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

With only $30 million — one week’s cash — left in its accounts, Sweden’s onetime battery wonder Northvolt filed for bankruptcy protection in the US. It’s a rough wake-up call for Europe about the future of its broader electric-vehicle industry. Northvolt failed to secure rescue funding, casting doubt on the bloc’s ability to stand up an independent supply chain for EVs to counter Asian dominance. We’re told the Stockholm-based firm decided to take the US legal route to provide a familiar framework for existing investors and third parties that have shown interest in contributing financing. The move caps months of talks with owners, customers and creditors to find a way for a rare homegrown European EV-battery maker to move forward.

— Samuel Stolton

Rate Watch | European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde takes the stage at a Frankfurt banking conference today as Europe charts a path ahead under the looming risks of a second Donald Trump presidency. The remarks might be the most significant she has delivered since Trump’s win and her comments may acknowledge a growing consensus toward a prolonged push to reduce borrowing costs.

Team Trump | Some EU nations want the bloc to urgently engage with Trump’s transition team in order to stave off a potential tit-for-tat trade war, we’re told. Trade ministers yesterday discussed how to prepare for Trump’s protectionist agenda, even as the bloc prepares possible retaliatory steps. Trump’s presidency could also provoke volatility in the $7.5 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market.

Disruptive Path | His return is a wakeup call for Europe to implement long-delayed reforms, according to the central bank chiefs of its top two economies. “Either Europe continues down the path of low growth, low productivity and low innovation,” Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel and Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau wrote in a joint op-ed in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Or we join forces to pursue an ambitious, even disruptive path.”

Criminal Test | EU nations are sorting out how to respond to the decision by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Member states are theoretically obliged to arrest him, but it’s up to individual governments. The Netherlands has said it will respect ICC warrants, while Hungary said the ICC’s move was “shameful.”

Strikes Ahead | Volkswagen workers across Germany plan to stage mass walkouts starting early next month after labor leaders and management failed to reach an agreement over how to slash costs at the carmaker’s namesake brand. The sides are struggling to agree on how to cope with a drop in demand for electric vehicles, higher operation costs and increasing competition from China.

New Weapon | Russia launched a new kind of ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said Moscow was using Ukraine as a “testing ground.” Putin had warned the US and its allies it would retaliate for the use of US and British-made missiles by Ukraine to strike Russian territory.

Chancellor Battle | Boris Pistorius, Germany’s popular defense minister, took himself out of the race for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s job, even though many in their Social Democratic party see him as a better lead candidate for February’s snap election. Scholz’s low approval ratings have many in the SPD bracing for defeat to the opposition conservatives led by Friedrich Merz.

Energy Woes | European and US sanctions on Russia’s only construction yard for liquefied natural gas modules are stymieing the country’s energy market ambitions. Recent satellite images show the operations of Novatek’s Belokamenka facility slowing down significantly.

Financial Pain | Elections in Romania take place this weekend against the backdrop of the nation’s dire finances. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is currently ahead in the polls, as the prospect of tax increases and spending cuts dominates the campaign.

Celebrity Resort | At the once sleepy Portuguese resort of Melides, the rich and famous are starting to crowd in. French designer Christian Louboutin — who owns a hotel in the area — doesn’t like it.

Markets are fretting over France’s budget talks and a review of its sovereign rating, with bond risk surging to its highest in a month. The latest moves reflect concerns over whether far-right leader Marine Le Pen could back a no-confidence motion that might topple Michel Barnier’s government and derail its 2025 budget plans. The country also sold more bonds on yesterday and its heavy debt burden will face continuing scrutiny.

All times CET

• 3 p.m. EU justice commissioner Didier Reynders and Polish Justice Minister Adam Bodnar hold news conference in Warsaw
• EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson meets interior ministers from Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania in Budapest