Rama pushing it with Athens over Beleri
The Court of Appeal of Tirana on Tuesday upheld the two-year jail sentence issued by the court of first instance against Fredi Beleri, the elected ethnic Greek mayor of Himare in southern Albania, and now MEP for ruling New Democracy.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1242384/rama-pushing-it-with-athens-over-beleri
Mitsotakis: Greece implements a strict but fair migration policy
The Migration and Asylum Ministry was established at the beginning of an important crisis in 2020, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday during his visit to the ministry, adding that the country is implementing a strict but fair migration policy.
Athens mayor openly calls for PASOK leadership election in November
Doukas proposed a roadmap for the revitalization of the party, which includes a national conference in early October to discuss political developments, followed by a vote for the leadership in November.
Civil war grips PASOK over party elections
As calls within the party for leadership elections get louder, the turmoil that is threatening to upend socialist PASOK in the aftermath of the European election was on full display at Wednesday’s joint meeting of the party’s Political Council and the Parliamentary Group.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/1241982/civil-war-grips-pasok-over-party-elections
Fifty-five fires were reported across Greece in the last 24 hours
Firefighters and civil protection forces have been actively battling numerous fires across Greece. From Monday at 18:00 to Tuesday at 18:00, a total of fifty-five agricultural and forest fires were reported. Of these, forty-six were promptly controlled while firefighting efforts continued for the remaining nine fires.
ATHEX: Benchmark eases further on bourse
Corporate dividends, French election concerns and the upcoming ending of the year’s first half led to a variety of trends among Greek stocks on Tuesday, after the long weekend. The course of prices was more affected by every individual stock and not by a general or sector-specific trend. The session also marked the debut of Athens International Airport in the blue chip index.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1242415/benchmark-eases-further-on-bourse
KATHIMERINI: Fidan involves Crete in Hezbollah’s threats
TA NEA: National issues: Triple front
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Own goal for SYRIZA and the “black funds”
RIZOSPASTIS: Stop the tax-heist!
KONTRA NEWS: The civil war within SYRIZA and PASOK comes to the rescue of Mitsotakis
DIMOKRATIA: Political parteis’ omerta regarding black funding
NAFTEMPORIKI: The fine print of the digital labor card
HOWDY and welcome to your Wednesday Brussels Playbook. Is that the stench of corruption wafting through the European Parliament? Maybe, but overnight, at least, it was also the stench of literal sewage due to toilet repairs near the press area, Eddy Wax discovered. Eddy will be bringing his nose for news to your inboxes on Thursday and Friday morning.
In our thoughts: The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich faces a secret trial for committing journalism in Russia today. Follow our own Eva Hartog for more background on Evan and the situation facing reporters in Russia. POLITICO was among 81 European news outlets banned in Russian territory on Tuesday.
DRIVING THE DAY: A DEAL, FOR NOW
NEW DEAL, SAME NAMES ON TOP JOBS: A week and much hand-wringing later, negotiators from the EU’s three centrist parties landed on the same agreement as before: Ursula von der Leyen for Commission president, ex-Portuguese PM António Costa for Council president and Estonian PM Kaja Kallas for top EU diplomat. Costa is likely to stay in the Council role for the customary five years.
What’s different this time? While these names were the consensus picks long before the June 17 dinner of EU leaders, the details hadn’t been fully ironed out. The six negotiators — two heads of government from the European People’s Party, the Socialists and the centrists, respectively — wrapped up their discussions ahead of Thursday’s European Council summit, leaving much less to chance. The slate will be presented to European leaders that day.
“Now that they agree, this [should sail] through the European Council easily,” one EU official (boldly) predicted, as POLITICO’s Barbara Moens, Jakob Hanke Vela and Paul Dallison report.
MELONI MELODRAMA: That same official also (not so boldly) predicted that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni would be pretty peeved that she wasn’t included in the discussions. Her hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists made major gains on June 9 and her objections to being sidelined helped derail the top jobs deal last week.
Awkward errand: We’re hearing Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis (who negotiated for the EPP, along with Polish PM Donald Tusk) was tasked with calling Meloni after she was, once again, sidelined. But, as of late Tuesday, we haven’t been able to confirm the call took place.
IMAGINARY TRANSCRIPT: But let’s say the call did happen. Here’s what Playbook imagines their exchange might have sounded like …
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Hello, Giorgia?
Giorgia Meloni: Ciao, Kyriakos!
