BRUSSELS, June 8 (UPI) -- Eurostat confirmed Wednesday that the European Union's economy grew 0.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2011.
The EU's statistical office said the 0.8 percent growth rate held consistent in both the 27-member EU and in the 17-member eurozone, the region that shares the euro as currency.
In the second of three estimates of economic growth, Eurostat held to its earlier figures, reporting growth at 2.5 percent from the first quarter a year earlier for both the larger European Union and the eurozone.
From the first quarter of 2010 to the first of 2011, the economy in Greece shrank 4.8 percent, the poorest performance among the 27 nations.
The economy also shrank in Portugal, contracting by 0.7 percent of the past 12 months, Eurostat said.
The fastest growth was reported by Estonia, where the economy grew 8 percent from the first quarter a year earlier using non-seasonally adjusted figures.
In Lithuania, the economy grew 6.8 percent. In Sweden, the economy grew 6.5 percent year to year, Eurostat said.
