Leaders of Greece, Egypt, Cyprus stress continuity in relations
Greece and Egypt reaffirmed the strategic nature of their relationship during talks between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in El Alamein, followed by a trilateral meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, according to statements and a joint declaration issued after the meetings. The discussions took place against the backdrop of broader regional developments, including the Mecca Agreement, and were presented as confirmation that the core of Greek-Egyptian relations remains unchanged. Mitsotakis also used the meeting to send a message to Turkey, saying that “Greece threatens no one and seeks stability through functional relations based on international law.”
Min Papastavrou: Six-pillar €5 bln plan to cut power prices by 30% and boost heating allowances
A package of six interventions amounting to € 5 billion, aiming to reduce the retail price of electricity by 30% over a three-year horizon, was presented on Tuesday by the Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou and the Deputy Minister Nikos Tsafos, detailing the relevant announcements made by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Thessaloniki International Fair. Among other things, these interventions include an increase in the heating allowance, the launch of new “Exoikonomo” programme involving the replacement of heating systems and water heaters, as well as the promotion of self-generation.
Greece and Italy sign €460 mln deal for two FREMM frigates
Greece and Italy signed an agreement in Rome on Tuesday for Greece to acquire two Italian FREMM frigates for €460 million, deepening defense cooperation between the two NATO allies. The two Bergamini-class frigates, the Carlo Bergamini and the Fasan, are scheduled to be transferred to Greece in the first half of 2028 and the first half of 2029, respectively, Dendias said.
Androulakis: We have a vision and a comprehensive long-term plan for the country
PASOK represents “a different culture of governance,” with greater transparency, greater accountability and more dialogue with everyone,” main opposition PASOK-Movement for Change President Nikos Androulakis during a series of meetings with representatives of Thessaloniki’s and Macedonia’s business, professional and scientific organisations on Tuesday, as part of the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
ATHEX: One historic index high after another
The Euronext Athens (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,706.65 points, adding 0.15% to Monday’s 2,702.54 points. The large-cap FTSE-25 index expanded 0.17% to end at 6,914.78 points, though mid-caps slid 0.09%.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1314718/athex-one-historic-index-high-after-another
KATHIMERINI:El Niño is setting food prices on fire
TA NEA: Greek education – PISA: Free fall
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Fuel prices spike, weak support measures by the government
RIZOSPASTIS: The government’s energy policy increases power prices and energy poverty
KONTRA NEWS: Justice Minister Floridis: “Vote for Mitsotakis or else war with Turkey will break out”
DIMOKRATIA: MP Dora Bakogianni “gave away” her brother, PM Mitsotakis, about his secret meeting with MIT Director Kalin
NAFTEMPORIKI: Nightmare in the energy market
DRIVING THE DAY
BACK TO THE FUTURE: Ursula von der Leyen spent years building what she called a “geopolitical Commission” as the specter of war rose up the agenda. But what happens if the next crisis is more about bonds than bombs?
There are reasons for nervousness: German borrowing costs — a closely watched indicator of the state of the economy — reached a 15-year high last month, and France and Italy aren’t far behind. Investors are getting twitchier. Governments are paying more for debt, leading them to confront tough choices between raising taxes and lowering spending — both unpopular paths that risk inflaming the political climate. The far-right Alternative for Germany’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday and the National Rally’s lead in French presidential polls aren’t happening in a vacuum.
We’re not back in 2012 just yet, but the economic headwinds raise a question: Has von der Leyen built the right team for the next big shock?
Some think not: Experienced EU people have told Playbook they worry her team isn’t built for a moment that demands more economic heft. And a senior EU official pointed Playbook to what they see as a revealing blind spot: Von der Leyen currently has no permanent senior economic adviser in her cabinet. Amid Brussels’ turf wars and power plays, that’s a stick her critics use to beat her.
Case in point: Michele Piergiovanni is acting senior economic adviser while simultaneously serving as digital adviser, with a portfolio ranging from competition to space and defense. Economic adviser Patricia Reilly, also in an acting capacity, handles financial services alongside agriculture and health. She’s a veterinarian by training. Gelu Calacean also supports Piergiovanni on the European Semester, though his main area is social affairs.
Defense is different: When defense adviser Thomas Lunau left the president’s cabinet, the vacancy was swiftly filled by Robin Vink.
Remember when economics was all Brussels could talk about? When the EU obsessed over deficits and bailouts, Jean-Claude Juncker became Commission president after running Luxembourg’s finances and chairing the group of eurozone finance ministers.
The Commission’s argument: “The president has dedicated economic expertise in the Cabinet, the Commission and externally,” Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà told Playbook. In other words: the EU executive hardly lacks economists, and they’re attached to powerful departments and commissioners.
The question is what expertise sits closest to the president when she needs to make the big calls. Because ultimately geopolitics and the economy are the same thing. And wars have to be paid for.
Enter Europe’s bond salesman … Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin is in Asia, arriving in Tokyo today with a simple mission: Convince some of the world’s biggest investors to buy EU debt.
The pitch: EU bonds offer Japanese and Korean investors diversification — and something close to German levels of safety at a cheaper price, according to a person familiar with preparations for the trip.
Brussels goes borrowing: The Commission increased its 2026 issuance target from €160 billion to €180 billion in May amid extra security financing needs, including Ukraine. SAFE defense loans are also part of the borrowing program.
The bottom line: In a more unstable world, the EU’s shift toward defense, security and protecting trade was roundly supported. But events move fast: Is the “geopolitical” Commission now looking like yesterday’s solution?
BIG AND BREAKING
RIBERA’S WISHLIST: In a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO, the Commission’s second-in-command, Teresa Ribera, takes aim at Big Tech and Big Oil, raises an eyebrow at Google’s U.S. reprieve — and argues Europe should talk to China without going soft.