KM: Am I disturbing you?
GM: No, I had an inkling you’d call. I was just reviewing some of the technical notes from the G7 meeting we hosted a few weeks back. Too bad Greece has such a minor economy, Kyriakos. Maybe we could have sorted out some of these top jobs discussions on the sidelines if you’d been able to make it.
KM: No denying it, Italy has the third-largest economy in the eurozone. That’s why I’m calling. You’re important, we need you on board. I mean, technically you can’t block this thing, but we want Italy’s support, for the sake of presenting a united European front to the world.
GM: Don’t patronize me, Mr. Harvard Business School. Think I got where I am by succumbing to intimidation and condescension? Have you ever met a Boomer Italian post-fascist? Basta! Italy is not only the EU’s third-largest economy — my European Conservatives and Reformists group is currently the third-largest in the Parliament. You know I should have been at that table — especially if you want Brothers of Italy votes for von der Leyen.
KM: We certainly haven’t forgotten your political history, Giorgia. [Clears throat.] But, OK, that wasn’t the point I wanted to make here … Come on, Giorgia, you know the game. The EPP had to cozy up to the lefties in the Council. They all did this big grandstanding about not working with you. And, look, you don’t want to be responsible for the stuff we promised them, either. Please, just ride out the next few days, help us out on July 18 in the Parliament, and then we can make sweet, sweet migrant pushback legislation together.
GM: Listen to you. These people once called us PIGS … Now, just because Greece’s debt is getting under control, you act like you’re one of them.
KM: Yeah, they did look down on us, and look at how it is today. It’s me and the Poles in charge of a Merkelite’s fate — who could have imagined? And, not for nothing, Italy is on track to have higher public debt than Greece in the next three years. Sorry to say it, but you know you need that recovery fund money to keep flowing …
GM: So what? I had von der Leyen eating out of my hand — she even delayed that report that was going to criticize my record on press freedom. Let’s face it, you need me. I’ve been using my influence with Viktor Orbán to keep him on track with supporting Ukraine. What if I start backing him up, even expanding the range of issues that get gummed up in the Council?
KM: But Giorgia, that’s my point, remember how good it felt to bask in the warm glow of the European mainstream? They all thought it was going to be chaos after Mario Draghi stepped down. They underestimated you, and you proved them wrong. You can do it again.
GM: There you go again with that sanctimony. When Trump wins, you’re all going to be begging me to deal with Washington
KM: Fine, fine, what do you want? An executive vice president?
GM: Pish! That’s the absolute least you can do. I’m going to need way more than that to instruct my MEPs to back her.
KM: So tell me.
GM: G’ah, hold on, my high heels are killing me. Let me put down the phone while I take them off …
KM: Of course …
GM: [Rustling … click!]
KM: Giorgia? Giorgia??
NEXT UP — PARLIAMENT BRAWL: The Council was the easy part of von der Leyen’s obstacle course. Now she’ll need to build a majority in Parliament ahead of the July 18 vote, making promises to parties that seem further apart than ever on matters like climate, migration and the fundamental role of the EU.
No deal with ECR, VDL allies warn: The Socialist and liberals in the European Parliament warned von der Leyen not to do any official deals with the ECR, doubling down on their stances as attention slowly turns to the negotiations the next Commission president will have to conduct to secure a majority of at least 361 MEPs.
— “Our only red line is the extreme right,” said Iratxe García, newly reelected as the Socialists’ group leader (more on that below). “There is no good far right and bad far right, it’s the far right … which wants to destroy the European Union.”
— “For us what counts is not the personality, it’s the political program,” said Renew’s Valérie Hayer, also newly reelected as president of her group. “ECR is a red line,” she added.
OUCH: “Ursula is just an accountant for EU governments,” former Commission President Romano Prodi told La Stampa’s Marco Bresolin. “She does what they say and has no authority over the choice of commissioners.”
A) Playbook doesn’t agree with this assessment.
B) Seriously, ouch.
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE?
THE UNWRITTEN RULES: Geographic balance and gender parity are pretty well-established unofficial guidelines for the division of the EU’s top jobs.
New in 2024: This time around, interpersonal rapport became a whole lot more important. No one wants a repeat of the von der Leyen-Charles Michel rivalry. Add to that the centrist, pro-EU parties’ determination to keep all the key posts to themselves and you have a pretty clear sense of how this list of names for the top jobs came together — and why things will get so complicated if any one of them fails.
