SYRIZA, PASOK react to Ιnterior Μinistry’s data breach
Opposition parties are demanding the resignation of Interior Minister Niki Kerameus following the outcome of Greece’s Personal Data Protection Authority (PDPA) investigation into unsolicited emails sent to the Greek diaspora ahead of the European elections.
Israeli Ambassador to Greece Noam Katz reacts to Kasselakis’ visit to Palestinian Authority
The visit to the Palestinian Authority by SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance “could be called a missed opportunity,” Israel’s Ambassador to Greece Noam Katz said on Monday.
Türkiye’s Ambassador to Greece: Focusing on boosting economic, commercial, and cultural relations
The initiative to enhance relations between Greece and Türkiye was highlighted by the Turkish Ambassador to Greece, H.E. Çağatay Erciyes.
State budget execution Jan-April 2024: Tax revenues at 2.079 billion above target; primary surplus at 3.282 billion
Tax revenues in the first quarter of 2024 rose by 2.079 billion euros, compared to the target, the Ministry of Economy & Finance said on Monday.
ATHEX: Banks help benchmark post gains
The Greek stock market opened the new week with a moderate advance for its main index that was mostly to be attributed to the growth of bank stock prices. On the contrary, the majority of stocks and the mid-cap index closed with a decline despite the very positive start to the day. Turnover was even lower than Friday’s owing to the bank holiday in the US and the UK.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1239836/athex-banks-help-benchmark-post-gains
KATHIMERINI: Blue Homeland doctrine planted in Turkish schools
TA NEA: New benefits: Winners and losers
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Dangerous games with our blood
AVGI: Recognition of a Palestinian state: “If not now, when?”
RIZOSPASTIS: A more powerful Greek Communist Party will prevent the commercialization of healthcare
KONTRA NEWS: Corrective action in the cabinet
DIMOKRATIA: Families with three children: “Mitsotakis, you are a liar”
NAFTEMPORIKI: Listed companies bet on loans and dividends
DRIVING THE DAY: EU-ISRAEL
EU MULLS ‘CONSEQUENCES’ IF ISRAEL DOESN’T COMPLY WITH COURT RULING: Brussels is preparing to issue an ultimatum to Israel, several officials and diplomats told Playbook — comply with the International Court of Justice’s ruling demanding an immediate halt to its military offensive in Rafah, or face “consequences” that could affect its economic relationship with the Union.
The sources say the EU is preparing to act on growing unease about the humanitarian cost of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which was amplified after an air attack on refugee tents in Rafah on Sunday killed at least 45 Palestinians, including children. Many countries are now warning that the EU must uphold international law or undermine its credibility.
Those concerns were palpable as foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday.
Shock and outrage: Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said he’ll seek official support from the other 26 member countries for the ICJ ruling and take steps to ensure Israel respects its decisions. Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock said the ICJ ruling is “binding and must be complied with,” adding: “We see that it is no gain for Israel’s security, that no hostage will be released, if people are now burning in tents.” And Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told Sky TG24 that Israel’s military action is “no longer justifiable,” and that “with respect to Rafah, all states agreed that Israel had to stop.”
‘Tragic mistake’: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called the deadly strike on the refugee camp in Rafah a “tragic mistake” and said Israel would investigate. POLITICO has a write-up here.
At Monday’s meeting, the foreign affairs ministers discussed the EU’s responsibility to enforce the ICJ ruling. During the closed-door discussions, several countries seemed supportive of calls for enforcement and some went so far as to argue for sanctions against Israel.
Ireland pushing sanctions: Irish FM Micheál Martin said after the meeting: “For the first time at an EU meeting, in a real way, I’ve seen significant discussion on sanctions.” Martin added: “There is a lot of concern … amongst member states in respect of what is a clear situation where the ICJ have ruled, made provisional orders, and the EU has always upheld the independence of that court and the need for nations to comply with it.”
Others favor giving Bibi an ultimatum: It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that several EU countries including Germany and Austria are unlikely to favor sanctions and could block them. Others at the meeting favored a vaguer threat of “consequences” if Israel doesn’t comply with the ICJ ruling within a given timeframe. Baerbock pleaded for the EU to first talk to Netanyahu to warn him that non-compliance with the ICJ ruling would have serious ramifications for Israel’s bilateral relationship with the EU.
Examining options: The EEAS, the EU’s foreign affairs department, is now preparing a list of options in case Israel continues ignoring the court’s decision. One obvious option, according to officials and diplomats, would be to suspend the Israel-EU association agreement which grants Israel preferential market access to the EU.
What happens next: The EU will call for a meeting of the “association council” under its association agreement with Israel while the EEAS prepares that list of possible measures.
UKRAINE
STRIKING BEHIND RUSSIAN BORDERS: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will urge EU countries to allow Ukraine to hit targets such as ammunition and fuel depots in Russian territory when he appears at the defense ministers’ meeting today.
Background: With Russian forces continuing an offensive against Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, which is close to the border, Stoltenberg has argued that Western restrictions made defending it more difficult — since Ukraine is not allowed to hit Russian supplies and logistics behind the frontline.
Tricky debate: Removing those restrictions is controversial within the NATO alliance. Many allies have so far imposed restrictions on the weapons they provide to Ukraine, prohibiting Kyiv from using them against targets in Russia. Italy and Germany are opposed to Stoltenberg’s move, according to diplomats. The tension in Europe is reflected in the U.S., where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pushing for a change, but President Joe Biden is more cautious.
