EU faces historic recession as China, US spar over virus origins

[BRUSSELS] The EU on Wednesday forecast a historic recession on the continent battered by the deadly coronavirus pandemic, as the US and China escalated their war of words over the origins of the disease.

The eurozone economy is forecast to contract by 7.7 per cent, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Paulo Gentiloni said.

"Europe is facing an economic shock without precedent since the Great Depression," he warned.

Governments are seeking to revive stalled economies by slowly lifting lockdown measures that have hemmed in more than 4.6 billion people worldwide - while avoiding a deadly second wave of the virus.

Germany forged ahead with its plans to reopen, and will allow all students back to school this month, all shops to reopen and even restart the top-flight football Bundesliga.

So far only some shops and schools have been open, and sports matches across the country have been suspended.

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But fresh data revealed the extend of damage in some sectors: care sales plunged by 61 per cent last month while new industrial orders hit a record low in March.

In Britain, the mayor of London eyed a gentler return to normal, saying pedestrian and cycle routes would be expanded to help people avoid public transport.

The UK on Tuesday overtook Italy for the highest number of deaths in Europe, and is now second after the US in terms of fatalities.

As hopes of a quick economic recovery cooled, a war of words between China and the US heated up over the origins of the deadly coronavirus that first emerged in Wuhan last year.

China once again batted away accusations from Washington that the virus originated in a lab, accusing US politicians of peddling the theory for political gain.

"This matter should be handed to scientists and medical professionals, and not politicians who lie for their own domestic political ends," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

Her remarks come after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was "enormous evidence" the virus came from a Chinese lab, a theory President Donald Trump has also lent credibility to.

Scientists believe the disease originated among animals and jumped to humans - possibly in a Wuhan wet market where wild animals were slaughtered and sold.

China's envoy to the UN said Wednesday an investigation into the origins of the pandemic should only be carried out once the crisis is over.

"We need the right focus and allocation of our resources," Chen Xu said. "It's not that we are allergic to any kind of investigations, inquiries or evaluations."

AFP