According to the second estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, during the fourth quarter of 2011 gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.3 percent both in the euro area and in the EU-27, compared to the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2011, quarter-on-quarter growth rates were 0.1 percent in the euro area and 0.3 percent in the EU-27.
Compared with the same quarter of 2010, in the fourth quarter of 2011 seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.7 percent in the euro area and by 0.9 percent in the EU-27, after year-on-year increases of 1.3 percent and 1.4 percent respectively in the previous quarter.