EU’s worst-performing economy revealed

Poland’s economy saw a year-on-year decline of 2.2% in the second quarter of this year, marking the biggest decrease among EU member states, according to data released by Eurostat on Thursday. 

The report showed that the overall EU Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of the bloc’s economic activity, saw a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.2%, while GDP in the euro area edged higher by 0.1%. Year-over-year, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.5% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU. 

The figures fell below estimates as analysts had expected the quarterly EU results to increase by 0.3% and up 0.6% compared to the previous year. 

According to Eurostat, Lithuania recorded the biggest increase in GDP versus the previous quarter – up 2.9%, followed by Slovenia and Greece, whose economies grew by 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively. 

Apart from Poland, the biggest decreases were observed in Sweden, which was down 0.8%, and Austria, which saw its GDP fall by 0.7%. Italy also recorded a drop of 0.4%. 

The analysts at Eurostat noted that the behavior of the economies of Germany, Portugal, Norway and Switzerland had remained stable compared to the previous quarter. However, the four countries registered no growth.

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