US State Secretary Rubio: ‘Greece is a very important ally of the United States’
The importance Washington attaches to its alliance with Athens was underscored by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described Greece as a “very important ally” of the United States, ahead of his visit to Athens. Responding to a question about the stops on his European tour in Greece and Portugal, the US secretary of state placed particular emphasis on the military and economic dimensions of Greek-US relations. “Greece, of course, is a very important ally of the United States. It’s a country where we have not only a military presence, but also strong economic ties. So, it’s an opportunity to go there and meet with them,” Rubio said. He made the remarks ahead of his visit to Athens, where he will lead the American delegation at the 6th US-Greece Strategic Dialogue.
Mitsotakis upbeat on election result at party anniversary
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis voiced optimism Monday that New Democracy can gain a governing majority in next year’s Parliamentary elections, speaking at an event for his conservative party’s 52nd anniversary. While all opinion polls show ND well ahead of the nearest rival in the leadup to the spring elections, the party so far would appear to be polling around 30% – not a strong enough majority to govern alone. Moreover, no other party has shown any inclination to join ND in a potential coalition.
Ex-MEP’s lawsuit triggers spyware investigation
Athens prosecutors have ordered a preliminary investigation into a formal complaint by left-wing former European Parliament member and journalist Stelios Kouloglou that his mobile phone was infected with spyware. Kouloglou brought a lawsuit against the legal representatives of an Israeli company for allegedly using the Pegasus software against him. The investigation is independent of the one already completed at a preliminary stage on phone-tapping using Predator spyware.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1317237/ex-meps-lawsuit-triggers-spyware-investigation
2027 Budget – Fiscal Council ratifies key projections: 2% growth in 2026, 2.3% in 2027
The Hellenic Fiscal Council on Monday ratified the macroeconomic forecasts included in the 2027 Draft State Budget and considered that the fiscal targets are achievable. At the same time, it found that estimates comply with the relevant numerical fiscal rules, while warning of risks stemming from uncertainty over investment, international energy prices and the global environment. For 2026, the Ministry of National Economy and Finance’s forecast for real GDP growth was revised down to 2%, while the Fiscal Council maintained its own estimate at 1.9%. The Greek economy recorded growth of 1.9% in the first half of 2026. For 2027, the Draft Budget is based on investment growth of 7.9%, private consumption growth of 1.5% and public consumption growth of 1.4%.
ATHEX: Half-hearted reaction to previous drop
The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed Monday at 2,639.95 points, adding 0.13% to Friday’s 2,636.54 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.14% to end at 6,766.74 points, though mid-caps contracted 0.26%.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1317277/athex-half-hearted-reaction-to-previous-drop
KATHIMERINI: The “persistent mafia” of telephone frauds
TA NEA: Rights of airline passengers: Behold the new list
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Tsipras attacks Mitsotakis: “This will be a winter we have never experienced before”
RIZOSPASTIS: The “strategic dialogue” between Greece-USA includes a heated “war-agenda”
KONTRA NEWS: The PM was alone at the anniversary celebration of New Democracy
DIMOKRATIA: Anniversary for New Democracy: Sad mutation
NAFTEMPORIKI: Investment leap worth 50 bln in 2027
DRIVING THE DAY
EXCLUSIVE — COSTA’S DEALMAKER SETS HIS SIGHTS ON NEW YORK: The chief of staff to European Council President António Costa is eyeing a move to head the EU’s delegation at the United Nations next year, four EU officials and diplomats told Playbook and Jacopo Barigazzi.
Pedro Lourtie, a Portuguese diplomat who’s been at Costa’s side since 2024, has applied for the prestigious role, which will become vacant next year, the officials said. It’s one of a slew of high-profile jobs up for grabs in the EU’s diplomatic network, including head of delegation in Saudi Arabia and deputy head of the bloc’s office in China.
On the record: Lourtie himself and a spokesperson for Costa declined to comment.
Central figure: As chief of staff to the European Council president, Lourtie forms a duo with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s chief of staff, Bjoern Seibert, and is in charge of delicate preparatory talks with national capitals ahead of gatherings of EU leaders. He also carries out sensitive missions for his boss — such as when he opened a communication channel with counterparts in Moscow with an eye to ending the war in Ukraine, only to have EU leaders object to the idea.
Exit stage left? Lourtie’s potential departure isn’t linked to that controversial Russia outreach, two of the officials said. If awarded the U.N. job, Lourtie would be leaving before the end of Costa’s two-and-a-half-year term in office, which expires in May next year.
It could work out perfectly, because that coincides with Portugal becoming a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council for 2027-2028. Having a Portuguese diplomat representing the EU at the U.N. could help to advance the bloc’s interests.
Next cab off the rank: Lourtie’s deputy, David Oppenheimer, is well placed to succeed him, officials said.
Another important change is expected at the Council of the EU, the legislative body that represents member states: France’s Thérèse Blanchet, its secretary-general, is expected to retire. A decision on her replacement is also expected early next year.
Normal: Council presidents switching their chiefs of staff during their term isn’t unheard of, one diplomat said, pointing to the example of former Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who appointed Didier Seeuws for the final two years of his five years in office.
Smooth sailing: EU leaders must vote on the renewal of Council presidents, though traditionally they have decided to continue with the person already in place.
BIG AND BREAKING
SPANISH AFTERSHOCKS: Defeat for Pedro Sánchez in Spain’s snap election could destabilize the EU by putting the Socialists and Democrats on the back foot in Brussels and pushing them into a more confrontational stance, Max Griera reports. (More on the fallout from Spain’s snap election lower down.)
