Egypt seismic surveys challenge Turkey-Libya maritime accord
Egypt’s ongoing surveys in maritime areas along its western borders mark a practical rejection of the maritime boundary accord signed between Turkey and Libya, as well as of agreements between Ankara and Tripoli on hydrocarbon exploration south of Crete.
Greece deemed critical to US energy plan
The visit of US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to Greece, in his capacity as chair of the influential White House National Energy Dominance Council, underscores the priority Washington places on deepening energy cooperation with Athens, council officials said.
Commission approves 787.67 million euros loans for Greece under the SAFE rearmament programme
The Commission announced on Tuesday that it had approved a provisional amount of financial assistance from the 150 billion euros Action for Security in Europe (SAFE) program, which is designed to strengthen the EU’s defence capabilities, help member states address critical gaps, and jointly purchase defence products.
Athens metro to operate on 24-hour basis every Saturday from September 13
As of next Saturday, September 13, the tram system and lines 2 and 3 of the Athens metro system will operate on a 24-hour basis every Saturday. With the addition of selected bus lines covering crucial locations of the Attica basin, the Greek capital will thus have 24-hour public transport on Saturdays.
ATHEX: No direction as yet for local bourse
Another mixed session at the Greek stock market on Tuesday saw stocks split between winners and losers. Therefore, while the benchmark and the blue chips showed a small decline, banks ended up in the black, as did the majority of stocks, with an increase in turnover. The absence of a short-term catalyst for purchases at Athinon Avenue has left the market without direction for days, while most eurozone markets are concerned about the political turmoil in France.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/economy/1280370/athex-no-direction-as-yet-for-local-bourse
KATHIMERINI: Egypt challenges de facto the Turkish-Libyan agreement
TA NEA: Presumed tax criteria: How much will they be “trimmed”
EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Security gaps in the “new OSE” [national railway]
RIZOSPASTIS: All workers and unions must join the strike of October 1st
KONTRA NEWS: After the hit in Qatar, the time has come for Turkey
DIMOKRATIA: Fairy tales and shadows around the power cable
NAFTEMPORIKI: Taxes linked to children explained
DRIVING THE DAY: VDL FACES THE MUSIC
STATE OF THE UNION DAY: It’s Christmas in September for EU policy nerds — get ready for three and a half hours of intense chat about the future direction of the bloc as the State of the Union debate kicks off.
Between the lines: Ursula von der Leyen’s authority is the most shaky it’s been since she took the helm of the Commission. She’s got challengers in the Berlaymont and foreign policy crises blazing — as the events in Poland and the Middle East last night emphasized. She’s under fire from capitals, MEPs and officials alike for moves such as the EU-U.S. trade deal and the rollback of the green agenda. Oh, and there’s also the small matter of two fresh no-confidence votes brewing (more on that below).
Calming nerves: The speech, and the debate with MEPs that follows, is her shot at calming nerves about her leadership and signaling that the EU has a path forward that doesn’t just involve firefighting the latest crisis.
What to expect: A shiny document released by the Commission ahead of the speech gives a likely indication of the key themes, signposting the EU’s “new geopolitical reality,” harsh economic competition intertwined with security issues and a new “age of great-power competition.” There’s a nod to real people, pointing to the cost of living crisis, spiking energy prices and a lack of affordable housing. It name-checks Trump twice: once for his “efforts” on Ukraine, and once for the EU-U.S. trade deal.
Advice from the SOTEU OG: Playbook caught up with the man who started the SOTEU tradition, former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who gave us his pearls of wisdom on the speech:
1. Keep momentum. “It’s very important to inject a sense of urgency … it’s a moment for leadership,” Barroso said. That includes trying to “unite as much as possible” the EU institutions and governments. “It’s not leadership when you try to lead and you look around and nobody follows us,” he said. “We need to engage, to unite.”
2. Push for unity — including within your own ranks. “We are living in times of fragmentation at all levels,” Barroso said. Even the biggest EU countries are “not in the same league of power” as the U.S. or China. “But together … yes, we can be.” Asked how to keep a College of Commissioners united, Barroso said he’s “quite proud” to have avoided major dissent during his decade helming the Commission: “My role, as I saw it, was leading by consensus.” But he conceded that the issues the EU is grappling with today are “more polarized now than before, not only at European and global level, but within our countries.”
