Turkey challenges Greek plans for new marine park in Aegean Sea, citing sovereignty dispute
Turkey has reacted to Greek plans for establishing a new marine park in the Aegean Sea by contesting the nation’s sovereignty over islands within the region.
Justice Min introduces comprehensive judicial reform plan
Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis hailed what he called the “most impactful reform” in the judicial sector during the unveiling of a new judicial map. The draft legislation has been made available for public consultation until April 18.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1235990/justice-min-introduces-comprehensive-judicial-reform-plan
SYRIZA-PA leader Kasselakis calls for early general elections in article published by ‘Kathimerini’
The current situation as regards the rule of law and the institutions, the economy and public security “justifies the necessity of holding [early] general elections,” main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Stefanos Kasselakis said in an article in “Kathimerini” on Tuesday under the headline: “Why I am asking for elections: what the voters did not know when they gave Mitsotakis 41%”.
Mitsotakis launches national campaign against bullying in schools
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday announced the launch of a national campaign against bullying in schools.
ATHEX: Recovery continues on bourse
The Greek stock market continued on Tuesday along the same path it had started the week, with more growth for the majority of stocks and banks taking the lead in this upward move that is apparently meant to offset last week’s decline. The closing near the day’s highs have increased optimism among traders for further gains in the days to come.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1236014/athex-recovery-continues-on-bourse
KATHIMERINI: Ten persons fall victims to cyber frauds every day
TA NEA: OSE CEO confirms that the audio recordings of the Tempi train crash were tampered with
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Governmental bullying on students
AVGI: SYRIZA’s goal is to turn the tables at the upcoming euro elections
RIZOSPASTIS: The striking workers of nickel producer LARCO will not succumb to anyone
KONTRA NEWS: Legal initiative to unblock large projects and constructions
DIMOKRATIA: Large companies in Greece are having the time of their life since the Mitsotakis government took over
NAFTEMPORIKI: BoG recipe for investment of greater quality
MIGRATION NAIL-BITER
PACT HANGS BY A THREAD: Europe’s leaders are nervously watching the European Parliament today, as MEPs vote on a series of laws that together form the Migration and Asylum Pact.
In short: After eight years of political deadlock, the EU wants to reform its dysfunctional immigration rules. But there’s a chance MEPs may reject the pact today, which could kill the initiative for years to come.
Nail-biter: Tomas Tobé, a Swedish EPP lawmaker, predicted he wouldn’t sleep well ahead of today’s vote. “Nobody can know” the outcome, he said.
High stakes: “We have an obligation to the citizens of Europe to show that Europe can work,” said Dutch MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld. The idea that another opportunity to agree on a migration proposal will come around any time soon is a “complete illusion,” she added.
**A message from Planet: Planet Labs announces Planet Insights Platform, the all-in-one place to unlock Earth Observation data. Combining high-resolution daily Earth data, archive, and analytics into a single platform, customers can make decisions and take confident action, fast. Discover more at our virtual launch event 11 April 2024.**
Highest diplomacy: Officials told Playbook last night that French President Emmanuel Macron was calling Donald Tusk in a last-ditch effort to get the Polish leader to steer his center-right MEPs to at least abstain in the vote.
Frantic vote-counting: Officials were counting votes late into the night, calling their personal contacts across party lines to try to get them to back the text. “Every vote counts. At this stage, only personal relations can make the difference,” one Renew Europe official told Playbook. “I feel like I’m in the West Wing,” they added.
Why it’s so close: Parliament’s three big groups — the EPP, Renew and S&D — overall back the deal, but some of their national delegations are planning to vote against parts of the pact.
Enemy of my enemy … Italy’s Democratic Party opposes the pact because Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the far-right Brothers of Italy backs it. France’s Republicans and Socialist Party oppose it, because Macron backs it. Central and Eastern European MEPs are also skeptical.
… is the far right’s friend: These MEPs are effectively aiding the far right, which opposes the pact because it’s supposedly not tough enough on migrants — or, let’s not kid ourselves — because they don’t really want the problem solved. The far left and Greens are also leaning toward a no, as they argue it’s too tough. Germany’s Greens, who in Berlin are part of the government, could be crucial.
Fragile balance: MEPs from Renew, S&D and EPP told Playbook and my colleague Eddy Wax that if some of the bills that make up the pact were rejected, the whole thing could come down. “There is a real risk that the pact will not be adopted in its entirety, which would upset the overall balance,” said one. Then “the whole building falls apart.”
Background: The pact relies on a delicate trade-off between the EU’s arrival countries, such as Spain, Greece and Italy, who agree to build detention centers at the border to process asylum claims and send back those with no right to stay. In exchange, other countries (France, Germany, Poland, etc) accept some refugees or share costs.
