Iran goes ‘backwards’ — Ursula von der Hood — Greek PM in trouble – POLITICO

What’s driving the day in Brussels.

By JAKOB HANKE VELA

with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING — IRAN RESPONDS: Iran has sent its own written reply to Washington’s response to the EU proposal seeking to resuscitate the 2015 nuclear deal (phew, are you still with us?). “The sent text has a constructive approach with the aim of finalizing the negotiations,” claimed the spokesman for Iran’s foreign affairs ministry, Nasser Kanaani, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA.

Step ‘backwards’: But the response landed like a lead balloon in Washington, with the U.S. slamming it as a “not at all encouraging” step “backwards,” report our colleagues Nahal Toosi and Stephanie Liechtenstein. A senior Biden administration official told them: “We are studying Iran’s response, but the bottom line is that it is not at all encouraging.” A European diplomat agreed, saying the Iranian response looked “negative and not reasonable.”

What the US doesn’t like: Teheran hasn’t specified whether it has dropped its demand for the International Atomic Energy Agency to conclude its open investigations ahead of implementation of the deal — one of the two big stumbling blocks to a deal. The other remaining obstacle, according to officials, is Iran’s insistence on guarantees that future U.S. administrations will not pull out of the deal again, after former President Donald Trump walked away in 2018.

EU’S EMERGENCY INTERVENTION       

COMMISSION BACKS ELECTRICITY PRICE CAP: Brussels has prepared recommendations ahead of next week’s meeting of EU energy ministers — who are seeking to bring down astronomical energy prices across the bloc. The European Commission endorses a price cap for electricity as part of a set of “short-term emergency interventions tackling electricity demand and high electricity prices,” according to a document obtained by POLITICO’s Victor Jack.

Thumbs up: The 23-page so-called non-paper evaluates a number of ideas to bring down the price of electricity and concludes that the two best ones that warrant action are coordinated demand reduction and a price cap on electricity.

Thumbs down: The Commission experts also looked at six other ideas, including the Greek and Spanish models, but also others such as subsidizing greenhouse gas emission costs or dismantling the entire electricity market and switching to state planning. The experts concluded the ideas rated somewhere on a scale between abominable and terrible, but more politely ranked them in the document from “strongly discouraged” to “should not be recommended.”

So what does Brussels want? The non-paper proposes a price cap, but only on “inframarginal plants” — a new word for your vocabulary, which means power plants that produce at a price below the most expensive technology still needed to meet demand. In other words, a price cap on electricity produced by “renewables … nuclear, and lignite.”

Gold rush over: These plants have much lower costs than gas-powered stations but up until now have been charging the same price and bringing in gargantuan profits. If EU countries endorse Brussels’ proposal, those golden days are numbered.

Ursula von der Hood: Cash collected above the price limit should be used “to finance measures which directly lower tariffs for selected consumers” the Commission proposes — think of it as a Robin Hood for electricity.

What’s next: Experts from the EU’s 27 capitals will be briefed on the proposals next Wednesday. EU ambassadors will also discuss the issue. Then on Friday, EU energy ministers are expected to grant the Commission a mandate to prepare interventions, which would be part of the aptly titled “Winter Package.” POLITICO Pro Energy and Climate, Financial Services, Trade and Competition and Industrial Policy subscribers can see the full document here.

GREEK WATERGATE       

MITSOTAKIS IN HOT WATER: Cracks are appearing within Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party, after revelations that the country’s National Intelligence Service (EYP), which is under the PM’s direct control, spied on the leader of an opposition party.

ND heavyweight speaks out: Kostas Karamanlis, a former Greek prime minister (and a former president of New Democracy, which was founded by his uncle), urged the government to come clean on who ordered the bugging and why.

Catharsis: “In such situations, catharsis occurs only when they are fully clarified,” Karamanlis said during a New Democracy event in Crete. “For these events to have been caused by government initiative is not only undemocratic and illegal, but so far beyond the bounds of morbid imagination and political nonsense that it is unthinkable,” he added.

GOVERNMENT INVOKES CONFIDENTIALITY: Greek parliamentarians didn’t gain much insight during a transparency committee hearing convened on Thursday, as the key figures in the wiretapping scandal invoked their duty of confidentiality, my colleague Nektaria Stamouli writes in to report.

