In-depth reporting, data and actionable intelligence for policy professionals – all in one place.
POLITICO’s must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Brussels, by Suzanne Lynch and Jakob Hanke Vela.
Press play to listen to this article
Voiced by Amazon Polly
What’s driving the day in Brussels.
By JAKOB HANKE VELA
with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH
Send tips here | Tweet @HankeVela | Listen to Playbook and view in your browser
GORBACHEV DEAD: Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, died last night aged 91. Facing massive protests, discontent and economic collapse, Gorbachev sought rapprochement with the West — introducing “glasnost” (openness) and “perestroika” (restructuring) — precipitating the end of the Cold War. Praised abroad, Gorbachev was reviled in Russia for overseeing the collapse of the Soviet Union and held responsible for the ensuing chaos.
The legend: Many in the West lionize Gorbachev for his role in allowing the Cold War to end peacefully; for withdrawing political and military support for communist regimes from Czechoslovakia to East Germany — removing the last crutch that was keeping their leaders in power and allowing their successful transition to democracy.
But there’s a darkness to Gorbachev’s legacy. On his watch, Soviet troops brutally massacred 22 protestors in Tbilisi in April 1989; in Azerbaijan, the military killed 150 people in the Black January massacre in 1990. Gorbachev is also often reviled in Lithuania for the January 1991 massacre in which 14 civilians were killed when the Soviet army stormed the parliament and a Vilnius television station — and in Latvia, for the killing of five people when Soviet troops stormed the interior ministry in Riga, also in January of that year.
REACTIONS: Read POLITICO’s full obituary here. We also have a round-up of the reactions to Gorbachev’s death. Here are some highlights …
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen remembered a “trusted” leader who “opened the way for a free Europe. This legacy is one we will not forget.”
Parliament President Roberta Metsola said she remembered Gorbachev meeting George Bush Snr. in Malta, marking the end of the Cold War. “It meant walls torn down & led to Europe’s reunification.”
French President Emmanuel Macron: “His commitment to peace in Europe changed our common history.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose “authoritarian” actions Gorbachev criticized, expressed his “deepest condolences.”
British PM Boris Johnson drew a comparison between the two men that was unflattering to Putin: “In a time of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, [Gorbachev’s] tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all,” Johnson said.
US President Joe Biden: In a statement, he called Gorbachev “a man of remarkable vision” and “a rare leader.” He added: “It was easy to understand why so many worldwide held him in such high esteem,” praising Gorbachev’s democratic reforms, crediting him with fostering “a safer world and greater freedom for millions.”
HAPPENING TODAY: European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas will be in Gdansk to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Gdansk Agreement of 1980 — a social contract reached by strikers with the government, which allowed citizens to push for changes within the communist structure and is seen as one of the propellants of the later fall of the iron curtain.
Playbook hears Schinas will continue on to Kyiv, where he will mark the start of the school year on September 1 with the reopening of a school — “testament to the continuation of normal life in Ukraine,” as an official close to Schinas put it.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTERS TALK RUSSIAN BAN: EU foreign affairs ministers head to the Congress Centre in Prague this morning to discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine. As POLITICO scooped yesterday, France and Germany have circulated a memo pushing against a travel ban on all Russians.
Two Russias: On Tuesday, France’s foreign affairs chief Catherine Colonna said it was important to draw a distinction between Putin and his supporters on the one side, and “Russian citizens, artists, students, journalists” on the other. “The former are the ones responsible for the war; the latter are not. And those we want, and must, continue to have links with.”
No French Riviera for oligarchs: “I would also like to remind you that Russian oligarchs are under individual sanctions. Therefore, they are not the ones who will come to do their shopping in France or in Europe,” Colonna added.
Balts unconvinced: My colleague Stuart Lau bumped into Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, who was not happy about the Franco-German position. “People are not such that just moving some 100 kilometers to the west will make a difference about their world outlook or their beliefs of what is right and what is wrong,” Reinsalu said.