CAN THE CENTER HOLD? France’s centrists are struggling to unite behind a presidential candidate as the far right and far left gain in the polls.
PROGRESS REPORT: Two years after Mario Draghi warned that Europe faced “existential” economic decline, national politics stands in the way of implementing many of his ideas. POLITICO rates how his competitiveness plan is faring across 13 key areas.
GARCÍA TO RUN AGAIN: The Socialists and Democrats’ group Chair Iratxe García confirmed she’ll seek a fourth two-and-a-half-year term in the internal leadership election slated for the second October plenary, saying the European Parliament’s top jobs reshuffle will determine “whether the pro-European alliance will continue or not,” Max Griera reports.
TECH SUPPORT: The EU is looking to Israel to support its new push for high-tech air defense and space capabilities, Gabriel Gavin scooped.
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COSTA HEADS TO BERLIN
THE BIG ONE: António Costa arrives in Berlin today for a critical stop on his capitals tour. The European Council president will test whether there’s room for compromise with one of the governments pushing hardest for cuts to the EU’s long-term budget, Gregorio Sorgi reports.
Budget bogeyman: Costa’s afternoon meeting with Friedrich Merz comes three days after the German chancellor’s party suffered a bruising loss to the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. The Euroskeptics’ success in the state election risks pushing Merz — who already leads the budget-cutting camp — toward an even tougher negotiating stance, diplomats in Brussels told Playbook. (The diplomats were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks.)
The counterargument: German Green MEP Rasmus Andresen said the election result underscores the need for a bigger budget. “Merz and the German government need to understand that further cuts to the budget will only fuel the further rise of right-wing extremism,” he told Playbook.
Meeting the ex: Before the Berlin stop, Costa will meet Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw. As a former European Council president, Tusk understands the negotiations well — and leads a government with its own red lines on how the budget should be financed.
Finding the money: One part of Costa’s effort is to secure support for new EU-wide taxes to finance the budget from 2028 to 2034. He is trying to narrow the list of potentially acceptable levies ahead of a leaders’ summit in Brussels on Oct. 15.
Tax lines: Berlin said at an ambassadors’ meeting yesterday that it would consider all the proposed taxes except CORE, a controversial business levy, according to two EU diplomats. Warsaw supports CORE but opposes a separate proposal to direct revenue from the Emissions Trading System to the EU budget.
The gap: France said at the same meeting that the new EU-wide taxes should generate more than €60 billion — the estimated revenue from the Commission’s proposal last year that several governments have already opposed.
20-SECOND PLAYBOOK PRIMER
The European Commission is expected today to unveil plans to update EU public procurement rules. What does it want to achieve? The idea is to require public authorities across the EU to consider factors such as sustainability, supply chain resilience and European production, rather than choosing suppliers primarily on price. The latest draft of the Public Procurement Act will come out alongside a new Innovation Act, which aims to allow public authorities to bring innovations to market faster.
FRENCH FAR RIGHT VS. EU PARLIAMENT
BARDELLA’S DAY IN COURT: Jordan Bardella, president of France’s far-right National Rally, has a court date in Luxembourg today as he fights to keep his right-hand man on the European Parliament payroll, Mari Eccles reports.
François Paradol, Bardella’s chief of staff,also used to work as his part-time local MEP assistant. But in 2024, the Parliament said that couldn’t continue, citing tighter rules for parliamentary assistants following a case involving Bardella’s mentor, Marine Le Pen.
Master and apprentice: A French court found Le Pen guilty of embezzling funds meant for MEPs from 2004 to 2016, and using the money to pay for national party staff. The National Rally is on course to win next year’s French election. If Le Pen becomes president, Bardella could well be her prime minister.
Bardella proposed that Paradol work every Monday to Thursday morning as a parliamentary assistant, with the rest of his time set aside for national party work. The Parliament said no, claiming it would be near impossible for Paradol to separate his duties. So Bardella has taken the case to the EU General Court. The hearing is today, but a judgment could take a couple of months.
There’s always a local angle: The case could affect how MEPs can choose their own staffers. Paradol told Victor Goury-Laffont last year that by blocking his appointment, the Parliament was attempting to “turn every political aide into a European civil servant.”
The Parliament’s press service told Playbook that the institution “does not comment on ongoing judicial cases.”
7 MORE THINGS GETTING US TALKING
IRAN WAR WATCH: Iran launched a barrage of missiles at American targets in Jordan overnight, after U.S. forces struck five Iranian oil tankers, CNN reports.
BUY EUROPE, ANNOY EVERYONE? Brussels’ new public procurement framework lands today and our Pro colleagues are on the case: Morning Fair Play has what to expect … Morning Health looks at the impact on medtech and pharma … Morning Agri digs into the food chapter … and Morning Trade explains why it risks alienating EU allies. (For subscribers.)
HOUSTON, WE MAY NOT NEED YOU: Europe’s space chief wants a decision this year on whether the continent should develop the ability to launch its own astronauts — no NASA required.
MERZ’S MORNING AFTER: The AfD’s triumph in Saxony-Anhalt has thrown Friedrich Merz’s coalition into turmoil, with his SPD partners now turning against the reforms they agreed to push through with the chancellor.
How Washington sees it: Donald Trump celebrated the AfD’s breakthrough in a post on Truth Social last night, attributing the state election result to voters getting fed up with Germany’s “absolutely horrible” migration laws.
POLAND FRETS AS GERMANY REARMS: Warsaw wants a stronger German military — but Radosław Sikorski has warned that the AfD’s rise makes all that new firepower rather less comforting.
BUDAPEST CLEANS HOUSE: Hungary has expelled 10 Russian diplomats over alleged “unacceptable activities,” amid concerns about espionage.