FROM May 1 2004 the European Union expanded to include an
additional 10 members, mainly former eastern bloc countries. GDP growth in this
expanded 25-member EU area was 1.6 per cent through the year to the first
quarter of 2004, slightly higher than the 1.5 per cent growth recorded across
the 15 mainly western European countries that comprised the EU prior to its
expansion.
The real GDP of the 12 Euro zone economies picked up pace in
the first quarter of 2004, rising by 1.3 per cent on its level a year
previously. This was the strongest annual growth since the third quarter of
2001, and a marked increase on the 0.6 per cent growth recorded in the year to
the fourth quarter of 2003.
Source: Eurostat