Ankara warns of tension over power cable project
Turkey is keeping a careful eye on statements being made and details being published in Athens on the Greek plans to lay the undersea GSI power cable intended to link Greece’s grid with Cyprus. Officials in Ankara say Turkey has no intention of obstructing any project, and that if the desire is there to cooperate on building infrastructure then a way can be found. If, on the other hand, “the intention is to create faits accomplis by means of a specific project then Turkey will move in the direction of safeguarding its interests in the eastern Mediterranean.”
Greece’s political season kicks off
The government is preparing for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair, which traditionally marks the beginning of the country’s new political and economic season. Mitsotakis’ appearance is particularly significant this year, as it will be his last before the next national elections. After a difficult summer, the government will seek to reset the political narrative with a series of positive announcements and an emphasis on reliability. Mitsotakis has said that at this year’s TIF, which takes place over the weekend, he will focus on ways to improve people’s daily lives. He is expected to unveil a program with which he will seek a third term in office. The ruling New Democracy party is seeking to establish a polling base of around 30% as it looks to build support ahead of the election.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1313819/greeces-political-season-kicks-off
Greece signs €3 billion defense deal with Israel
Israel and Greece signed a €3 billion defense deal on Monday under which Israel will build a multi-layered air defense system for Greece as Athens pushes ahead with a broader military modernization program.
National Price Reduction Initiative: Price cuts of up to 44%
Price cuts of up to 44%, with more than one in five branded product codes recording a double-digit reduction, are included in the National Price Reduction Initiative, which came into effect on Monday, aimed at supporting Greek households’ disposable income. The average reduction across the 1,740 products included in the initiative stands at 9.5%. However, the individual lists show that price cuts span a broad range of products in the everyday shopping basket, from branded and private-label goods to school supplies, fresh meat and dairy products. Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos stressed that efforts to tackle the high cost of living are continuing “without triumphalism or complacency”, as international developments and geopolitical tensions continue to create uncertainty.
https://www.amna.gr/en/article/1018968/National-Price-Reduction-Initiative-Price-cuts-of-up-to-44
ATHEX: Turnover tops €800 million on Monday
The MSCI index rebalancing led on Monday to a huge rise in turnover at Athinon Avenue, while the benchmark slipped from Friday’s heights on a day with mixed colors for the bourse board. The resumption of military action between the US and Iran sent oil rates rising again and rendered traders more nervous. This came up against the local market’s momentum and led to a mix of actions in a hectic day at the bourse.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1313889/athex-turnover-tops-e800-million-on-monday
KATHIMERINI: Mammoth agreement with Israel
TA NEA: Scams: Thieving SMS
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: “Wild storm” of price hikes in foods and fuel
RIZOSPASTIS: Simple folks are paying dearly for the country’s war involvement and the relations with the murderous state of Israel
KONTRA NEWS: Prices spike while the government cheers
DIMOKRATIA: Sad state of affairs: Mitsotakis asked his new henchmen to attack former PM and party leader Samaras
NAFTEMPORIKI: The government is examining handouts taking into account the state budget
DRIVING THE DAY
UKRAINE’S ALLIES TO SPAR OVER FUNDING AND AIR DEFENSE: Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is set to press allies in Ireland this week to deliver urgently needed air defenses and fill a funding gap that has led to a $27 billion shortfall at Kyiv’s defense ministry.
The call will prompt the allies — the 27 EU members plus Norway, Canada and the U.K. — to thrash out how best to meet Kyiv’s needs as Russia shifts its tactics to near-continuous bombardment.
Emergency, again: The near-daily drone and missile attacks have put Ukraine at the top of the EU’s back-to-school in-tray. The funding problem has become unavoidable after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the alarm about the cash needed to keep his defense ministry ticking over.
Finger-pointing: Greece and Spain, which lag other allies in the numbers of interceptors offered, are set to be at the sharp end of calls to boost air defenses. Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez vowed in March to give Ukraine five Patriot interceptors but Greece has given none. PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis has even boasted that Athens (which has just inked a €3 billion air defense deal with Israel) has “resisted” pressure to deliver Patriots.
Gearing up: Foreign and defense ministers “will definitely speak up about this … It’s not fair for some countries to bear most of the burden,” said an EU diplomat who was granted anonymity to talk about the delicate negotiations.
In addition to the defense ministry issue, Ukraine faces a €45 billion budget shortfall next year, which was meant to be met by non-EU Ukraine allies when European leaders agreed on a €90 billion loan. Despite strong financial aid from Norway and the U.K., contributions from other G7 Ukraine backers including Canada and Japan, along with the IMF, aren’t yet filling the final third.
Up-front money: Zelenskyy is calling to bring forward part of the EU loan, but the response from EU countries has been muted. Some want to reopen discussions on the use of Russia’s frozen assets, in what one diplomat said was a signal to the Commission to come up with new proposals to address Belgium’s legal concerns. But even those wanting to revive that debate agree it’s a tough sell.
Pressed on bringing forward the loan, diplomats from three so-called frugal countries left the door open. “We are a frugal country when it comes to the MFF, but for support to Ukraine we are completely generous and flexible,” said one of them.
ALSO IN FOCUS: EEAS reform, to be discussed Wednesday during a special “Gymnich” session of the bloc’s foreign affairs ministers. Expect proposals from top diplomat Kaja Kallas on how to revamp the foreign policy branch — as well as grumbling from countries saying this isn’t the time to change the way the EU works.
