OREANDA-NEWS. The European Union “has entered the deepest recession in its history” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. He made such an assessment on Wednesday, presenting the spring forecast of the European Commission, European Commissioner for Economics Paolo Gentilone.

According to him, the economic downturn in the association in 2020 will amount to 7.4%, and in the euro area - 7.7%. Gentilone noted that the restoration will begin only next year, however, "it will not allow to compensate for the recession".

The fall in Russia's GDP in 2020, according to the forecast of the European Commission, will reach 5%, which is twice as much as the decline in 2015 caused by the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions.