The 27-nation EU economy is predicted to contract by 7.5 percent this year, before growing by about 6 percent in 2021. The group of 19 nations using the euro as their currency will see a record decline of 7.75 percent this year, and grow by 6.25 percent in 2021, the European Commission said in its Spring economic forecast. More than 1.1 million people have contracted the virus across Europe and over 137,000 have died, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Unclear outbreak data, low testing rates and the strain on health care systems mean the true scale of the pandemic is much greater. Gentiloni said that the depth of the recession and the strength of recovery will be uneven across the world's biggest trading bloc.-AP

Source: The Standard May 06, 2020 09:45 UTC