The eurozone economy posted modest 0.4% growth in the first quarter of 2025, with the broader EU trailing slightly with 0.3%, as the world grapples with economic uncertainty, preliminary data from the EU’s statistics agency, Eurostat, shows.
Eurostat figures released on Wednesday showed a 1.2% rise in GDP in the euro area and a 1.4% rise in the 27 EU countries, both year on year and quarter on quarter.
The strongest performer in the first three months of 2025 was Ireland, which recorded a 3.2% growth, followed by Spain and Lithuania, which both recorded an increase of 0.6%.
But Europe’s economic powerhouses struggled.
Germany registered 0.2% growth compared to the previous quarter and 0.2% contraction year-on-year.
Leading economists at the Munich-based Ifo Institute expect the German economy to slow again over the summer, noting that purchases of goods before the US tariffs took effect in March may have given the economy a temporary boost.
France fared slightly better with 0.8% a year-on-year growth in this year’s first quarter, but only experienced 0.1% growth compared to last year’s final quarter.
Falling consumer demand is a key factor, with France’s National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) reporting that household consumption – which includes technical goods, energy and food – fell to its lowest level since the financial crisis in March, compared with the previous quarter.
Although Eurostat notes that these are preliminary flash estimates based on incomplete data, the figures are in line with the IMF’s revised forecast of 0.8% growth for the eurozone in 2025, as well as the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which signals economic stagnation in April.
(de)