(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.
Europe is in trouble: China wants its technology and President Trump is threatening to impose more tariffs, while Russia stirs the pot. And if Boris Johnson succeeds Theresa May, a chaotic Brexit is all but certain. EU leaders will try to set things right by choosing a new European Commission president who can navigate troubled waters and an ECB chief to steer the sluggish economy. Ahead of their summit in Brussels next week to work through the treacherous politics of filling the top jobs, you can help them pick the right people. Are you up to the task? Play our game to find out.
What’s Happening
Goodbye May? | As Britons head to vote today in the EU election, May’s premiership is hanging by a thread. A high-profile Cabinet minister quit yesterday amid growing revolt over a package of measures May announced Tuesday to get her Brexit deal through Parliament. As her detractors plot her ouster, markets are bracing for a pro-Brexit hardliner to succeed her and rip Britain out of the EU with no deal.
Europe’s Iowa | Together with the Brits, Dutch voters kick off the EU election marathon today. Polls show Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party neck and neck with Thierry Baudet’s euroskeptic Forum for Democracy. The ballot is a test for Rutte’s authority, and a bellwether for the continent-wide showdown between firebrand populists and the establishment this weekend.
Curbing China | Representatives from the U.S., EU and Japan will meet on the sidelines of an OECD meeting today in Paris, seeking an agreement on curbing state-support for industries. Success in forcing countries (especially China) to stop backing private companies could mean the most substantial modernization of WTO rules in decades.
Rome Postcard | Matteo Salvini’s lieutenants are laying the groundwork for a post-election peace offering to their allies in Italy’s fractious coalition as they reckon they may not land a knockout blow in Sunday’s EU Parliament vote. Read our postcard from Rome, one of the key battlegrounds of this weekend’s ballot.
In Case You Missed It
Huawei’s Woes | Wireless operators from Britain to Asia have begun to drop Huawei mobile phones after the U.S. put the Chinese telecom-gear giant on a blacklist blocking it from buying vital American components. If you think these blacklistings are all about a company, its rivals and its suppliers, you are wrong. Here’s how this could change our world.
Polish Aspirations | Poland’s central bank is throwing its weight behind the government’s bid to keep the country out of the euro, and commit to the zloty until prosperity matches that of Germany. Trouble is, based on their current growth trajectory, Poland will only catch up with its neighbor in 110 years.
German Banks | Speaking of Germany, Steven Arons and Nicholas Comfort took a deep dive into the country’s troubled financial landscape to explain how Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank’s struggles are the norm rather than the exception. In Europe’s biggest economy, the financial sector isn’t keeping up with the successes of its industrial companies.
Spanish Olives | The U.S. and China have taken center stage in the trade drama right now, but there’s a parallel war, which though overlooked, has devastated entire areas in Southern Spain. It’s a battle over table olives, Jeannette Neumann reports.
Weekly Quiz | This week’s quiz is a tough one, unless you are an economic policy geek and also love romantic movies:
Which senior euro area official made a cameo appearance in Richard Linklater’s critically acclaimed 1995 movie “Before Sunrise,” in which two strangers (played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) spend the night wandering the streets of Vienna? Find the answer in tomorrow’s Brussels Edition.
Chart of the Day
Seven of the ten most expensive places to go on a date are in Europe, according to Deutsche Bank’s “Mapping the World’s Prices 2019.” Based on cab rides, dinner or lunch for two at a pub or diner, two movie tickets and a couple of beers, Zurich once again takes the crown with $202.7. If you have time to date in Brussels, number 11 in the list, be prepared to spend $130.1.
Today’s Agenda
All times CET.
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9:30 a.m. The EU General Court rules in the appeal by metal recycler Recylex against its part of an EU antitrust fine for colluding on prices of batteries
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9:30 a.m. The EU General Court rules in a case brought against the European Central Bank by private creditors seeking damages of about 3.8 million euros for issuing a 2012 opinion on securities issued by Greece that failed to indicate the unlawfulness of an intended restructuring of Greek debt
- EU trade chief Cecilia Malmström delivers a keynote address on “Trade in a Digital Era” and participates in the World Trade Organization mini-Ministerial meeting
- ECB publishes account of April monetary policy decision
- EU elections in the U.K, Netherlands
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