The vaccines Europeans were promised by AstraZeneca are still missing. A top EU official characterized the situation after a call last night as not wanting war but not being satisfied either. The bloc said it didn't receive the clarity it sought about vaccine deliveries in the months ahead, accusing Astra of using EU money to ramp up U.K. production and now prioritizing British deliveries. The company is suggesting the EU wants to jump the global queue. We're told member states are furious at Astra but also have unanswered questions from the Commission. Talks will continue, but this is turning into a communications and policy disaster.

What’s Happening
Vaccine Collab | Elsewhere in the world of vaccine development, an unusual collaboration is taking place. French drugmaker Sanofi agreed to help supply millions of doses of the jab developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, by providing access to a production facility in Frankfurt. Here's the latest on all things virus and vaccines.

Laundering Cop | The European Commission sees setting up a common anti-money laundering agency from scratch as the best way forward in its clampdown on dirty cash, according to slides seen by Bloomberg. It had previously considered handing the task of policing suspicious financial flows to an existing body like the European Banking Authority. A legal proposal on the matter is due by the end of March.

Democracy Threat | With populations under lockdown and governments wielding greater emergency powers, the Covid-19 crisis has exacerbated already alarming levels of graft and democratic violations worldwide. Bribery for virus tests and the procurement of medical supplies are allowing ruling elites to skim taxpayer funds, according to a report from the global corruption watchdog Transparency International.

Lockdown Postponed | France is delaying an agonizing decision to lock down the country for a third time, mulling options to slow new variants of Covid-19. President Emmanuel Macron has asked for additional analysis, but his spokesman admitted that maintaining the current status quo, including a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, is unlikely as it's not doing enough. The Netherlands offers a warning.

In Case You Missed It
Cutting Rates | ECB policy makers are said to be uncomfortable that investors appear to be largely ruling out more interest-rate cuts below the current level of -0.5%, and have agreed to stress that such stimulus remains a viable option. Officials have also been pushing back over the current strength of the euro.

Slow Recovery | You can see why, with the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel saying Germany's economic comeback from the coronavirus crisis is set to be slower than expected. Instead of expanding 4.4% this year, growth will come in at 3%. It's the latest sign that Europe's recovery from the crisis is lagging global peers.

Putin's Warning | Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his first speech in 12 years at the World Economic Forum that the world risks sliding into an “all against all” conflict amid tensions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and growing economic inequality. It came a day after Russia and the U.S. exchanged diplomatic notes agreeing to a five-year extension of the 2010 New START treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons.

Battery War | The race to be the number one electric vehicle manufacturer in Europe is heating up with Volkswagen pulling well ahead of Tesla in sales last year. The German giant sold 49,704 fully electric autos across Europe in December, almost double Tesla’s registrations in the region.

Chart of the Day

Italy topped the major euro-area nations in fiscal support as a share of the economy in the Covid crisis, according to figures on emergency spending through Dec. 1 from national central banks. The data account for effective spending, stripping out plans that didn’t materialize or unused loan guarantees. “France’s fiscal support is at least comparable to its European neighbors’ and above Germany’s, where initial announcements were much stronger,” Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said.

Today’s Agenda
All times CET.

• 9:30 a.m. EU’s top court rules in Qualcomm bid to quash information request from EU regulators as part of their antitrust probe into whether the chip giant deliberately under-priced products to thwart a rival
• 9:30 a.m. European Economic and Social Committee debate with chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier over the EU-U.K. trade deal
• EU economy chief Paolo Gentiloni speaks at webinar on role of fiscal policy in mitigating the economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic
• WireCard parliamentary hearings in Berlin
• Informal video conference of EU home affairs ministers