Read the law: A Scandinavian official hit back at the opposition from Germany and Italy, saying: “It’s perfectly allowed to retaliate at legitimate military targets of the aggressor under international law.”
CALLING OUT ORBÁN’S EU SABOTAGE: Lithuania’s FM Gabrielius Landsbergis rebuked Hungary on Monday for its systematic blocking of EU foreign policy decisions, in an interview with POLITICO’s Jacopo Barigazzi.
Enough is enough: “We looked into this and apparently about 41 percent of resolutions by the EU on Ukraine have been blocked by Hungary. The EPF is blocked,” he said, referring to the European Peace Facility, which is used to help countries pay for weapons they provide to Ukraine. He continued: “Ukrainian accession talks [are] being held hostage by Hungary and I could go on.”
It’s systematic: “Almost all of our discussions and needed solutions and decisions by the EU are being blocked by just one country. So we have to start seeing this as a systematic approach towards any efforts by the EU to have any meaningful role in foreign affairs.”
The question now is — what will the EU do about it? Orbán might be determined to undermine the EU where he can, but is he willing to leave a club that amplifies his influence and transfers billions into Hungary’s state coffers? Are the other 26 prepared to stand up to him?
Meanwhile, on planet Orbán: Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó condemned EU “proposals” for a “compulsory conscription across Europe to bolster Ukraine’s diminishing manpower.” Reality check: The EU has no army and is not sending any professional soldiers into the war, let alone conscripted ones.
Disinformation: While Szijjártó’s colleagues may shrug off obviously false accusations as typical of Orbán’s campaigning style, the constant attacks fuel fear and create doubts about the EU’s support for Ukraine, and only really help one person: Vladimir Putin.
DENMARK MULLS DEFENSE BONDS: The “dire” situation in Ukraine has Denmark now mulling innovative approaches to financing defense spending, its Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told my colleague Jacopo. “We are open to discuss … innovative ideas, whether it could be to use the interest rates from the frozen Russian assets to pay for a new common loan investing in Ukraine or it could be defense bonds or whatever,” he said.
AND ONE MORE THING: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Belgium today and sign a security pact with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
CHINA
SCOOP — MORE RISK CHECKS ON CRITICAL TECH: The Commission is preparing the next step to shield crucial technologies such as advanced semiconductors, AI, quantum technology and biotech from China and other rivals, my colleagues Camille Gijs and Barbara Moens report.
After sharing a first batch of risk assessments with EU capitals in late March, Brussels is now looking to “deepen the joint risk assessments on critical technologies,” according to a document prepared by the Belgian EU presidency and dated May 21.
The Commission will then do “in-depth reviews” of the risks identified to determine which transactions, investments or exports EU capitals should screen. But the EU executive faces skepticism from member countries, which are concerned about the scope of the strategy, the additional administrative burden it would impose on companies, and the extra resources needed to carry out the checks.
NOW READ THIS: Is the EU already in a trade war with China? Even if they aren’t yet, things could soon get nastier as Brussels’ investigation into Chinese electric vehicles nears its conclusion, report my colleagues from POLITICO’s trade team.
IN OTHER NEWS
MACRON WANTS TO DOUBLE EU BUDGET: French President Emmanuel Macron, on a state visit to Germany on Monday, warned that Europe faced an existential threat and must double its public spending to meet challenges such as the green transition, artificial intelligence and security threats.
‘Let’s double our European budget,’ Macron said in a speech in front of the Frauenkirche in the eastern German city of Dresden. The president spoke in French and German as he tried to win over German hearts and bring them around to backing his grand plans for Europe. My colleagues Hans von der Burchard and Cléa Caulcutt have more.
What did his German counterpart make of that? There was no talk of Macron’s budget appeal in a joint op-ed with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz published in the FT. But the French and German leaders did say: “We should make the EU budget fit for the future and further prioritize investments in transformational expenditure and European public goods while working on introducing new ‘own resources’ as agreed in 2020.”
Move over Paris and Berlin: Macron has been keen to frame his visit to Germany as an opportunity to shape the EU’s agenda, but the rest of Europe isn’t convinced those two countries should be in the driving seat anymore, writes Nick Vinocur. A new cast of European leaders is looking to step up as power brokers on the European stage.
JOHANSSON WARNS ABOUT RUSSIAN SABOTAGE: The EU’s home affairs commissioner insists the EU needs to get better at fighting Russian sabotage. “Countering Russian sabotage in the EU is a major concern — now and for the next mandate,” Ylva Johansson told Playbook, speaking before a conference today on the EU’s internal security, which will discuss threats such as organized crime and terrorism.
Don’t forget internal threats: “When people talk about security nowadays, they talk about defense, foreign policy, about external security,” Johansson said. “And that’s for a very good reason. Putin is a threat to the European Union.” But “because of the danger on the outside, we need security on the inside,” she added.
TOO SOFT ON SERBIA: Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said the EU and U.S. are “too soft” on Serbia and should give Belgrade a deadline to adopt sanctions against Russia, in an interview with the FT.
WHAT NEXT FOR GEORGIA? With the controversial “foreign agents” law set to be passed today despite weeks of protests and Western backlash, Gabriel Gavin explains that what happens next could decide the future of the South Caucasus country.
A FAR-RIGHT SUPERGROUP? NOT SO FAST: Italian PM Giorgia Meloni is keeping her options open ahead of the EU election, despite being courted by French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen.