Finland and Germany recorded the highest growth of 0.7 percent. However, there was also good news for Portugal, which, despite recent social unrest and political turmoil over its bailout programme, saw its economy grow by 1.1 percent.
Meanwhile, France recorded a 0.5 percent growth rate, which will dampen concerns that the country’s economy will remain stagnant in 2013.
The statistics indicate that the European economy is recovering faster than expected and could post an overall growth rate for 2013. In May, the EU executive forecast that the eurozone economy would contract by a further 0.4 percent over the course of 2013, with the bloc returning to modest growth in the second half of the year.
That said, Ireland and Greece, both of which are receiving financial rescue programmes from the EU, were among a group of seven countries which did not provide data. In a statement, EU eurozone commissioner Olli Rehn described the news as “encouraging” and said that “the European economy is gradually gaining momentum.”
However, he cautioned against over-confidence.
“There are still substantial obstacles to overcome: the growth figures remain low and the tentative signs of growth are still fragile; the averages hide important differences between Member States,” he added.
Cyprus had the weakest figures, with its economy contracting by a further 1.4 percent on the previous quarter.
The Netherlands and Spain also remained in recession.
