| Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. The EU will seek today to resolve a standoff with AstraZeneca which threatens to disrupt the region's vaccination program, trigger a global spat between countries vying for coronavirus shots, and exacerbate a backlash over prolonged lockdowns. During a crunch call, officials representing EU governments and the European Commission will tell Astra executives that the company must promptly deliver the vaccines the bloc says it was promised. The EU responded with fury to the drugmaker's warning of significant delays, vowing to enact a "transparency mechanism" to monitor exports. The company said that it's doing its best and that the EU with 5% of the world population is getting 17% of the available doses of a not-for profit vaccine. The risk is that any protectionist measures by the EU could trigger retaliation from other nations, disrupting the flow of life-saving shots just as billions of people wait to be inoculated. — Nikos Chrysoloras and Viktoria Dendrinou What's HappeningItalian Woes | Italy is once again plunged into political uncertainty after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned, with the country's president now holding talks with party leaders before nominating someone to try to forge a coalition. The timing has baffled many Italians, with hundreds dying from Covid-19 every day and growing evidence of a further hit to the country's battered public finances. Euro Focus | ECB policy makers have agreed to take a deeper look at the euro's appreciation since the start of the pandemic, focusing on whether it's driven by differences in stimulus policies compared with the U.S. The review could force the central bank to provide more support for the euro-area, even as it acknowledges mounting risks to financial stability. EIB Judgement | The European Investment Bank will today find out from the EU's General Court whether it broke the law in a dispute with climate lawyers over a Spanish loan they say will damage the environment. ClientEarth sued the EIB after the bank refused to review its 2018 decision to invest 60 million euros into a biomass plant in Spain. Stark Imbalance | Romania boasts the EU's smallest difference in salaries between the sexes, has passed legislation mandating diversity and named its first woman prime minister in 2018. But male dominance in parliament increased at elections late last year and the new cabinet contains just one female, while the central bank's board has none. Read here why Romania is a lesson for countries not to be complacent. Cable Fines | Goldman Sachs was the odd one out when the bank and a group of cable makers were fined a total of 301.6 million euros by the European Commission for fixing the price of high-voltage power cables sold to energy providers. The EU's top court will today decide on Goldman's final challenge against the 37.3 million-euro fine it got jointly with Italian cable maker Prysmian. In Case You Missed ItECB Checks | The ECB is stepping up its scrutiny of credit risk at banks across the continent to get a better sense of their preparation for a potential wave of loan defaults triggered by the pandemic. The requests for additional information on certain banks' corporate lending in 2020 are part of an effort to ensure they can withstand a possible surge of defaults. Growth Laggard | Europe's economy is starting to follow the familiar script of lagging international peers when recovering from a crisis, according to the IMF, which downgraded the growth outlook for 2021 across the continent. Such diverging fortunes reflect the stringency of virus lockdowns, as well as a late and stumbling vaccination campaign, while political unease over the future leadership of Germany and the uncertainty in Italy are compounding the gloom. Battery Boost | The EU paved the way for companies including Tesla and BMW to get about 2.9 billion euros of state aid for battery projects that will strengthen the bloc's position in the race to produce more electric vehicles. The decision comes as the EU plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions from transport and reduce its reliance on EV batteries from Asian producers. Macron vs Tech | Emmanuel Macron warned some of the tech industry's biggest players that they need to get on board with EU efforts to moderate online content and constrain their market power. His warning on a call with top tech executives comes as France has been a key mover in shaping EU efforts to prevent the spread of hate speech and disinformation online and curbing Big Tech's power. Multilateral Merkel | Angela Merkel urged world leaders to work more closely together to overcome the pandemic, which she said will influence people's lives for years to come. Her call for multilateralism comes as she and Macron separately signaled their hope that Donald Trump's exit will herald the return of transatlantic collaboration. Chart of the Day The IMF raised its forecast for global growth this year, betting the rollout of vaccines and more stimulus will offset the immediate challenge posed by the pandemic. Global GDP will soar 5.5% this year, faster than the 5.2% projected in October, the fund said, crediting improvement in the U.S. for much of the upgrade, which was offset by cuts to its predictions for the euro area and U.K. Today's AgendaAll times CET. - 9:30 a.m. The EU's top court rules in an appeal by Goldman Sachs Group against the European Commission for including it in fines totaling 301.6 million euros against a group of companies for fixing the price of high-voltage power cables sold to energy providers
- 11 a.m. The EU's lower court rules in a challenge by KPN against the EU's approval of a merger between Liberty and Ziggo
- 2:30 p.m. German Economy Minister Altmaier presents government's annual economic report in Berlin
- 3:30 p.m. Sabine Weyand, Director General, DG TRADE, at the European Commission speaks at CEPS event on the EU-China investment deal
- 4 p.m. ECB chief economist Philip Lane speaks at Bruegel Event
- EU Commission to present green paper on ageing
- EU Commissioners Kadri Simson, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and Mairead McGuinness speak at the World Economic Forum Davos Agenda
- Italian President Sergio Mattarella starts talks with party leaders over formation of new coalition government
- EU envoys to sign the reform of the ESM and the agreement on the early introduction of the Single Resolution Fund backstop
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