Farmers line up tractors at Niki customs station in Florina to press their demands
Farmers and livestock breeders lined up their tractors at the border station of Niki in Florina on Monday, in an effort to increase pressure on the government regarding the satisfaction of their demands.
Gay marriage bill has wide support among MPs in committee debate
The Greek government’s bill legalizing gay marriage and adoption rights is receiving widespread support among parliamentarians during a debate at the committee level on Monday.
Bomb blast linked to failed December attack
A fingerprint on the bomb that was placed on the fence of the riot police camp in the Athens suburb of Kaisariani in December but was not detonated, as well as video footage of the Labor Ministry bombers’ movements on Saturday morning, are guiding police investigations into the two recent terrorist acts.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1230931/bomb-blastlinked-to-failed-december-attack/
The Acropolis got €60 mln worth of visitors in 2023
Revenue from visits to the Acropolis went up by €14 million from the previous year’s €46 million, the culture minister said on Monday.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1230911/the-acropolis-got-e60-mln-worth-of-visitors-in-2023/
BoG to warn on ‘greedflation’
The Bank of Greece is preparing to sound the alarm on the issue of prices, presenting a study that will highlight the reasons why Greece is more expensive than its peers in a range of products, including supermarket items.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1230841/bog-to-warn-on-greedflation/
ATHEX: Index gains on outlook momentum
The banks index took the lead in Monday’s bourse session at Athinon Avenue and took the benchmark to a new 13-year high, close to the 1,400-point landmark. Traders appear convinced that the Greek stock market is about to return to the group of advanced bourses, so they insist on expanding their exposure in it starting from its biggest companies.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1230921/athex-index-gains-on-outlook-momentum/
KATHIMERINI: International SOS for the protection of the Cyclades against excessive constructions and hypertourism
TA NEA: “Exinokomo” power-saving subsidy program for low incomes
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The government engages in panic moves in order to avoid a Euro-slap for violations of Rule-of-Law
AVGI: The government responds to farmers that it doesn’t have any more funds available for their support
RIZOSPASTIS: Join the struggle of the Greek Communist Party against anipopular policies
KONTRA NEWS: Those insured with EOPYY will pay for their hospitalization
DIMOKRATIA: The Regional Governor of Thessaly is humiliating the government
NAFTEMPORIKI: “Double joker” for the tax revenues of 2024
DRIVING THE DAY: EU CLIMATE PLAN
EU CLIMATE PLAN MEETS ITS FINAL BOSS: Commissioners meet today to discuss the EU’s emission reduction target for 2040 — and will recommend a cut of 90 percent compared to 1990 emissions levels, according to drafts leaked to POLITICO last month.
Latest: At a meeting of commissioner’s chiefs of staff on Monday, only the cabinet of Hungarian Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi opposed the target, two officials told Playbook.
Farmer PR: But the Commission has removed language from the recommendations that specifically addressed the agricultural sector, in an attempt to assuage farmers, who have been protesting across the Continent in recent weeks over EU environmental regulations and cross-border competition.
Agri concession: The final draft of the recommendations for 2040 has dropped demands including a mention of a potential 30 percent cut in agri sector emissions between 2015 and 2040, according to a late draft seen by POLITICO.
**A message from Equinor: Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is one of the solutions needed to achieve our global climate goals according to the IEA and the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).**
That came after strong objections were received from inside and outside the Commission, including from commissioners Adina Vălean, Olivér Várhelyi and Thierry Breton, according to four officials.
Also dropped: Recommendations for lifestyle change and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, both of which could also be read as sops to farming concerns.
But it won’t change much: “Despite all the semantics in the [Commission] there is an unequivocal Impact Assessment making a very compelling (business) case for an ambitious headline target and all sub-targets for sectors,” an EU official told Playbook, referencing the analysis that will accompany the EU’s plan.
Agri’s not off the hook: The Commission is briefing like mad that the new goal ain’t no thang — clearly out of fear of fueling rural anger ahead of the EU election. But according to the technical assessment accompanying the plan, which Brussels will also publish today, EU agriculture will indeed need to substantially cut emissions to help reach the Union’s overall 90 percent cut goal.
It’s not over: This episode is just a prelude of further clashes to come. Commission officials and experts say agriculture — which has so far been left almost untouched by EU climate rules — will need to make bigger efforts in the coming years if the EU wants to meet its overall targets.
