Europe must pull together to tackle coronavirus crisis; reforms at risk

EURO zone finance ministers will have much to reflect on when they meet, by video conference, this week to discuss Europe's response to the novel coronavirus crisis.

Last week's gloomy GDP data added to the potentially "perfect storm" that the continent is facing after the healthcare emergency of recent weeks which has seen more than 100,000 deaths.

Recent initial estimates of euro zone growth in the first quarter of 2020 indicate that the single-currency area economy shrank at the sharpest pace on record. Separate figures also showed the steepest fall in French GDP since World War II, and deep fall-offs in Spain and Italy which point to historic-sized recessions there too.