Not exactly illuminating: Grigoris Dimitriadis, the former government general secretary, and Panagiotis Kontoleon, the former EYP chief, said they couldn’t reveal the reasons why PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis’ phone was wiretapped, according to officials. Kontoleon used the same argument when asked whether the file with Androulakis’ case still exists or if the EYP has destroyed it. PASOK has asked for the relevant file to be given immediately to the transparency committee. “I’m not saying yes or no,” Dimitriadis said when asked if other politicians are being monitored.

Those aren’t the rules: Christos Rammos, the president of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE), as well as two former heads of EYP under previous governments were also present in the committee, and said confidentiality rules cannot apply in the transparency committee. Karamanlis, the former PM from Mitsotakis’ own party, had a similar take: “In such cases, confidentiality subordinates to the need of public life for catharsis.”

**Will Europe be able to ensure global food security while leveraging technological innovation to design a greener future for European farmers and consumers? Join us in Paris or online at our 6th Future of Food and Farming Summit to engage with senior policymakers to debate this and much more. Find out who is coming to France and register here today!**

IN OTHER NEWS       

KYRIAKIDES TO CALL FOR VACCINE PLANS: European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides will today propose measures to avoid another wave of COVID-19 this fall and winter, according to a document seen by Playbook. The Commission will in particular urge countries to prepare vaccination plans, including how to prioritize vaccines that are adapted for newer virus variants, which the EU approved on Thursday.

Anti-vaxxers key: Even as countries prepare those new boosters, Kyriakides reminded them that the most important measure remains to inoculate those who have yet to get jabbed. “It is essential to continue prioritizing an uptake of the primary vaccination and first booster dose among all eligible individuals,” she said.

Keeping watch: Additionally, Brussels will propose surveillance systems for respiratory viruses, ask countries to surveil wastewater and ensure sufficient sequencing capacity, strengthen health care systems and, in the worst-case scenario, to prepare to reintroduce “non-pharmaceutical measures” — meaning restrictions, home working and lockdowns.

POLAND SEEKS REPARATIONS: Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party wants Berlin to pay €1.3 trillion in wartime reparations. POLITICO’s Jan Cienski has the details.

NO STATE FUNERAL FOR GORBACHEV: This weekend, Mikhail Gorbachev will be laid to rest in Moscow — but there won’t be a state funeral. Plus, the Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t attend the ceremony. POLITICO’s Jamie Dettmer explains why.

MILITARY MOVES: Unless EU countries coordinate their equipment purchases, harmonize military requirements and procurement timetables, and make their rival defense industries collaborate, they may squander taxpayers’ money on a grand scale — without even making Putin quake in his boots, writes Paul Taylor in his latest Europe at Large column.

WHAT PARIS WILL BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY: French President Emmanuel Macron is seriously considering appointing former NewsCorp lobbyist Frédéric Michel as his new communications adviser, our Playbook Paris colleagues report this morning. (Macron has been looking to fill the post since the election.) Michel hasn’t yet been cleared by the French administrative authority that is charged with checking for possible conflicts of interest, and the Elysée isn’t commenting on our report. Michel currently works for an investment fund called Lupa Systems — founded by James Murdoch.

ALGERIA’S MOVE TO ENGLISH: In the world of diplomacy, few details carry as much import as language. So when the sign on Macron’s lectern at the Algerian presidential palace last week read “Presidency of the Republic” instead of “Présidence de la République” in French, diplomats and casual observers in Paris took note, reports POLITICO’s Clea Caulcutt.

WILL ITALY’S FIRST FEMALE PM BE BAD FOR WOMEN? Giorgia Meloni is poised to be appointed Italy’s first female prime minister. But what Meloni’s victory would mean for the rights of women, and the campaign for equality in Italian politics, is less clear, reports POLITICO’s Hannah Roberts. In recent weeks, a series of female celebrities have lined up against Meloni and her far-right Brothers of Italy party, over her stance on abortion, her dedication to the “traditional” family, and her disregard for minority rights.