STRINGS ATTACHED: The Commission is expected to propose sector-specific “safeguard clauses” in future accession treaties — an addition pushed by cabinets earlier this week to the pre-enlargement review prepared by enlargement service DG ENEST and Commissioner Marta Kos, which is due for approval by the College of Commissioners today.
Translation: Joining the club could come with more strings attached, including trade restrictions more commonly associated with countries outside it, according to a draft seen by Playbook’s Gerardo Fortuna. The approach would be applied “as appropriate” first to Montenegro’s accession arrangements, but is mostly aimed at addressing Kyiv’s huge agricultural sector.
ALL EYES ON CHINA: Ditte Juul Jørgensen, director-general of the Commission’s trade department, will update EU ambassadors this morning on the state of EU-China talks following trips to Beijing and Washington. Her boss, Maroš Šefčovič, will debrief envoys on Sunday after his own two-day visit to China, Camille Gijs and Carlo Martuscelli report in Morning Trade (for subscribers).
That’s after France and Berlin jointly argued in a letter and position paper that the European Commission needs tools to be able to hit back harder and faster against Beijing in a trade dispute, Hans von der Burchard and Carlo report.
TRY AGAIN: Romania’s President Nicușor Dan has asked senior diplomat Luca Niculescu to form a government in Bucharest — after his three previous nominees for PM failed to break the deadlock.
SPAIN DENTS HOPES FOR A QUICK BUDGET DEAL
A NEW WRENCH IN THE BUDGET WORKS: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to call a snap election makes it less likely that the EU will strike a deal on its long-term budget by the end of the year, two EU diplomats and an EU official told Playbook.
Bad timing: Madrid is among the most prominent voices in the “friends of cohesion,” a group of 17 countries that wants to expand the bloc’s long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework. That’s unlikely to change regardless of who wins, but the horse-trading required to form a government could make it harder for the winner to sign off on a tricky EU budget compromise, the officials said.
“It’s not going to do any good for the MFF,” said an official from the European Commission granted anonymity to speak frankly on a sensitive topic.
The Nov. 29 election will be “distracting” and won’t “incentivize finding compromise,” an EU diplomat said. Spain could still be trying to form a government when EU leaders are due to hold crunch talks on a final deal in December, making a big breakthrough even less likely than it already was, said a second diplomat.
António Costa had hoped to have an MFF deal in writing before a succession of major elections next year. France holds the first round of its presidential contest in April, followed by parliamentary elections in Greece and Poland. Spain’s vote brings forward that timeline of potential disruption, at a moment when leaders seem as far apart as ever.
Glass half full: That said, a victorious Spanish leader — if they’re able to form a government — could actually have a positive influence on MFF talks, the second diplomat said. They could have a “new and positive influence on the European stage. And sometimes it’s easier to play that role after an election.”
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
EU lawmakers have called for a €2 billion investment fund for the European Critical Raw Materials Centre, but what is that? The European Commission announced plans last year to open the center to help ensure the EU has reliable access to supplies of critical raw materials such as lithium and cobalt. It would be asked to monitor and assess the need for those materials, as well as to coordinate joint purchasing and stockpiling. The Commission has yet to publish a formal proposal setting out how that would work.
TESTING TIMES
PANIC AT THE BERLAYMONT: Spare a thought for the Commission’s temporary and contract agents. More than 3,000 of them sat an internal test to secure the ultimate Eurocrat prize: to become fully fledged EU officials. A whopping 46% failed, Gerardo Fortuna reports.
But the candidates don’t yet know if they’re among that group. They were told the overall failure rate but not whether they had passed or flunked the exam, three EU officials told Playbook. The result: what one official described as “pure anxiety.”
Canteen confidential: If you happened to eavesdrop over lunch in the Berlaymont last week (like we did), chances are you heard about little else. Confidence wasn’t exactly overflowing. “I flunked for sure,” one official told Playbook when asked about the test.
Blame the brain test: Making things particularly nerve-wracking was the first appearance in this test of the infamous cognitive assessment, which has been criticized by non-native English speakers for not being properly translated into French and German.
Last Chance Saloon: For those whose contracts are about to expire, this could have been their final shot at getting a full-time job. If their contract runs out before the next internal competition — and there’s no date for one yet — they’re back on the outside.
DASHBOARD
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, under pressure over corruption cases involving members of his family and the migrant crisis in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, on Monday appeared to pin his campaign for reelection on the country’s housing crisis, which has led to nationwide protests in recent weeks.
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5 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
ECHOES OF EUROPE’S DEBT CRISIS: France’s deteriorating fiscal situation is bringing back memories of the EU’s sovereign debt crisis — and raising fears that it could cause a broader, regional problem.
And it’s not just France: The EU risks descending into crisis if the bloc fails to revive its flatlining economy, Brussels’ top financial official warned after retiring from a four-decade career at the European Commission.
LANDING IN GREECE: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Athens for high-level meetings focusing on the transfer of liquefied natural gas through Greece, regional security and U.S. arms sales, Nektaria Stamouli reports.
NOT BACKING DOWN: French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has urged his supporters to join nationwide protests today in support of students, despite being accused of instigating violence.
AI THREAT: Senior EU officials are warning that a sweeping new plan to arm the bloc’s police agency, Europol, for the AI era could threaten Europeans’ privacy.