The European Union and eurozone economies grew by 5.2 percent last year. But last quarter’s data suggest that Europe’s largest economy is on the brink of recession. Italy pleased.
Both the eurozone and the European Union accelerated their economic growth in the last quarter of last year. Gross domestic product increased by 4.6 and 4.8 percent, respectively, year on year. For the whole of last year, the economy of both units increased by 5.2 percent. This follows from Eurostat’s preliminary estimate. Italy (6.4 percent), Sweden (6.1), Portugal (5.8), Austria and France (both 5.4) showed the largest year-on-year growth.
On the contrary, the German economy grew the slowest, adding only 1.4 percent year on year. The performance of the Latvian economy increased at an average rate of 3.1 percent. However, the quarter-on-quarter comparison shows that the three eurozone economies are on the verge of a recession.
In addition to Austria and Latvia, gross domestic product in Germany also fell by 0.7 percent quarter on quarter. The coronavirus pandemic appears to have hit the German economy more than expected. Only when the data for the first quarter of this year confirm how well Germany is really doing….
