ERDOĞAN: Behind what appears to be an economic agreement lies the militarization of the Cyprus issue and the incorporation of the occupied territories into Erdoğan’s efforts to expand Turkey’s influence, particularly vis-à-vis Israel, in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.
This is highlighted by the recent economic agreement between Turkey and the pseudo-state, which was made public yesterday by Nordic Monitor, a website specializing in Turkish affairs.
The agreement provides for a Turkish grant of up to 20.7 billion Turkish lira, with nearly half—9.65 billion lira—allocated to defense spending. The same figures are confirmed by Turkish Cypriot media, which cite the publication of the agreement in the Turkish Official Gazette.
The language of the agreement’s text is also striking, linking occupied Cyprus to Gaza, Iran, Israel, the U.S., Syria, energy corridors, and the power struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In short, Turkey no longer refers to the Occupied Territories as a “pending issue ” to be resolved, but elevates them to an essential “strategic depth,” a critical point of defense, influence, and projection of power.
ERDOGAN II: At the same time, the agreement binds the pseudo-state even more tightly to the Turkish narrative of “sovereign equality” and “equal international status.” This is, in other words, a far cry from any concept of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, following Erdogan’s line on two states.
The question is how Greece and Cyprus will react to Turkey’s now-obvious attempt to make the Occupied Territoriesa “forward outpost”of its regional strategy.
Especially when this is happening at a time when Erdogan appears to be doing pretty much whatever he wants within Turkey, regarding the opposition, without any meaningful reaction regarding the rule of law and democracy, not only from the U.S., but also from the European Union!
P.S.: We have made numerous references on Euro2day.gr to the Europeans’ belated, hypocritical, and extremely dangerous“Turkey-worship.”The problem is that every time we do so, things have gotten worse in the meantime!
GOVERNMENT: “Androulakis’s current PASOK is different from that of its previous presidents,” they point out at every opportunity at the Maximos Mansion,“courting” the remaining undecided centrist voters and throwing down the gauntlet to the opposition, against the backdrop of the likely inability to form a post-election coalition government.
“We are a long way from the PASOK of 1980, which gave birth to the logic of easy solutions. The PASOK under Venizelos and Fofi Gennimata was on the right side of history and put the country above the party. However, a party that does not vote for Yannis Stournaras, that co-signs no-confidence motions with Ms. Konstantopoulou, adopts some of the rhetoric of the far-right, this PASOK that passes a party congress resolution on who it will not form a coalition with—speaks for itself,” government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis emphasized.
The New Democracy spokesperson, Alexandra Sdoukou, also took issue with the leader of the official opposition: “If everyone were to adopt Mr. Androulakis’s logic, then he himself, the architect of false scandal-mongering, would have to explain phrases like ‘mafia,’ ‘gang,’ and many others. But he is lucky, because in New Democracy, we are not Androulakis-types, ” she noted.
Tough times for… weddings.
KAMMENOS: It’s not that Panos Kammenos wouldn’t comment on the name of Alexis Tsipras’s new party.
His government partner and former Minister of Defense, with the help of artificial intelligence, posted a digital logo on social media for the… EDES (“GreekRight NationalAlliance”), writing meaningfully:
“When ELAS appears… for Gorgopotamos, it is imperative…”.
Just a troll or something more?
We imagine the former, although in politics—as has been proven—anything can happen.
KYRIAKOS: Announcements regarding the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed today at the Maximos Mansion between the government and ElevenLabs are eagerly anticipated.
This is a unicorn company (i.e., a startup valued at over one billion euros), considered one of the largest in AI audio and has caught the attention of the prime minister himself.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after all, places particular emphasis on issues related to artificial intelligence, a topic he has been discussing extensively lately, including at the New Democracy conference.
At noon, the Prime Minister will participate in a discussion with Mati Staniszewski, co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, as part of the “Panathēnea2026” festival at the Zappeion.
SAMARAS: We may not have seen a party led by the former prime minister yet, but the names of potential candidates who might join it have begun circulating in newsrooms, and reactions have started.
Thus, New Democracy MP for the southern district of Athens, Yiannis Kallianos, spoke out yesterday and publicly denied reports that he would join a potential party led by the former prime minister.
“Those who have known me all these years know very well that I have always taken clear positions and avoided political maneuvers designed to make a splash. My goal has been and remains to be of service to society, to the citizens who trust me, and to the New Democrats who sent me to Parliament, ”he noted.
