Rubio visit centers on security ties
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to arrive in Athens on Tuesday, placing defense cooperation at the center of a visit that Greek officials view as a reaffirmation of the strategic relationship between Greece and the United States. Rubio’s trip comes during what Athens describes as a difficult period in Greek-Turkish relations, giving the visit added geopolitical significance. Greek concerns include the planned resumption of seabed surveys linked to the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection project, known as the Great Sea Interconnector, the possibility of legislation related to Turkey’s “Blue Homeland” doctrine, and tensions arising from Greece’s relationship with Israel.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1317127/rubio-visit-centers-on-security-ties
Severe storm leaves widespread damage across Crete
A severe storm that battered the island of Crete in recent days has caused extensive damage to infrastructure, farmland and livestock facilities, disrupted the road network and left eight people stranded in the Samaria Gorge. A government delegation is traveling to Crete on Monday to assess the damage and identify urgent needs in the hardest-hit areas.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1317207/severe-storm-leaves-widespread-damage-across-crete
Athens, Paris ‘close to formula’ to break Greece-Cyprus GSI project deadlock
Athens and Paris appear close to an agreement on a formula that could allow the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection project, the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), to move forward, according to an official Greek government source. The proposed arrangement involves French company Nexans, a subcontractor of Meridiam, which now holds the majority stake in GSI, notifying Ankara of plans to conduct seabed surveys in international waters east of Kasos and Karpathos around October 26. Nexans would simultaneously seek the required authorization from Athens under the relevant provision of its contract with Greece. According to the Greek government source, the move could break the current deadlock. Turkey is expected to argue that notification amounts to authorization, while the Greek-French side maintains that notification does not constitute a request for approval, allowing the project to proceed.
Eurozone inflation set to hit 3.8% in September; Greece’s inflation seen at 5.1%
Annual inflation in the eurozone is expected to rise to 3.8% in September 2026, from 3.2% in August, according to a flash estimate by Eurostat. This would mark the highest inflation rate in the euro area in three years and nearly twice the 2% target of the European Central Bank. In Greece, inflation is estimated to rise to 5.1% in September, from 3.7% in August.
ATHEX: Stock drop continued on Friday
The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed at Friday 2,636.54 points, shedding 1.24% from Thursday’s 2,669.72 points. On a weekly basis it declined 1.10%.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1317066/athex-stock-drop-continued-on-friday
SUNDAY PAPERS
KATHIMERINI: Rubio’s Greek list
TO VIMA: 20 days that could decide the future of the Mt. Sinai monastery
REAL NEWS: Everybody “energized” about the electricity cable to connect Greece with Cyprus
PROTO THEMA: Rubio in Athens: What the Americans are asking for; what we want
MONDAY PAPERS:
TA NEA: Real estate assets: guidelines for change of use
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Birthday for ruling party New Democracy but with “thorns”
KONTRA NEWS: Triple blow by Samaras against Mitsotakis
DIMOKRATIA: Mitsotakis at the Special Court for ex deputy minister to the Prime Minister Triantopoulos
NAFTEMPORIKI: The fine print in the state budget’s targets
DRIVING THE DAY
ANYWHERE BUT BRUSSELS: European Commission officials rushed to apply for a slew of plum jobs that are opening up in the EU’s diplomatic network in the coming months, including the head of its delegation to the United Nations in New York and head of its office at the OECD in Paris, two EU officials told Playbook.
The surge of applications — described by one as a “gold rush” — coincides with reports of employee malaise and looming budget cuts at the Commission, where staff were asked to conduct scenarios in which the EU’s overall development budget was cut by as much as 40%. It also reflects an ongoing turf war between Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) run by Kaja Kallas over the future of EU foreign policy.
With budget cuts looming and staffers complaining about reduced autonomy in a highly centralized Commission, the appeal of ditching rainy Brussels for a far-flung locale where top jobs come with free housing and staff is more appealing than ever, the officials said.
