Labor bill to allow 10-hour workday
The Labor Ministry has presented sweeping new legislation that foresees 10-hour workdays for four days a week, throughout the year, individual contracts with reduced working hours, 13-hour daily employment in companies that do not provide a short break, but also a reduction in the cost of overtime.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1278970/labor-bill-to-allow-10-hour-workday
FM defends policy during his tenure
Greece is in a stronger international position now than two years ago, Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said, defending the country’s foreign policy since his tenure began. In what was seen as a jab, he compared Greece’s current standing with the period under his predecessor, Nikos Dendias, saying the government has achieved “a satisfactory operational relationship with both sides” in Libya, aiming for a balanced diplomatic approach.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1278969/fm-defends-policy-during-his-tenure
Androulakis asks for parliament plenary session to discuss the Palestinian issue
PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis, in a letter on Monday, requested from parliament president Nikitas Kaklamanis, to convene the Plenary Session of the Parliament “in order to discuss-prior to the agenda-the current situation in Palestine, with the aim of reaffirming and updating the content of the unanimous Resolution (Special Decision) of the Hellenic Parliament of 22.12.2015 for the promotion of the recognition of the State of Palestine by Greece and undertaking every possible diplomatic effort for the immediate commencement of direct peace talks.”
State budget surplus of 2.1 billion euros in Jan-July
The State Budget balance presented, on a modified cash basis, a surplus of 2,168 million euros in January-July 2025, against the target of a deficit of 1,961 million euros that has been incorporated for the same period of 2025 in the 2025 Budget introductory report and a deficit of 139 million euros in the same period of 2024, according to the data available for the execution of the State Budget.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/927756/State-budget-surplus-of-21-billion-euros-in-Jan-July
ASE index up on boost from blue chips
Contrary to the slightly downward trend in European markets, the Athens Stock Exchange advanced on Monday, maintaining the 2,100-point mark, mainly driven by healthy gains in selected blue chips.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1278947/ase-index-up-on-boost-from-blue-chips
KATHIMERINI: Spouses will get larger inheritances
TA NEA: Decoding the polls forcing the government to announce new handouts
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The new labor bill is a casus belli
RIZOSPASTIS: Solidarity to the people of Palestine
KONTRA NEWS: New revelations regarding government scandals ahead
DIMOKRATIA: Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerapetritis is a national annihilator
NAFTEMPORIKI: New “discounts” in social insurance contributions
DRIVING THE DAY: TECH REGS VS. TARIFFS
SWORD OF DSA-MOCLES: The European Commission makes little secret of the fact it made considerable concessions when it surrendered much of its trade leverage against U.S. President Donald Trump to protect Ukraine.
How far would it go for the EU’s landmark tech regs?
Trump’s Truth: In the early hours of this morning, Trump took to his Truth social network vowing to “stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies.” He claimed all tech regulations are “designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology,” and vowed to punish countries that have them.
The threat: “I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country’s Exports to the U.S.A., and institute Export restrictions on our Highly Protected Technology and Chips.” We’ve got a write-up here.
The intrigue: Trump’s missive came after Reuters late Monday published this specter of a report — light on details, heavy on consequence — that the White House is considering sanctions against EU or national officials responsible for implementing the Digital Services Act. Citing two sources “familiar with the matter,” the sanctions could come in the form of visa restrictions, according to the report.
WAIT, DIDN’T WE ALREADY SETTLE ALL THIS? The joint statement published last week by Washington and Brussels contained no reference to the DSA or the companion Digital Markets Act. That was a victory for Brussels, which sees its tech regs as key to protecting consumers and democracy — in sharp contrast to Trump and his allies, who view them as a burden on U.S. tech companies and censorship.
Unequivocal: “DSA, DMA, our regulation is absolutely not on the table for concessions to the U S.,” said Sabine Weyand, the EU’s top trade official, at an Alpbach event Monday (though that was before Trump put out his Truth). “We regulate for our own needs in the way we see fit,” she declared, in the clear light of midday, at a “brown bag” lunch chat held on a hillside picnic shelter. We’ll see how that holds up.
Fueling this prophecy: “You made a temporary truce, but don’t think of this as an agreement,” Joseph Stiglitz, the American economist and Nobel laureate, warned Weyand (very presciently, as it turned out). Trump has “never viewed any agreement as binding.”
EU DUE TO MAKE GOOD ON ITS END OF TRUMP DEAL: Weyand didn’t dispute Stiglitz’s analysis — but she also didn’t back down from her unapologetic defense of the Commission’s deal. Indeed, she confirmed Brussels is still aiming to meet a key requirement this week.
On Wednesday, the Commission is expected to debut its proposals to lift tariffs on U.S. industrial goods and cars, top trade MEP Bernd Lange told my colleague Antonia Zimmermann.
