Mitsotakis, Erdogan likely to meet April 8
Athens and Ankara are in the final stages of confirming the date for a crucial summit between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with April 8 emerging as the most likely date for the meeting. The summit, which will focus on strengthening bilateral ties, will also address several key issues affecting both countries, including ongoing territorial disputes, energy matters, and regional cooperation.
PM Mitsotakis: Citizens will soon feel the benefits of implementing the policy against tax evasion
Citizens will soon feel the successful implementation of the policy against tax evasion, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said among other things, during his visit to the Ministry of National Economy and Finance and his meeting with Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis as well as members of the ministry’s political leadership on Monday.
Minister brushes aside calls to resign over 2020 social media post
Deputy Energy Minister Nikos Tsafos has dismissed calls from the leftist opposition SYRIZA party to step down over a controversial social media post he made in 2020 while working as an energy consultant. In the post, he had referred to the Turkish Cypriot entity in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus as the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC).
BoG slashes growth forecast to 2.3%
The Bank of Greece has downwardly revised the growth rate of the Greek economy to 2.3% from 2.5% in 2025. As BoG head Yannis Stournaras told a conference organized by Greek think tank Kyklos Ideon, this revision was necessary following the downward revision of the European Central Bank’s forecasts for the growth of the eurozone.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1264353/bog-slashes-growth-forecast-to-2-3
ATHEX: Glitch cuts bourse trading session short
The electronic systems of the Greek stock market crashed on Monday due to increased demand, according to the National Economy and Finance Ministry, leading to a shortened session with small gains for the main index. The problem has been fixed and Tuesday’s session will take place as normal, authorities assured. The ministry added that a software upgrade is also being considered to prevent recurrence. Even so, the benchmark notched up another 14-year high.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1264371/athex-glitch-cuts-bourse-trading-session-short
KATHIMERINI: Reduction of taxes for middle incomes
TA NEA: European incentives for bank deposits
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Oxygen through strikes
RIZOSPASTIS: There are no impasses for the people who fight to the end
KONTRA NEWS: The government offers support to deputy minister who acknowledged the Turkish Cypriot pseudo-state
DIMOKRATIA: Government reshuffle: Mitsotakis’ Waterloo
NAFTEMPORIKI: The 3 “codes” to bring about handouts
SAVING RADIO FREE EUROPE
Seven EU countries are backing a Czech initiative for the bloc to take over funding Radio Free Europe after the Trump administration slashed its financial support, according to an EU diplomat.
Soft power play: The seven countries, among them Germany as well as Nordics and Baltics, want the EU to step in to support what many describe as a crucial source of information in places where democratic rights are either MIA or under threat.
Ball rolling: Prague, where Radio Free Europe is headquartered, raised the matter on Monday during a gathering of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. Asked about the initiative, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas told journalists the bloc couldn’t “automatically” step in to replace the U.S., but countries had started “discussing to find a way to see what we can do.”
DRIVING THE DAY: TRUMP-PUTIN TALKS
TRUMP, PUTIN TO TALK “PEACE” AS EUROPE LOOKS ON: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to speak today in what the White House is billing as a prime opportunity to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. “We’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists on Monday.
The latest: Trump is reportedly weighing whether to recognize the occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea as Russian turf — a major concession to Putin — according to a report in Semafor citing two White House officials. It’s not terribly surprising, given Trump and Putin are “very good friends,” according to the U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. More on what to expect from the call here.
Not poking the bears: Following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Oval Office debacle, Ukrainian officials are being cautious about spelling out their hopes for the talks. “Too sensitive,” texted one Ukraine diplomat to Playbook when asked about Kyiv’s red lines. A Ukrainian official in Kyiv said — strategically — on Friday that Trump was “one of the very few leaders in this world that can influence decision-making in Moscow.”
Red lines: Among the asks Kyiv has formulated: bolstering prisoner exchanges. A Ukrainian official told the Independent that Kyiv is adamant about returning home the thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. It also refuses to cede more territory to Moscow.
Not convinced: Europeans are skeptical of talks taking place behind their back, so to speak, and without Ukrainian officials present. Kallas told journalists Monday that “Russia doesn’t want to end this war,” as she promoted a plan to send as much as €40 billion of military aid to strengthen Kyiv’s hand at the negotiating table. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski was also skeptical, telling reporters that while Ukraine has agreed to the ceasefire, Russia was “currently setting conditions, which means they do not agree.”
