EU, eurozone very likely in recession this year due to virus

The European Union and the eurozone are very likely to be in a recession this year because of the coronavirus outbreak, a top economic official of the European Commission said on Friday.

"It is very likely that growth for the eurozone and the European Union as a whole will fall below zero this year and potentially even considerably below zero," Maarten Vervey, head of economic affairs of the EU executive told a news conference in Brussels.