But is it democratic? Was the backroom deal hashed out by six men on Tuesday just part of the normal coalition negotiation process in any parliamentary system? Or will the stitch-up by pro-EU parties only aggravate the right-wing, Euroskeptic sentiment the grand coalition is trying to block? Barbara Moens gives some of the unwritten rules we take for granted a closer look, with an assist from your Playbook author.
DEBATE ABOUT THE DEBATE: Far-right Identity and Democracy cried foul when it was excluded from the “Eurovision” election debate back in May. Now, after getting ammunition from election observers, it’s taking the complaint to the European Ombudsman.
Quick backstory: The Parliament teamed up with the European Broadcasting Union to host the debate, which had qualification rules that left out some political groups. Only those formally participating in the so-called Spitzenkandidat system could participate. ID says the Spitz process isn’t legit, but put forward MEP Anders Vistisen as a lead candidate for debate purposes. News organizations (including POLITICO) took an arguably more liberal approach to this for their match-ups, but the Parliament’s rules meant Vistisen was out.
OSCE agrees: ID cried foul at the time, and since the vote, election observers have taken its side. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe determined the restrictive rules went against an agreement on fundamental freedoms known as the Copenhagen Document, which requires states to ensure no “legal or administrative obstacle” gets in the way of access to media for political groupings.
Fighting for the Spitz system: The Eurovision debate is intended to implement the lead candidate system, said Jaume Duch Guillot, the Parliament’s top spokesperson. “This debate aimed to give visibility to the lead candidate system and therefore logically only those candidates for the Commission presidency were invited,” he said in an email.
Appealing to the Ombudsman: ID is preparing a complaint to the European Ombudsman, a party source told Playbook.
PARLIAMENT MATH
SOCIALISTS’ SPANISH-ITALIAN CARVE-UP: MEPs from Italy’s Democratic Party agreed with the Spanish socialists to back Iratxe García on the condition they get to either run the group in the second half of this legislative term, from 2027 to 2029, or get the bigger prize of the presidency of the European Parliament, according to Brando Benifei, who also explained the deal on Euronews’ Radio Schuman podcast.
MORE RENEW MEMBERS? Renew has not given up in its race with ECR to be the third-largest group in Parliament. Valérie Hayer said she would announce new members today “and probably also next week.” One could be new Irish independent MEP Ciaran Mullooly, whom Playbook’s Eddy Wax spotted in an intense conversation with Renew MEP Sandro Gozi in a Parliament café Tuesday. Meanwhile, Irish media reported Michael McNamara is on the cusp of joining Renew.
SINKEVIČIUS PROMOTED ALREADY: EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius got an early promotion before even taking up his seat as an MEP Tuesday when the Green group voted for him to become one of its vice chairs. He remains a commissioner until mid-July. The other vice chairs for the Greens will be Ignazio Marino, Marie Toussaint, Alice Bah Kuhnke, Sergey Lagodinsky and Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, who will also be group treasurer. Tilly Metz and Sara Matthieu failed to get enough votes.
EPP REWARDS LES RÉPUBLICAINS: Manfred Weber isn’t the only one wearing two hats in the European People’s Party. French Republican MEP François-Xavier Bellamy was elected as the party treasurer in a secret ballot Tuesday, which follows his election as group vice chair last week.
OTHER TOP JOBS RACES
REYNDERS DEFEATED: The Council of Europe elected Switzerland’s former President Alain Berset as its next secretary-general on Tuesday, delivering a blow to Belgian candidate and EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.
It wasn’t pretty. In the second round of voting on Tuesday afternoon, Berset won with 114 backers, while Estonia’s former Culture Minister Indrek Saar got 85 and Reynders came in third with 46. Here’s more from Clothilde Goujard and Seb Starcevic.
Reynders, who took leave from his Commission job to campaign, previously said that if he didn’t clinch the Council of Europe’s top job, he would be open to sticking around at the Berlaymont. Reynders’ party, the Francophone liberal Reformist Movement (MR), made big gains during the June 9 Belgian election.
Runners and riders: Reynders’ name now features more prominently on lists of potential Belgian commissioner picks, alongside those of former Belgian PM and current MEP-elect Sophie Wilmès (also MR), Flemish-nationalist MEP Johan Van Overtveldt and Flemish socialist (caretaker) Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke.
