The EU is keen to revive the free flow of movement, not just within the bloc but also to and from countries outside the region. So when leaders gather for their summit next week in Brussels, they will push for a coordinated stance on travel, making it both more uniform and easier, according to a draft of the European Council summit conclusions we’ve seen. They will push for more vaccinations, both inside and outside the bloc, and call for mutual recognition of certificates with third countries. Another key preoccupation is the surge in energy prices, which may dominate the summit as countries discuss possible relief measures for businesses and households as cold winter weather gets closer. But the splits that came to the fore last week in the informal talks in Slovenia remain. Hungary blames the EU’s Green Deal for the situation, while France is calling for more nuclear energy — something Germany is determined to phase out soon. And as if the leaders didn’t have enough on their plates, Europe’s digital transformation, migration and external relations are also on the agenda. - Katharina Rosskopf

What’s Happening

Afghanistan G-20 | Leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies meet virtually today for a special summit on Afghanistan after Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, whose country holds the G-20’s presidency this year, made a push to get it off the ground. China’s Xi Jinping isn’t expected to attend. Italy wants the leaders to focus on humanitarian aid and on preventing Afghanistan from becoming a terrorist haven, but member states’ varying positions may limit results. 

Brexit Troubles | Britain’s Brexit minister David Frost will tell an audience in Lisbon today that London wants a “significant change” in the Northern Ireland Protocol that includes scrapping the European Court of Justice’s authority over the deal. That’s a red line for the EU, which could usher in a long battle. Here’s how it could play out. In a separate Brexit-related fight, France said it received the backing of Germany and nine other EU members in its tussle with the U.K. over fishing rights.

Green Debt | The EU will today sell its first tranche of green bonds to help fund the bloc’s recovery from the global pandemic. It’s a big deal — the bloc will eventually issue as much as 250 billion euros of environmentally friendly debt, making it the biggest issuer of such securities globally. It will help underpin the region’s efforts to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

Talk Ukraine | An EU-Ukraine summit taking place today in Kyiv will cement bilateral cooperation on aviation, science and culture. The bloc, which is rolling out a 6.5 billion-euro investment package, will explore deepening ties on digital and energy matters. EU officials are encouraged by the progress made by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the area of rule of law and the fight against corruption, but the bloc wants Kyiv to move faster on issues including the reform of the Constitutional Court.

Europe for Georgieva | European governments are leaning toward backing IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva as the lender’s board prepares to make a decision on her future, following allegations of improper actions during her stint at the World Bank. We’ve been told that countries including France and the U.K. are among those still behind her, while the U.S. is mulling whether to ask her to step down. 

In Case You Missed It

Over and out | Armin Laschet has given up. The chairman of Angela Merkel’s party, who suffered a historic defeat to Social Democrat Olaf Scholz last month, will vacate his post by January. The Christian Democratic Union will hold a conference in December or January at which its full leadership will face re-election, General Secretary Paul Ziemiak told reporters in Berlin yesterday.

Warning Investors | Investors must be careful not to underestimate inflation risks that could prompt the ECB to tighten monetary policy, Governing Council member Klaas Knot told reporters yesterday. Risky behavior in financial markets, which has increased sharply since the start of the pandemic, “is only sustainable at low inflation and interest rates,” Knot said during the presentation of the Dutch central bank’s Financial Stability Report. 

Cutting Methane | Another two dozen countries have signed up to the global pledge to cut emissions of greenhouse-gas methane 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels. The effort to contain one of the most potent greenhouse gases is a sign of the momentum building before COP26. If fulfilled, the initiative could shave at least 0.2 degrees Celsius off global warming by 2050.

Austrian Restart | Alexander Schallenberg has been inaugurated as Austria’s new chancellor. Now, he needs to deal with the fallout of the corruption scandal that toppled Sebastian Kurz. Austria is only one of the Central European countries in motion. Elections in the Czech Republic dealt an unexpected blow to billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis. And in Poland, more than 100,000 people took to the streets at the weekend to demonstrate against the Warsaw leadership and in support of the EU. 

Chart of the Day

Many central banks globally are starting to withdraw the emergency stimulus they introduced to fend off last year’s pandemic recession. With inflation accelerating, the Federal Reserve is set to slow its asset-purchase program, while peers in Norway, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and New Zealand have already raised interest rates. However, officials at the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are among those intending to keep stimulating their economies aggressively. And the IMF predicts that in advanced economies at least, inflation will soon ease to about 2%.

Today’s Agenda (All times CET.)

• 9 a.m. Agriculture and Fisheries Council continues in Luxembourg
• 9 a.m. Informal meeting of EU Health Ministers in Slovenia 
• 1 p.m. German coalition talks between the Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats are set to end for the day as Scholz heads to IMF meetings
• Commissioner Thierry Breton on official visit in Sweden
• Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager delivers a keynote speech in a roundtable by the Information Technology Industry Council on the EU-U.S. TTC
• G-20 trade ministers meet in Sorrento, Italy