Brussels, 15/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - In the first quarter of 2014, seasonally-corrected GDP rose in the eurozone by 0.2% and in the EU by 0.3% compared with the last quarter of 2013, according to flash estimates from Eurostat published on Thursday 15 May.
Compared with Q113, seasonally-corrected GDP rose by 0.9% in the eurozone and 1.4% in the EU28 in Q114, compared with 0.5% and 1.0% respectively in the previous quarter.
Calling for caution in interpreting trends, a European Commission spokesman, Simon O'Connor, said there was a mixed picture when it came to the economic situation. He said that economic recovery would be gradual and people should not rest on their laurels or ease up on the ongoing structural reforms.
In Portugal (whose GDP fell by 0.7% on Q413) and the Netherlands (a fall of 1.4% on Q413), GDP growth was less than forecast due to “one-off factors”, said O'Connor. The GDP of the Czech Republic (0%), Hungary (1.1%), Poland (1.1%) and Slovakia (+0.6%) grew more than expected, as did the GDP of the United Kingdom (0.8%) and Germany (0.8%). Growth was below expectations in Italy (-0.1%) and France (0.0%), and that of Spain (+0.4%) was as expected. The economic recession in Cyprus (-0.7%) was not as large as had been forecast. (EL)