GERMANY: A week ago we wrote that the battle over the next European budget could produce a very unpleasant bill for Greece.
We had also pointed out the language the Germans are now using, with a characteristic example being the Deputy Minister for European Affairs Gunther Krichbaum, who publicly wondered whether the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, “has completely lost touch with reality.”
Now they have moved from harsh words to ultimatums. Friedrich Merz and the leaders of the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Finland are threatening not to give their consent to the 2028–2034 budget unless hundreds of billions are cut from the Commission’s proposal of about 2 trillion euros.
The six countries contribute about 40% of the revenues of the EU budget, while unanimity is required for the agreement.
GERMANY II: The Northerners agree with the EU plan to strengthen resources for defense and innovation, but with cuts elsewhere.
In farmers’ subsidies and support for the less developed regions, says the Financial Times report.
In other words, they are hitting two of the most important sources of European money for Greece: the Common Agricultural Policy (which has already been hit in our country by the OPEKEPE case) and the Cohesion Policy.
The latter currently reaches our country mainly through the ESPA, which for the 2021–2027 period provides for 20.9 billion euros in EU support.
These amounts show the scale of what is at stake in the negotiation for the next seven-year period. Politically, the issue may not be “sexy”. In Greece, after all, we are almost always concerned with the short term.
But the Northerners, with Merz’s Germans in front, seem ready to make it… Kougi. So the issue must concern both the government and the opposition immediately.
Before it is too late.
PIRAEUS-LIVANOS: Piraeus Bank and the borrowers linked to Nikolaos Livanos’ shipping company Kyla Shipping & Trading reached an agreement to settle their dispute, putting an end to the legal battles that had led to the seizure of two bulk carriers.
The agreement concerns financing totaling 112 million dollars and provides for the continuation of the financing relationship, which spans more than 20 years.
The dispute had led in July to the detention of the 81,500 dwt kamsarmax Omiros L in the US, following a court order secured by Piraeus. After the joint request by both sides to dismiss the case, a judge in Alabama brought the case to an end and canceled the seizure.
At the same time, the 76,600 dwt Pantazis L, which had been detained in Singapore in July, sailed earlier this month, marking the end of the legal dispute there as well.
Kyla stated that its vessels returned to normal commercial activity and that, throughout the dispute, the rest of the fleet’s vessels not involved in the case continued to carry out normally their voyages and obligations.
INTERVIEW: Discussions in the political, journalistic and polling “piazza” were sparked by a complaint by lawyer Aris Papadopoulos to the NCRTV against the polling company Interview.
What does he invoke? That while in the identity of the latest survey, published on 29 September, the fieldwork period was noted as the five-day period 23/9/2026 - 28/9/2026, “it was already ready and came into our hands on the evening of 27/9/2026”.
That is, as the lawyer notes, “a full day earlier than the day the company states that the completion of questionnaires and data collection would be completed”.
He speaks of “deception and misleading voters” and, as follows from the dates. The company must answer -or clarify.
RELICS: On Saturday morning, in the presence of the prime ministers of Greece and Bulgaria, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Rumen Radev, respectively, the signing of the protocols of the historic agreement for the exchange - return of cultural relics will take place at the Museum of Byzantine Culture.
The 48 Greek relics come from two Holy Monasteries (Panagia Eikosifoinissa and Timios Prodromos of Serres) and the Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita, which had been transferred to Sofia in 1917, during the First World War and which were exhibited or kept at the National Museum of History of Bulgaria.
For its part, Greece will hand over to the neighboring country the remains found in the Basilica of Saint Achilleios in 1965 by Professor Nikolaos Moutsopoulos and which have been identified as belonging to Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, (997-1014), which had been kept in recent years at the Museum of Byzantine Culture, in Thessaloniki.
SIDMA: With the group’s turnover increasing by 4.4% to 94.6 million euros, EBITDA surged by 80.6% to 6.5 million euros and the group returned to profitability (2.6 million euros), thanks to the significant improvement recorded in profit margins, following the rise in raw material prices.
The gross margin amounted to 12.11%, improved by 311 bps, with gross profit reaching 11.5 million euros. The EBITDA margin came to 6.92% from 4% last year and the net profit margin to 2.70% from negative last year. The EBITDA interest coverage ratio improved significantly, reaching 3x.
