Poll shows rise for New Democracy and Course of Freedom
The latest opinion poll by Alco, conducted for Alpha TV, shows a rise in support for ruling New Democracy, while the anti-establishment Course of Freedom continues to solidify its position in second place.
Greece launches national strategy to combat youth violence and delinquency
Greece on Monday unveiled a national strategy to prevent and tackle youth violence and delinquency, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasizing the government’s long-term commitment to addressing what he described as a complex and growing challenge.
MP Papadopoulos expelled from ‘NIKI’ party
MP Nikolaos Papadopoulos has been expelled from the “ NIKI” party. According to an announcement, the statutes provide for “ the loss of membership to persons who have committed significant misconduct”. The party also asks Papadopoulos to relinquish his seat in accordance with a provision in the party’s constitution.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/901584/MP-Papadopoulos-expelled-from-NIKI-party
African dust to blanket Greece all week; peak expected on Tuesday
Dust transport from Africa to the whole Greek territory will be felt throughout the week, according to AtmoHub, the information hub for atmospheric composition in Greece.
Pierrakakis: 600 mln euros fiscal space from the exemption of defence spending from European rules
A fiscal margin of 600 million euros is estimated to be possible for Greece, if the exemption of defence spending from the restrictions set by the expenditure ceilings in the European framework are applied, the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis said on Monday addressing Ikonomikos Tachydromos Forum.
ATHEX: Small gains despite drop by Eurobank
Lacking any clear direction, the Greek stock market closed with minor gains for the benchmark on Monday, even if banks did not have a good day, before the publication of their first-quarter results this week. Non-bank blue chips, on the other hand, extended their gains, with Piraeus Port and Sarantis climbing to all-time highs. The bank holiday in the United Kingdom is partly to blame for the lowest daily turnover at Athinon Avenue in almost three months.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1268791/athex-small-gains-despite-drop-by-eurobank
KATHIMERINI: Expulsion and fines for university vandals
TA NEA: Finance Ministry plan: what will change in ENFIA, wealth criteria and rents
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Ghetto-schools for “bad children”
RIZOSPASTIS: Famine, displacement and occupation in Gaza with blood bath
KONTRA NEWS: 11 ruling party rogue MPs are mulling new “hit” regarding small plots
DIMOKRATIA: Israel-Cyprus joint front against Mitsotakis
NAFTEMPORIKI: Loans spike with “scent” of growth
DRIVING THE DAY: BEATING THE TRUMP CURSE
WHAT “ANTI-TRUMP BUMP?” U.S. President Donald Trump appears once again to be splitting the world in two. MAGA-style candidates are being “punished,” as the New York Times put it, in North America and Australia. Yet they’re doing pretty darn well in Europe, as Nigel Farage in the U.K. and George Simion in Romania showed in their recent elections.
4 EASY STEPS: With a strong first-place showing in the first round of Romania’s do-over presidential election, the ultranationalist, anti-establishment Simion offers a model for victory by Trump-style candidates.
Step 1: Campaign in the countryside and outside the country: Simion made his pitch in Romania’s rural areas and to poor Romanian migrants in the diaspora. He won an astronomical 60 percent of the votes from Romanians living abroad.
Step 2: Go big or go home: Unite Romania and Moldova? Hardly crazier than annexing Greenland.
Step 3: Take over TikTok: Like banned first-round victor Călin Georgescu before him, Simion was a TikTok phenom.
Step 4: Be indefinable: Simion says he wants to strengthen NATO, but doesn’t want to help Ukraine (a position that puts him at odds with his European-level party, the European Conservatives and Reformists). He’s running against the establishment, but his party is now the second-biggest in the Romanian parliament. Seb Starcevic has more detail in this must-read analysis of Simion’s victory.
Bonus step 5: MAGAssistance: Matt Schlapp, chair of the Trump- and Orbán-friendly Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), traveled to Bucharest to stump for Simion.
HOPING FOR A REPEAT IN POLAND: The hard-right party in Poland isn’t afraid of an anti-Trump bump, either. Karol Nawrocki, Law and Justice (PiS) candidate in the country’s May 18 presidential election, dashed to Washington last week and boasted facetime with the Trump team. Lately, he’s been closing the gap with centrist candidate Rafał Trzaskowski in the polls, news outlet Notes from Poland reports.
