Brussels Edition: Summit hijacked

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. It was going to be another EU leaders' summit with a toothless statement condemning Russian provocations. Instead, Belarus effectively hijacked the gathering after President Alexander Lukashenko's regime yesterday intercepted a commercial flight on its way from Athens to Vilnius so they could essentially abduct one of the passengers, a 26-year-old journalist. Leaders across the EU united in fury over the incident, which saw Belarus scramble a military jet to escort the Ryanair flight to an unscheduled landing in Minsk under the pretext of a "security threat." (Here's how passengers on board the flight described the nightmare.) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the actions "utterly unacceptable" and pledged sanctions against those responsible, while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused Lukashenko of committing an "act of state terrorism." With the safety of commercial flights in Europe at stake, foreign policy red lines have been crossed and angry tweets won't cut it. — Nikos Chrysoloras What's Happening Russian Warning | Leaders will condemn the "illegal and provocative Russian activities against the EU, its member states and beyond," according to the draft of their joint statement we've seen. But they will most likely not define a response and instead task the Commission's foreign policy chief to come up with a "report." This will in theory allow leaders to take more concrete decisions at their June summit. It remains to be seen if the Ryanair incident will hasten such moves. Null Points | Leaders will also give a resounding thumbs down to Boris Johnson's government for its attempts to absolve itself of obligations arising from the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit agreement. Relations with the U.K. "can under no circumstances undermine the integrity of the Single Market, the Customs Union or the EU's decision-making autonomy," leaders will say. It's difficult to resist the temptation of drawing parallels with what happened at the Eurovision Song Contest.    Travel Hurdles | The main course of the summit is tomorrow, when EU leaders will welcome the deals reached last week to reopen the continent to travel, just in time for the tourist season. But while it has now become possible to go on a much-needed vacation to Portugal, Spain or Greece, it's not exactly easy. This is the thicket of policies, tests and fees that stand in the way of your sunny getaway. Vaccine Skeptics | Supplies of Covid-19 vaccines are beginning to outstrip demand in the EU's east. The problem is that member states are hitting a wall at a relatively early stage in their campaigns amid safety fears over AstraZeneca's shot, longstanding distrust of authorities, fake news stories, and a lack of education on the benefits of the injection and the dangers of the virus itself. Romania provides a stark example.  In Case You Missed It Hydrogen Plans | Europe's oil refiners have big plans to boost the use of green hydrogen to help them make fuel, an important component of the petroleum industry's plans to cut its operational carbon emissions. But with the clock ticking in the battle against climate change, the reality of what the industry has committed to remains modest, Rachel Graham reports.  Green Setback | Annalena Baerbock, the co-leader of Germany's Green party, is losing ground in the race to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor, a new poll showed. The setback comes days after Baerbock admitted to receiving bonus payments that she failed to report to parliament. It's the latest in a series of blunders. German Recovery | Just as the era of Merkel draws to a close, the German economy is enduring a moment of flux. Data due this week are expected to show the extent of the economic damage caused during lockdowns at the start of the year.  Architectural Wonders | For the last 40 years, the Venice Biennale of Architecture has produced a mixture of futuristic design, compelling propositions for environmental and technological innovations and a healthy dose of inscrutable theoretical technobabble. This year's iteration of the famous exposition is ready for visitors, and we can take you on a tour of the highlights.  Chart of the Day A battle is raging in Europe's riskiest government-bond markets between fear that central bank support is waning and desire to snap up some of the region's most lucrative assets. Nowhere is the tension more evident than in Italy's sovereign debt. Here's what's happening.  Today's Agenda All times CET. 7 p.m. Summit of EU leaders in Brussels 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. 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