ORILINA: Orilina has signed final contracts for the sale of 13 residences plus one private advance agreement for the complex of 20 residences (Marina Residances by Kengo Kuma), which it is developing in the Elliniko area. The total agreed consideration amounts to 78.8 million euros.
The project is expected to be completed within next year. On 30/6, Orilina had cash and cash equivalents of 21.4 million euros and in the half-year net operating cash flows of 10.6 million euros.
CHAIDEMENOS: The stock reacted with a neat 30% to the announcement of half-year figures the day before yesterday in which an increase in turnover and profits of 824 thousand euros were recorded.
The stock was at 0.70 euros, unchanged since 21 August (without having made a trade in most sessions) but yesterday it rose to 0.91 euros. 24 thousand shares changed hands.
CREDIABANK: The stock had come from seven sessions of slippage which brought it the day before yesterday to 0.94 euros, a breath away from the year low of 0.91 euros on 23 July. Yesterday it reacted sharply upward and closed at 0.98 euros (+4.26%) with turnover of 8.3 million euros.
With this move it essentially erased the losses of the preceding seven-day period.
STAR BULK: The “golden” period shipping is going through is highlighted through the half-year financial results of the shipping company that made its debut on the Stock Exchange weeks ago.
As emerges from the financial statements, the average daily charter rate (Time Charter Equivalent-TCE) reached 21,495 dollars from 13,034 dollars in the first half of 2025. Thus, freight revenues increased by 33.6% to 638.6 million dollars, and TCE revenues by 48.7% to $498.7 million. And this despite the average fleet decreasing from 149.2 to 134.8 vessels.
Net half-year profits amounted to $203.5 million versus just $0.5 million in the first half of 2025.
STAR BULK II: In early March the shipping company signed an agreement with Diana for the purchase of 16 second-hand vessels: 1 Newcastlemax, 6 Capesize, 7 Ultramax and 2 Supramax. Total capacity is 1.8 million dwt and the average age 11.4 years, that is about $29.4 million per vessel. Completion depends on the success of Diana’s proposal for the acquisition of Genco.
The financing will be done with available funds and new borrowing, for which the company is already examining bank proposals.
INTRACOM: Cash and cash equivalents of 55.5 million euros, investments of 163 million euros and assets held for sale of 276 million euros were held on 30/6 by Intracom Holdings.
Of course, the overwhelming part of the assets held for sale concerns 40% of the share capital of Europe Holdings, which will be converted into Credia shares, due to the impending merger. Therefore, its liquidation will take time.
OLP: The Port of Piraeus failed in the second quarter of the year to reverse the decline in container volume, despite the increase in “tariffs”, with the result that the impact on profitability widened.
Handling volumes in domestic cargo, a sector that constitutes the “locomotive” of profitability for OLP, recorded in the half-year, compared with the corresponding period last year, a decrease of 33.1% (i.e. 33% in the first quarter).
The plunge is only partly explained by the difficult comparison base (i.e. in last year’s first half domestic cargo was positively affected by the bringing forward of orders, under the threat of the imposition of additional tariffs).
The decline in imports is the main cause. In the period January-July 2026, imports excluding petroleum products increased by 1.9% and exports by 6.9%.
Under the assumption that the goods handled through Piraeus are mainly consumer products and that inflation of 3.7% is an appropriate approximate indicator of the change in their prices, the indicative change in imports in real terms was negative by 1.7%.
A smaller blow came from cruise. In the half-year, cruise ship arrivals decreased by 14.6% (270, versus 316 last year), while the number of passengers fell by 12.9%, to 555,155 from 637,737.
OLP II: Thus, with turnover declining in the half-year by 8.8% (i.e. 111.9 million euros), net profits fell by 24.4% to 35.3 million euros. EBITDA fell by 20% to 56 million euros.
The period’s capex reached 106.7 million euros and was financed by 48 million euros from the generation of operating cash flows and the remainder from the consumption of cash reserves.
The US-Iran conflict and Houthi attacks maintain volatility on routes, a development that affects OLP mainly in terms of transshipment volumes.
The gradual normalization of passages through Suez may favor Piraeus’ position on Asia-Europe routes, OLP management notes.