EPP on the fence: On Monday, the European People’s Party’s chief environmental spokesperson, MEP Peter Liese, told reporters that the group will “consider” the 90 percent target in exchange for other concessions, such as dropping a ban on PFAS forever chemicals.
Liese took a direct shot at former Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans, who he said had staffed the EU’s climate division with “many many people [who] work on instruments [for] how to torture Europeans, European farmers, European industry and so on.”
CHARLEMAGNE’S LEGACY: Judging by the amount of attention politicians grant farmers (who represent 2.9 percent of the EU’s working-age population), you’d be forgiven if you thought we lived in feudal times, where they represented 90 percent of Europe’s population.
The action in Parliament: EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will be on his feet in Strasbourg at 3 p.m. (watch here) and joined by fellow commissioners Maroš Šefčovič and Kadri Simson for a press conference (here) at 4:30 p.m.
The action outside Parliament: Meanwhile, MEPs and staff have been warned about two planned protests by agricultural organizations outside the Parliament in Strasbourg today. “About 500 demonstrators and about fifty tractors are expected,” the Parliament’s safety wing DG SAFE wrote in an email, seen by POLITICO’s Eddy Wax.
ANTI-NIMBY LAW
WIND TURBINES (OR NUCLEAR REACTORS) COMING TO A BACKYARD NEAR YOU: To make sure that at least some of the massive expected demand for electric cars and clean energy creates jobs in Europe, the EU is working on a law to boost green industries.
Happening today: Negotiators from the Parliament and the Belgian presidency hope to reach a deal today on the Net Zero Industry Act — a law that gives certain green industries priority-treatment (such as subsidies and fast-track planning).
The target: At least 40 percent of the EU’s green tech consumption should be met by local production, according to the draft law. Parliament added a target for the EU to produce 25 percent of the entire world’s clean technology by 2030.
Anti-NIMBY law: The law’s most immediate impact will likely be that it will allow EU governments to steamroll NIMBY blockades to build power plants and factories deemed strategic. Renewables, but also nuclear reactors, will benefit from fast-track permitting procedures, as Playbook first reported last year.
Buy European: The draft law emulates China and the U.S. by prioritizing the EU’s own industry in public procurement — something Brussels’ liberals long opposed.
European answer: “In the context of anti-competitive practices and massive subsidies from China and the United States, [the law] is, in short, a European answer for our industries to succeed in reaching our climate goals without undermining their competitiveness,” said MEP Christophe Grudler ahead of today’s negotiation round.
SPEAKING OF NUCLEAR REACTORS: Energy security fears have prompted an internal debate on an issue that helped birth the Green movement. As the European Green Party swings into campaign mode for the EU election, old antagonism toward nuclear power is fading. Victor Jack and Louise Guillot have more.
EU BUDGET
PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL REACH DEAL ON UKRAINE AID: Negotiators from the Parliament and the Belgian presidency reached a deal Monday night on the €50 billion aid package for Ukraine.
What’s in it: Similar to the NextGenEU recovery plans for member countries, the Commission will negotiate with Kyiv on a “Ukraine Plan” that will tie disbursement of funds to reform projects.
How they did it: Parliament and Council reached their deal only 5 days after Hungary lifted its veto on the plan. They were able to move this fast because the Belgian presidency had already started informal negotiations on a draft text based on a “partial mandate” agreed by EU ambassadors before Hungary’s Viktor Orbán gave his final OK.
Budget negotiations continue today: Parliament and Council reps will meet again this evening at 7 p.m. to continue negotiations on the EU’s budget increase — which includes the €50 billion aid package for Ukraine, more funds for border protection and a new subsidy fund for EU industry.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
CYBER VIOLENCE LAW: Negotiators are closing in on a new EU law to fight violence against women online. The bill includes measures to stop the sharing of nude deepfakes — as recently experienced by pop superstar Taylor Swift — revenge porn and online harassment.
Attention to the issue rose in the wake of the #MeToo movement and as women faced growing amounts of abuse on social media in recent years. Cheap generative artificial intelligence tools have made it easier to create fake photos and videos of women.
