According to the data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, in the first quarter this year gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.1 percent in the euro area and was up by 0.1 percent in the EU member states compared to the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter last year, GDP had decreased by 0.1 percent in the euro area and by 0.2 percent in the EU.
The decreases in GDP for two consecutive quarters show that the euro area has entered a recession, driven by falling government and household expenditure, by 0.3 percent and 1.6 percent respectively, amid the negative effects of the energy crisis, inflation, and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
In the given quarter, Poland recorded the highest GDP increase of 3.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, followed by Luxembourg with two percent, and Portugal with 1.6 percent. The highest quarter-on-quarter decreases were observed in Ireland with 4.6 percent, Lithuania with 2.1 percent and the Netherlands with 0.7 percent.