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

The EU’s delicate balancing act in dealing with an increasingly assertive China will be on full display today when the bloc’s foreign ministers hold a video conference. They’ll weigh a response to a controversial new Chinese law curbing Hong Kong's autonomy, while pointedly avoiding U.S.-style threats of sanctions. The reason: also on the agenda is how to deepen ties with China, perhaps through a long-sought accord that would open that lucrative market more to European investors.

What’s Happening
Lending Troubles | Despite unprecedented programs to keep credit flowing, aid has been uneven across nations and some businesses are struggling to get the cash. Brussels plans to help with problems in the rollout of relief so that companies can survive, EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told us.

Vestager Spotlight | EU Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager will today set out the details of the bloc’s plan to support companies at risk of collapsing due to the pandemic. She’ll be taking the stage just as her role as a state-aid enforcer is coming under increasing pressure, with Lufthansa refusing to accept EU conditions for a German bailout.

Trade Chief | The WTO’s general council will today discuss the race to name a new director general after the decision by its current head to step down early. The selection process comes at the most turbulent time in the organization’s history amid a pandemic, a worldwide recession, the U.S.-China trade battle and the American presidential election.

Moral Hazard | Economists have largely praised the EU’s 750 billion-euro recovery plan, while warning that it needs to be implemented quickly and effectively to succeed in reviving output and strengthening the bloc’s ability to ride out future storms. But there’s one potential cloud that could dominate upcoming political talks: moral hazard.

German Revolution | Amid Germany’s feverish crisis management at the height of the coronavirus outbreak, a deeper shift to an activist economic policy was taking shape. Months in the making before the pandemic, the strategy puts Angela Merkel in charge of the most dramatic re-engineering of Europe’s biggest economy since post-war reconstruction. 

In Case You Missed It
How Much | Italy and Spain will be the main beneficiaries from the proposed the EU's 750 billion-euro stimulus package, according to estimates by the bloc’s executive seen by Bloomberg. Find out how much each country could get in grants and loans here.

Trade Impasse | The U.K. may have already given up on the prospect of getting a trade agreement with the EU, the bloc’s trade chief said, adding to signs of increasing friction. That’s just as negotiations on the future relationship resume next week with neither side expecting significant movement and growing risks of a rupture at year-end.

Looking Up | Economic sentiment in the euro area rose from a record low after companies started to reopen. But while that’s consistent with reports suggesting the region is slowly working its way out of the crisis, the loss of jobs and business to weeks of lockdowns is likely to leave lasting damage.

Austrian Gaffe | A rancorous three-day debate in Austria’s parliament about the country’s 2020 budget culminated in the last-second revelation of an embarrassing mistake. The Finance Ministry’s legal text would have capped government spending for the year at 102,389.24 euros.

Swiss Priorities | Swiss politicians have decided that sex workers can soon get back to business while sports and other activities involving close physical contact such as judo, boxing, wrestling and dancing will remain prohibited. Meanwhile, France is opening cafes again.

Today’s Agenda
All times CET.

• 10 a.m. Press conference by EU antitrust chief on the Commission’s proposal to create a solvency support fund
• 11 a.m. Eurostat to release May inflation flash reading
• 11 a.m. Commissioners Thierry Breton and Paolo Gentiloni give press conference on the Commission’s economic recovery package
• Virtual meeting of the WTO General Council on May 29 to discuss the race for a new director general
• EU’s foreign affairs ministers hold a video conference
• Video conferences of EU ministers of research and space