“When the wolf comes in at the door, love creeps out of the window,” or so the saying goes, and the video summit of EU leaders was no exception. With angry voters suffering from cabin fever after more than a year in home confinement, leaders were told that 77 million coronavirus vaccines produced in the bloc have been exported to the rest of the world, all while inoculations at home progress at a snail’s pace. So the EU will be tougher with shipment requests after leaders gave their guarded support to the Commission’s tougher mechanism, hoping the new rules will act as a deterrent to companies taking a lax approach towards their delivery obligations to the bloc. But even when it comes to sharing the shots between them, leaders managed to get into a fight. Austria demanded an extra chunk that most others think it neither needs nor deserves. The wolf driving away love between companies and governments and between Europe and the rest of the world, of course, is the third wave of the pandemic. And that may just be getting started. 

What’s Happening
Virus Update | France extended a lockdown to three additional regions, and Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled that Germany will declare its neighbor a high-incidence virus area, triggering tougher travel requirements. The Polish zloty slumped to its weakest level since 2009 on growing concern that the worsening pandemic will delay a recovery.

Italian Bill | Mario Draghi needs a new stimulus program within weeks to bankroll higher monthly lockdown costs of as much as 15 billion euros and keep the economy afloat. With a slow vaccine rollout, persistent lockdowns and furloughs and other aid still in place, the government’s average recurring bill is swelling.

Dirty Love | To combat climate change, Merkel wants to have as many as 10 million electric vehicles on Germany’s road by 2030. But some are worried about a too-rapid shift to EVs, fearing the type of deindustrialization that ravaged Detroit. They’re also reluctant to end a century-old love affair with the internal combustion engine, a German invention that played a leading role in its post-war economic recovery. 

London Changing | Billions in assets and thousands of jobs have moved to the continent after the U.K. negotiated a bare-bones trade deal with the EU that largely sidelined finance, giving cities across the bloc the chance to lure firms in flux. Here’s how Europe’s financial capital is holding up after Brexit.

In Case You Missed It
Eastern Failure | Nine of the 10 worst-hit nations globally in terms of deaths per capita are located in Eastern Europe, according to data compiled by Bloomberg that cover the past week. The performance marks a stark turnaround from the early days of the disease. What went wrong?

Navalny’s Odyssey | Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny said he is suffering severe back pain despite prison officials’ assurances that he’s in satisfactory condition. The penal colony holding the 44-year-old is known for its particularly harsh regime. 

Vaccine Passes | Businesses that have suffered a yearlong battering from the pandemic are coming to view vaccination certificates as a route to salvation. Yet the case for handing the newly inoculated their old life back is far from universally accepted. Companies and countries that depend on travel or large gatherings are counting on a totally unproven concept, our dispatch shows. 

Easter Lull | EU institutions will be more or less on Easter recess as of next week, so we will also be taking a break from your mailboxes until April 12. It’s not like we can go on holiday, so if something major comes up in the meantime, we’ll pop up earlier. 

Chart of the Day

A lightning-fast vaccination drive has propelled Israel toward the top of Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking, transforming everyday life to put the country alongside New Zealand and Taiwan as one of the best places to be in the coronavirus era. Here’s where you need to go to be as safe as possible from the pandemic. 

Today’s Agenda
All times CET.

• 2 p.m. Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders speaks at AmCham event about transatlantic data flows