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By NICHOLAS VINOCUR
with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH
Send tips here | Tweet @NicholasVinocur | Listen to Playbook and view in your browser
GREETINGS FROM ITALY, which is gearing up to celebrate Epiphany, or la Befana (the witch), as it’s known around here. The story, kind of a mashup: A witch was minding her own business when the three magi showed up, asked for directions to Jesus’ stable and told her to join them. She declined, citing housework (stay with me), but then changed her mind and is now forever searching for baby Jesus, handing good children presents and bad ones lumps of coal (actually black sugar candy), on January 6.
Your Playbook author delivered his own lump of coal in the form of an article warning about democracy being in grave danger as we enter the “Superbowl” of election years (ICYMI). First on the list: Taiwan’s presidential election on January 13. Read Anne McElvoy’s lookahead here and keep an eye out for coverage from top colleague Stuart Lau, who’s on his way to the democratic island as of this writing. And now, to the EU news.
DRIVING THE DAY: ORBÁN IN DELORS-LAND 
ORBÁN JOINS EU LEADERS AT DELORS MEMORIAL IN PARIS: It’s the first big EU moment of the year: Europe’s good and great, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council chief Charles Michel and Parliament President Roberta Metsola, converging on Paris to hail the life and achievements of Jacques Delors, the French ex-head of the Commission and EU visionary who died on December 27 aged 98.
Tribute: The European and French flags will be flown at half mast in front of all the European Parliament buildings in Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, Metsola’s office reports.
Here comes Viktor: Alongside the EU bigwigs, heads of state and government including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Belgian PM Alexander De Croo … and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán … will attend the ceremony hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Invalides monument in Paris, my colleague Clea Caulcutt reports.
That’s right. Despite his taunting of Delors’ successor, von der Leyen, via a billboard campaign, despite his never-ending standoff with Brussels over the rule of law, despite blocking the Union’s Ukraine policy, Orbán will stand shoulder to shoulder with other leaders to honor the great European architect.
Just protocol, ma’am. It may have been diplomatically incorrect to leave Orbán, an elected EU leader, off the guest list. French officials briefing on the gathering saw no inconvénient at having the Hungarian strongman join in.
Nah: But the presence of an arch-Euroskeptic and Vladimir Putin sympathizer at Delors’ funeral strikes some critics as being a bit too rich. “It’s bizarre to invite him,” said Daniel Freund, a member of European Parliament for the German Greens and outspoken Orbán critic. “Delors is one of the great architects of the European Union. Few have put up as many roadblocks as Orbán has, particularly in the last few years.”
What would Jacques say? “I think he’d be spinning in his grave.”
Dry January: Indeed, as leaders pay their respects to Delors, diplomatic staff in Brussels will be gearing up for the next big stare-down with Orbán — a Council meeting on February 1. Leaders’ focus will be on how to keep supporting Ukraine’s fight for survival in the face of Russian aggression despite Orbán’s veto on further funds, including an unwieldy workaround that would see 26 countries issuing guarantees to the EU budget to enable the European Commission to raise €20 billion for Kyiv this year.
Not this time: Many leaders will be in no mood to placate the Hungarian PM, nor will they look favorably on unblocking more frozen EU funds for Budapest (more on this below). At their last gathering in December, the leaders saved face by convincing Orbán to leave the room so they could sign off on opening EU accession talks for Ukraine. But “Orbán broke something at the last EUCO,” quipped one diplomat.
A dish best served cold: “The general feeling was that he behaved like a petulant schoolchild that doesn’t get their way,” the person added. “This has gone in 26 black books and will come back to haunt him … He will be made to pay eventually.”
REMEMBER HOW WE USED TO BE? EU romantics will be forgiven for feeling a bit wistful today. Delors’ time at the Commission’s helm was one of singular euro-optimism, heralding the euro currency and the single market. But in this piece for Le Grand Continent (en français), Pascal Lamy, Delors’ former chief of staff at the Commission, warns against nostalgia for some bygone golden era. “This period benefitted from favorable circumstances,” he writes. “A sort of alignment of the national stars above Brussels.”
Euro-realism: Still, it’s hard not to be struck by how much the tone around the EU’s future has changed in a generation. Take former Italian PM Enrico Letta, who chairs the Jacques Delors Institute and has a mandate to fix the EU’s single market. In Thursday’s Playbook, he warned my colleague Jacopo Barigazzi about the “dark side” of internal mobility — not exactly the makings of a new “l’Auberge Espagnole” film. Even Macron, no Euroskeptic he, is expected to focus in his speech at the memorial on how the EU reinforces French sovereignty, rather than erecting any castles in the sky, reports Clea, citing presidential aides.
We are not the same: It may be that the world just feels like a colder place now than when Delors was in charge, just after the fall of the Berlin wall. As Charles Grant from the Center for European Policy points out, von der Leyen faces far tougher, existential challenges than the French Socialist did. The current Commission president “has a much tougher set of problems to deal with,” he told Playbook. “Delors had to cope with Bosnia and the ERM [Exchange Rate Mechanism] crisis, while VDL has had to deal with even bigger headaches like COVID, Ukraine, illegal immigration and the rise of the far right/Orbán.”
