Europe’s economy posts sharpest contraction since 1995 in 2nd quarter of this year
Significantly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union’s gross domestic product (GDP) narrowed by 11.4% in the second quarter of this year, according to Eurostat on Tuesday.
The euro area GDP also shrank 11.8% in April-June, compared with the previous quarter, Eurostat said.
“These were by far the sharpest declines observed since the time series started in 1995,” the statistical office said.
The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents the member states that use the single currency the euro while the EU27 defines all member countries of the bloc.
In the first quarter of last year, GDP in the 27-member bloc fell by 3.3% quarter-on-quarter and witnessed a 3.7% decrease in euro area.
On an annual basis, GDP decreased by 14.7% in the euro area and by 13.9% in the EU in the second quarter of 2020, after -3.2% and -2.7% respectively in the previous quarter.
Eurostat said that Spain’s economy showed the worst performance with quarterly contraction of 18.5% in April-June, while the lowest decline of GDP was observed in Finland.
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