| Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. While the EU managed to salvage a historic 1.8-trillion euro budget and stimulus package in a breakthrough deal with Poland and Hungary this month, legal clashes with its Eastern European members continue. The bloc's top court will give its view today on the validity of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's asylum policy. A separate ruling in May took aim at the nation's contested transit zones, which have since been closed, though the country has further tightened asylum regulations. Another ruling today will address concerns about a "worsening of the generalized deficiencies" in the Polish justice system and whether extradition requests from Poland can be refused. With optimism growing over Europe's economy and a vaccine for the coronavirus expected to be approved next week, it's likely that challenges to democratic values will be one of the most prominent of the region's concerns in the months and years to come. And with that we wish you happy holidays — see you in the New Year. — John Ainger and Stephanie Bodoni What's HappeningFinal Straight | Brexit talks are becoming increasingly dominated by discussions over fishing rights. In this week's podcast, Georgina Wright, senior Brexit researcher at the Institute for Government, tells us that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's negotiating strategy will be guided as much by politics as by considerations of the economic ramifications. Stifling Gas | The EU will formally agree today to strengthen its emissions-reduction commitment under the Paris Agreement. Environment ministers are due to approve submitting a 55% cut in greenhouses gases from 1990 levels as the bloc's new commitment under the international climate-protection accord. Lockdown Season | European authorities are pushing for a compressed approval timeline for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, which could enable a rollout on the continent before Christmas. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted that a hard shutdown will remain in force longer than planned, and Denmark is heading into its own lockdown. Here's the latest. Coming for Musk | European nations want to build a 6 billion-euro alternative to Elon Musk's Starlink network so the region isn't left behind in the race to develop satellite broadband. An announcement could come as soon as today, with the aim of making Europe less dependent on Chinese and U.S. technology. It's a new space race in low-earth orbit. Diesel Gate | The EU's top court will decide today whether Volkswagen violated the law by using a so-called defeat device that helped it bypass diesel emission tests. The case comes as VW still faces a wave of litigation from investors and consumers affected by the manipulation exposed by U.S. regulator in September 2015. In Case You Missed ItBad Banks | The EU's executive arm dismissed the idea of setting up a bloc-wide bad bank to help lenders offload distressed credit in the wake of the pandemic, instead offering to help governments create national entities if necessary. It comes amid a gathering tsunami of distressed credit risks wrought by the Covid-19 crisis. Pocket Money | The euro climbed above $1.22 for the first time in more than two-and-a-half years after manufacturing and services data beat expectations. It's adding to a brightening outlook for the currency, with the region's recovery fund agreed and the European Central Bank yet to push back forcefully on the rally. Nuclear Friction | A visit by European experts to review safety measures at a new nuclear power plant in Belarus this week has been canceled after local officials didn't participate in an organizational meeting. The Russian state company building the facility has denied there are any safety issues, asserting that the ups and downs in power levels seen in recent weeks are a normal part of the process of bringing it into service. Barely a Trickle | Tax cuts for rich people breed inequality without providing much of a boon to anyone else, according to a study of the advanced world that could add to the case for the wealthy to bear more of the cost of the coronavirus pandemic. In other words, 50-years of lowering the top rates haven't trickled down. Chart of the Day Bitcoin investors are likely jumping for joy after it surpassed $20,000 for the first time. It's another milestone in what's been an eye-popping rally for the controversial digital asset this year, with proponents seizing on the narrative that the coin could act as a store of wealth amid supposed rampant central-bank money printing. Today's AgendaAll times CET. - 9:30 a.m. European Court of Justice to rule in a lawsuit against Slovenia for seizing ECB documents in a raid on the central bank
- 9:30 a.m. EU top court rules on Commission lawsuit accusing Hungary of breaking EU law by thwarting asylum seekers
- 9:30 a.m. EU top court gives non-binding opinion in a case referred by a Polish court in a dispute between several candidates for the posts of judge the nation's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council
- 9:30 a.m. EU top court rules in a dispute over the rights to make a French cheese called Morbier
- 11 a.m. German Chancellor Merkel's top economic adviser testifies in parliamentary Wirecard inquiry
- EU-Armenia Partnership Council
- EU environment ministers meet in Brussels
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