According to the second estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, during the first quarter of 2011 gross domestic product (GDP) remained stable both in the euro area and in the EU-27, compared to the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2011, quarter-on-quarter growth rates were -0.3 percent in both zones.
Compared with the same quarter of 2011, in the first quarter of 2012 seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.1 percent in the euro area and increased by 0.1 percent in the EU-27, after year-on-year increases of 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent respectively in the previous quarter.