EPP TOP JOB OPENING
EPP SPITZ RACE IS OPEN: Those who want to become the European People’s Party lead candidate for the EU election have from today until February 21 to apply, an EPP official told my colleague Hans von der Burchard in Berlin. The center-right group will then choose its Spitzenkandidat for the next European Commission presidency during an EPP summit in Bucharest on March 6-7.
Ursula’s next steps: The widespread assumption is, of course, that Ursula von der Leyen will run as Spitzenkandidat and secure a second five-year mandate. Just in case she doesn’t know the procedure, though — since she sidestepped the European Parliament and the lead candidate process in 2019 when EU leaders appointed her in a backroom deal — Playbook can explain the drill: Any EPP candidates needs to be nominated by their national party in writing before February 21, while also getting the support of two other ordinary EPP member parties. Gern geschehen!
Recap: The Spitzenkandidat process is supposed to make the European Parliament election, which takes place in early June, more democratic: The political groups nominate their candidates for the Commission presidency in advance, so voters know whom they are supporting for the top job when they cast their ballots for a certain party. Von der Leyen hasn’t confirmed whether she will run, but she flirted with the idea of a second term during a POLITICO event in November.
**POLITICO’s Global Playbook is taking you to Davos. Forgot your ticket to the Swiss Alps? Not to worry – our global newsletter will take you behind the scenes of the World Economic Forum, so you can understand every detail of the multifaceted discussions on tomorrow’s economy – from Tech and AI, all the way to finance and health care. Read here.**
ANGER OVER ORBÁN’S BILLIONS
EPP HEAVYWEIGHTS URGE REVIEW OF FUNDS FOR ORBÁN: In a letter obtained by Playbook, EPP chief Manfred Weber urges Parliament to review the Commission’s decision to grant Hungary €10 billion in frozen cohesion funds ahead of the EUCO last December.
Not buying it: “We … point to the need for a full assessment of the Commission’s decision of 13 December,” reads the letter, which is addressed to President Metsola and signed by Siegfried Mureşan, Petri Sarvamaa, Jan Olbrycht and Monika Hohlmeier. “We remain unconvinced of the Commission’s reasoning and call on you to request an assessment by the Parliament’s [Committee on Budgetary Control] and other relevant services of this decision.”
Reminder: Despite the Commission’s decision to grant the cohesion funds, EU political parties argue that Budapest has not done the work required, particularly on implementing judicial reforms.
While you’re at it: Arguing that Orbán has blocked a revision of the EU’s long-term budget in “full disrespect and violation of the EU’s strategic interests,” the letter goes on to urge the Parliament’s legal service to “conduct an in-depth analysis of the situation and propose a concrete course of action for Parliament to take” on a review of the bloc’s long-term budget.
MIDDLE EAST
WHAT NEXT FOR ISRAEL-GAZA WAR: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office last night in a statement outlined Israel’s “new combat approach” for the war in Gaza, involving more targeted action in Gaza’s north, while continuing to pursue Hamas leaders (and attempt to free hostages) in the south, Reuters reports.
After the war, which Gallant’s office said “will continue for as long as is deemed necessary” for Israeli security, there will be no Israeli civilian presence in Gaza, and Palestinian bodies would be in charge of the enclave. “Gaza residents are Palestinian, therefore Palestinian bodies will be in charge, with the condition that there will be no hostile actions or threats against the State of Israel,” the statement said.
ANALYSIS: Jamie Dettmer breaks down how Israel will fight genocide accusations before the International Court of Justice at The Hague, which has scheduled a hearing next week on a South Africa-lodged complaint.
OPINION: The EU’s irrelevance and loss of reliability in the Middle East has seriously weakened the West’s global standing on Ukraine, writes Nathalie Tocci, director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, in an opinion piece for POLITICO.
ISIS CLAIMS IRAN TERROR ATTACK: Islamic State on Thursday claimed responsibility for the explosions that killed dozens of people near the tomb of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
DEPARTING THE RED SEA: The standoff between Iran-backed Houthis and the West in the Red Sea is taking a toll on the world economy. POLITICO’s crack team of experts have the details of the cost of the crisis.
**Vom Bundestag bis zu den Bundesländern – Berlin Playbook hat Ihre Politikberichterstattung im Griff. We’re coming to Germany – and bringing our award-winning journalism with us. Keen to get your daily dose of deutsche Politik before your morning coffee? Sign up here.**
IN OTHER NEWS
BELGIAN ELECTION — MICHEL AND REYNDERS AT PARTY CONGRESS: On Sunday, the Belgian liberals of the Reformist Movement (MR) will convene for their first party congress and new year’s reception in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, which Council chief Charles Michel will attend, Barbara Moens and Camille Gijs report. Party President Georges-Louis Bouchez is expected to give more clarity on who will lead the charge ahead of June 9, when Belgians go to the polls for the regional, national and European elections. While other Belgian parties have been presenting their top candidates, MR so far has held back.