BERLUSCONI JOINS TIKTOK: Meanwhile, Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi has joined TikTok. The 85-year-old media mogul made his debut on the Chinese-owned social media site on Thursday and has his sights set on its core audience — youths. In the first and so far only video posted, Berlusconi said he wanted to talk on the platform about topics that are “closest to the hearts of Forza Italia and myself and that concern” young people.

Never too old: For a man born in 1936, who grew up in the age of vacuum tube radios and later built an empire in linear TV, the jump to TikTok is quite something.

EU’S GOURMET FOODS HIT BY CLIMATE CHANGE: Europe’s drought has spoiled harvests across the Continent. Now makers of the EU’s culinary specialties say the sizzling weather is straining their ability to keep producing some of the bloc’s most lucrative food exports, protected under the EU’s geographical indications scheme, reports POLITICO’s Gabriela Galindo.

TRUSS MANIFESTO: The frontrunner in the race to replace Boris Johnson as U.K. prime minister, Liz Truss, has not published her program for government — so POLITICO decided to do it for her. Noah Keate has compiled every policy commitment she has made across more than 40 hours of hustings, as well as countless interviews and articles on the campaign trail.

Now here this: With days to go until Boris Johnson’s replacement is announced, Westminster Insider host Ailbhe Rea kicks off the latest season of the podcast by meeting Johnson’s cheerleaders and critics.

And don’t miss this: EU Confidential returns next week with its new host, Playbook’s own Suzanne Lynch! Be sure to check out the new trailer here and subscribe to our email alerts.

FRIDAY FUNNY: In this week’s Declassified humor column, Paul Dallison takes you inside the FBI’s secret documents vault.

AGENDA       

— Informal meeting of ministers responsible for cohesion policy. Arrivals from 8 a.m., press conference expected around 2:20 p.m. Watch.

— EMA press briefing on COVID-19 and monkeypox at 2 p.m. Watch.

— Conference of Estoril “The World Ahead.” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola attends. Program.

BRUSSELS CORNER       

JOB MOVE: Bruno Lopandic, spokesperson of the first Croatian presidency of the EU, is leaving Brussels after three years at the perm rep. Lopandic, a former journalist and editor, will move to Budapest as a diplomat in the Croatian Embassy in Hungary.

TWEET OF THE DAY — VON DER LEYEN SOLVES RUSSIAN VISA SPAT:

UKRAINE BENEFIT CONCERT: The Czech perm rep, the European Parliament and the Mission of Ukraine to the EU are organizing a benefit concert for Ukraine. The charity event — proceeds will go to Ukraine — takes place September 8 at 5:45 p.m. in front of the European Parliament in Brussels on Esplanade Solidarność. Musicl acts Patsyki z Franeka and Cross Band and pop singer Xindl X are set to play.

BOOK LAUNCH: Pakistan’s Embassy and the European Literary Circle will hold a book-launch for Muneeza Hashmi’s “Conversations with my Father” on September 5 at the Gare de Watermael, at 5 p.m.

BIRTHDAYS: MEPs Marco Campomenosi and Manu Pineda; Former MEP and European Commissioner Louis Michel; POLITICO’s Laura Greenhalgh; U.K. Labour leader Keir Starmer; Andrej Babiš, former Czech prime minister; European Parliament’s Christian Beck; Nicholas Zylberglajt from Unmanned Life; Incredible Company’s Vincent Vandoorne; Law360’s Todd Buell; European Economic and Social Committee’s Giulia Barbucci.

Celebrating Saturday: MEPs Peter van Dalen and Inese Vaidere; Former MEPs Salvatore Cicu, Péter Niedermüller, Marc Joulaud and Arndt Kohn; POLITICO’s Barbara Moens; Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi; APRE’s Mattia Ceracchi; L’Oréal’s Annalisa Barbagallo.

Celebrating Sunday: MEP Henrike Hahn; Aart van Iterson of Morris & Chapman; Jan Van Zanen, mayor of The Hague; Karen Clements from LOWeurope; Isabelle Durant, former deputy prime minister of Belgium; The Economist’s Alex Travelli … and pop star Beyoncé turns 41.

THANKS to Florian Eder, Jacopo Barigazzi, Nektaria Stamouli and our producer Grace Stranger.

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