Greek-US defense deal aims at boosting ‘qualitative advantage,’ says PM
Greece is seeking to acquire a “qualitative advantage” over Turkey that will bolster its deterrence capabilities and equip its Armed Forces to deal with modern challenges, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Skai radio on Tuesday, speaking about an ongoing defense agreement with the United States.
Wintry weather closes mountain roads in Athens, Evia and Viotia, keeps ferries at port
Heavy snow at even low altitudes in eastern and southern parts of the country and a drop in temperatures are recorded across Greece on Tuesday.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/793127/Avghi-brings-snow-and-gale-force-winds
Education minister: ‘We are ready to carry out finals online; students will not miss the semester’
The universities where sit-ins are preventing students from sitting for their finals are fully ready to carry them out online, Education, Religions, and Sports Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis asserted on ANT1 TV on Monday.
Vroutsis: New sports bill introduces cameras, ID-linked tickets; sports arenas reopen Feb 13
Sports arenas will reopen for fans on Tuesday, February 13, as the regulations reforming the Permanent Committee Against Violence kick in, Alternate Minister of Sports Yiannis Vroutsis said in the Greek parliament on Monday.
ATHEX: Stocks take a step back
Monday’s stock session followed the course of the Greek weather, with a steady decline in prices matching the drop in temperatures. The benchmark narrowly managed to stay above the 1,350-point level, mainly thanks to the activity of some buyers in selected blue chips, while the prospect of the Athens International Airport listing absorbed some of the market’s liquidity.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1230354/athex-stocks-take-a-step-back/
KATHIMERINI: Universities dragged to remote exams
TA NEA: And now: frigates made in Greece
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The rich are optimistic about the course of the economy while the poor are struggling
AVGI: The government sowed promises and reaps rage
RIZOSPASTIS: Solidarity to the fair fight of farmers!
KONTRA NEWS: The Mayor of Athens cancelled the land development of the Strefis hill
DIMOKRATIA: The battle of the skies
NAFTEMPORIKI: Banks claim profits of 13 billion euros
THE BRUSSELS BUBBLE EUROVISION
TODAY — MINISTERS COMPETE FOR NEW EU AGENCY HQ: It’s like Eurovision but with more boring costumes and no singing (thankfully).
Various European finance ministers, including Germany’s Christian Lindner and France’s Bruno Le Maire, have jetted into town for the EU’s first public contest to decide where the Union’s newly created Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will have its headquarters.
Let the games begin: Countries love hosting prestigious EU agencies, which come with political influence, pricey real estate contracts and well-paid officials, lobbyists and other barnacles. The fact governments are sending their ministers to pitch for the new agency shows how much effort they’re putting into the bidding process.
First public bidding: In the past, ministers picked the seats of EU agencies in backroom deals and votes shrouded in secrecy. But EU courts put an end to that, ruling in 2022 that MEPs deserve a say too.
Out of the shadows: “We are putting an end to the Council’s backroom deals for the selection of the seat of new EU bodies,” MEP Eva Maria Poptcheva, who spearheaded negotiations on the file, told Playbook. “Each candidate will be able to present and defend their candidature based on clear and objective criteria.”
The contestants: Nine cities are competing to host AMLA: Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris, Riga, Rome, Vienna and Vilnius. Each minister gets an hour to represent their city in front of MEPs and diplomats.
Timeline: The hearing starts with Rome at 9 a.m. and ends with Paris at 7 p.m. You can find the full schedule here and watch here.
No dirty laundry deal: My colleague Bjarke Smith-Meyer hears countries have agreed to play nice with each other and not to diss their colleagues’ bids — so it will be up to MEPs to ruffle a few feathers and make things interesting.
What’s next: Once today’s hearings are over, MEPs and diplomats representing EU governments will meet on Feb. 22 to vote on AMLA’s future home. Both institutions — Parliament and Council — will get 27 votes each.