Good news for carmakers: The EU legislation’s introduction is the trigger for the White House to then lower its 27.5 percent automotive tariffs down to the 15 percent baseline, with tax relief kicking in retroactively as of Aug. 1.
Good news part 2: The package of two bills “will go through the normal legislative process, so there will certainly be intense discussions about them,” added Lange, a German Social Democrat chairing the international trade committee. So good thing, indeed, that the deal centers on just the text of the legislation, and not its passage.
MORE TRADE WINDS
A SILVER LINING: At the same event — expertly moderated by Playbook alum Florian Eder, now editor of Süddeutsche Zeitung Dossier — Weyand said the deal between Trump and Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, however critics may see it, has enabled broader engagement between Washington and Brussels.
One example: Cooperation on how to tackle the war in Ukraine. “What we are seeing now is that actually the understanding we reached on the tariff front has created a basis for engagement between the EU and the U.S. on a lot of other issues,” Weyand said. “We will have to see how far that will carry us, but at least we have another basis of engagement with the administration which wasn’t there before.”
The nexus between security and trade: “We are paying the price for the fact we ignored the wake-up call we got during the first Trump administration — and we went back to sleep. And I hope that this is not what we are doing now,” Weyand added, referring to the fact the EU’s dependence on the U.S. security umbrella effectively forced its hand in the trade talks.
Another turning point: “I have the impression that the signs are different now and that there is a type of Zeitenwende,” Weyand said, referring to a turning point in the EU’s relationship to the U.S. “Of course this is a backdrop against which we also have to discuss our trade relationship. The EU member states were not willing to take the risk of a further escalation, which would have been the immediate response to countermeasures by the EU.”
SO … ABOUT THAT PHOTO: Asked why she didn’t put her thumb up in the photo of the EU and U.S. negotiating teams “celebrating” their tariffs truce, Weyand said “raising your thumbs in this situation is a political statement. So I think this is not appropriate for a civil servant. I was there to do a professional job. That’s what I did. A gesture like that is not for me to do. That is for the politicians.”
SANCTIONS SPIGOT RUNNING DRY
AMBITION OUTSTRIPS INSPIRATION FOR NEW SANCTIONS: A 19th set of proposed sanctions against Russia is due in early September, but officials beavering away to meet that deadline are hitting a snag: writer’s block.
Gluttons for punishments: After the EU imposed a string of hard-hitting restrictions on Moscow’s oil and gas before the summer — and committed to a total phaseout of its energy exports — it’s not immediately obvious how Brussels can further turn up the economic pressure on the Kremlin.
Inside the room: Four European diplomats told my colleague Gabriel Gavin they don’t expect major new oil and gas measures in the new package. Instead, Brussels hopes it can convince Trump to use America’s global financial reach to hit the Russian economy where it hurts if Moscow doesn’t play ball with his planned peace talks. Read the full story here.
NOBODY MOVE: One area where new restrictions are being considered is over Russian diplomats’ right to travel freely around the Schengen area. It means an envoy with a visa from, for example, Portugal can pop up in Central and Northern Europe, where Moscow has been repeatedly accused of sabotage and influence schemes.
How do ya like me now? Previously floated earlier in the war, the idea of stripping Russian diplomats of their travel rights didn’t get much traction. But amid the paucity of fresh ideas, hawkish capitals are hoping the time is ripe.
“Just like Cato the Elder kept repeating that Carthage must be destroyed, I will keep proposing to end the free movement of Russian diplomats in Schengen,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, who is pushing new travel restrictions, told POLITICO, arguing that the privilege is being “abused to facilitate sabotage operations.”
THE OTHER KIND OF RUSSIAN ASSETS: Separately, Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis will brief foreign ministers on how to squeeze more revenue from Russia’s frozen assets during their Copenhagen retreat on Saturday. So far, demands to confiscate the funds altogether have fallen flat, with EU governments agreeing only to funnel the profits generated by those assets to Ukraine.
Buy low, sell high: Dombrovskis will test national capitals’ appetite for moving assets worth almost €200 billion into riskier investments that could generate more profits for Kyiv. The rotating Danish presidency wrote in its invite letter to ministers — seen by Jacopo Barigazzi — that the discussion should look at “further options for the use of revenues stemming from Russian immobilised sovereign assets.”
Missing details: A breakthrough, however, is seen as unlikely, Gregorio Sorgi writes in to report. One Commission official pointed out that Ukraine’s budget and an IMF report on Kyiv’s finances — both of which would give a clearer picture of the country’s economic needs — have yet to land.
