Analysis

Lockdown 2.0 to take a different-shaped bite out of European economies

Hans van LeeuwenEurope correspondent

Nov 2, 2020 – 10.45am

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London | Economies in the 19-member euro zone grew a collective, and record-smashing, 12.3 per cent in the third quarter – a zinger of a V-shaped recovery. But that was then, this is now.

The bloc's two biggest economies, France and Germany, last week stepped up their lockdowns for at least a month, amid a relentless tide of COVID-19 cases. Plenty of other European countries are following suit, as hospitals and test-trace systems come under strain.

Hans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London.