How EU countries plan to circumvent the court ruling: In a scenario not too dissimilar to how things often go at the Eurovision Song Contest, the AMLA vote could be capsized by a cabal of countries agreeing to back each other.
Democracy manifest: There’s a risk that EU countries could rig the vote before Feb. 22 and leave Parliament without a real say — by agreeing between themselves and presenting Parliament with a single city to choose from, officials told Playbook and Bjarke.
Can Parliament bite back? Having to give Parliament a say is annoying for governments — it’s no secret they would prefer to pick a winner via the old, cozy backroom deals. So it’s now up to Parliament to stand up for itself on the matter.
FARMER PROTESTS
FRANCE CLAIMS BRUSSELS HAS SHELVED MERCOSUR DEAL: The office of French President Emmanuel Macron claimed on Monday that Brussels had “put an end” to talks on the Union’s long-negotiated trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries — elevating the interests of French farmers over those of the 26 other countries that were in favor of the deal, Giorgio Leali reports.
France wants to pull the plug: “The Commission understood that it was impossible to conclude talks in this context,” an Elysée official, referring to the Mercosur negotiations, told reporters during a telephone briefing on Monday. A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment — seemingly taken as much by surprise as everyone else.
Background: Angry farmers have been laying siege to Paris in protests that have been reportedly fueled by a Russian disinformation campaign. Despite their complaints over fuel taxes and incomes, farmers have been raking in record profits thanks to high global market prices and a great 2023 harvest.
Farmers on the march: The Mercosur deal would open new markets for cars, pharmaceuticals and machines but also lower tariffs on foodstuffs. South American and European companies have hailed the deal as their best hope to fuel growth and diversify away from China. But powerful farm lobbies oppose it as they fear competition from prime South American beef and cane sugar.
MACRON BRINGS FARMERS’ PROTEST TO TOWN: The French president has also asked that the farmers’ grievances be discussed by EU leaders at their summit on Thursday — in an apparent attempt to shift the blame to Brussels, as Giorgio reports.
Blame VDL: Macron will hold talks with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the European Council on Thursday — and ask not just for an end to Mercosur talks but also for restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural imports.
UKRAINE
EU LEADERS EYE DEAL TO TOP UP WEAPONS FUND: EU leaders are keen to agree on a €5 billion top up for the European Peace Facility (EPF), to boost weapons shipments to Ukraine — overcoming objections from Germany and Hungary.
Compromise: Budapest has a long-standing position that means Hungary is not delivering arms to Ukraine, Hungary’s EU ambassador said to his colleagues during a meeting last Wednesday. But Budapest could agree to a deal if its contributions are used for non-lethal aid, as proposed in a new draft compromise seen by Playbook.
Background: The weapons fund is separate from the proposed €50 billion in budget aid for Ukraine, which, as my colleague Veronika Melkozerova writes, Kyiv desperately needs. Hungary last week dropped its opposition to topping up this smaller weapons fund, as first reported by Bloomberg.
On Germany: The draft text also includes some language that could please Germany. Berlin wants its “in-kind contributions” to Ukraine to be recognized — essentially discounting from the EPF what has been provided bilaterally by member countries — as my colleague Jacopo Barigazzi scooped.
EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS’ MANIFESTO
SOCIALISTS WANT ROBUST TIES WITH CHINA: A leaked draft of the European Socialists’ election manifesto was upbeat about the EU’s relations with Beijing — never mind reports about China’s attempts to undermine EU democracy. “We will pursue constructive and robust relations with China,” reads the draft, seen by Playbook.
Asked about that wording, the Party of European Socialists’ (PES) Secretary-General Giacomo Filibeck argued the draft was clear “that our relationship with China has to be rebalanced by promoting our values and protecting our interests.”
German veto: Elsewhere in geopolitics, the draft calls for “an international peace conference” on the Middle East, but it doesn’t mention a cease-fire. Having Germany’s SPD as a key party in the PES seems to make it too hard to call for.
