The race to lead Germany is diverting through Switzerland, with a campaigning push in Davos set to showcase competing visions for how to revive Europe’s biggest economy.

On the first day of this year’s Davos, three Greenpeace campaigners evaded the tight security checks to scale a balcony in the main congress centre and unfurl a banner saying: “Tax the super-rich”. Activists had earlier blocked the Davos heliport.

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

Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to become chancellor after Germany’s snap election next month, will take his campaign pitch to the World Economic Forum next week.

At the World Economic Forum, much of the global corporate elite is responding with surprising optimism to the new president’s radical and hyperactive agenda.

President Donald Trump has given everyone at Davos something to talk about with his actions on the first day of his second term.

German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, tipped to become the next chancellor, said on Thursday he wanted to win back the lost trust of key allies and ensure Berlin is more assertive on the global stage in a speech laying out his foreign policy plans.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared Tuesday that Europe was ready to negotiate with US President Donald Trump but the bloc will also seek to improve ties with China and other nations as global competition heats up.

(Bloomberg) -- The race to lead Germany is diverting through Switzerland, with a campaigning push in Davos set to showcase competing ... the Christian Democrat frontrunner Friedrich Merz, will seek the blessing of the global business elite within hours ...

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP ... His Social Democrats are trailing third in polls showing conservative Friedrich Merz is the favorite to become the next chancellor after Feb. 23 elections.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP ... His Social Democrats are trailing third in polls showing conservative Friedrich Merz is the favorite to become the next chancellor after Feb. 23 elections.

Hungary has continued to keep other EU members states on their toes about whether it will support a routine extension of the bloc’s sanctions against Russia. Today, Budapest could finally show its cards when EU ambassadors meet to discuss the review, write Paola Tamma and Marton Dunai.