Wish you were there? Some 30 key jobs in the EEAS’ global network of about 145 delegations are up for grabs in 2027, with standouts including head of the EU’s delegation to the tropical island of Mauritius, deputy head of delegation in Beijing and head of delegation in Saudi Arabia.
The juicy bit: Applicants include Commission staffers ranking as high as director-general — the highest level of EU civil servant below politically appointed commissioners — and senior national diplomats, the officials told me.
But it causes a headache: Managing the huge EEAS “rotation” is a key task facing new EEAS Secretary-General Kajsa Ollongren, who got started on Sept. 1 and has yet to replace the body’s outgoing head of resource management. The recruitment process is being overseen by acting officials, Elsa Fenet and Olivier Bailly.
Ollongren is about halfway through a tour of European capitals, with more than 15 stops planned, including a trip to Warsaw last Friday geared at gathering ideas on EU foreign policy.
New sheriff in town: The new secretary-general made a strong impression during her first appearances at Coreper (meetings of ambassadors), two EU diplomats said. She is part of a new EEAS leadership team alongside France’s former Ambassador to NATO David Cvach, who’s now deputy secretary-general for peace, security and defense, and Estonian senior diplomat Matti Maasikas, deputy secretary-general for geoeconomics and interinstitutional issues. “Ollongren is taking her time to see who she can trust and how the system works,” said one of the officials.
What’s next: With pre-screening of applications now done, formal job interviews are set to run through December and January.
The bottom line: The European Commission may be winning a turf war with the EEAS, but its employees are more eager than ever to trade the Schuman roundabout for the excitement of a foreign posting.
BIG AND BREAKING
ALTMAN’S BIG TRADE-OFF: The world “should accept some bad things happening” for the benefits of artificial intelligence, OpenAI chief Sam Altman said in an exclusive interview with Decoded by POLITICO, our new global technology briefing. Altman also discussed U.S. President Donald Trump’s AI accord with top tech firms, the rash of autonomous hacking incidents carried out by OpenAI models and his views on political power players including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Launching today: Decoded and its accompanying daily podcast will cover the people, policy fights and political battles reshaping tech, drawing on nearly 50 POLITICO journalists across the world. Sign up for the newsletter and subscribe to the podcast.
BOLSONARO AHEAD: Brazil’s presidential race will head to a second round on Oct. 25 after Flávio Bolsonaro finished ahead of incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in voting yesterday, but without securing a majority. A Bolsonaro presidency could have huge consequences for the EU’s relationship with Brazil and the Mercosur trade deal, as Camille Gijs wrote last week.
REDEPLOYED: The U.S. military confirmed overnight that it has withdrawn its bombers from RAF Fairford, the British air base at the center of a suspected terrorist incident late last month, my stateside colleagues report.
THE COMING ATLANTIC CLIMATE NIGHTMARE: From Reykjavík to The Hague, European governments are starting to prepare for a literal sea change that would end life as we know it on the continent, Zia Weise reports.
LEFT ALLIANCE TARGETED: The European Conservatives and Reformists are gathering signatures for a vote to ask the political-parties watchdog to investigate whether the European Left Alliance (ELA) breached EU values over the alleged role of its French member La France Insoumise in the school protests that have rocked France, according to an email seen by Max Griera.
CLASH OVER GAZA FUNDING
GAZA CRISIS DISRUPTS PARLIAMENT BUDGET TALKS: The Ursula von der Leyen-backing majority in the European Parliament is at odds over whether to fund the reconstruction of Gaza from the bloc’s next seven-year budget — yet another difficulty in the negotiations that are exposing major differences between national governments.
Final countdown: This is one of the final hurdles to overcome in the Parliament, with lawmakers aiming to finalize a common position next Thursday on the Global Europe Fund, a €200 billion pot of money governing EU foreign aid. Another sensitive issue is whether to use EU money to build migrant return hubs abroad and discourage crossings to Europe.
