New US ambassador to meet Gerapetritis
The new US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, will meet with Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis on Tuesday, after presenting her credentials to the President.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1285684/new-us-ambassador-to-meet-gerapetritis
Greece scrambles to secure farm funds
Greece faces a tense race to secure nearly €1 billion in agricultural subsidies before year-end, as the government navigates negotiations with the European Commission over reforms to the country’s farm support system.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1285494/greece-scrambles-to-secure-farm-funds
Undecided voters growing, poll shows
A new ALCO poll presented on Alpha TV shows a sharp increase in undecided voters and deepening public dissatisfaction with Greece’s political and institutional landscape. Undecided voters reached 21.5%, nearly double the 11.9% recorded in January.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1285632/undecided-voters-growing-poll-shows
Manhunt intensifies for brothers linked to deadly Vorizia, Crete clash
Police investigations into the massacre in Vorizia, Crete, are broadening to include residential properties, adjacent areas, and places where the three brothers sought for their involvement in the violent incident on Saturday morning may have taken shelter.
ATHEX: Index rises back above 2,000-pt level
The stock market enjoyed a very positive start to the month on Monday, with the majority of stocks posting growth and the benchmark easily clearing the 2,000-point bar once again.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1285638/athex-index-rises-back-above-2000-pt-level
KATHIMERINI: ExxonMobil proceeds with drillings in Crete
TA NEA: 90 New Democracy MPs demand resignations due to the shutdown of Hellenic Post branches
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Mutiny within New Democracy regarding Hellenic Post
RIZOSPASTIS: The war industry in Lavrio is a timebomb for simple folks’ safety
KONTRA NEWS: The Americans want a package-solution between Greece and Turkey regarding energy issues and the EEZ
DIMOKRATIA: Civil war within New Democracy due to the closure of Hellenic Post branches: Leave, you are worthless!
NAFTEMPORIKI: The agenda of the energy agreements
DRIVING THE DAY: REPORT CARD DAY
RESULTS DAY: The EU will today publish its annual enlargement progress reports — essentially grading each wannabe member on its reform homework. Playbook’s EU accession professors (me and Seb Starcevic) got a preview of what’s coming via conversations with officials and diplomats, and have assigned each of the hopefuls a grade based on what we’ve learned.
Top of the class: Montenegro gets the equivalent of an A, with two officials telling Playbook its report will be “extremely positive.” Albania gets an A-, Moldova a B+, Ukraine a solid B.
Gold star: Having aced the test, Podgorica wants the EU to get to work on its diploma. Today’s report “confirms that Montenegro stands as the most advanced candidate country,” Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović told POLITICO. “I believe the time has come for the EU to match our ambition with a clear political signal: to start drafting the Accession Treaty.” That would be “an acknowledgment of our progress and a strategic investment,” Milatović said.
Ukraine’s “strategic imperative”: Kyiv’s Ambassador to the EU Vsevolod Chentsov expressed pride with his country’s reform progress under the most challenging conditions of war — “something no other candidate country has faced.” He added: “Ukraine’s path to Europe must also become the EU’s strategic imperative, backed by decisive action for a strong and united Europe.”
Stuck in detention: North Macedonia gets a C. Despite changing its name in 2019 to resolve a dispute with Greece, the country remains held back by a history and language spat with Bulgaria. While its report is expected to note some economic progress and stronger foreign policy alignment with the EU, overall the dial hasn’t moved much since last year.
Troubled students: Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, both mired in political crises that have stalled progress, earn Ds. Georgia, in democratic freefall, flunks with an F.
Are they even in the class? Kosovo isn’t technically a candidate, though the Commission still assesses its progress after it formally submitted an application for EU membership in December 2022. (The process can’t move forward until the five EU member countries that currently don’t recognize it as an independent state change their position.) Turkey — whose bid has been in the deep freeze since 2018 over rule of law backsliding and human rights concerns — is the student who ditched the exam altogether.
Still hopeful: Ankara’s Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı told Playbook he hopes the report “treats EU candidate Türkiye fairly in the enlargement context,” and “frees Türkiye-EU relations and the membership process from the abuse of the veto right based on narrow-minded, maximalist national gains.”
Still there: Kaymakcı added that “the stronger the EU membership perspective, the faster and more comprehensive the Turkish reforms and alignment will be, as was the case from 1999 to 2006.” Despite the challenges, he argued, “Türkiye’s EU membership will be the most beneficial and meaningful, contributing to a truly global actor EU.”
How Enlargement Day unfolds: The action kicks off at 1 p.m. at the European Parliament, where Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos will present the report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs (watch). At 2:15 p.m., the Commission will give its readout, with Kos and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas returning from Parliament to brief the press.
Mini enlargement summit: Euronews hosts an EU Enlargement Summit at Autoworld in Brussels, featuring European Council President António Costa, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić and North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will beam in via videolink.
