Brussels, 20/08/2013 (Agence Europe) - Figures released in August by the European Union's statistics office (Eurostat) show slight economic recovery within the European Union, although the situation varies widely from one country to another.
In the second quarter of 2013, GDP grew by 0.3% in both the eurozone and the EU27 compared with the first quarter, but compared with the second quarter 2012, seasonally adjusted GDP was 0.7% lower in the eurozone and 0.2% lower in the European Union as a whole.
In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production rose by 0.7% in the eurozone and by 0.8% in the EU27 in June 2013, compared with the previous month. In May 2013, production rose by 0.5% and 0.3% respectively. The biggest increases were recorded in Slovenia (10.5%), Poland (5.3%) and Germany (1.6%) and the biggest falls in Romania (-2.4%), Portugal (-2.2%) and Sweden (-0.9%). Compared with June 2012, production decreased by 3.0% in the eurozone and by 1.5% in the EU27 in June 2013.
Trade with the rest of the world was in the black. The first estimate for the eurozone trade in goods balance with the rest of the world for June 2013 gave a €17.3 billion surplus, compared with a €12.8 billion surplus in June 2012. The May 2013 balance was +€14.5 billion, compared with +€6.2 billion in May 2012. In June 2013 compared with May 2013, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 3.0% and imports by 2.5%. Unsurprisingly, Germany had the best results (a trade surplus of €81 billion from January to May 2013), followed by the Netherlands (€24.3 billion), Ireland (€15.3 billion) and Italy (€8.7 billion). In the EU27, the trade surplus for goods was €9.9 billion in June 2013, compared with €15.7 billion in May.
Energy is the sector where the EU27 imports far more than its exports (a deficit of €157.5 billion from January to May 2013), but the EU27 exports far more manufactured goods than it imports (trade surplus of €163 billion over the same period). The EU has a trade surplus with Switzerland (€37.7 billion from January to May 2013), the United States (€37.4 billion) and Turkey (€12.2 billion), but has a trade deficit with China (€52.3 billion), Russia (€39.5 billion) and Norway (€16.8 billion).
In mid-August, Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn welcomed the promising figures confirming the European Commission's Spring Economic Forecasts that said that the economy would pick up slightly in the second half of 2013. He remained cautious, however, commenting: “This slightly more positive data is welcome - but there is no room for any complacency. Self-congratulatory statements suggesting 'the crisis is over' are not for today. There are still substantial obstacles to overcome: the growth figures remain low and the tentative signs of growth are still fragile; the averages hide important differences between member states, a number of member states still have unacceptably high unemployment rates; the implementation of essential but difficult reforms across the EU is still in its early stages … So there is still a very long way to go.” (MB/transl.fl)