BRAZILIAN BEATS OUT BRIT FOR EUROPOL: Interpol’s executive committee on Tuesday backed Valdecy Urquiza to lead the global police organization. It’s a loss for the U.K. and arguably the EU, with Interpol No. 2 Stephen Kavanagh’s spirited campaign falling short.
BUMMER BANKING BULLETINS
BAD NEWS FOR BULGARIA: The European Central Bank is expected to inform Sofia today that Bulgaria is not ready to join the eurozone at the beginning of next year, as it struggles to meet inflation criteria, Gregorio Sorgi and Bjarke Smith-Meyer report.
If not now, when? Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe suggested earlier this year that Bulgaria could join the eurozone later in 2025. But experts believe Jan. 1, 2026 would make more sense given the technical difficulties involved in switching a national currency halfway through the year. More for Pro Financial Services subscribers.
MORE BAD NEWS FOR THE EIB: Former European Investment Bank employee Henry von Blumenthal is the second person being investigated by EU prosecutors as part of an inquiry into allegations of corruption and abuse of influence, as well as the alleged misappropriation of EU funds, Elisa Braun reports. Ex-EIB President Werner Hoyer is also a subject of the probe.
HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE COUNTRIES
BUDAPEST BRIEFS BEIJING: Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó phoned his Chinese counterpart to discuss his country’s presidency of the Council of the EU on Tuesday, according to a readout from a top government spokesperson.
Counter-programming: Szijjártó warned against the EU’s proposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, the readout said. He also praised “China’s commitment to peace, and endors[ed] the Brazil-China peace plan for Ukraine as a potential basis for a ceasefire and peace talks.” That’s in contrast to G7 leaders, who earlier this month admonished China for supplying weapons components and other materials that help Russia’s defense sector.
IT’S EUROPE’S TURN TO EAT RUSSIA’S LUNCH: With Vladimir Putin bogged down in Ukraine, Europe has a chance to make friends with central Asian countries that have traditionally been in Moscow’s sphere of influence, Odile Renaud-Basso, head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), told my colleagues Nick Vinocur and Carlo Martuscelli during a stopover in Brussels.
Open to Europe: “A number of countries that are traditionally close to Russia and close to China for geographical regions, really want to diversify and keep their openness to foreign investors coming from Europe,” said Renaud-Basso, who was just back from a trip to Armenia. “They don’t want to be reliant on a single country.”
Why this matters: Russia is pushing its pieces forward on the board in Africa, forcing out the French and Americans. But concerns are growing in Russia’s backyard about “over-reliance” on war-obsessed Moscow. So it’s now or never for Europe to court the so-called “stan” countries, as the European Commission reflects on how it can take a more “strategic” approach to dealing with third countries, Renaud-Basso said.
Not all rosy: That said, the EBRD, which relies on cash from EU member countries, faces lean years ahead as nations like the Netherlands get stingier on development aid. “We still rely on donor funding,” said Renaud-Basso, who has run the EBRD since 2020. “On ODA [official development assistance], I’m a bit worried about the trend.”
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OTHER NEWS
RUTTE TO GET THE NATO NOD TODAY: Soon to be ex-Dutch PM Mark Rutte will be confirmed as the next secretary-general of NATO today at a meeting of the defense alliance’s 32 envoys in Brussels. Rutte will succeed Jens Stoltenberg for a five-year term on October 2.
TRUMP PREVIEW: Two key Donald Trump advisers have presented him with a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine that involves telling Kyiv it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters peace talks with Moscow, Reuters reports.
CONSCRIPTION AS A POLITICAL WEAPON: Journalists, watchdogs and people involved with NGOs working on issues critical of Ukraine’s government are warning that some in the administration are using the power to conscript people to silence them. Veronika Melkozerova dug up a series of incidents in which critics have been threatened with conscription. The government insists it isn’t behind such incidents and will respond if they happen.
DISPATCH FROM THE FRENCH HEARTLANDS: The far right is charting an irresistible rise in France’s conservative heartlands, Clea Caulcutt reports from Sablé-sur-Sarthe, where Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition is desperately trying to hold back the tide.
So what happens if Macron is enemies with his next prime minister? Jakob Hanke Vela and Giorgio Leali explain the implications.
POLITICAL UNREALITY: In an alternate universe where Brexit hadn’t happened, Keir Starmer’s U.K. Labour Party could be about to play a huge role in the EU — and Europe’s socialists are kicking themselves about it, report Eddy Wax and Hanne Cokelaere.