3. Avoid backlash. Asked about VDL’s increasingly centralized agenda as president, Barroso said he’s the “last person” to question her role, but that “it should be clear that all the interventions of the Commission are done in full respect of [its legal] competence.” If that’s not respected, he said, “sooner or later, it could create a backlash.”
The choreo: The speech will begin at 9 a.m. at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Von der Leyen will speak for around 40 minutes, followed by a debate with MEPs. Watch on the live stream here.
Follow all the twists and turns: POLITICO has you covered with our live blog here. Plus (as if a protracted debate on the future of the EU could ever need livening up) you can play along with our SOTEU bingo.
MATIGNON MOVES
MACRON PICKS NEW FRENCH PM: Sébastien Lecornu will be France’s next prime minister. President Emmanuel Macron nominated the armed forces minister as France’s next head of government on Tuesday, hours after accepting the resignation of François Bayrou, whose government was resoundingly defeated in a confidence vote Monday over plans to slash next year’s budget by €43.8 billion. Giorgio Leali has all the details.
Loyal ally: As Laura Kayali wrote in this must-read profile, the 39-year-old Lecornu is a discreet, somber politician with a reputation as a survivor. He’s the only minister to have remained in government since Macron was first elected in 2017, outlasting countless reshuffles and a snap election.
You can’t please everyone: Part of Lecornu’s appeal is his supposed ability to reach across the political aisle at a time of profound political paralysis. But neither the far right nor far left welcomed the appointment. “The president has fired the last shot of macronism, holed up in his bunker with his small group of loyalists,” National Rally leader Marine Le Pen posted on X. France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called it a “sad comedy of contempt for parliament” and urged Macron to resign.
Baptism of fire: Lecornu takes the reins of government just as protesters seek to bring France to a grinding halt, with demonstrations and blockades on highways and at train stations, airports and refineries expected as part of an online movement called “Block Everything,” my Paris-based colleague Clea Caulcutt reports.
EU AND GAZA
QATAR FALLOUT: European leaders will also spend today figuring out how to respond to Israel’s audacious attack on the political leadership of Hamas as they gathered in the Qatari capital of Doha. The airstrike, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was carried out “wholly independently,” killed five lower-level Hamas officials but not its top leaders, the militant group said.
Outcry in the capitals: French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack and warned of further escalation across the Middle East, Elena Giordano reports. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after speaking by phone to the emir of Qatar last night, issued a statement saying the violation of Qatar’s sovereignty was “unacceptable.”
Unease in Washington: Donald Trump said he was informed by Israel of the strike in advance but did not approve it. “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” he posted on Truth Social.
PARLIAMENTS’ GAZA STANCE COULD FALL APART: The European Parliament’s political families are struggling to find a common position on Gaza as a deadline looms at 11 a.m. today, four officials with knowledge of the discussions told Max.
Tough business: Negotiators spent all of Tuesday afternoon and evening coming up with a final text, which is scheduled for a vote on Thursday, but right-wing groups including the EPP were still unhappy with the wording. Officials said the main disagreements related to recognition of Palestine as a state and sanctions against Israel, including the revision of the EU-Israel association agreement.
United in division: It’s not only the Parliament struggling to find a common position. The bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said Tuesday that the Commission is ready to act to pressure Israel but that capitals are blocking progress. “That’s the challenge of this resolution: the EP succeeding where Council fails,” one official said. The Commission is also split, with Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera breaking ranks to describe Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide and the Commission distancing itself from her remarks.
CIVIL SERVANTS’ GAZA SOTEU: A group of civil servants frustrated at the EU’s inaction on Gaza penned their own alternative State of the Union address on Tuesday. The group, dubbed EU Staff for Peace, blasted EU countries for failing to agree on sanctions for Israel and selling arms to the Israeli military.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS
TRADE DEAL TENSIONS: Once the State of the Union is done and dusted, European lawmakers are slated to hold a debate on the EU-U.S. trade deal today. Brace yourself for a fiery exchange: MEPs from the Socialists & Democrats have come out against the deal and will make sure their voices are heard in this first plenary exchange on the accord.