Jourová says: “The latest disgusting way of humiliating womenis by sharing intimate images generated by AI in a couple of minutes by anybody. Such pictures can do huge harm, not only to popstars but to every woman who would have to prove at work or at home that it was a deepfake,” European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová told POLITICO’s Morning Tech.
“Our directive makes non-consensual sharing of such images a crime that needs to be punished. This is a major shift in the area of women’s protection,” she said.
FRANCE AND GERMANY
FRANCO-GERMAN CLASH OVER MERCOSUR DEAL: French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal visited Berlin on Monday, but a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz turned into vivid display of Franco-German disagreement over the future of the EU-Mercosur landmark trade agreement.
Contrary interests: The two leaders presented such divergent views of the deal with the bloc of South American countries that Attal concluded in a resolute French way (and accent): “We agree to disagree.” More from Berlin by Hans von der Burchard
BUT OPTIMISM ON DEFENSE: Scholz and Attal sought to project more unity when it comes to the two mammoth defense projects they are working on: The Future Combat Air System (a new fighter jet and AI-powered swarm drones) and the Franco-German MGCS battle tank.
If you want peace prepare for war: “I have confidence in our ability to make progress with the FCAS project,” Attal said, adding that the same applied to the tank. “We will continue to invest there; we will move forward … It is of great interest to both our countries,” he added. Scholz also said that he was “confident” about the joint projects.
**Brüssel, London, Paris… und jetzt kommt Playbook nach Berlin! Our expert reporters are bringing their stellar journalism to another hub of European politics. We won’t be hiding out in Mitte – from the Bundestag and key institutions all the way to each of the Bundesländer, Berlin Playbook has got you covered for your daily dose of deutsche Politik. Hier anmelden und lesen.**
AROUND PARLIAMENT
NEWS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES: A daddy MEP is passing the baton to his son. Helmut Geuking, a German lawmaker from a fringe party in the EPP group, quit the Parliament and was officially replaced by his son Niels Geuking, who was the next on the list. Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced Niels’ appointment as MEP in the plenary.
Geu-prince to Geuking: The Geuking’s small political movement, of which Geuking senior is the federal chair, is called the Family Party … which makes sense. Niels is the party secretary.
Keep it in the family: The Parliament’s website shows Geuking junior has already inherited some of his father’s assistants. Geuking senior still wants to come back in June and is running as the lead candidate in the EU election, according to Algemeine Zeitung.
AMAZON BADGE SNATCH: Parliament lawmakers snubbed by Amazon’s management are calling for the assembly to ban the company’s lobbyists — as long as Amazon management won’t meet MEPs to discuss working conditions at the company, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO’s Giovanna Faggionato.
What’s in it: Romanian Renew lawmaker Dragoș Pîslaru, who heads the Parliament’s employment committee, asked Metsola to withdraw Amazon representatives’ access badges until “the company’s management is willing to engage in genuine dialog.” Pîslaru is miffed that Amazon didn’t show up to a January hearing where trade union representatives dissed working conditions at the online retailer.
Right of reply: Amazon spokesperson Sarah Tapp said the company was committed to engaging the committee and had reiterated an offer for its members to visit Amazon’s facilities.
IN OTHER NEWS
THIS TIME IT’S REAL: Every five years, mainstream politicians freak out about the rise of radicals and populists ahead of the European election. But then, the danger suddenly seems to dissipate as the traditional center-left and center-right forces that built the EU forge coalitions that hold more radical parties at bay. Don’t bank on it this time, writes Eddy Wax.
GREEK RULE-OF-LAW CRISIS: In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Greek investigative media companies and human rights NGOs will today warn about the ongoing deterioration of the rule of the law in Greece. The organizations call on the Commission chief to take urgent action, citing the country’s surveillance scandal, reported hacking of the phones of journalists and opposition politicians, censorship laws and abusive lawsuits against journalists and activists.
RUSSIAN RETALIATION: EU capitals fear Moscow may seek retaliation ― including potential cyberattacks targeting Western countries ― against a full-scale confiscation of its frozen assets. European officials are sounding the alarm, writes Gregorio Sorgi.
TURKEY’S MISSING CHILDREN: A year on from Turkey’s devastating earthquake, hundreds of children are still missing. In an opinion article for POLITICO, Gönül Tol, the founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program, explains how families say their children were rescued from the rubble and checked into nearby hospitals but have vanished since.