On Thursday 8 June, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the flash estimates for the first quarter of 2023 , lowering the GDP growth rate from 0.1% to -0.1%.

This indicates that the euro area has experienced a technical recession, with GDP contracting for the past two quarters.

The revised data also showed a downward revision in the GDP growth rate for the European Union as well, from 0.2% to 0.1% for Q1 2023 and from -0.1% to -0.2% for Q4 2022.

In terms of specific countries, Poland recorded the highest increase in GDP with 3.8% compared to the previous quarter, followed by Luxembourg with 2.0% and Portugal with 1.6%. The largest decreases were observed in Ireland (-4.6%), Lithuania (-2.1%) and the Netherlands (-0.7%).

Economic sectors

In Q1 2023, household final consumption expenditure declined by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU, continuing the trend from the previous quarter that recorded-1.0% in the euro area and -0.9% in the EU.

Euro area exports decreased by 0.1% but increased by 0.1% in the EU, while imports declined by 1.3% in both the euro area and the EU, compared to a decrease of 2.5% and 2.3% in the previous quarter.