Brussels Edition: In hot water

Follow Us Get the newsletter Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. Battered by the EU's sluggish rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and an Irish border blunder that gave Britain the upper hand for the first time since Brexit began, it's fair to say that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was already in a tough spot. But to make matters worse, the bloc's top foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, was humiliated at the hands of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In national capitals and Brussels institutions, many are asking how von der Leyen will be able to draw a line under the missteps and move forward. She faces the wrath of EU lawmakers today, dozens of whom have signed a letter calling for Borrell to quit. As locals will know, when it rains in Brussels, it pours. — John Ainger and Ian Wishart What's Happening Draghi Suspense | Italy's markets may be going from strength to strength, but Mario Draghi is keeping people guessing about which of his prior career roles he will reprise when in the prime minister's office. Will it be the man who oversaw the nation's biggest privatizations or the central banker who threw money at Europe's sovereign-debt crisis? Digital Cash | ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta will speak about the central bank's plans for a digital currency at a Bruegel event this afternoon. Having just wrapped up a consultation on the matter, the ECB is planning to present analysis in the summer and then it will have to take a decision on whether to pursue the project further. Protectionist Forces | Sweden is mobilizing a group of eight European Union countries to fight the "protectionist tendencies" resurfacing in the bloc during the pandemic. In an interview with Bloomberg, the country's trade minister, Anna Hallberg, said that the group — which includes Germany and the Netherlands — is opposing those "trying to protect industries that have not done their homework." Crack Down | The arrest of a prominent businessman with close political ties would have shocked Slovakia a year ago. Yet when Jozef Brhel was detained by police last week and charged with corruption, his was just another name among dozens of arrests. Read our feature on the nation's sweep against graft and organized crime. In Case You Missed It Breaking Ranks | A senior member of Angela Merkel's conservative bloc took a swipe at the chancellor's vaccine strategy, calling for Germany to purchase shots unilaterally because the EU is too slow. Alexander Dobrindt, the caucus leader for the Bavarian sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats, said Germany should get shots from Russia and China to speed things up. Sanctions Threat | Borrell defended his trip to Moscow last week, saying the visit clarified Russian hostility toward the EU and will help it calibrate ties to the country. Telling lawmakers that the country is going down a "worrisome authoritarian route," he vowed to draw up more sanctions. Going Quiet | Klubradio, one of Hungary's last independent radio broadcasters, will have to shift online after losing a court ruling over frequency rights. It's the latest symbol of the pressure that independent broadcasters and newspapers have come under in recent years, while entrepreneurs close to Viktor Orban's government have built a centralized media conglomerate. Turkish Compromise | Turkey is signaling that it could give ground on the Russian missiles it's poised to deploy if the U.S. severs support for Kurdish forces, a topic that has caused ructions within NATO. Here's where the country says it might be willing to concede. Corruption Cop | ECB President Christine Lagarde hopes the World Trade Organization's new chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is going to " rock the place." She has a reputation for shaking up the guardians of wealth and power that surely will come in handy. Chart of the Day The WTO's committee on technical barriers to trade has spent the past decade removing 80 billion-euros worth of unnecessary costs affecting EU exports, according to a paper by Lucian Cernat and David Boucher for the Centre for European Policy Studies. The measures covered a wide range of sectors, with exports to China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and South Korea particularly affected. Today's Agenda All times CET. 9 a.m. MEPs debate the state of play of the EU's vaccination strategy with Commission President von der Leyen 2 p.m. German Chancellor Merkel holds talks with state premiers on likely extension of virus curbs and plan for possible partial easing from next month 2 p.m. ECB's Panetta discusses plans for a digital euro at Bruegel event 2.45 p.m. Joint statement by EU Trade Commissioner Dombrovskis and Ukraine Prime Minister Shmyhal 4:30 p.m. EU Council President Michel speaks at Atlantic Council event EU Parliament votes on Recovery and Resilience Facility, designed to help countries mitigate the consequences of COVID-19 Czech parliament votes on nuclear energy bill seen as key for starting a tender to build a new reactor amid political disputes over whether to allow Russia to take part in the project Like the Brussels Edition? Don't keep it to yourself. Colleagues and friends can sign up here. For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters. How are we doing? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Let our Brussels bureau chief know.   Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Brussels Edition newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022