Von der Leyen’s European People’s Party rejected an amendment from the Greens, seen by Playbook, to ring-fence €15 billion for Gaza in the next budget. The EPP argued that it’s premature to ringfence cash for Gaza before a clear plan to rebuild the territory is agreed, said a lawmaker with knowledge of the discussions.
But the Socialists and Democrats, the Left and parts of Renew are pushing in the opposite direction from the EPP — even though the final text is unlikely to commit funding. “The most basic obligation of the EU is to provide sufficient humanitarian funding for the people of Gaza,” Irish Renew MEP Barry Andrews told Playbook. Socialists and Democrats lawmaker Robert Biedroń said he was sure they’d find a “compromise that will guarantee a meaningful EU involvement in the reconstruction of Gaza. It’s a priority for the S&D Group.”
Sounding the alarm: Civil society groups CONCORD, EPLO and VOICE, which together represent 200 NGOs, warned that cuts to Global Europe would undermine the EU’s role in the world and its response to international crises.
Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR representative to the EU, told Playbook: “We should be careful about thinking spending less abroad automatically saves us money. Sometimes you save money today and end up paying much more tomorrow, when a faraway crisis has become much bigger and harder to manage.”
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner has presented plans to address sudden mass arrivals on the bloc’s borders, including a ramped-up role for Frontex, the EU’s border agency. But what does Frontex do? It has its own uniformed law enforcement officers (the Standing Corps) that can assist national authorities. It also coordinates joint operations and gathers and shares intelligence with EU countries, as well as sending back data to its base in Warsaw.
OI, URSULA!
PROTESTS ROCK THE SCHUMAN ROUNDABOUT: Noise from demos now regularly taking place on Brussels’ Schuman roundabout can easily be heard on the Berlaymont’s 13th floor — where Ursula von der Leyen works and often sleeps, two EU officials told Playbook.
Location, location, location: While protests have long been a feature of Brussels’ EU quarter (tractors and hay bales, anyone?), rallies are being staged more frequently on the roundabout since the completion of a renovation that’s managed to turn it into a flat, featureless disk. It’s now ideal for protesting — like Paris’s Place de la République or Maidan Square in Kyiv.
Over the past 10 days, Playbook observed — and heard — protests on the roundabout by climate activists (including an 8 a.m. “Rave against climate inaction”), animal rights activists (holding up placards with the face of Animal Welfare Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi) and steel industry advocates (featuring genuine-looking coffins).
Legal fine print: Unlike the immediate vicinity of Belgium’s Royal Palace, the Federal Parliament or the prime minister’s office — all “neutral zones” where protesting is illegal — there is no permanent restriction on protesting near EU buildings. Organizers must obtain an authorization from a local authority, in this case Brussels Mayor Philippe Close.
Brussels vs. the Berlaymont: “If the Brussels commune prefers, we can take this circus on the road” — i.e., to one of the bloc’s other locations, said a second EU official.
6 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
LET US SHOOT DOWN DRONES: Governments should change laws to allow defense companies to take down suspicious drones overflying their plants, said a senior executive at Franco-German arms maker KNDS, Laura Kayali reports.
LATVIA STICKS WITH KULBERGS: Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs’ United List has won the country’s parliamentary election by a wide margin, putting the pro-Ukraine leader in a strong position to remain in power pending coalition negotiations.
LEADING THE GREEN CHARGE: The Greens in the European Parliament will pick new leaders tomorrow. POLITICO spoke to all the candidates.
AGAINST THE GRAIN: Some EU countries are rebuffing Ukraine’s pleas to help move its grain exports through Europe, as concerns for domestic farmers trump solidarity with Kyiv, per POLITICO. And the FT reports this morning that Brussels is planning to “significantly limit” Ukraine’s access to agricultural markets and farming subsidies if it joins the bloc.
Meanwhile in Kyiv … German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a new aid package for Ukraine worth more than €1 billion during a surprise visit yesterday that was marked by Russian drone attacks.
VERHOFSTADT PROBE: Former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt is under investigation by Belgian federal prosecutors over the supervision of European Parliament interns during his time as leader of the liberal ALDE group.