EU warns 2020 growth 'very likely' below zero after virus outbreak

The European commission, the EU's executive arm, warned Friday that growth in Europe would fall into negative territory due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.

An EU official told a news briefing that it "is very likely that growth for the euro area and for the EU as a whole will fall below zero this year."

The final reading could "potentially even be considerably below zero," the official added.