Europe heading into perfect political, economic storm

THE European Union closed its external borders on Tuesday as France and Germany also announced separate measures to lock down the EU's two largest economies. While the moves are time-limited for weeks initially, the continent could yet be facing into a longer perfect storm of economic and political turbulence given pre-existing fragility.

First and foremost in the minds of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the public health crisis and saving lives. The situation has deteriorated in both of the EU's largest economies in recent days and while not yet as grave as in Italy and Spain, there is real, mounting policymaker concern.

Take the example of France where, as at Monday, there were over 5,400 reported cases of coronavirus and a death toll of 127 (a rise of 36 in the 24 hours from Sunday). This compares to Germany with close to 7,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 14 deaths.