The eurozone is currently experiencing a mild recession, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Tuesday.
"The euro area is currently in a mild recession," Rehn said.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, said in its report that "GDP decreased by 0.3 percent in both the euro area (EA17) and the EU27 during the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with the previous quarter." The European Commission expects a recession of the same magnitude for 2012.
According to statistics for October-December 2011, the economies of Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Greece are in recession now.
"Over the whole year 2011, GDP increased by 1.4 percent in the euro area and by 1.5 percent in the EU27, compared with +1.9 percent and +2.0 percent respectively in 2010," Eurostat also reported.
