The coronavirus crisis has brought the EU's failings into sharp relief | Larry Elliott

Last week's meeting of leaders was supposed to help. Instead it turned out to be a complete car crash

Europe is being ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. There have been more than 10,000 deaths in Italy. In the grimmest of league tables, Spain comes second. Normal life has been suspended across the continent and the hit to the economy is immense. France's output is running at two-thirds of what it was last year. Germany has abandoned fiscal rectitude and - along with the rest - adopted a "whatever it takes" approach.

Border controls have been erected to stop the flow of people even though this contravenes one of the founding principles of the single market. Rules on state aid to struggling companies have been relaxed. The European Central Bank has embarked on a gigantic asset purchase scheme in an attempt to flood the eurozone economy with cheap money.