And they’re not the only ones with reservations: Valérie Hayer, chief of the liberal Renew Europe group, said ahead of the debate that the deal “enshrines the weakness of Europe on the international stage,” according to my colleagues on Morning Trade. “We need economic and political integration.”
Also worth keeping an eye on: The EU’s ambassadors will huddle early afternoon to talk through the latest on the EU-U.S. relationship, including Trump’s call to the EU impose a 100 percent tariff on China and India, as reported by the FT on Tuesday.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS IN COURT: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to quickly hear a pair of broad legal challenges to the president’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on countries around the world. My Stateside colleagues have more.
HOW TRUMP BECAME PRESIDENT OF EUROPE: Is he “daddy”? Is he a Mafia boss? No, he’s the president of Europe! Playbook’s Nick Vinocur expertly unpacks Trump’s position at the head of the EU table in this must-read piece.
PLENARY DRAMA
VDL CENSURE MOTIONS BREWING: The Left group in the European Parliament only needs to secure three more signatures to reach the threshold to summon a no-confidence debate and vote, the group leadership said during an internal meeting on Tuesday evening, Max Griera reports. That means von der Leyen could be grilled over her governance again as early as October.
Almost there: Parliamentary rules say a group can only file a motion of censure with 72 signatures two months after the previous one took place — otherwise, they need 144 names. The last motion was on July 10, which means the group could submit the motion this week. The far-right Patriots for Europe are also ready to file their own, counting 85 members.
WHOOPS: Political groups are urging their lawmakers to rectify their votes after a large number of MEPs accidentally supported an amendment calling for Europe’s “disarmament” and condemning the “EU’s militaristic strategy in Ukraine.” The amendment was proposed by the Left as part of the Parliament’s 2023 and 2024 reports on Ukraine — both non-binding texts without legal effect. The error was due to “the speed of the voting procedure,” a spokesperson for Renew Europe said.
EPP TO ASSESS SERBIA’S MEMBERSHIP: The European People’s Party (EPP) will start a “scrutiny process” examining the membership of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s SNS party, its Chair Manfred Weber said on Tuesday, Max reports. Weber’s comments follow an outcry from the Greens after the Serbian leader called some of its politicians “scum” for supporting anti-government demonstrators last week. “The EPP [doesn’t have] a blind eye on what is happening in Serbia,” Weber said.
Don’t hold your breath: But this “scrutiny process” could amount to little in real terms, as it is not a procedure with fixed steps and clear outcomes in the center-right party’s statutes. “As allegations go back and forth, we now want to invest time in getting a clear view of the situation on the ground and of how our observer parties judge it,” an EPP party official said when asked if Vučić’s party could potentially be expelled.
IN OTHER NEWS
COSTA TO MEET MERZ, ORBAN: European Council President António Costa will meet German Chancellor Merz and Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán as he continues his tour of EU capitals today. Topics for discussion will include enlargement, migration, defense and preparations for the bloc’s next seven-year budget, as well as a potential debate on housing at the next EUCO summit, an EU official told Gabriel Gavin.
WE NEED THE EU, MOLDOVAN PM WARNS: Moldova must join the EU to survive Russia’s aggression, President Maia Sandu warned Tuesday ahead of a Sept. 28 parliamentary election that she predicted the Kremlin would try to influence. More from Seb Starcevic here.
Does Europe really have the will to deter Russia? General Nick Carter, former U.K. chief of the defense staff, grapples with that in an op-ed out this morning.
LISBON MAYOR RESISTS CALLS TO STEP DOWN: Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas, a familiar figure in Brussels from his time as research commissioner, dismissed a censure motion in the city’s municipal assembly on Tuesday as the political fallout from the deadly funicular crash reverberates. Aitor Hernández-Morales has the latest.
IRISH FOOTBALL MANAGER IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE: One of the most successful managers in Irish sports history, Jim Gavin, has become the first political outsider to join Ireland’s presidential election scheduled for Oct. 24.