Europe's economies are heading for unprecedented recessions as a result of the lockdown measures put in place by governments to get a grip on the
Coronavirus pandemic, closely watched surveys indicated Thursday.
The scale of the decline in business activity recorded in monthly surveys was staggering, worse even than the most pessimistic forecasts, and is likely to lend urgency to discussions of
European Union leaders about a rescue support package.
“The harsh lockdown measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 have crippled economic activity across the continent,” said Florian Hense, a European economist at Berenberg Bank.