Fog of war: Who will lead the MR list for the European Parliament election: Charles Michel? European Commissioner Didier Reynders? MEP Olivier Chastel, who is a former minister and party president? Once we have the answer to that, the lead candidates for the other lists can be decided on, including the spots of Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib, former Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès and another member of the Michel political clan — Belgian State Secretary Mathieu Michel.
EESC REACHES OUT TO EU CANDIDATES: The European Economic and Social Committee is opening its doors to civil society groups from EU candidate countries. On Thursday, the committee launched a call for expressions of interest for 2024, with those who are chosen getting to do everything from “drafting of opinions to participation in the plenary sessions.” Apply here before January 25.
POLITICIANS BEHAVING BADLY: A New Year’s Eve social event turned into a political nightmare for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her party, when a gun belonging to MP Emanuele Pozzolo went off, injuring a guest. The opposition called on the PM to take action, with Meloni telling reporters on Thursday she was suspending Pozzolo over the episode.
Politicians behaving badly: The above incident got POLITICO’s Claudia Chiappa thinking: Which politicians have had the wildest, most scandalous parties of the past few years? Read her list here.
AFTER A WILD DECEMBER, DRY JANUARY? MACRON SAYS NON! For the fourth year in a row, the French government has declined to back “Dry January” — Macron’s top team have to keep French wine-makers sweet, write my colleagues Carlo Martuscelli and Alessandro Ford.
WEEKEND LISTENING: The EU Confidential team predicts how the 2024 mega election year could impact pressing issues around the Union.
AGENDA
— Tribute to former President of the European Commission Jacques Delors in Paris. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Council chief Charles Michel, Parliament boss Roberta Metsola, French President Emmanuel Macron, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and other EU leaders will participate. Watch at 11 a.m.
— College of Commissioners visits the Belgian presidency; press conference with Ursula von der Leyen and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at 6 p.m. … von der Leyen speaks in memoriam of Jacques Delors at 8:30 p.m. Watch.
BRUSSELS CORNER
WEATHER: 8C, rainy and windy today, cloudy on Saturday. Brace yourself for a drop in temperature to 2C on Sunday.
TRAMS, INTERRUPTED: Tram services on lines 3 and 7 will be interrupted due to works from January 7 until June 28. T-buses will replace trams on line 3 between Docks Bruxsel and Esplanade and line 7 between Docks Bruxsel and Heysel. STIB has details.
TRAIN STRIKE: The ACOD Spoor socialist trade union has submitted a three-day strike notice for the railways between January 29 and February 1. More details later.
TORNADO: Around 40 homes between Antwerp and Mechelen were damaged by a tornado on Wednesday. The Brussels Times has more.
BEST FRIES IN BELGIUM: Les Friteries has released its 2023 ranking of the best frites in the country. The top spot in Brussels is Frit Flagey (17th overall).
WHAT’S ON THIS WEEKEND …
Epiphany: Go get yourself a tasty galette des rois/driekoningentaart for Three Kings Day this Saturday — you might find a gold coin instead of a clay figurine.
Bonnie Tyler concert: There are still some tickets left for the Bonnie Tyler concert this evening at Cirque Royal.
Woman Before Fashion: The Diane von Furstenberg exhibition at the Brussels Fashion & Lace Museum closes January 7.
Market: The first vintage market of the year is on Sunday.
Concert: Brussels and its community centers are organizing a New Year’s concert at Bozar on January 14 at 3 p.m. The event is free, but you need to register.
NEW JOB: Antoine Bondaz is joining Inspire, Debate, Engage and Accelerate Action (I.D.E.A), an advisory service to the European Commission. He was previously with the French think tank FRS.
BIRTHDAYS: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier turns 68; Juan Carlos I, former king of Spain, turns 86; Romanian MP and former MEP Andi Cristea; Former MEP Carolina Punset; Portugal’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ana Paula Zacarias; Member of Catalan parliament and former MEP Ernest Maragall; Bloomberg’s Alex Wickham.
CELEBRATING SATURDAY: MEPs Margrete Auken and Dietmar Köster; Former MEP Richard Corbett; POLITICO’s Kelsey Hayes; Daily Telegraph’s James Crisp; European Commission’s Alberto Fernández-Díez, head of the economic and trade section at the EU mission to Ukraine.
CELEBRATING SUNDAY: MEP Inma Rodríguez-Piñero; Former MEPs Dieter-Lebrecht Koch and Sorin Moisă; European Commission’s Tove Ernst; German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, a POLITICO 28 alum; Meta’s Nick Clegg, former U.K. deputy PM; Portugal’s mission to the EU’s Duarte da Cruz Bucho.
THANKS TO: Playbook reporter Ketrin Jochecová and our producer Seb Starcevic.
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