Ahead of the vote: MEPs criticized the Commission for signing controversial agreements that give North African countries vast sums of money in exchange for reducing migration to Europe, Eddy Wax reports.
Today: MEPs are in group meetings this morning to try to agree how they’ll vote. The debate starts at 12:30 p.m., votes on the different texts that make the pact start at 5 p.m.
ILLEGAL ADVERTISING
LADY GAGA GIVES EU A MIGRAINE: An Instagram ad featuring Lady Gaga plugging a prescription migraine drug is the latest example of the EU struggling to apply its laws online.
The problem: Advertising prescription meds to the general public is illegal across the EU (and elsewhere). That’s why Europeans aren’t bombarded with TV ads for weight-loss injections and other drugs with side effects, which only doctors are allowed to prescribe.
But online, the ban is clearly not working. Lady Gaga, who posted the ad on her Instagram account, has 56.5 million followers on the site. Millions of Europeans could potentially see it.
Shut it down: Meta, Instagram’s parent company, “has to delete the illegal ad immediately and take measures to prevent such breaches,” Alexandra Geese, the Greens’ point person on platforms, told Playbook when shown the ad. “The platforms will only abide by our rules if we show our political will to enforce them.”
Relying on users for enforcement: Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager told Playbook that the EU’s new digital laws, the DSA and DMA, only allow it to intervene after people flag illegal content — meaning after millions of users have potentially already seen it.
“If users find illegal content online it is important that they report this to the platforms,” Vestager said. “If then content is not removed, the Commission can take action and pursue the case. The DSA and the DMA are only as strong as we can collectively make them. And we count on the community to help us enforce.”
Not in a rush: “At first sight this looks indeed like an infringement … it should have been geofenced to the U.S. We will follow up including via the ad repository,” an EU case officer who enforces the EU’s digital rules told a Commission official in an email on Tuesday, after Playbook asked the official about the ad on Monday. Geese said she had also flagged the ad as illegal, after Playbook contacted her. But by early Wednesday morning, it was still viewable in Belgium. Meta did not reply to our request for comment in time for publication.
RUSSIAN INFLUENCE
UP FOR DEBATE: Parliament’s first debate today will be on the alleged influence-peddling and corruption by Russia of certain MEPs, notably on the far right. “The suspected cases must be a wake-up call for all true democrats,” the Greens’ Terry Reintke told Playbook. “Anyone who allows themselves to be bought by the Russian president or other despots must bear the political and legal consequences.”
ZELENSKYY’S WARNING: The debate in the European Parliament comes as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russian influence has pierced the American politician system, as he rejected the “very primitive idea” backed by allies of Donald Trump that Kyiv could swiftly end the war by giving up a swathe of territory. Read the Zelenskyy interview in full here.
Taking aim at Scholz: Zelenskyy also sharply criticized German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for refusing to provide Kyiv with German-made Taurus cruise missiles. The Ukrainian leader suggested the reluctance is based on Scholz’s desire to keep the weapons for Berlin’s own defense against a threat from Russia — which isn’t the reason Scholz has given. Paul Ronzheimer has the details.
MEANWHILE, IN BULGARIA: Outgoing Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov spent his mandate trying to fight Russian influence, and has no doubt Moscow will redouble its efforts now that his administration has collapsed, he told my colleagues Antoaneta Roussi and Jacopo Barigazzi in an interview.
PIEPERGATE
COMMISSIONERS TALK ¨PIE¨PER: The knives are out for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, but she’ll still have to pretend it’s business as usual as she meets her College this morning for its weekly gathering.
What’s happening: Four commissioners sought a discussion about Markus Pieper’s appointment as the EU’s new SME envoy, and more broadly on procedures to appoint high-level officials — in a broadside against von der Leyen’s leadership.
“The damage is done”: No one expects the Commission chief to backtrack on the appointment. “But it doesn’t really matter. The damage to her campaign is done,” one Commission official told Playbook. “No one knew what or who the SME envoy is” before the scandal broke. “Now everybody’s talking about it. Von der Leyen’s campaign start has been ruined,” the official added.
How we got here: Pieper was appointed as business envoy at a College meeting on January 31. A group of MEPs raised doubts about the fairness of von der Leyen’s selection of a party colleague, as Playbook scooped in February. Four commissioners, including Vice President Josep Borrell, asked von der Leyen on March 27 for a discussion on the matter. Budget chief Johannes Hahn defended his boss in a letter but the quarrelsome quartet still demanded a debate in a follow-up.
Happy to talk: Von der Leyen labeled the procedure “clear, clean and transparent.” Chief spokesperson Eric Mamer said on Tuesday that “the president is very happy for the College to discuss tomorrow the procedures for nominating high-level officials.”