A FEEL-GOOD STORY ABOUT UKRAINE AND CLIMATE (YES, REALLY)
BOGGING DOWN PUTIN: As Northern and Eastern European nations seek to fortify their borders against a potential Russian invasion, bogs have emerged as an unlikely defense asset — with clear climate benefits on top. Yes, bogs.
Hear us out: The EU’s bogs lock away vast quantities of planet-warming pollution. They’re also excellent at sinking tanks, as Russians discovered when Ukraine flooded a long-lost boggy plain to stop them invading Kyiv in early 2022. Plus, they happen to be concentrated along NATO’s eastern flank. Voilà: A tank-trapping, carbon-capturing bog barrier to keep out Putin.
The problem: Half the EU’s bogs are being drained, and their ability to halt both climate change and invading tanks depends on the land remaining in its natural, waterlogged state. Dried-out bogs, in contrast, release CO2 and are easily crossed on armored vehicles.
The solution: Scientists say stopping bog drainage would be a win-win for defense, climate and nature — at a time when the EU’s green priorities often find themselves competing for attention and money with the bloc’s newfound security focus. Countries are starting to catch on. Read the full story by Zia Weise, Wojciech Kość and Veronika Melkozerova.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE
HORROR HOSPITAL STRIKE: Journalists and medical workers were among at least 20 people killed by Israeli missile strikes at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Monday. Five journalists were among the dead, including the Independent’s Maryam Abu Daqqa and contributors for Reuters, Al Jazeera and the Middle East Eye. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was the result of a “tragic mishap.”
SCOOP — HOW THE ISRAELI GOVT SEE EUROPEAN CRITICS: In response to an open letter from prominent economists warning of “widespread famine” due to Israeli policies in Gaza, an aide to Netanyahu lashed out at some Western leaders.
“Left-wing governments in Europe and Canada depend on radical Islamists to stay in office,” wrote Ophir Falk, a foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, in a response to the economists viewed by Playbook. “Therefore, they choose to appease terrorism rather than confront it.”
More broadly, Falk argued Hamas “is the source of any humanitarian problem,” pointing to “massive amounts of uncollected food aid.”
MEANWHILE, IN BELGIUM: Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, from the centrist Les Engagés, said his party could seek to block government business if its Flemish nationalist and liberal coalition partners obstruct his plans to take a tougher stance against Israel. Prévot told De Standaard he will present “concrete proposals” on Wednesday that, in addition to recognizing Palestine, will include an entry ban on far-right Israeli Ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and restrictions on products from occupied territories.
KUSHNER NO-SHOW: U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner shrugged off a summons to appear at France’s foreign ministry Monday over an open letter he wrote claiming Emmanuel Macron’s government wasn’t doing enough to combat antisemitism. According to a French diplomat, ministry officials instead received the American chargé d’affaires “in the absence of Ambassador Kushner” Monday afternoon.
Dressing down: Kushner, the father of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the newly installed ambassador in Paris, infuriated Paris with his letter. On Monday, French ministry officials told the U.S. diplomat replacing Kushner that the ambassador’s comments were “not acceptable,” “misrepresented reality” and were tantamount to “meddling” in France’s internal affairs, according to the same diplomat.
Gone fishing? Neither the U.S. Embassy in Paris nor the French foreign ministry responded to requests for clarification over Kushner’s absence Monday.
IN OTHER NEWS
FRENCH GOVERNMENT ON BRINK OF COLLAPSE: Yes, again. Prime Minister François Bayrou announced he’d hold a confidence vote on Sept. 8 over his unpopular €43.8 billion budget squeeze. Things aren’t looking good for him.
HABECK ON THE MOVE: Robert Habeck, Germany’s former vice chancellor, will swap politics for academia next week, Zia Weise reports. Habeck on Monday said he would “research, teach and learn” at the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen and the University of California, Berkeley.
First in Playbook: Habeck will also take up the role of distinguished visiting fellow at Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania. He’ll be joined by Mark Malloch-Brown, a former president of Open Societies Foundation and former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, among others.
NEW DAWN IN LITHUANIA: Lithuania’s Social Democrats have signed a coalition government deal with the populist Dawn of Nemunas and the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union, along with their controversial allies, replacing the Democrats “For Lithuania” party. More here.
COOK OUT AT THE FED: Threatening the world over tech regs wasn’t all Trump got up to on Truth Social overnight. He also announced he’s firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, escalating his pressure campaign for lower interest rates. Full report here.
BUT SEOUL CELEBRATES A WIN: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Monday night that his staff “were worried that we might face a ‘Zelenskyy moment’” during his first meeting with Trump at the White House Monday, after the American raised questions about South Korean democracy on social media earlier in the day. But Lee said his meeting with Trump turned out “beyond my expectations.” Write-up here.