Brussels Edition: Saving the Best for Last

(Bloomberg) -- Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union.

The European Parliament will grill the people poised to get the three most powerful jobs at the EU’s executive arm today, as the regularly scheduled confirmation hearings for the new Commission draw to a close. Most powerful of them all, Margrethe Vestager is set to ace the process, as she’s unlikely to face trouble with questions about how she's going to combine her roles as independent antitrust chief and as the EU’s technology vice-president, tasked with making ‘‘Europe fit for the digital age.’’ While she’s usually cheered by lawmakers for taking on Google and other big tech firms, Vestager may get sharper questions on whether competition enforcement helps or hinders European businesses threatened by rivals from China.

What’s Happening

Economy Chief | Valdis Dombrovskis, who’s set to be promoted to executive vice president, gets a chance to update the Parliament on his plans for the economy. Among the most urgent topics are what the commission is planning to do about crypto assets, in particular Facebook’s Libra project, and how it wants to fix the EU’s defense against money laundering, so that the embarrassing string of scandals in the financial system doesn’t repeat itself.

Climate Czar | Also today, Frans Timmermans, the new climate czar, is going to outline his plans to implement the Green New Deal at the EU assembly. His pitch for climate neutrality by 2050 is set to include a stricter 2030 emissions-reduction target, a climate bank, a transition fund for most affected countries, a carbon border tax and yet another reform of the EU Emissions Trading System.

New Bank | As EU home-affairs ministers gather in Luxembourg to debate migration today, a report commissioned by the bloc warns that the impending climate catastrophe and explosive population growth in Africa will lead to a substantial rise of “disorderly and intense” migratory pressures. The “wise persons” report, which proposes the creation of a European Climate and Sustainable Development Bank, will be discussed by the bloc’s finance ministers on Thursday. 

Groundhog Day | Talks are continuing all this week between the European Commission and the U.K. team to try to get the shape of a Brexit deal by the end of the week. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will meet his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar in the coming days, won a court case yesterday when a Scottish judge refused to put further obligations on him, saying his "unequivocal assurances" to seek a Brexit delay if there’s no deal this month were sufficient.

In Case You Missed It

Costa’s Pledge| Portugal Prime Minister Antonio Costa went out of his way to reassure investors he has an ambitious target to tackle the country’s big Achilles heel: its towering debt. The problem is that his strategy assumes robust economic growth, not a given in today’s uncertain world. Can he really fulfill his debt-reduction pledge? Here’s a look at the numbers.

Euro Gloom | Europe’s troubles intensified yesterday, with German industry suffering a fresh blow and investors turning more gloomy about the region’s economy. The decline is just the latest in a string of negative news driving increased pessimism about the euro area and adds to evidence that investors may be losing faith in the ECB’s ability to boost growth after it announced new stimulus in September.

Turkish Offensive | Donald Trump’s rapid about-turn on Syria is reigniting confusion and concerns among European leaders about a resurgence of the Islamic State, and perhaps the return of radicalized jihadists. Securing or perhaps even rehabilitating the IS recruits, many of them foreigners who joined the caliphate’s ranks during its rapid expansion from 2014, will become a Turkish problem once in Syrian territory, and it’s one Ankara may be ill-prepared to handle.

Austrian Wunderkind | Sebastian Kurz was given a subtle nudge by Austria’s president to consider a coalition with the Greens, as the winner of last month’s election gets down to the fraught task of forming a government. All potential coalitions have their pitfalls for Kurz, Boris Groendahl explains. 

Chart of the Day

Unlike in many euro-area peers, Greek sentiment and growth forecasts are up. The government said sees 2.8% economic growth in 2020 — higher than EU projections — putting it on track to meet its budget targets ,despite enacting tax-relief measures. Its creditors are less sanguine, however, and the two sides must bridge their gap before Athens submits its budget plans later this month.

Today’s Agenda

All times CET.

• 9:30 a.m. EU home affairs ministers in Luxembourg will have a debate on right-wing violent extremism and terrorism, discuss security implications of 5G mobile networks, artificial intelligence, state of play on migration
• 11:30 a.m. Bank of England policy maker Silvana Tenreyro, ECB chief economist Philip Lane and ECB Governing Council member Pablo Hernandez de Cos speak on a panel at an ECB conference on monetary policy
• 12.30 p.m. EU Council President Donald Tusk holds meeting with German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin
• EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini delivers the sixth high-level EU Diplomacy Lecture on ‘‘Implementing the EU Global Strategy: Challenges and Opportunities’’ at the College of Europe in Bruges
• Confirmation hearings of incoming EU Financial Services chief Valdis Dombrovskis, Climate chief Frans Timmermans and tech and antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager at the European Parliament
• The WTO will host its public forum — an annual gathering of international business groups and trade officials to discuss developments in the global trading system
• Lower house of Italian parliament expected to give final approval to law cutting number of lawmakers in both houses

--With assistance from Viktoria Dendrinou, Alexander Weber, Ian Wishart and Ewa Krukowska.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net, Andrew Blackman

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