Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy, attends a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2020 (Photo: European Commission/Handout via Xinhua)

Paolo Gentiloni, EU’s economic commissioner, told a press conference covering the EC’s spring forecast in Brussels, that the pandemic has created huge economic divisions between its 19 members, setting up what could be expected to be the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1990s.

He said: “It is clear that the European Union is entering the most severe economic crisis in the history. All members will suffer a heavy economic downturn this year. Greece Italy, Spain, and Croatia will suffer the most and be followed by France.”

Eurozone countries have introduced economic aid packages worth more than 3 trillion euros. Europe has suffered the most from the pandemic with more than 1 million infections and 140 thousand deaths as of Wednesday.