17/05/2022 (Agence Europe) – Between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 0.3% in the euro area (compared with 0.3% in the previous quarter) and by 0.4% in the European Union (compared with 0.5% in the previous quarter), according to the estimate published by the EU’s statistical office (Eurostat) on Tuesday 17 May. Among the twenty Member States for which data are available, growth was strongest in Romania (5.2%), Portugal (2.6%) and Austria (2.5%). It was negative in three countries - Sweden (-0.4%), Italy (-0.2%) and Denmark (-0.1%) - and zero in France and the Netherlands. In Germany, growth amounted to 0.2% and in Spain to 0.3%. In addition, the number of employed persons increased by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the previous quarter. (MB)