What we know so far: Pieper signed a four-year contract on March 31 and is due to start April 16. (His CV is here.) At the end of a pre-selection procedure, Pieper scored lower than the other two shortlisted candidates — he was ranked third out of three, a Commission official granted anonymity to speak freely told my colleague Giovanna Faggionato.
Political football! But that score is just a way to distinguish candidates before they get to the final stage of the selection process, according to Mamer. “It’s like a football tournament, where you have the pool things and you have a team that finishes first, one that finishes second … and then the two highest teams move on to the next round of the tournament,” the chief spokesperson told the press. (Remember that famous Gary Lineker quote about the Germans always winning at the end?)
Hear for yourself: Questions have also been raised about Pieper’s non-German language skills. Listen here, or here, or here. When asked whether he would be able to talk with small business representatives outside Germany and Austria, Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer said: “Experience will tell us.”
Redo it: A group of MEPs have called for the selection process to be rerun. “It is rather unusual to me that conservative politicians sign contracts on Easter Sunday,” said Daniel Freund, a Green lawmaker. The saga shows “a complete disregard for the other commissioners and the European Parliament. But it looks to me like von der Leyen is passing ahead and disregarding all criticisms,” he said.
**On the lookout for daily coverage of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings on April 17-20? Look no further than Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier global newsletter reporting on major international gatherings, authored by Suzanne Lynch. Never miss a beat from world events – sign up in one click today.**
SHOW ME THE MONEY
EU GEARS UP FOR TALKS ON DEFENSE FINANCING: A leaked draft of Council President Charles Michel’s Strategic Agenda shows the EU is gearing up for talks on defense financing. The draft includes stronger language on the need for new financing for defense than previous Council conclusions, calling on the EU to “mobilise all necessary instruments to ensure our defense readiness.”
Caveat: Michel’s text still needs to be endorsed by EU leaders and could change in the coming days. And despite the attention EU countries are giving to the document, it could in the end “simply end up in a drawer at the Berlaymont,” as one EU official joked.
DOMBROVSKIS BACKS BIGGER BUDGET: Fiscally hawkish Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis supports a bigger EU budget after 2028. “I am open for a larger EU budget and am open for a discussion on how this larger EU budget should be financed,” he told Barbara Moens during an event on the EU’s recovery fund, pointing out that this will be a discussion for the next Commission. Dombrovskis said the EU’s potential increase in defense spending in the coming years should not “come at the expense of existing policies.”
Hawks become doves: Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed the traditional divide between northern fiscally conservative countries and southern big spenders — which begs the question, who will wave the flag for tight spending during the next budget negotiations?
**Participate with our Research & Analysis experts today to examine progress and prospects across digital, industry and sustainability policy sectors towards net-zero. Join us live from 11.30 a.m. – more details are found here.**
MORE RUSSIA
PROTECTING THE NORTH SEA: Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, the U.K. and Denmark (which all border the North Sea) signed an agreement on Tuesday to protect critical underwater infrastructure from sabotage and attacks. Write-up by Claudia Chiappa here.
BEIJING SIDES WITH MOSCOW TO OPPOSE NATO EXPANSION: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi joined Russia’s call for NATO not to approach Asia or Russia, during Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Beijing. “NATO should not stretch their hands to our common homelands,” Wang said. “Any divisive or confrontational words or deeds have no market in Asia Pacific.”
Xi pledges close contacts with Putin: Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, also met Chinese President Xi Jinping during the trip. Speaking to Lavrov, Xi vowed to “keep maintaining close contacts” with Vladimir Putin, adding that China “supports Russia’s tackling of terrorism and maintenance of social security and stability.”
NOW READ THIS: NATO is about security — not dollars and cents, argues Ivo Daalder, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO, in this opinion piece exploring the “key fallacy” in Donald Trump’s view of alliances.
IN OTHER NEWS
FAR-RIGHT VACAY: Hundreds of European conservatives gathered in Cyprus for a “cultural weekend” that mixed policy discussions, networking and time away from the bureaucratic machine. POLITICO’s Sarah Wheaton came along for the wild ride.
BERLIN SAYS NOT BREAKING LAW BY SUPPLYING WEAPONS TO ISRAEL: Berlin denied Nicaragua’s accusation that Germany is breaching the Genocide Convention by supplying weapons to Israel. Šejla Ahmatović has the write-up.
BIDEN TAKES AIM AT BIBI: U.S. President Joe Biden called Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza a “mistake” and urged the quick adoption of a six-to-eight week cease-fire with Hamas, in an interview that underscored his increasingly chilly relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
ARIZONA GOES BACK TO 1864 ON ABORTION: The Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law Tuesday night that bans abortion almost totally, with the only exception being to save a mother’s life. More from my POLITICO colleagues.