In the first quarter of 2012 the GDP of the European Union fell 0.2%, which added to a drop of 0.3% on the last quarter of 2011 puts the EU in technical recession. The poor performance of the economies of Spain and the UK, and the stagnation in France explain this result.
Spain has fallen in the last two quarters at the same rate of 0.3%. The United Kingdom backed 0.3% in the final quarter of 2011 and 0.2% in the first quarter. Both countries recorded a recession since 2009, the year of the international financial crisis.
Germany, the largest EU economy whose production accounts for 20% of the block, has managed to advance 0.1% in the first quarter, becoming the primary containment barrier against a more severe recession, according to alert@economica.