Alterna-plan: Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have drawn up a joint statement demanding that the European Commission propose measures to “decisively decrease the flow of Russian citizens into the European Union and the Schengen area,” according to the FT. “Until such measures are in place on the EU level, we will consider setting up temporary measures on the national level in order to address imminent public security issues related to the increased influx of Russian citizens across our borders,” they said.
SPECIAL GUEST: The EU ministers will be joined in person by their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba today. Ahead of the meeting, Kuleba has also met bilaterally with ministers including Colonna.
AFRICA ON THE AGENDA: Ministers will also discuss financial aid for Africa and the strings it should come attached with. Recalling that Europe was the largest contributor of development aid for Africa, France’s Colonna said that “African partners are expected to implement their own commitments to support multilateralism and an international system based on the rule of law that allows everyone to live together.”
TURKEY NOT INVITED. The country has veered away from the EU over the past few years and has recently inflamed tensions with its neighbors Greece and Cyprus. But it has also played a crucial role in negotiating the agreement to ship Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
Seat at the table: Selim Yenel, Turkey’s former ambassador to the EU, argued it was in Europe’s interests to bring Ankara to the table. “The absence of Turkey in such a meeting where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be discussed and the representatives of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will take part is a serious shortcoming,” he wrote in a memo, arguing that if the EU wants Turkey to mirror its sanctions on Russia, it should give the country a seat at the table.
Circumventing sanctions: Yenel’s paper is notable, as he accuses his government of helping Russia circumvent sanctions. “Turkey’s close relationship with Russia also raises concerns,” he writes, warning that “Turkey’s policies of helping Russia to circumvent Western sanctions is a new area of discontent.” But, he argues, “if Turkey is to return to the Western world and not become dependent on Russia, everyone should make an effort.”
**Always be on the front row when it comes to policy news. With POLITICO Pro, you’ll get prime access to exclusive reliable scoops on the policy developments in Europe that matter to you. Find out more here.**
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO HOLD HEARING NEXT WEEK: The European Parliament’s main parties last night decided to hold a hearing into the Greek version of a Watergate scandal on Thursday, September 8 in the Pegasus committee, which was set up to investigate governments’ use of hacking software.
How to undermine your own committee: MEPs have invited Thanasis Koukakis, a journalist whose phone was allegedly attacked with Predator software, to attend the hearing. Not invited? The MEP at the center of the scandal — the Socialist PASOK party leader Nikos Androulakis, whose phone was tapped by the Greek intelligence service.
Politics trumps: Hannes Heide, the S&D’s coordinator for the committee, told Playbook that the center-right EPP group pushed for Androulakis not to be invited — surprisingly, with support from the Greens. Heide said it was “absurd” for MEPs to decide to investigate the events in Greece “but not to invite one of the main people affected.”
So what’s going on? The Greens decided against inviting Androulakis to the hearing, as they also want to hear from the Catalan separatist MEPs whose phones were allegedly hacked. So instead of having Androulakis at next week’s hearing, the political groups have agreed that MEPs whose phones have been wiretapped (which would include Androulakis and the Catalan separatists) “will be invited all together at some future stage.”
NOTHING TO SEE: It’s nearly a month since revelations emerged that the Greek national intelligence service (EYP) was wiretapping Androulakis — and it’s still unclear on what grounds the surveillance took place, as our colleague Nektaria Stamouli writes in to report. Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis argues it was a “lawful” but “wrong,” while critics say that’s for lawmakers and judges to decide.
The mystery: “No one can know the reasons that led EYP to recommend” the surveillance, and for a prosecutor to decide to launch it, State Minister George Gerapetritis told local radio — begging the question of how the government can be sure the wiretap was legal, if it doesn’t know on what grounds it was ordered.
Government line: “From what I understand, no evidence emerged from the surveillance of Androulakis’ phone and for this reason there was no reason for it to continue, nor for any third party to know its content,” Gerapetritis added.
Opposition questions: But Androulakis said that when the surveillance was revealed, Gerapetritis asked him to get in touch to be briefed on the reasons behind it. “Why the invitation from government members to be informed, if they don’t know the reasons?” PASOK MP Haris Kastanidis told local radio, adding that the government’s arguments suggested it had “something to hide.”
