School year 2026-2027 kicked off in Greece with the traditional holy water blessing ceremony performed by a priest in front of pupils, students, teachers and parents. The new school season began today, Friday, September 11, not only in primary, middle and high schools but also in kindergartens. After the blessing ceremony, students are being informed […]
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The unilateral declaration of two marine parks by Turkey in international waters in the Aegean Sea has caused heavy waves and threatens to drown the “calm waters” policy between the two neighboring countries and has led to sharp rhetoric from both sides. “Any move that could lead to uncontrolled escalation must be avoided,” Foreign Minister […]
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The White House ballroom project is wildly unpopular. Donald Trump doesn’t care. Ben Terris reports on Trump’s obsessive bid for architectural immortality, which is now barreling toward completion, and captures the breathtaking sycophancy required to work for this president:
“We had asphalt going into here,” Trump says, standing on the pathway leading to the residence of the White House. “Now you have the best stone.” He points at a pile of square-cut granite—the type being used to replace the asphalt walkway—and looks to his communications director, Steven Cheung, who is accompanying us on this impromptu tour of the White House grounds en route to the construction site.
“That’s some stone, huh, Steven?” he says.
“It’s incredible,” Cheung concurs.
“Look at the thickness of it,” Trump says. “Normally, you use one inch, as thin as you can. It’s the White House—I said, ‘Fuck it, what’s the best you have?’ They said, ‘We have one that’s four inches.’”
“You’re restoring glory to the White House,” Cheung says, shaking his head in apparent awe.
Greece and Italy signed in Rome on Tuesday, September 8, the implementation agreement for the transfer of two Italian Navy FREMM frigates, ITS Carlo Bergamini (F 590) and ITS Virginio Fasan (F 591). The acquisition of the two former Italian Navy FREMM Bergamini-class frigates for approximately €460 million, is significantly strengthening the Hellenic Navy’s surface […]
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Does Greece have access to source code of Israeli systems that would be purchased under Achilles Shield air defense complex? While National Defense Minister, Nikos Dendias, reassures the political opponents and the public that it has access, the Israeli side insists that it does not. The debate was heated when National Defense Minister Nikos Dendias […]
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This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Jana Puglierin, senior policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Berlin office, in a World in 30 Minutes Emergency Room episode to discuss the latest in German politics.
The AfD’s win in the small eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt was widely expected, but the scale of the result and the collapse of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) have still shocked Berlin. For the first time since the second world war, a far-right party is within reach of governing a German Bundesland. Jana unpacks the AfD’s possible paths to power, the pressure on Merz and his grand coalition, and what the result says about the far right’s continued rise in Europe.
Why does an election in a state of two million people matter so much for a country of 84 million? Can the AfD govern without a formal coalition partner, and would CDU lawmakers break the historic “firewall” to make that possible? Why is the party still treated as beyond the pale, even as it leads national polls? And should Europe prepare for a Germany too absorbed in its own crisis to lead?
This episode was recorded on September 7th 2026.
The meeting of the Core Group’s migration ministers, comprising ministers from Denmark, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece, concluded in Copenhagen on Friday. Greece was represented by Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris. According to state-run news agency amna.gr, the ministerial meeting marked an important milestone for European migration policy, with the participating countries advancing […]
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Draconian police measures, traffic restrictions and protests are scheduled as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be visiting the International Fair (TIF) on Saturday and will deliver a speech traditionally announcing relief measures for the society. The operational plan of the Hellenic Police features increased policing, security and traffic measures, more than 3,500 police officers on […]
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A long-running institutional struggle over who controls European Union foreign policy has broken into the open, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas publicly acknowledging that the role of the High Representative has not worked as intended when decisions are effectively taken above her inside the European Commission, writes Catherine Feore.
Speaking after an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, Kallas delivered an unusually candid assessment of the relationship between the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission and the member states.
At the centre of the dispute is a fundamental question: whether the EU's foreign policy is ultimately directed through the High Representative, who is supposed to bridge the Commission and national governments, or through Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Kallas argued that the problem does not lie primarily in the EU treaties or the institutional architecture they created. Instead, she said, it lies in how that architecture has been implemented in practice.
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"The problem is not the treaties, not the institutional setup. The problem is the implementation of that setup that it would work in practice, and there was a broad support by the member states to make it work. But of course, it doesn't entirely depend on the member states," Kallas said.
The final sentence was significant. Kallas' comments point towards criticism of von der Leyen.
Under the EU's institutional structure, Kallas holds two positions simultaneously: High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. The dual role was designed precisely to connect foreign-policy decisions made by the member states with the powerful economic and regulatory instruments controlled by the Commission.
Those instruments include trade, development assistance, enlargement, migration and visa policy. Kallas argued that Europe cannot operate effectively as a geopolitical actor unless it brings those tools together with the foreign policy agreed by national governments.
"If we want to act as a geopolitical player, we should really put these things together," she said, arguing that this was precisely why the treaties created the vice-presidential component of the High Representative's job.
A role that works "on paper"
Asked about proposals to shift parts of the EEAS, its staff or competences towards the Commission, she described a system in which her coordinating authority exists more clearly in theory than in practice.
"The high representative/vice president is the link between the member states and the Commission, on paper, in theory,” she added pointedly that “we have had issues where there is somebody above me that is actually deciding; then you know it doesn't work that way. Let's be very frank.”
The reference to "somebody above me" was the sharpest indication of the institutional problem Kallas was describing. Within the Commission hierarchy, the person “above” Kallas is Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Commission versus EEAS
The question arose because foreign affairs ministers were discussing the future of the EEAS and how Europe's external-policy machinery should be organised.
According to Kallas, governments broadly supported retaining the existing institutional structure rather than rewriting it. But they also want that structure to operate as originally intended.
She warned in particular against duplication between the EEAS and the Commission. If a function is already being performed effectively by the diplomatic service, she argued, there is little justification for recreating the same capacity inside the Commission.
The discussion also touched on proposals to concentrate more external-action functions inside the Commission. Kallas said such a transfer could not be separated from the High Representative's authority.
If external-action services are concentrated in the Commission, she argued, the other side of the bargain must be that the High Representative genuinely oversees those services. "One side of the equation cannot happen without the other," she said.
Kallas said a majority of governments supported maintaining the current institutional setup and opposed concentrating everything in the Commission without the High Representative's coordinating role being implemented in practice.
PHOTO CREDIT: Roundtable Informal meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich) - September 2026 - Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas © European Union
The government has formed a committee to negotiate with Jamaat-e-Islami over its ongoing sit-in.
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NEW YORK: Oil prices climbed in early trading Wednesday, building on the previous session’s sharp gains, as overnight military exchanges between the United States and Iran escalated tensions in the Middle East and revived fears of supply disruptions through a critical global shipping chokepoint. Brent crude futures rose $1.03, or 1.1%, to $95.68 a barrel ... Read more
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Greece and Israel signed on Monday a €3 billion deal for the massive “Achilles Shield” agreement, under which Israel will build Greece a multi-layered air defense array based on Israeli systems architecture. The intergovernmental agreement for the development of an anti-aircraft, anti-ballistic missile and counter-drone shield – known as the “Achilles Shield” – reportedly features […]
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ISLAMABAD: The leaders of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Sunday warned of staging sit-ins in Rawalpindi and Islamabad if authorities refuse to grant permission for a public gathering in the garrison city, as the party escalates pressure on the government over rising fuel prices and inflation. Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, the emir of Jamaat-e-Islami, told a news ... Read more
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