Speaking of strengthening hands … Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna chatted with Playbook about a major “card” held by Kyiv — its future membership in the EU. But despite being launched with fanfare last year, Ukraine’s accession is now on hold due to “one member state which simply blocks the EU accession process,” she said.
Who might that be? “This is Hungary,” Stefanishyna said.
Rewind: Stefanishyna was in Brussels just a few weeks ago for a press conference at which Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Ukraine could open the first two “clusters” in its negotiations — formal negotiating chapters — by mid-2025. Sikorski endorsed that goal in his remarks to journalists on Monday, commenting that the matter had given rise to a “lively discussion” at the Foreign Affairs Council.
Tried everything: But Hungary’s refusal felt implacable. Stefanishyna listed “multiple engagements” including two meetings between Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, “intensive” dialogue with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and detailed responses from Ukraine on 11 points raised by Budapest regarding Hungarian minorities in Ukraine.
Nothing doing: “This does not affect the position of the Hungarian side,” Stefanishyna sighed, adding: “It raises many questions on how to fix the situation.”
JUST IN: EU diplomats are quietly wondering the same thing. Ahead of the European Council gathering on Thursday, diplomats are already anticipating publishing a separate statement on Ukraine supported by 26 out of 27 member countries, with Hungary sitting out. An EU diplomat said Budapest’s refusal would have little substantive impact — plans are already in the works for future military aid to Ukraine to happen via a “coalition of the willing,” Jacopo Barigazzi reports.
Whither the EU? But the diplomat emphasized that Hungary’s refusal to sign the conclusions creates a worrisome precedent for the EU. “What does that mean for HU in the EU?” asked the diplomat. That’s to be determined, but Playbook hears Hungary’s refusal to go along with the rest of the bloc on anything Ukraine-related is restarting discussions about how to deal with the problem longer term.
The bottom line: Europe is once again on the sidelines as the U.S. holds high-level talks about Ukraine’s future. If Trump and Putin agree on some sort of peace deal, there will be enormous pressure on both Ukraine and the European Union to simply accept whatever Washington and Moscow negotiate. It remains to be seen if either party would be ready to defy a deal that’s presented as a fait accompli, even if it forces concessions on Ukraine.
IN LONDON TODAY: Kallas is in the British capital for a lunch meeting with Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey. They’ll discuss Starmer’s coalition of the willing to help secure Ukraine after a peace deal — and how to ensure Europe has “legal and financial cover” to seize Russian assets, Bloomberg reports.
Together again: Lammy and Kallas have written a joint op-ed for POLITICO, arguing this difficult moment — which they describe as a “world on fire” — calls for stronger cooperation. “The U.K. may no longer be a member of the EU, but when it comes to keeping our continent safe, Europe cannot afford to be less than the sum of our parts,” they write. “The U.K. and EU have come together in a moment of crisis.”
GERMANY’S BUNDESTAG VOTES ON FUNDING
CRUNCH DAY: German lawmakers vote today on a historic change to the country’s basic law that would grant the incoming government — led by chancellor-to-be Friedrich Merz — free rein to spend on defense, infrastructure and green projects.
Timing: A debate on the proposed changes will kick off at 10 a.m. Lawmakers will spend three hours debating before moving to a vote around 2 p.m., Hans von der Burchard and Chris Lunday write in to report.
What it’s about: Merz’s conservatives, their Social Democrat coalition partners and the Greens are expected to back plans to exempt defense spending that exceeds 1 percent of GDP from Germany’s strict debt brake. Lawmakers will also vote on creating a €500 billion special fund for infrastructure and climate protection.
How this should work: The three parties have the required two-thirds majority to change the basic law, but their margin is quite thin. Still, leaders from all three parties voiced optimism on Monday that the vote would pass.
They’d better be right: If it fails, the planned coalition of Merz’s CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats would be in great peril. They’re running out of time to push through the changes as they will no longer have a two-thirds majority in the new parliament, to be formed next week. James Angelos has more on all this here.
FROM OLAF TO FRIEDRICH: Around 6 p.m., French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at the chancellery in Berlin to discuss defense, conditions for a Ukraine-Russia peace and numerous other issues involving the new U.S. administration with outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Hans and Clea Caulcutt report.