BACK TO ROMANIA — DAN’S DAUNTING MATH: Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, a math champion and the pro-Western candidate advancing to the final round, faces some tough arithmetic if he’s to beat Simion in two weeks, POLITICO data journalist Hanne Cokelaere reports.
MEANWHILE, IN GERMANY, TRUMP HOBBLES MERZ: Even post-election, Trump’s influence is hurting establishment figures in Europe. Exhibit A: Friedrich Merz, the center-right transatlanticist set to be sworn in as Germany’s chancellor today. As the far-right AfD rises, Merz finds himself presiding over a coalition of crumbling mainstream parties that once dominated Germany’s political landscape. The Germans must have a word for a pre-birth obituary; whatever that is, James Angelos and Nette Nöstlinger have written it for this German government.
TRADING BLOWS
WEYAND IN WASHINGTON: The European Commission’s top trade official, Sabine Weyand, is leading a delegation of high-level technical experts from her trade department today and Wednesday in the U.S. capital, an EU official told Camille Gijs.
Shaking the trade stick: It’s the first encounter between Brussels and Washington since the Commission revealed a list of tactics for retaliating against Trump’s tariffs — which also included a breakdown of possible concessions.
This isn’t a formal negotiation, the official stressed, but an opportunity for the EU to continue explaining its approach to a Trump administration that is overwhelmed with offers from all sides.
APPARENTLY SOME NEGOTIATIONS ARE HAPPENING: Trade deals could come “as early as this week,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC. Trump, he added, “will be the final decision-maker.”
LATEST CULTURE WAR: After Trump pledged to slap a 100 percent “tariff” on movies “produced in Foreign Lands” over the weekend, those in the European film industry are bracing for the fallout. “Ousting the European film industry from the U.S. market is a harmful move toward cultural essentialism,” Nela Riehl, a German lawmaker from the Greens who chairs the European Parliament’s culture committee, told POLITICO.
ARTIFICIAL MISS: The EU missed a key deadline this month in its effort to rein in the riskiest artificial intelligence models amid heavy lobbying from the U.S. government, Pieter Haeck reports this morning.
PRESSURE ON PUTIN
TURNING OFF RUSSIAN ENERGY: The European Commission will today unveil a long-awaited roadmap on ending reliance on Moscow’s oil and gas. Gabriel Gavin and Victor Jack report that the scheme will propose new powers for private companies to divest from Russia, allowing them to end contracts early (if they want to) and urging them to halt any future deals.
A big if. “Cost considerations” are driving persistent thirst for Russian energy, said Maria Shagina, a sanctions expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “EU member states are concerned about competitiveness and deindustrialization, so cheap Russian energy against the background of a looming peace deal becomes attractive again.”
Oil gauge: In 2024, 19 percent of the EU’s gas came from Russia.
Timing: Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen is expected to launch the package of new measures in Strasbourg at 3:30 p.m.
But even that’s a bit up in the air: Olivér Várhelyi, the European commissioner from Hungary, has put forward an objection to the plan, meaning the College of Commissioners will have to discuss it today, three officials told Gabriel.
SCOOP — POP-UP PACKAGE: After weeks of no movement, the European Commission is expected to propose its 17th sanctions package on Russia today, five diplomats told Koen Verhelst. Expect new listings of people and companies, plus more shadow fleet tankers — but not new sanctions for products, which would face more resistance from capitals. More for Pro subscribers in Morning Trade.
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IN OTHER NEWS
FIRST IN POLITICO — SINGLE MARKET FOR WASTE: The European Commission wants to revise its labeling rules for textiles and harmonize the criteria that determine when a product becomes waste. That’s according to a draft plan on how to revamp the single market, obtained by Tom Schmidtgen, Kathryn Carlson and Aude van den Hove. Don’t let your Pro subscription go to waste; read more here.
Also in the single market revamp … is a plan to recognize U.K. professional qualifications to make it easier for Brits to work in the EU. That’s a key U.K. ask, as Britain and Brussels attempt to reset their post-Brexit relationship.
PUSHBACK AGAINST GREEK PUSHBACKS: The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty calls on Greek authorities in a report today to prevent pushbacks and ensure accountability for human rights violations at the country’s borders.
Charge the coastguard: Regarding the 2023 Pylos shipwreck that killed hundreds, O’Flaherty said Athens should investigate and prosecute those responsible. His report follows recent calls by Frontex officials for Greece to face punishment over abuses against migrants.