On treaty changes: The draft also seems to open a Brussels taboo in talking about the need for a “reform of EU architecture” to facilitate enlargement. Filibeck said such reforms would make the EU “more efficient, more democratic, more transparent.” Treaty change “is widely supported by many member parties inside our family,” he added.
Defending Borrell: The Socialists clearly don’t see eye to eye with the European People’s Party on Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat. In the EPP’s draft manifesto, the group says Socialist-appointed high representatives “have often failed to fulfil their role.”
Not so fast: Filibeck defended the top Socialist official in town: Borrell “is extremely sharp and clear in what are the priorities for the stability of the European Union and for the positive role that the EU can play in the world.” And “considering the foreign policy context … parties should stand with him and not attack him in this way.”
Why so mean? Filibeck also clearly didn’t like POLITICO’s story on Nicolas Schmit, the Socialists’ top candidate for the EU election. The headline — “Nicolas who?” — appeared particularly irksome. “I’m sure that you can do better,” Filibeck said, arguing that Schmit’s name is well known “outside of this Brussels bubble … by all the social partners, trade unions, business associations of each and every single member states in the European Union.” Playbook’s not so sure about that one.
GREEN DEAL
GREEN DEAL ENGINEER SAMSOM LEAVES HOEKSTRA CABINET: Diederik Samsom, chief of staff to the Commission’s Green Deal boss, is leaving his post, he confirmed to Playbook.
Samsom worked closely with former Socialist Commissioner Frans Timmermans, the architect of the Green Deal, but stayed with his center-right successor Wopke Hoekstra when Timmermans left the Commission — despite Samsom and Hoekstra coming from different political ideologies.
Keeping it cool: Samsom denied he was leaving due to lower climate ambitions in the EU’s 2040 emissions target, as rumored. But he also didn’t pretend everything was rosy between him and the new commissioner.
Job’s done here: “When I decided to help Wopke Hoekstra to try to take over this big portfolio from Frans Timmermans, I promised three things: that I would prepare him to get confirmed; that I would help with the very complex preparations for the COP; and that I would stay for the last big file, the 2040 target,” said Samsom over the phone. “So it’s only natural that I’ll leave once these three are accomplished, hopefully on February 7.”
What’s next for Samsom? “I will stay connected to the Commission for a few more months; but not in the Cabinet. I hope to be able to help preparing the follow up of the Green Deal for the next mandate.”
TRADE UNIONS SLAM BRUSSELS FOR FAILING TO TACKLE ASBESTOS: As the EU launches a massive renovation wave to insulate millions of buildings and cut energy consumption, “the risk of asbestos exposure is going to increase,” Esther Lynch, the chief of the European Trade Union Confederation, told Playbook. If workers or residents get exposed to the old materials during renovations, they could breathe in the deadly fibers.
EU inaction: Brussels promised legislation to screen old buildings for asbestos in 2023 — but has so far not followed up. Lynch said the Commission had a “moral obligation” to deliver. The trade union alliance will today publish a letter urging Brussels to act before the EU election.
IN OTHER NEWS
‘EVERYONE IS JUST TIRED’ OF CHARLES MICHEL … That’s the view of one Belgian official following the news the Council president will now remain in his post until the end of his term, rather than run for a seat in the European Parliament. Barbara Moens, Jacopo Barigazzi and Eddy Wax take a look what Michel’s remarkable U-turn means for the rest of his time in office.
PARLIAMENT SPY PROBE UNDERWAY: The European Parliament on Monday launched an investigation into allegations Tatjana Ždanoka, a Latvian MEP, has been working as a Russian spy for years. The charges, which Ždanoka denies, were made in an article published Monday by the Insider, a Russian investigative newspaper. Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana and Eddy Wax have the details.
DEALING WITH IRAN: Iran’s allies are attacking the West. What happens next? The entire region is now braced for more violence, after the U.S. vowed to respond to a drone attack by Iran-backed militants that killed three American soldiers, writes Gabriel Gavin.