RUSSIAN DISSIDENTS GATHER IN BRUSSELS
A VERY SECRETIVE SUMMIT: Weeks after being labeled “terrorists” by Moscow for allegedly plotting to subvert Vladimir Putin’s government, a group of exiled Kremlin critics quietly gathered in a Brussels hotel Monday. POLITICO’s Eva Hartog filed this dispatch from the meeting …
Underground vibes: The Russian Antiwar Committee kept its speaker list secret, even from journalists (for security reasons). Two police officers guarded the Sofitel Hotel entrance, visitors were screened with handheld metal detectors, and heavy curtains stayed drawn all day — giving the event a Soviet-bunker feel.
At least they agree on something: Though famously divided, Russia’s anti-Kremlin forces appeared united on three points: 1) The war in Ukraine must end; 2) Putin must go; 3) and the EU — since we’re giving grades in today’s Playbook — gets a C-, at best.
Endangered species: With USAID funding halted and no EU plan to fill the gap, Russian opposition journalists risk extinction “within three years,” warned Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe. “In about five years Europe will come up with some plan to set up an independent Russian-language news source and it’ll be too late.” Meanwhile, the Kremlin is spending an estimated $1.5 billion a year to amplify its message at home and abroad.
Pussy Riot speaks: “There are methods which Putin’s regime is using not just in our country, which has already been turned into a gulag, but also here,” Maria Alyokhina, co-founder of Pussy Riot, told POLITICO. She recently shared a talk-show stage with German far-left politician Sahra Wagenknecht: “Basically it was identical to [what you would hear on] Russian TV.”
Get over it: MEP Sergey Lagodinsky told Russians in exile not to wallow in their disappointment with the EU. “Don’t forget the great, the most important. And that is, despite all the difficulties, Europe’s democratic Enlightenment-based civilization and its values. For us all, and you all, it is about defending those values.”
Kubilius weighs in: Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius argued the EU’s history proved it could come up with the goods when it needed to. “I’m optimistic,” he said (though he didn’t sound entirely convinced). “If the need is there, the strategy will follow.” He argued it was important to maintain some form of dialogue with Russian society. “Even if there’s only a 1 percent chance that we can help Russia’s transformation, then we have to invest in that.”
SPEAKING OF KUBILIUS: The Lithuanian commissioner will today be at NATO HQ for a meeting of the North Atlantic Council and to meet Alliance boss Mark Rutte. “In previous months we have prepared the ground for a ‘big bang’ in material defense readiness, now is the time for implementation and delivery,” he told POLITICO, referring to the Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030 and other recent EU initiatives which will be the focus of today’s talks.
MEANWHILE, IN KYIV: President Zelenskyy is under mounting pressure from critics to keep the lights and heating on this winter. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the former head of Ukraine’s state-owned national power company Ukrenergo, told my colleague Jamie Dettmer that Zelenskyy is fearful of a public backlash over likely prolonged blackouts and is trying to shift the blame.
BUDGET BASH
MFF RECKONING: Tensions over the EU’s next seven-year budget will come to a head during a closed-doors meeting Wednesday afternoon between Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin and the European Parliament’s top brass.
Parliament vs. Björn: The Polish commissioner will have to square Parliament’s demands with pressure from angry farmers, regions and fractious member countries — not to mention his own boss. “This meeting isn’t likely to be useful — Serafin has no mandate to amend the proposal,” one Socialist MEP grumbled. “Commissioners involved agree with most of our objections, but [Ursula von der Leyen’s head of Cabinet] Björn Seibert is impeding progress.”
Parliament’s red lines: Serafin will have to present enough concessions to stave off threats of a parliamentary revolt on Nov. 12 during the meeting with Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the leaders of the pro-European parties, budget rapporteurs and committee chairs.
Commission’s tightrope: But if it pushes too far to get the Parliament on side, the Commission risks alienating national capitals. Two EU officials said the dispute could end up in a three-way negotiation between the Commission, Council and Parliament.
Previously on the MFF show: The pro-European groups — EPP, S&D, Renew and Greens — last week threatened to torpedo a key part of the budget plan unless their demands are met. MEPs are particularly furious over a proposal to pool farm and regional funds — about half of the €1.8 trillion budget — into a single pot managed by national governments.
To make things harder: Wealthy countries including Germany and Denmark back the plan and warn they’ll block the budget if it’s watered down to please Parliament. The “German government … will only agree to a fundamentally modernized financial framework,” a German official told my Berlin counterpart Hans von der Burchard.
PATENTS PENDING
COMMISSION’S PATENT PULLBACK SPARKS MEP FURY: Lawmakers are seething over the Commission’s decision to scrap its proposal on standard essential patents (SEPs) — a move they say tramples on Parliament’s powers. The SEP regulation aimed to curb lengthy patent litigation over technologies like 4G and 5G, but the Commission quietly binned it in July, citing a lack of political backing.
See you in court … maybe: Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs will this morning vote on whether to urge Roberta Metsola to take the Commission to the Court of Justice for breaching EU law by pulling the file.
Democracy or overreach? Some MEPs frame the withdrawal as more than a policy dispute. This isn’t about a single file, according to S&D lawmaker René Repasi. “It’s about defending Parliament’s institutional role and ensuring the Commission’s right of withdrawal stays within its narrow legal limits. The credibility of our democratic institutions depends on that balance.”
