Greece, Ukraine sign deal to route US LNG through ‘Vertical Corridor’
Greece and Ukraine signed an agreement Sunday to facilitate the transport of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Ukraine, a deal officials said will strengthen regional energy security as Ukraine braces for a difficult winter.
Greece poised to lower debt below 120% of GDP by 2030, minister says
Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis said in a Bloomberg TV interview from London that he is confident Greece’s public debt will drop below 120% of GDP before the end of the decade.
Greece celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic Uprising
The three-day commemoration and remembrance events for the celebration of the 52nd anniversary of the student uprising against the dictatorship at the National Technical University of Athens (Polytechnic) are expected to be wrapped up on Monday.
Fitch upgrades Greece to ‘BBB’; outlook stable
Fitch Ratings announced late on Friday that it has upgraded Greece’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘, keeping its outlook stable. “We expect debt to continue declining rapidly in the medium term, approaching 120% by 2030 under our baseline, supported by 4% nominal GDP growth and primary surpluses of 3.5% of GDP beyond 2027. Cash buffers remain at record high of around 18% of GDP, allowing early repayment of bilateral bonds and covering maturities over the next three years,” according to the statement.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/948882/Fitch-upgrades-Greece-to-BBB-outlook-stable
ATHEX: Index eases after recent crescendo
Traders at the Greek stock market decided on Friday to cash in some of the week’s gains, that were sizable enough to afford some profit-taking without putting the weekly result at risk. Predictably, banks faced most of the pressure, while manufacturing companies maintained their upward trajectory. During the day the benchmark appeared to bottom out, containing its losses toward the end of the session.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1286873/athex-index-eases-after-recent-crescendo
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: 18,000 “off-shore” companies in Bulgaria
TO VIMA: President of the Hellenic Republic concerned with political stability
REAL NEWS: Erdogan under severe pressure
PROTO THEMA: Political “cuisine” for 10 parties
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Two gears for constructions outside city planning
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: 17 November’s flame is still alive
KONTRA NEWS: After the outcry the government is handing out farm subsidies
DIMOKRATIA: Business with the corrupt regime of Ukraine
NAFTEMPORIKI: Debts to the tax-office worth 10 billion euro “on the shelf”
DRIVING THE DAY: FRUGALS REUNITE
FRUGAL NATIONS TAKE AIM AT LONG-TERM BUDGET: They’re back. Europe’s so-called frugal countries — plus France and Belgium — are once again joining forces to try to limit the size of the bloc’s estimated €2 trillion long-term budget as negotiations heat up, according to two EU diplomats.
Reunited, plus some: The group, which traditionally opposes joint EU debt and promotes fiscal orthodoxy, rose to prominence during the EU’s sovereign debt crisis but has been quieter in recent years as the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced massive spending.
Together against the MFF: Now they are getting their mojo back, and trialing some new potential members, over the EU’s long-term budget, a first draft of which was pitched by the Commission in July.
Who’s in: EU affairs ministers from the group — including Austria, Sweden, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and Ireland — huddle today at a breakfast meeting hosted by Austria and Sweden that marks their highest-level encounter in months, per the same diplomats.
NB: Denmark will be present but only as an observer because it currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency. Also: France and Belgium aren’t traditionally known as frugals though they are net contributors to the EU budget.
What they want: To whittle down the size of the EU’s long-term budget (aka the Multi-Annual Financial Framework, or MFF), which ballooned amid pressure to meet a need for increased defense spending.
What to expect: The group isn’t likely to issue a demand on the MFF’s total value, but will align positions before taking this campaign further.
Help us sell it: “If we have to tighten our belts at national level, we cannot possibly explain why the European Commission has presented the biggest ever EU budget … We must not spend more, we must spend better,” Austria’s Europe Minister Claudia Plakolm said in a statement shared with Playbook.
The rent is too damned high: Those that have received rebates on the EU budget in the past — Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands — are expected to close ranks to ensure such reductions are rolled over in the next seven-year budget, which starts in 2028.
This isn’t the end: It’s the latest sign that arguments over the budget will get worse before they get better. ICYMI, the European Parliament forced the Commission to tweak its MFF proposal last week.
Mounjaro for the MFF: “I don’t see any other way going forward than to put this budget on a diet and focus on our key tasks,” Swedish Minister for EU Affairs Jessica Rosencrantz told Playbook in a statement.
The bottom line: An EU diplomat last week told Playbook these budget talks were shaping up to be the “hardest in EU history.” Here’s another reason why: The return of the frugals shows that Europe’s historic split over fiscal policy didn’t disappear. It just went dormant — and it’s roaring back to the fore.
ORBÁN DEBRIEFS ON TRUMP, PUTIN
HUNGARIAN LEADER URGES DIRECT EU TALKS WITH MOSCOW: The EU needs to open a direct channel of communication with Vladimir Putin to avoid being cut out of a Russia-U.S. deal to end the war in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a sit-down with Axel Springer CEO Matthias Döpfner. (Axel Springer owns POLITICO).
Reach out: “Let’s open an independent communication channel to Russia,” Orbán said. “Let the Americans to negotiate with the Russians, and then the Europeans should also negotiate with the Russians and then see whether we can unify the position of the Americans and Europeans.” Orbán added that he last had contact with Putin two weeks before the interview.
He’s not the only one. Back in May, Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar told Playbook the EU should start “silent talks” with Putin — and that she’d made this point directly to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. No such talks have materialized, with Donald Trump so far leading negotiations.
