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Brussels Edition: Time to start counting the costs

Brussels Edition
Bloomberg

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

It's too early to assess the political repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic around Europe, but it's clear that decisions taken since February will have a profound impact. While the European Commission gets ready to unveil its recovery fund proposals tomorrow, governments are still dealing with the direct and indirect consequences of lockdown. In the U.K. yesterday, Dominic Cummings, one of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's closest allies and an architect of the campaign to leave the EU, refused to quit, saying he doesn't regret what many considered his flouting of containment rules by driving more than 250 miles to seek childcare support. Johnson's refusal to fire his controversial aide has angered many in his party. With Brexit negotiations resuming next week, the fate of Cummings, who has largely shaped the government's strategy, is being closely watched in Brussels.

—  Ian Wishart

What's Happening

Going Alone | Johnson isn't the only leader encountering political troubles. A cabinet-level meeting under German Chancellor Angela Merkel to tackle the pandemic was canceled yesterday after an eastern German state broke ranks with plans to lift lockdown measures.

Green Response | There are signs the pandemic response could reshape the fight against climate change. Economists, finance ministers and business leaders are saying that much of that money needs to help cut emissions  and the EU is leading the way.

Saving Lufthansa | Germany offered Lufthansa a 9 billion-euro bailout that puts the state back into the heart of a company it privatized two decades ago, with an initial 20% stake. The fight for EU approval may now cost the stricken airline valuable landing slots.

More Firefighting | One of the ECB's key policy makers signaled that the institution is very likely to boost its emergency bond-buying program as part of the pandemic fight. With inflation low, there's room to innovate and act "rapidly and powerfully," Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in Paris. 

In Case You Missed It

Back Open | Spain will stop enforcing mandatory quarantine for foreign tourists from July 1 as it prepares to reboot its key tourism industry. The country will "gradually open borders," Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez said on Twitter.

Losing Support | Poland's presidential race is tightening as criticism mounts against the ruling party over scandals tied to the pandemic. With the country's lockdown in a third month, support for the party's candidate has dropped enough to require a runoff. A poll showed him in the lead with 35%, down from more than 60% in April.

Recovery Rows | With governments trying to forge a consensus over how to provide aid to the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, we look at how the rival plans stack up. From the size of the fund to whether it disperses loans or grants, the devil is very much in the detail.

Hurry Up | Silicon Valley's main data-protection watchdog in Europe came under attack from one of the region's leading privacy advocates for taking too long to wrap up probes into Facebook and its Instagram and WhatsApp units. 

Chart of the Day

Bananas have a claim to be the modern world's  first globalized product  and are still the most exported fruit on the planet. The trade that began some 130 years ago is now a potent symbol of the underlying fragility of globalization. How it adapts to the coronavirus among humans and the destructive fusarium wilt disease may suggest a path toward rebuilding international consensus in the post-pandemic era.

Today's Agenda

  • EU economy chief Paolo Gentiloni, ECB chief economist Philip Lane, German Finance Ministry State Secretary Joerg Kukies and Odile Renaud-Basso, director general of the French Treasury, participate in the online Institute of International Finance European Conference
  • EU's European Affairs ministers' video conference to share their views on a comprehensive economic and social recovery
  • Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold an online press conference following a video conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
  • EU Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee will debate on the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on workers' mobility
  • EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell will discuss the effects of Covid-19 on security and defense with the EU Parliament's Defence Subcommittee

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