The bottom line: Ukraine is back to being a flashing red emergency for the EU and other allies during this rentrée.
BIG AND BREAKING
DUBLIN PUSHES TO REVIVE MFF TALKS: Ireland is stepping up efforts to unblock talks on the EU’s next seven-year budget, with governments split over the size and aims of the spending plan, Gregorio Sorgi reports.
LE PEN’S BALANCING ACT: Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is betting that she can broaden her appeal among traditional center-right voters without backpedaling on promises made to her core supporters, Marion Solletty reports.
BACK IN FROM THE COLD: The Trump administration’s decision to allow Russia to attend the G20 is riling European allies, who want to keep Moscow isolated over the war in Ukraine.
SPACE SECURITY: Ursula von der Leyen will deliver a major speech on space at a Paris conference on Sept. 10, as the Commission prepares to unveil its European Space Shield to protect the bloc’s satellites, Antoaneta Roussi, Gabriel Gavin and Jacopo Barigazzi report.
EUROPE’S DATA-CENTER REVOLT: Energy-hungry data centers are being built across Europe — and resistance to them is growing, Zia Weise reports.
EU TRADE CHIEF’S MESSAGE TO CHINA
OCTOBER DEADLINE FOR CHINA: The EU is exploring ways to persuade Beijing to rein in its exports to the bloc as the European Commission comes under pressure to reduce its €1 billion-a-day trade deficit with China — and to show EU leaders it can deliver results.
Adjusting the balance: “Mechanically … what’s needed is the increase of European products to China … We also need to look at how to manage better the Chinese exports to the European Union,” EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič told my colleague Camille Gijs Monday.
Why it matters: National leaders want the Commission to show results from its engagement with Beijing by mid-October. Two months ago, EU members urged Brussels to come up with new tools to reduce the trade deficit, as manufacturers of chemicals and cars closed plants and cut jobs, under pressure from cheaper Chinese imports.
Tick tock: Šefčovič will speak with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao by videoconference in mid-September before visiting Beijing in early October, he said. EU negotiators are in China this week for talks that are “very open, very tough,” the commissioner said, with “all topics … on the table.”
Changing tack: Brussels is edging toward a more interventionist China policy — and taking a page from Washington’s book. Rather than relying primarily on traditional trade defenses once Chinese goods reach Europe, the approach increasingly focuses on a broader management of trade flows between the two sides.
“We are working with very concrete proposals. Let’s see how our Chinese counterparts would react to them,” Šefčovič said. If there’s no action in response to the EU’s concerns, then the bloc would look to make full use of its trade defenses and shut off its markets, he said.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
Today and tomorrow, Wicklow, in Ireland, will host a Gymnich. But what does that mean? A Gymnich is an informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers (informal in an EU context means a less rigid agenda, with no formal decisions made or votes taken). There are two such meetings held each year, hosted by the country holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and chaired by Kallas. The name comes from Schloss Gymnich, a castle in Germany where the first such meeting was held, in 1974.
THINK TANK TROUBLE
BATTLE FOR THE BRUSSELS BUBBLE: The team behind MCC Brussels won’t be silenced. The EU’s most talked-about right-wing think tank, which lost its funding from Budapest following Viktor Orbán’sdefeat, may be shuttered, but the group’s director is already planning his next move.
Watch this space: Frank Füredi quit as MCC director yesterday, telling Playbook the move was the first step in “the process of mobilizing support [for] eventually launching a new initiative” with alternative funding.
What happened: The group, which set out to challenge “mainstream” thinking on climate, migration and gender issues, was almost entirely reliant on a multimillion-euro grant from its Hungarian sister organization. That dried up when Prime Minister Péter Magyar took over in May.
Gracious hosts: MCC Brussels was the organizer of events on populism, transgender rights, and “the future of the West,” and also a “Freedom Ball” for the city’s right-wing movers and shakers, complete with a symphony orchestra and champagne reception. But it had its membership of the EU’s Transparency Register suspended in a dispute over registration and it has been accused by Magyar of being part of Orbán’s network of influence.
Daddy Trump? The U.S. government has publicly said it wants to support MAGA-friendly partners in Europe — Reuters reported overnight that the Trump administration had earmarked $4 million to bolster right-wing media. It’s this kind of support that Füredi’s new initiative could tap into. “I’m happy to get money from anywhere, Americans included,” he said, while adding that “we don’t want strings attached.”
“And that’s the problem, I think potentially, with the Americans … they are lovely people but whether they are going to simply allow us to work in the way that we’ve been accustomed to [remains] to be seen,” he said.
5 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
GERMAN FAR-RIGHT TESTING GROUND: Alternative for Germany is in striking distance of an election victory in Saxony-Anhalt that it hopes will be a springboard to power nationally.
MODI PRESSES PUTIN: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine for the sake of humanity during a meeting in Kyrgyzstan on Monday.
FOREIGN ACTORS SUSPECTED IN POLISH FIRE: Prosecutors investigating a fire at a factory operated by a drone component maker in Skarżysko-Kamienna say the incident was an arson attack involving foreign intelligence services, Daria Zakharova explains.
DEATH OF BALLADUR: French President Emmanuel Macron described former French PM Edouard Balladur, who has died at the age of 97, as someone who “devoted his life to the Fifth Republic.”
READ LIKE KAJA KALLAS: What the ambitious reading list of the EU’s top diplomat reveals about her influences and intellectual approach.