IAEA SETS OFF FOR UKRAINIAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT: A convoy of cars carrying inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency left Kyiv, heading toward the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the early hours of this morning, a witness told Reuters.
Now read this: The EU is creating a way for Iran to continue stonewalling the International Atomic Energy Agency, argues David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security, in this op-ed for POLITICO.
EU POWER MOVES: As the EU readies itself to launch an “intervention” in the bloc’s power market — and with a larger reform on the horizon — our colleague Victor Jack analyzes the options.
TROOP TRAINING UPDATE: EU officials want to up their training for Ukraine’s military as it embarks on a counteroffensive — but progress on the European level is proving slow, report POLITICO’s Lili Bayer and Stuart Lau.
WHAT’S ON RUSSIA’S CURRICULUM? Our colleague Jamie Dettmer reveals what Russian schoolchildren are being taught about Ukraine in this fascinating analysis.
TRACTORGATE DEALS BLOW TO POLISH GOVERNMENT’S COUNTRYSIDE APPEAL: Poland’s opposition parties are hoping to chip away at the governing coalition’s dominance of support in rural areas after news broke that Deputy Agriculture Minister Norbert Kaczmarczyk received a €320,000 tractor as a wedding gift at an already extravagant celebration. POLITICO’s Bartosz Brzezinski has more on the drama.
FRENCH AI: France’s Conseil d’État, its highest administrative court that also advises the government, has published a report on the use of artificial intelligence in public administration. The key takeaway? The French aren’t about to be enslaved by robots, POLITICO’s Peter O’Brien reports.
PROTOCOL BILL BATTLE: POLITICO’s Cristina Gallardo has a great preview of the first major parliamentary battle awaiting the next British PM, as peers prepare a full-frontal attack on the government’s plans to rewrite the Northern Ireland protocol when parliament returns from its summer break.
— Informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers (GYMNICH) in Prague. Press conference expected around 2:30 p.m. Watch.
— Forum 2000 conference begins in Prague, featuring the Forum for Ukraine. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, and foreign ministers of Germany Annalena Baerbock, Poland Zbigniew Rau and Czech Republic Jan Lipavský among those participating. Full program. Watch.
— Commissioner Margaritis Schinas visits Gdansk for the 42nd anniversary of the Gdansk Agreement; meets former President Lech Wałęsa; followed by a trip to Kyiv.
— Commissioners France Timmermans and Virginijus Sinkevičius in Bali, Indonesia. Both attend the G20 joint environment and climate ministerial … Timmermans also attends G20 energy ministerial.
— UNRWA’s Philippe Lazzarini speaks in European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee about Palestinian refugees and recent escalation of violence in Gaza, as well as his agency’s “delicate financial situation,” as a U.N. official put it.
— European Council President Charles Michel meets Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in trilateral meeting in Brussels at 1 p.m. Michel also due to travel to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron (time TBC).
— Eurostat releases eurozone flash August inflation figures.
FRENCH POLICE SEARCH FOR HATE PREACHER: Moroccan Imam Hassan Iquioussen, who was ordered to leave France after a court ruling, has escaped and is now on the run. Authorities believe he may have fled to Belgium, Le Monde reports.
BIRTHDAYS: MEPs Ondřej Knotek, Massimo Casanova, Tonino Picula and Lefteris Christoforou; Former MEPs Herbert Reul and Janice Atkinson; Airlines for Europe’s Laurent Donceel; POLITICO’s Mathilde Ciocci; European Commission’s Richard Coxon.
THANKS to Jacopo Barigazzi, Nektaria Stamouli, Hans von der Burchard and our producer Grace Stranger.
SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | Playbook Paris | POLITICO Confidential | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Direct | Berlin Bulletin | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | Global Insider | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters
Log in to access content and manage your profile. If you do not have an account you can register here.
Forgot your password?
By logging in, you confirm acceptance of our POLITICO Privacy Policy.