"One way or another, in less than three weeks it will be new beginnings for old friends."

Those were the final words, spoken with a wry smile, of European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen today, as she briefed the press alongside European Council President Charles Michel and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (as Germany holds the rotating chair of the Council).

Hopes of a deal are drying up quickly, but you've been reading that for days now, so let's move on to a deal the EU has made.

Hungary and Poland, both which protested against the next EU budget, are claiming victory as the spending agenda was agreed on. But so is the Commission, as the rule of law provisions the countries were railing against are in the final agreement. 

Outside Europe, Pop Mart International's IPO in Hong Kong is going from strength to strength as the toy maker outstrips analysts' estimates. 

And in Malaysia, the Asian Development Bank has put up $9 billion to help poorer countries access the COVID-19 vaccination. As you will remember from our interview earlier this week, the inequality of vaccine provision is a huge issue. 

Continuing with the topic of vaccines and their global roll-out, we spoke to DHL's head of commercial activities, Katja Busch, about how the German firm is moving millions of precious vials around the world. 

Finally, have you ever wondered how many firs are chopped down or formed out of plastic every Christmas? Thanks to my colleague Giulia, you can see a visualization of just that at the bottom of today's briefing. 

Happy reading, 

Patrick Atack

Digital business correspondent 

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The European Council (made of EU members' leaders) has agreed the $2.1 trillion budget including billions in COVID relief. The agreement came after weeks of debate and protest – led by Polish and Hungarian leaders, who disliked the provisions being linked to "rule of law" principles. 

Chinese toy maker Pop Mart International's share price jumped on its trading debut in Hong Kong, as its mystery toy boxes continue to charm millions. The Beijing-based company raised $674 million through the initial public offering with the sale of 135.7 million new shares. 

Container shortages after lockdowns are causing havoc for those trying to move gifts around the world before Christmas. In Shanghai, a warehouse that used to house 20,000 containers is down to 6,000 as ports around the globe remain shut or on reduced capacity. As a result, piles of goods are piling up and the price to move a container from China to Europe has jumped 300 percent since March. 

Italian sports car brand Ferrari's CEO Louis Camilleri has retired from the Modena-based firm for personal reasons and with immediate effect, just two years after taking on the role. Camilleri had previously been hospitalized with COVID-19, but it's unclear if his decision is directly linked to the illness. 

London's Heathrow Airport, which until the pandemic struck was the busiest in the world, has confirmed its Terminal 4 will remain closed until the end of 2021, with passenger numbers across the key hub falling by 88 percent since March. In October, the drop in passenger numbers meant Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport overtook Heathrow as Europe's busiest.

German travel group Tui has lost $3.6 billion, after its flight and cruise services were cut dramatically amid the pandemic. Revenues from January to the end of September fell by 58 percent and it said it has paid out at least $169 million in customer refunds. 

Lloyds, a large consumer bank in the UK, has released a report inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests this summer, which revealed "black and minority ethnic" staff are paid around a fifth less than their white counterparts. The bank said pay gaps reflect the lack of BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) staff employed at a senior level. 

The Asian Development Bank has launched a $9 billion plan to help poorer countries in the region access COVID-19 vaccines equally. "Steps for developing and distributing vaccines should be collaborative among countries and international organizations," said ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa. 

Walt Disney Co has announced a raft of new movies and series, including new productions for the Marvel and Star Wars franchises. The U.S. entertainment giant said it plans to release 10 new TV series each in the Marvel and Star Wars over the next few years, including the first Star Wars production with a female director. The products will be shown on Disney+ as it ramps up its competition with Netflix and Amazon. 

The head of Germany's financial audit watchdog, Apas, has admitted trading in Wirecard shares while the regulator he headed was investigating a $2 billion fraud at the payment firm. Ralf Bose, who has headed Apas since 2016, told a parliamentary inquiry. German finance minister Peter Altmaier called the revelation "disconcerting."

Food wholesaler Brakes has reported a 10-fold increase in scotch egg demand after the UK government confirmed patrons of pubs and restaurants could drink alcohol with the traditional snacks. It came after ministers were quizzed on what could be deemed a "substantial meal" and the pork and egg product was listed as acceptable, despite its traditionally diminutive stature. 

Norwegian fisheries minister Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen said the Scandinavian country – which is not an EU member – could restrict fishing access to both UK and EU boats if there is no Brexit trade deal agreed. Because fisheries and access is such a big question in Brexit talks, the Norwegian government wants trilateral talks between all three North Sea players on reciprocal access. 

The Spanish government's debt rose to 114 percent of its GDP in the third quarter of 2020, up from 110 percent in the second quarter, according to the Bank of Spain. The nation's debt-to-GDP ratio was 97.5 percent  at the end of the third quarter 2019.

WATCH: Ancient Chinese rice wine finds way to Europe through deal with EU

Katja Busch is the chief commercial officer at global logistics firm DHL. She spoke to us from the company's headquarters in Bonn, Germany, on the challenges even established couriers face with the COVID-19 vaccine. 

What are the initial challenges of moving these drugs? 

So, you probably know that we are used to bringing vaccines around the world, but this is the so-called normal stuff that is cooled by 2 to 8 degrees [Celsius]. Well, what we are facing today is a big, big challenge. As you probably know, all these new vaccines need to be cooled by to minus 70 degrees [Celsius]. And this is an entire new challenge for us.

How have you adapted to the new challenges? 

That all requires very, very proper planning. So you need to make sure that you have a sufficient amount of so-called ultra-low-temperature refrigerators in place … a lot of dots need to be connected to make sure the vaccine is in a sufficient shape.  

So what is the scale of your operation on vaccine delivery?

For bringing 10 billion vaccine shots to the globe, we forecast around 200,000 pallets, 15 million packages. And if you would really pack an air freighter full with vaccines, that would be like 15,000 complete freighters touring around the world.