| Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg's daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. The EU is heading into the summer break with member states and industry grumbling over its climate package launched this week. That's just one of the many issues that threatens to keep officials busy once they return from vacation. A rule-of-law conflict is escalating with Eastern member states after the bloc's top court struck down a major Polish judicial reform, and the Commission has sued Hungary and Poland for violating the rights of LGBTQ people. Hungary has also lashed out at the EU's green ambition, calling it "untenable and unacceptable." And the presidency is currently in the hands of a nationalist who regularly trolls his critics on Twitter. Stay tuned for more: Germany's elections in September are a landmark political event as Chancellor Angela Merkel steps aside after 16 years, depriving the EU of one of its prime deal-brokers just as its crackdown on big tech faces the next hurdle and a global deal on tax still needs to be completed. (Editor's note: The Brussels Edition will take a summer break and resume regular publication in September.) — John Ainger What's HappeningFlood Warning | In the same week that the EU unveiled its package to combat climate change, floods have swamped parts of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Merkel interrupted her trip to Washington to make a somber statement, describing the inundations as a "catastrophe" and a "tragedy." Carbon Conundrum | The EU wants to enact the world's first pollution-import levy on global competitors. The details will take a while to hash out. We take you through how the debate will play out and even if it will ever come to pass. Touch Wood | The Commission's contested plans to promote forest conservation will be the subject of a Brussels briefing today. Woodlands covering two-fifths of the continent are an important carbon sink that the EU wants to expand under its Green Deal. But the timber industry has heckled plans to remotely monitor harvests and streamline rules. A final strategy isn't expected until next week. City Divided | Britain's departure from the EU thrust Belfast's division into the spotlight again. But there's a growing number of people who no longer identify with the past and they may decide the future. Read Morwenna Coniam's feature on how the U.K.'s divided city is trying to reconcile. Fly Away | Pining for a vacation and double-vaccinated? Here's our overview of where you can fly right now. And it might not be where you think. American Journey | Talking of travel, U.S. President Joe Biden said his Covid-19 advisers are weighing when to lift prohibitions on arrivals from Europe after Merkel raised the issue during their meeting yesterday. "I'm waiting to hear from our folks, our Covid team, as to when that should be done," he said, adding that he expects an answer "within the next several days." In Case You Missed ItGas Spat | Biden also said he and Merkel agreed they wouldn't allow Russia to use the contentious Nord Stream 2 pipeline to threaten its neighbors amid a push to limit the Kremlin's geopolitical clout. But they also acknowledged that differences remain over the project, which critics say could burnish Russian leverage and hurt Ukraine by reducing transit fees it collects on gas flowing to Europe. Cautious ECB | The European Central Bank will have to adapt its language on interest rates, asset purchases and other tools to a new inflation strategy that allows prices to grow moderately faster than 2% — the goal going forward — for some time. A Bloomberg survey of economists finds the bank is likely to limit changes to its monetary policy to words at next week's meeting until the economic outlook becomes more clear. Facebook Dodge | Facebook escaped a possible EU ban on its use of WhatsApp customer data but faces an investigation of new terms and services that have sparked outrage among consumer-rights campaigners. The European Data Protection Board, said the tech giant's practices linked to WhatsApp data should be examined "as a matter of priority." Hijab Ban | The EU's top court backed employers banning Islamic headscarves and other religious attire — provided the curbs are vital to show neutrality in the workplace and don't single out specific beliefs. It's not the first time discussions over religious dress have arisen in the bloc, and it probably won't be the last. I Spy | As Italy's museums and galleries welcome back tourists and try to recoup some of the 190 million euros in revenue they lost last year, newly installed technology at one Bologna museum is keeping track of how people look at paintings. Why they are doing that? Chart of the Day Angela Merkel's remarkable run as Germany's first female chancellor made her the undisputed queen of Europe, a staunch defender of multilateral institutions who outlasted enemies and allies alike at home and abroad. And yet for all her virtues as a crisis fighter, the Germany that Merkel created is running out of gas. The coronavirus at times exposed her fading powers, but even before that Europe's economic powerhouse was growing less sure of itself, uncertain of its direction and of its place in the world. We take you through her unfinished business. Today's AgendaAll times CET. - 10 a.m. Press conference by Commissioners Wojciechowski and Sinkevicius on the Forest Strategy
- 12 p.m. Commission President von der Leyen visits Ireland to discuss recovery fund
- Eurostat publishes final euro-area inflation data for June
- Eurospace releases its annual Facts & Figure report with data on the European space sector
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