Brussels Edition: A blockade and then what

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. EU leaders vowed additional sanctions against Belarus, which will likely target businesses closely associated with the regime and entire sectors of the country's economy. They are also imposing an effective flight blockade, banning Belarusian airlines from entering EU airspace and using the bloc's airports. As far as EU foreign policy reflexes go, this one has been one of the most assertive responses ever. The jury is still out on whether it's commensurate to the injury the bloc has suffered, when a passenger on board a European airliner en route between two EU capitals was effectively abducted. A more pressing question is what impact will these measures have on the behavior of Alexander Lukashenko. The answer depends on the future ties between the EU and Russia, the Belarusian strongman's sole ally. EU leaders promised to come back in June with some concrete answers to that one.  — Nikos Chrysoloras What's Happening Climate Fight | EU leaders are poised today for a wrangle over how to distribute the burden of stemming climate change. Sharing the effort under the bloc's bolstered plan is likely to expose the divide between the richer western countries and poorer eastern members as the 27-nation EU seeks to reinforce its position as a global leader in reducing pollution, Ewa Krukowska reports. Covid Update | Leaders will also discuss the latest from the pandemic front, formally declaring the gradual reopening of their economies and the resumption of travel. But things don't look that bright elsewhere in the world, so much of today's discussion will be about how to boost global production, as well as — modest — commitments to donate spare vaccine doses from the EU. Irish Border | EU leaders dismissed British demands to amend the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, setting the stage for further tension over the special status of Northern Ireland. "There is no alternative to the full and correct implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. Like Brexit |The high-stakes war of attrition between Brussels and Switzerland — not unlike Britain's acrimonious Brexit battle with the EU — will be taken up a notch tomorrow with hurdles to exports of Swiss medical equipment to the bloc. It's the latest consequence of the failure of the two sides to reach a new treaty to replace a hodgepodge of individual arrangements governing their relations, which is putting a goods-trading partnership worth hundreds of billions at risk. Landmark Ruling | A verdict in a Dutch court case against Royal Dutch Shell is about to set off alarm bells or trigger sighs of relief among Big Oil executives worldwide. A panel of judges in a lower court in The Hague will rule tomorrow on whether Shell has a legal responsibility to do something about climate change. Here's why this is so important. In Case You Missed It Nuclear Talks | International efforts to reach a breakthrough over the Iran nuclear accord moved up a gear as China's president spoke with Iran's leader and Tehran agreed to extend a key nuclear-monitoring pact with UN inspectors, buying more time for diplomacy. Here's the latest, as negotiators from the U.S., Iran and Europe prepare to return to Vienna for talks this week.  Pandemic Blow | Germany has suffered a 300 billion-euro hit from fallout linked to the coronavirus and the economic damage will take years to fix, according to research group IW Cologne. While a faster vaccination program is promising, the impact of lockdowns — equivalent to about 9% of the country's annual output — will take years to balance out. Gendered Budget | Lyon became the largest city in France to implement a gender-sensitive budget, designed to ensure that funds are spent equally between men and women. The aim is to comb through the city's spending to address gender biases in what kinds of facilities and programs are getting funded. This is how it will work.  Wealth Gap | Even in Sweden, which is generally considered a more egalitarian society than most, female savers have almost 30% less in retirement income than men. The gap in wealth between men and women recently prompted Sweden's biggest bank to revamp its approach to offering financial advice to customers to help break the trend. The country's minister for gender equality says the situation is "horrendous."  Shrinking Negative | For the first time in years, the global supply of debt with a negative yield is in meaningful decline. The trend is strongest in Europe, where subzero bonds have been an everyday reality for investors. Here's more on how Europe's improving economy is pushing up rates. Chart of the Day Public support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party hit an all-time low last month amid disenchantment with the Turkish government's handling of the economy, prominent pollsters said. A sizable group of Erdogan supporters have now given up on him, the latest surveys show. Today's Agenda All times CET. 9:30 a.m. EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss binding climate targets for 2030, Covid 12 p.m. Bloomberg hosts an exclusive conversation with German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, the Social Democratic candidate for chancellor. Click here to take part. EU Parliament, Council and Commission negotiators will hold meetings throughout the week to try to conclude a political agreement on EU farm policy post-2023 Eurostat releases report on registrations of new businesses and declarations of bankruptcies in the first quarter of this year Like the Brussels Edition? Don't keep it to yourself. 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