MARKOPOULOS: The parliamentary spokesperson, Dimitris Markopoulos, urged restraint within the New Democracy party regarding comments about the opposition.
“It is not our job to ‘water’ the Left’s field with statements, nor to choose an opponent between Tsipras and Androulakis,” he stated in a post, emphasizing that “our job is to work to solve the problems of the Greek people. Let’s focus on how we can become self-reliant and leave the others behind, ” he conveyed.
And whoever heard, heard.
MARINAKIS: Capital Tankers, in which he has a stake, with the shipping company’s management emphasizing that it has the financial flexibility to exercise some of the relevant options even immediately.
CEO Jerry Kalogeratos stated that the Oslo-listed company can “veryeasily” acquire at least three VLCCs initially, leveraging its liquidity and strong cash flows.
The company has approximately $250 million in excess liquidity following the financing of its current shipbuilding program, and estimates that EBITDA could reach $300 million in 2026, provided current freight rates are maintained.
Management has made it clear, however, that it will maintain a conservative stance on leverage and does not intend to proceed with capital increases below net asset value (NAV).
FRAGOU: Angeliki Fragou’s Navios Maritime Partners proceeded with a new capital raise on the Oslo bond market, confirming investors’ continued confidence in the shipping sector. The company raised $30 million through a supplementary issuance of securities under its existing senior unsecured bond maturing in 2030, priced at 102.75% of par value with a yield of 6.9%.
The bond, which was issued in November 2025, carries a fixed interest rate of 7.75%, while the net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. According to bankers, strong cash flow generation in shipping and geopolitical disruptions to trade flows continue to support demand for shipping high-yield bonds in the Scandinavian market.
Meanwhile, Navios secured five-year charters for two newly built LR2 tankers from Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation, in a deal worth approximately $118 million, further strengthening the visibility of its future revenues.
SHIPPING-ATHEX: Following Poly Hatzioannou ’s Wall Street-listedSafe Bulkers, which charteda course for a dual listing on the Athens Stock Exchange, Stamatis Tsantani’s Seanergy Maritime is next in line.
As the Ekivolos column reported, Seanergy appears poised to raise at least €200 million in June.
According to stock market sources, a similar—immediate—approach was also made to Dr. Nikos Tsakos, chairman and CEO of NYSE-listed Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN).
However, according to the same sources, the shipowner did not appear particularly enthusiastic about the scenario of a dual listing of the shipping company on the Athens Stock Exchange and Wall Street…
INTRACOM: The strategy of Intracom Holding’s management is to create shareholder value. In this context, the listed company is currently divesting its stake in Optima Bank, reportedly recouping two or even three times its initial investment.
The company is adopting a similar wait-and-see approach regarding the maturation (as goodwill) of its stakes in other companies and subsidiaries.
However, for the time being, according to sources close to the listed company, no further divestments, much less an immediate return of capital, are on the table.
MOH: Motor Oil Oil crushed the consensus, in terms of reported EBITDA, Motor Oil surpassed the consensus in terms of reported EBITDA, achieving a performance of €546.2 million, significantly higher than market estimates. Cost containment and the sales mix played a role in exceeding expectations.
On the other hand, net profit (after taxes) came in slightly lower (€332 million) than some analysts had expected (€335–345 million). Strong free cash flow generation reduced net debt by €310 million (€1.26 billion as of March 31), and the net debt/EBITDA ratio stood at 0.9x.
P.S.: The group’s parent company plans to issue a Eurobond to repay bonds traded in Dublin with an outstanding balance of €400 million, which mature in July 2026.
MOH II: The nearly doubled volume of jet fuel sales (512,000 metric tons), compared to the first quarter of 2025 (261,000 metric tons), explains the increase in profit margin. This is because part of the higher volume was sold at the increased prices in March (note: the first month of the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran).
Thus, aviation fuel sales contributed €497 million to revenue, 2.6 times higher than the corresponding quarter last year (€185.3 million). Sales of diesel and heating oil increased by 187,000 metric tons (1.13 million metric tons), contributing €898 million in revenue, compared to €661 million last year.
Sales of gasoline and LPGgrew at a slower pace, while sales of fuel oil and asphalt declined, both in terms of volume and value.