TOP HEADLINES

- Italian scientists at the Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases say they have developed a vaccine candidate that could neutralize COVID-19 in human cells. 

- Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, looks set to secure enough parliamentary votes to extend a state of emergency for two more weeks as the country exits lockdown measures.

- Spain has recorded a rise in daily fatalities, 244 – there had been fewer than 200 deaths on each of the three previous days.

- The EU predicted "a recession of historic proportions this year" due to the impact of the coronavirus, with a drop in output of more than seven percent. 

- Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced a range of steps to ease the coronavirus lockdown, saying the first phase of the pandemic had passed.

- One of those steps includes confirmation that the country's football league, the Bundesliga, can restart games from the second half of May.

- Denmark’s government hopes to be able allow retail businesses, restaurants and cafes to open in the second phase of the country’s reopening strategy.

- Belgium's prime minister, Sophie Wilmes, has announced a loosening of social distancing measures, allowing more shops to open next week and hosting friends or family members at home.

- France has reported more than 300 additional deaths for the second day running, but the number of people in hospital with confirmed cases fell at its steepest rate on record.

- Mosques in Bosnia opened their doors amid a gradual rollback of the shutdown.

- Hundreds of Milan's bar and restaurant owners placed an empty chair from their establishments in front of the Arco della Pace triumphal arch in a protest demanding fiscal measures to help during the lockdown.

- Serbia’s parliament is expected to vote to end an overnight curfew, an almost complete lockdown for people older than 65 and military patrols in towns and borders.

- The World Health Organization (WHO) says a report that COVID-19 had emerged in December in France, sooner than previously thought, was "not surprising" and urged countries to investigate any other early suspicious cases.

- France has accused Apple of undermining its effort to fight the coronavirus by refusing to help make its iPhones more compatible with a planned "StopCovid" contact-tracing app.

- Greece will raise only a fraction of what it initially expected from privatizations this year, as the coronavirus downturn has forced it to put planned asset sales on hold to avoid low offers.

- The UK's death toll has risen by 649 to 30,076. But the country is preparing to cut its coronavirus wage-subsidy scheme in July.

- A comprehensive study in Czechia to determine the number of undetected infections in the country has revealed a low number of cases.

- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated to parliament the country's lockdown could be eased starting Monday, 11 May.  

ACROSS EUROPE

Toni Waterman in Belgium

Brussels 

"It is now quite clear that the EU has entered the deepest economic recession in its history," said the European economy commissioner, Paolo Gentiloni, as he issued Brussels' first economic forecast since the coronavirus pandemic swept across the continent.

Brussels now expects the eurozone economy to shrink by a record 7.7 percent this year – a much deeper contraction than that at the height of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. A rebound is expected in 2021, but it will fall well short of a full recovery.

Greece, Italy and Spain are expected to register the steepest falls in growth, all plunging more than 9 percent and their recoveries will take much longer. This, Gentiloni said, puts European stability at risk.

Belgium

Belgium has laid out the next step in its lockdown exit strategy. From Sunday 10 May 10, people living in the same house will be allowed to have up to four visitors, but they must always be the same four people. Social distance should be maintained and they are encouraged to hang out on a terrace or in a garden if possible. 

From 11 May, all shops will be allowed to reopen, but with a limited number of customers. Face masks will not be mandatory, but strongly recommended. 

Bars, restaurants and cafes will remain closed and the government has still not said when they will be allowed to reopen. 

Andrew Wilson in the UK

The UK is now the European nation worst hit by COVID-19, after its death toll overtook Italy's on Tuesday.

Neil Ferguson, the scientist whose coronavirus research prompted the lockdown, has resigned as a government advisor after making "an error of judgment" by breaking social-distancing rules to meet his married lover.

The government may still consider controversial restrictions for over-70s and vulnerable groups to allow more movement for the rest of the country after lockdown.

Effective public messaging is seen as crucial and scientific advisors are said to be considering a traffic-light system to grade activities from high-risk (avoid) to low (no restriction).

Another study, by Tony Blair's institute, has urged for step-by-step routes out of lockdown similar to those in Australia and New Zealand to allow people to plan ahead logistically and, just as importantly, psychologically.

Restrictions on people being allowed to exercise only once a day may be lifted as outdoor activities are increasingly deemed low risk.

Ira Spitzer in Berlin

Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, is holding a telephone conference on Wednesday with the leaders of the country's 16 states to agree on further loosening the country's coronavirus restrictions. 

According to a draft agreement seen by media outlets, the plan is to reopen all shops and schools this month. The federal government plans to largely leave decisions on issues such as reopening restaurants and fitness centers to the states.

However, the agreement specifies that measures should be quickly reimposed in certain regions if the infection rate in the area is more than 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the previous seven days.

Ross Cullen in Paris

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is set to unveil a rescue plan to support the country's famed culture sector. Theaters, cinemas, cabarets and museums are going to remain closed until further notice, even after the country begins easing its lockdown on 11 May. 

France is the most-visited country in the world, with its history of refined culture drawing in millions of tourists every year. The government pledged $23 million in emergency aid for culture in mid-March but the sector is looking for much more support. 

Last week, some of France's best known artists wrote an open letter to Macron condemning the culture minister for what they described as his failure to do more for the sector.

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