PARIS, March 16 — The coronavirus pandemic will plunge the European Union into recession this year, the EU’s internal market Commissioner Thierry Breton said, estimating the bloc’s economy risked a 2-2.5 per cent hit.

The outbreak has snarled global supply chains, prompted numerous countries to close their borders and led to governments ordering citizen lockdowns in Italy and Spain, with Europe the new epicentre of the outbreak.

"Obviously we are expecting a recession during the year 2020,” Breton told BFM Business radio.

"We are at war with the virus. An economic war.”

France has led calls for a massive and coordinated fiscal stimulus in Europe. So far most economic measures to cushion the blow have been taken at a national level.

"Before the crisis we were (expecting) around 1.4 per cent (economic) growth for the whole continent, now we expect a negative impact of between 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent,” he added.

Euro zone finance ministers were due to speak later today to coordinate their responses to the economic fallout from the outbreak. — Reuters