The main event: After huddling with Scholz, Macron will meet with Merz (with whom he gets along much better). No wonder: Macron has been calling for more German (financial) involvement since 2017. Now it’s set to happen — assuming the vote in the Bundestag passes.
Buy European: Macron is likely to use the dinner to pitch Merz on buying European instead of American weapons — in particular the French SAMP/T air defense instead of Patriots, and Rafale fighters rather than F-35s.
Looking to Thursday: The meeting will set up the European Council gathering on Thursday, which is shaping up to be a long one. That’s no surprise given the extensive list of subjects to discuss — everything from aid for Ukraine to Europe’s competitiveness and a potential capital markets union.
JOINT BORROWING HERE TO STAY? Carlo Martuscelli spells out how the EU is on the cusp of another “Hamiltonian moment” with plans to use joint borrowing to finance defense. In focus is the Commission’s plan to raise €150 billion of joint debt to finance European weapons purchases.
This isn’t the first time the EU will have raised common debt. There was massive investment during the Covid-19 pandemic to prop up Europe’s floundering economy. But that agreement was thrashed out painfully over nearly five months, and the pandemic was seen as a one-off emergency. The need to rearm is a long-term refocusing of what Europe is all about, and the €150 billion is likely to be only the first step. Read the full story here.
KALLAS WEAPONS PLAN: Leaders will also go back to the drawing board to discuss the plan proposed by Kaja Kallas to deliver some €40 billion of military aid for Ukraine, which has the symbolic backing of 26 of the EU’s 27 countries. Kallas told reporters on Monday that the plan had “broad political backing” but there are still many details to iron out.
ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL
CANTEEN UPRISING: Are the European Parliament’s canteens turning people Euroskeptic? That’s the question one Slovak parliamentary assistant posed to 2,000+ peers in an impassioned email sent Monday afternoon. The Parliament’s canteens don’t provide Eastern European food, making people feel like their countries are “second class passengers in the EU,” the assistant said. What’s worse, they added, populists could frame it as culinary “Western imperialism” to boost anti-EU sentiment. “Thank you for raising this deliciously important matter,” a Czech parliamentary assistant answered. Stay tuned.
BRUSSELS PROTEST INCOMING: Nine months have passed since Belgium held regional (and federal and European) elections, yet Brussels still doesn’t have a government, Hanne Cokelaere writes in to report.
Gridlock capital: Last month, lead negotiator David Leisterh of the French-speaking liberal Reformist Movement resigned, as the French-speaking Socialist Party (PS) vetoed governing with the Flemish-Nationalist N-VA. But on Monday it became clear that an attempt to forge a majority without the N-VA doesn’t have the necessary support either. At least not yet — the same parties are meeting to give it another go on Wednesday, Bruzz reported.
Had enough: At 11 a.m. on Sunday, Brussels residents will stage a protest on the steps of the Bourse in the city center. “Our beautiful but ailing capital is being destroyed by incompetence, mismanagement, indifference, baronial politics and partisan interests,” Joost Vandenbroele, one of the organizers, wrote on LinkedIn.
IN OTHER NEWS
DOZENS KILLED IN GAZA STRIKES: Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Gaza overnight, which Palestinian officials said killed at least 200 people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes against Hamas targets because of the lack of progress in negotiations to extend the ceasefire that took effect in January and to release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the territory. “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said. The White House confirmed that Israel consulted the Trump administration before it began the attacks. The Associated Press has live updates here.
WAR OF WORDS OVER THE STATUE OF LIBERTY: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about a (tongue-in-cheek) suggestion by French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann for the U.S. to return the Statue of Liberty to France. Leavitt replied by reminding the “low-level French politician” that “it’s only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now, so they should be very grateful.”
How far back do you wanna go? To which a horde of French people online answered by reminding Leavitt that the U.S. owes its independence from the British, in large part, to French support.
YIKES: In a scene that rates as bizarre even by the standards of the second Trump administration, the White House offered its press podium Monday to Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, who was last year found civilly liable for sexual assault in Ireland, on St. Patrick’s Day. McGregor used his time to lament the “illegal immigration racket running ravage [sic] on the country,” while imploring “Big Brother,” the U.S., to keep looking after “Little Brother” — presumably Ireland. Here’s the full write-up from Shawn Pogatchnik.