POLITICO’s crystal ball: EPP lawmakers have been told to oppose legal action, with MEP Adrián Vázquez Lázara saying “the group line is clear.” Still, insiders say the largest group in the Parliament remains split, while the Left and ECR are expected to back taking the Commission to court.
SO YOU WANT TO BE A EUROCRAT …
PARLIAMENT TAKES AIM AT EPSO: The European Parliament’s Petitions Committee votes today on a short motion for resolution addressing mounting criticism of the EU’s recruitment arm, EPSO, and its troubled remote testing system. The system replaced in-person exams at test centers in 2023 and serves as an early but crucial stage for assessing candidates’ competencies.
By the numbers: A European Court of Auditors report found 35 percent fewer EPSO competitions launched and 38 percent fewer completed between 2019 and 2023 compared to the previous five years — meaning fewer candidates for permanent jobs and a surge in temps (up 192 percent at the Commission, 256 percent in the Council, 89 percent in Parliament).
Good intentions, bad execution: EPSO’s bid to modernize recruitment with fewer, faster digital tests suffered repeated technical glitches — prompting a French petitioner to complain to Parliament, citing issues such as translation errors introduced by AI.
Union fury: “EPSO has shown no understanding whatsoever of accountability,” said Renouveau & Démocratie union boss Cristiano Sebastiani, accusing the agency of “denying everything that could still be denied.” The appointment of a new director is “necessary but not sufficient” to fix EPSO’s woes, he warned.
New boss, same mess? Enter Olivier Salles, the freshly minted head of the EU’s recruitment agency. Speaking to Playbook, Salles admitted the rollout of EPSO’s new competition model has been marred by technical hiccups in online testing. The agency, he said, is “working tirelessly” to improve the process and “deliver a better candidate experience” as part of ongoing audits and lessons-learned reviews.
Signs of life: EPSO has published several lists of successful candidates in recent months — around 2,750 in total — proof, Salles said, that it’s “back on track” in meeting institutions’ staffing needs.
In case you want to apply: A new testing provider came on board in June, bringing experience with large-scale online exams. EPSO is also beefing up outreach to candidates and simplifying competition notices to make the process less of a bureaucratic maze, Salles said.
REALITY CHECKS
COPY PASTE JOB: Liberties, a network of civil liberties groups across the EU, will today release analysis of the Commission’s most recent rule of law report. It finds 93 percent of this year’s recommendations were repeats, many verbatim, with 71 percent dating back to 2022. Only nine new recommendations made it into the 2025 edition. Meanwhile, the share of “fully implemented” recommendations dropped from 11 percent in 2023 to just 6 percent this year.
ROMAN TOWER LATEST: The worker who was trapped in the partially collapsed Torre dei Conti in Rome died in hospital overnight, Italy’s ANSA news agency reports. The medieval tower was undergoing EU-funded restoration work as part of Italy’s massive €194.4 billion post-Covid recovery plan — the biggest in the bloc.
The tower’s facelift was part of the €6.9 million “Caput Mundi — Next Generation EU for Touristic Great Events” program. EU funds for such projects are released in tranches once milestones are met, and the Torre dei Conti wasn’t included in the Commission’s intermediate progress check, meaning some of the money earmarked for the restoration was yet to be disbursed.
WHAT IF TRUMP’S TARIFFS ARE ILLEGAL? On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear from opponents of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, as well as from the president’s administration. And if the judges eventually rule that the tariffs are illegal? That’s going to be everyone’s problem, report POLITICO’s Doug Palmer, Camille Gijs, Caroline Hug, Phelim Kine and Zi-Ann Lum.
IN OTHER NEWS
SOMEONE CALL THE FUN POLICE 1: Roberta Metsola asked the Parliament’s political group chairs to brainstorm ways to make debates more engaging; Max Griera has seen their suggestions. Some of the ideas include putting controversial topics first, shaking up the debate format — and actually getting to grill the commissioners.
SOMEONE CALL THE FUN POLICE 2: My Playbook Paris colleagues report leftist MP Emmanuel Duplessy has proposed that alcohol should no longer be served at the National Assembly bar.
DOPPELNAMERS: Playbook feels for European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall and Sweden’s EU Minister Jessika Rosencrantz, who constantly get confused for one another. “The two of us aren’t even the same age — but our names are pretty much the same,” Roswall said at an event in Stockholm on Monday. “Once they mixed us up, and I was initially assigned to the same hotel room as her husband!” See the duo side by side here.
LATVIAN PRESIDENT INTERVENES ON ISTANBUL CONVENTION WITHDRAWAL: President Edgars Rinkēvičs refused to approve the Latvian parliament’s decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, the global treaty on preventing violence against women. His move came despite reports swirling in Riga that MPs who backed the withdrawal warned Rinkēvičs they wouldn’t support his bid for a second term if he sent the law back for a second reading.
The bill now returns to parliament to address the president’s objections. Lawmakers can still override him with a new vote — but Rinkēvičs has one more card to play: he can suspend its publication for two months, triggering a national referendum.