| Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Europe is on a war footing. During yet another emergency call today, EU leaders are expected to decide to close the bloc's borders to both incoming and outgoing travel, and may warn President Donald Trump to back off from attempted takeovers of European companies working on a vaccine against the deadly coronavirus. They'll also likely reiterate that they'll do whatever it takes to cushion the impact of an illness-induced recession. But markets are pricing in that the worst is yet to come, and it's unclear if any such pledges will convince them otherwise. Of all the indicators flashing red, Italian bond yields are the ones to watch again today for the dangers that lie ahead.
—Viktoria Dendrinou and Nikos Chrysoloras
What's Happening Crisis Mode | The euro area's bailout fund will explore how it can use its reserves to cushion the economic impact of the virus, in a move that could help calm markets after a spike in borrowing costs for the region's most vulnerable economies. The decision comes after EU finance ministers endorsed measures to do whatever it takes and then some to support a recovery. Green Ambition | The economic shocks coming from the coronavirus outbreak are likely to put the EU's green ambitions on the back-burner. The project to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent requires an unprecedented overhaul of the economy and energy system, which will take years. That's up against the immediate risks to public health and a deep recession. Tourist Trouble | Just as the Greeks were emerging from a decade-long crisis that cost the country a quarter of its output, the impact of the coronavirus on the vital tourism sector threatens to deprive them of the fruits of recovery. The industry accounts for about a fifth of Greece's economy and more than a quarter of its jobs, signalling more pain ahead. U.K. U-Turn | U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public to avoid all "non-essential" contact with other people in an effort to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and said mass gatherings should no longer take place. The policy shift followed criticism that he's been too slow to take aggressive action against the pathogen. Schools, though, will remain open for now. In Case You Missed It Apple Fine | Apple was fined a record 1.1 billion euros by French antitrust regulators after it was criticized for anti-competitive agreements with two favored distributors. The penalty is the latest crackdown on Silicon Valley by France, which fined Google 150 million euros late last year for setting opaque rules for its Google Ads platform that authorities said it applied unfairly and randomly. Air Bailout | Italy is set to increase the taxpayer bill for keeping bankrupt airline Alitalia aloft to more than 2.1 billion euros over about three years, and the spending is unlikely to stop there. A new 600 million-euro loan included in a coronavirus stimulus package being discussed by the cabinet, is part of a plan to re-nationalize the loss-making carrier — double what was initially proposed. Look Elsewhere | Google is sending more shopping traffic to smaller rivals under an EU order asking it to show competing services more prominently, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said. Her comments came as Google faces a threat of more EU fines if it doesn't comply with the antitrust order to give equal treatment to rivals in shopping search ad results. Staying Home | As the coronovirus outbreak continues to spread across the world, more and more people in Europe are asked to work from home. To help get you through your own ad-hoc, at-home office situation, our colleagues in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo have offered some handy tips and advice. Chart of the Day  Germany's ZEW investor confidence indicator is predicted to show the weakest reading since August. Today's Agenda All times CET. - 5 p.m. EU leaders hold teleconference to discuss latest coronavirus developments
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