Facing an economic maelstrom that could be more painful than the 2008 financial crisis, world leaders are being urged to deliver a robust and co-ordinated fiscal response to shield companies and households from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

So far, however, national authorities’ proposals in response to the disease have lacked the pan-European synchronisation of the 2008 financial crisis. Then, the EU rolled out a €200bn spending programme co-ordinated by Brussels and EU member states, equal to 1.5 per cent of the bloc’s gross domestic product.

Other countries have sprayed their population with money, such as Hong Kong’s plan to pay HK$10,000 to every citizen. In Europe, however, few economists think this is the right moment for a big fiscal stimulus, given many EU states are in lockdown, with millions of people unable to go out and spend.