Brussels Edition: Super Mario

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. Mario Draghi is back. After nearly a decade crisis-fighting at the helm of the European Central Bank, the 73-year-old has accepted an offer to try to pull together a government in his home nation of Italy. The challenge is daunting, with the euro area's third-largest economy facing an explosive combination of rising debt, stagnant growth and simmering hostility toward elites. It could also mark the return of technocratic government — something markets have welcomed with open arms. Investors are grateful for anything that isn't a fresh election, and they've been rewarded handsomely by Draghi in the past. Priorities for the central-bank veteran? Get the pandemic under control and spend Italy's windfall from the EU wisely. — John Ainger What's Happening Brexit Rankles | The U.K. and the EU agreed to work "intensively" to settle their differences over the Irish border as they seek to dial down a controversy which has threatened to reignite the most contentious element of the Brexit settlement. Boris Johnson had threatened to suspend parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol due to the disruption it is causing to trade across the Irish Sea.  Saving Eurostar | The U.K. says it's ready to pitch in with state funding to help rescue Eurostar if France takes the lead on a bailout. The Channel Tunnel rail business has been savaged by pandemic travel restrictions — 95% of the company's cross-channel traffic has been wiped out. Russian Vaccine | France has insisted that geopolitics isn't a factor when it comes to life-saving coronavirus vaccines, joining German Chancellor Angela Merkel in opening the door to the Russia's Sputnik V shot. Meanwhile, even super-rich Switzerland isn't immune from a slow roll out. Catch up on the latest on the virus and vaccine rollout here.  Grabbing Finance | In the beginning was the Big Bang. It was 1986, and the moribund British economy appeared stuck in an unbreakable cycle of postindustrial decline. Then came the jolt that opened up U.K. financial markets to the world and turned the City of London into the nation's dynamo. But now, in the post-Brexit world, Europe is eager to develop its own financial center. Check out our feature on it here. Next Pandemic | Will one global pandemic suffice for your lifetime? Read about the five things we need to get right before the next one hits. In Case You Missed It Navalny Jailed | European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she condemned the jailing of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny for two years and eight months "in the strongest possible terms." Merkel and Macron also weighed in, while the European Court of Human Rights has called the case politically motivated. Russia Redux | Yet EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell urged deeper cooperation with Russia in areas ranging from the pandemic to climate change, highlighting the bloc's limited appetite for tough penalties over Navalny's detention. In an opinion piece laying the ground for his talks tomorrow in Moscow, Borrell said his goal is "to engage, to pass messages and to try to find a common ground." Price Pressures | One measure of inflation in the euro area rose to 1.4% in January — the highest level in five years. While the jump was driven mostly by technicalities, such as expired tax cuts and higher energy costs, it will still likely be welcomed by ECB policy makers, who have barely had a sniff of price increases in the region in recent years. Double Whammy | Ireland's economy isn't having such a lucky time of it though, having been doubly hit by the impact of renewed pandemic lockdowns and post-Brexit trade chaos. The country is in its third lockdown to contain the spread of more contagious virus strains and currently has some of the strictest curbs in Western Europe. Greek Gang | A Greek-led organized-crime group that stole more than $14.4 million from U.S. banks has been dismantled. Cops in Austria, Greece, Spain and the U.K. arrested 105 suspects, while 87 bank accounts containing about $1.5 million and 14 luxury cars were seized in the operation coordinated by Europol and led by the Spanish National Police and U.S. Secret Service. Chart of the Day The world's longest undersea rail tunnel is inching closer to becoming a reality. The new Estonian government is reviving a project that would connect its capital Tallinn with Helsinki in Finland — a more than 100-kilometer (62-mile) long tunnel that could cost as much as 20 billion euros. That's double the length of the English Channel tunnel between the U.K. and France. The plans looked dead last year because of the private, Finnish-led project's Chinese links. Today's Agenda All times CET. 9 a.m. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager lays out ways for how antitrust enforcers can promote EU recovery's green deal plan 11 a.m. Eurostat to release December retail trade reading 4 p.m. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will engage with students and young leaders as part of the event New Ideas for NATO 2030 4:45 p.m. Commissioner Stella Kyriakides discusses Europe's Beating Cancer Plan with a special committee of European Parliament Like the Brussels Edition? 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