England's FTSE 100 is down 0.4%.
France's CAC 40 is down 0.3%.
Germany's DAX is down 0.5%.
Spain's IBEX is down 0.7%.
Italy's FTSE MIB is up 0.2%.
Later this morning, the Bank of England and its governor Mark Carney will release its quarterly inflation report. Economists expect the event to include the information as to how the BoE plans to include forward guidance with its monetary policy announcements.
The sell-off in Europe follows a sharp sell-off in Asia.
Japan's Nikkei fell 4.0%.
Korea's Kospi fell 1.4%.
Australia's S&P/ASX fell 1.8%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.5%
China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.6%.
The Bank of Japan begins its two-day monetary policy meeting today.