Nukes, nukes, nukes: Pressed as to why Budapest opposes all efforts to increase pressure on Putin, Orbán gave a lengthy response which boiled down to a reminder that Russia has nukes. “The nuclear risk is on the table,” he said, adding that NATO was far stronger than Russia and risked no invasion threat from Moscow.
Donald to the rescue: Orbán — who repeatedly brands his fellow EU leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as “pro-war” — also touted a deal he recently struck with Trump to be exempted from Washington’s sanctions on Russian oil as well as being given a “financial shield” from EU “blackmail.”
Details: The Hungarian leader said the exemption he secured from Trump would last as long as he was in power (Orbán faces an uphill reelection battle next year), while remaining hazy on details of the financial shield element — except to say it would act as a hedge for funds withheld by Brussels.
Save me: “The main reason why I need a financial shield is because of the European Union and against Brussels,” Orbán said.
Watch the whole interview hereand read Kathryn Carlson’s write-up here.
MEANWHILE … Trump last night said proposed Senate measures to sanction countries that continue to do business with Russia would be “OK with me.” Bloomberg has the details.
NOW READ THIS 1: Western military spending is rising faster than at any time since the end of the Cold War, but the retreat from diplomacy and foreign aid will come at a price, reports Tim Ross in this long read.
NOW READ THIS 2: Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, sets out what the Russian opposition wants in this op-ed on POLITICO: “We want the same basic rights and freedoms that Europeans see as part and parcel to everyday life.”
ZELENSKYY MEETS MACRON
UKRAINE’S “HISTORIC DEAL” WITH PARIS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy teased the prospect of a “historic deal” to be signed with France to bolster his country’s air defenses as he heads to Paris for a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron today.
Not just the Gripens: Kyiv is in talks with Sweden about a large deal to acquire Gripen fighter jets as Ukraine works to build up its air force. But Ukraine has also been talking with France, with an executive from Dassault (which makes the Rafale) last month telling newspaper JDD that the firm was “ready to deliver” planes to Ukraine.
Enlargement angle: Zelenskyy’s visit to France comes as the wartime leader faces questions over his government’s handling of corruption following the revelation of an alleged €100 million scheme in the energy sector that has already prompted the resignation of two senior ministers. Clea Caulcutt has more.
Lobbying tour: France is also a key player on EU enlargement and has recently slammed the brakes on several initiatives to speed up the accession of Ukraine and other candidates. Zelenskyy may use his visit to reassure Macron about the corruption claims and seek his support to unblock the accession process.
SPEAKING OF ENLARGEMENT: Two events this week aim to keep the topic at the top of the agenda, with Sweden, Austria and Finland — together with ECFR, SIEPS and the College of Europe — hosting European Council President António Costa for a keynote speech this evening in Brussels. The Commission will follow up with its own event on Tuesday, the EU “Enlargement Forum,” hosted by Commissioner Marta Kos. Details here.
BONUS ROUND: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will kick off a tour of Western Balkan countries today in the latest high-profile trip to the region, which Brussels — and several EU capitals — fear could slide fully into Russia’s orbit unless the bloc shows its commitment to speeding up accession talks
TEASING NEW OMNIBUS BILL
PARIS EYES “ULTRA-PERIPHERY” WITH OMNIBUS PROPOSAL: Paris is due to pitch a new simplification omnibus bill focus on so called ultra-peripheral territories like France’s Guadeloupe where EU rules are meant to be followed, according to a document seen by Playbook.
Simplification goes global: The potential new omnibus bill, drawn up at the request of Ursula von der Leyen following a meeting with Macron in May, will seek to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses operating far from the EU’s core markets.
Red tape bonfire: France’s key proposal is a mechanism that would allow rules such as agricultural standards to be reviewed in these faraway regions, which the Commission once described as the EU’s “crown jewels.”
SUDAN APPEAL
CALLING OUT BRUSSELS: Sudan’s Ambassador to the EU Abdelbagi Kabeir warned that European-made weapons are showing up on Sudan’s front lines and urged the bloc to stop selling them to the UAE, which Khartoum accuses of backing the notorious Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, Seb Starcevic reports.
For background: Sudan has been roiled by a bloody two-year civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the government in Khartoum and the RSF. The U.N. describes it as among the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with tens of thousands killed since 2023 and some 25 million facing extreme hunger.
Abu Dhabi’s denial: Despite the EU’s long-standing arms embargo, U.N. experts have investigated claims Bulgarian munitions sent to the UAE ended up in the hands of RSF fighters. British and French arms have also been found on Sudan’s battlefield. But the UAE flatly rejected “any involvement,” with a government spokesperson telling POLITICO there is zero “substantiated evidence” it has supported the RSF and its arms export controls are “robust.”
Awkward timing: The EU is in the process of deepening ties with the oil-rich Gulf nation, with European Council President Costa recently hailing Abu Dhabi as a “reliable partner.” Kabeir wants Brussels to use those diplomatic links to pressure the Emiratis on the issue of weapons. “The EU should weigh the moral balance over the trade balance,” he argued.
IN OTHER NEWS
THE SAD SAGA OF EUROPE’S GAIA-X INITIATIVE: Don’t miss this story out today by Mathieu Pollet detailing the travails of Gaia X, the EU’s ill-fated attempt to create a sovereign “cloud system” to compete against U.S. digital giants like Amazon and Google. Needless to say, the initiative fell short of that goal — it was “a crushing failure,” per one former participant.
A BIT FISHY: The EU’s veggie “burger” ban is also coming for Spain’s fish steaks, reports Rebecca Holland.
MADRID GETS BRAGGING RIGHTS: Spain’s deficit is set to fall below Germany’s next year, the FT reports.