council President Charles Michel, is in the running for a job in the General Secretariat of the Council, according to three EU officials. He was previously lining up a post as EU ambassador to Canada but didn’t get it.
Playbook hears Bernard is now eyeing the job of Director General for Transport, Telecommunications and Energy within the Council — a role that two previous chiefs of staff to European Council presidents took up after their bosses’ terms ended. Didier Seeuws, chief of staff to Herman Van Rompuy, switched to the role when Van Rompuy’s term ended, and Piotr Serafin, now the acting Polish ambassdor to the EU, did the same in 2020 when Donald Tusk’s term ended.
WHAT WARSAW IS TALKING ABOUT: The corruption allegations that are swirling around former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. Wojciech Kość has the story.
EU ELECTION GUIDE: Eddy Wax has this ultimate guide to the EU election, with everything you need to know ahead of the ballot.
For the youths in your life: Our Rule of Law, a student-led foundation, is today publishing a handbook for first-time voters for the European Parliament election.