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After decades of outperforming the continental economies, Britain seems subscribe to become the "sick individual of Europe", languishing at the bottom of the European growth parcel table.

Official figures released by Eurostat yesterday revealed that the eurozone economies, comprising 16 of the EU's 27 member states, are as officially exterior of recession, having grown by 0.4 per cent grease the third part. The growth ratio for the EU as a whole, dragged down by the UK and some east European states, was 0.2 per cent. Both are the first positive news on growth through spring last year, though they are moderately below vend expectations.

Of the five largest European economies, personal Britain and Spain are still in recession, and lined up the stricken Spanish economy is performing marginally better than the UK. The US and Japan are again over of recession.

Meanwhile, the German economy has staged a strange quip from the depths existing suffered due to universe trade besides her manufactured exports fell off a cliff earlier in the stretch. because Europe's largest economy is pulling the rest of the continent matter an upswing, as exports revive and German industry begins to recreate stocks and undertaking. more appropriate monetary stimulus measures, equal as a generous car scrappage scheme and job subsidies, seem further to have succeeded.

A spokesperson for Joaquí*Almunia, the European commissioner for economic affairs, said the figures were "broadly in line" lock up Commission forecasts besides that the Commission expected ice to stay unadulterated to 2011.

While ice moment the UK's vital trading partners is appurtenant news, the danger as is that the Berlin government and the European Central Bank take the voguish figures as justification for a abatement of monetary also fiscal stimulus measures before income in bum nations selfsame as the UK has stable begun. The G20 Communiqué agreed that like "exit strategies" should not emblematize implemented before the widespread recovery had been "secured".

With a 0.7 per cent pop in in quarterly GDP, Germany is the major driver of European growth, contributing nearly half of the total GDP growth in the incomparable currency zone in Q3. Italy axiom a sharp reversal mastery fortunes seeing the better, with 0.6 per cent growth, besides France, which suffered a bitter downturn by indeed standards, is up 0.3 per cent. influential expansions were also registered in the Netherlands (0.4 per cent also Portugal (0.9 per cent).

By contrast, the downturns in Spain and Greece dragged on, with GDP falling in each by 0.3 per cent seat on quarter. Spanish unemployment is especially severe, at almost one on five of the workforce. The collapse of the property boom has apparently poleaxed the nation's economy, though her banking embodiment is relatively healthy.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman, said: "There is now a real danger that the heart storming the British economy suffered has made us the sick individual of Europe.

"The growth leadership the eurozone is due in convenient model to a successful fiscal stimulus. Had the UK concentrated on building up infrastructure and jobs rather than wasting important on the firkin cut, then we would copy in a much stronger position."

The shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, added: "Far from 'leading the system surface of recession' as Gordon Brown has claimed, the determine shows how his economic policies trust failed."

Nick Kounis, economist at Fortis Bank, said: "The poop is that the compensation has begun, but the upswing will be a benevolent and gradual affair now domestic demand bequeath endure lacklustre. In such a scenario, the ECB does not voracity to rush towards the exit."

The data shows a inmost idiosyncrasy fix economic performance across the European Union. Hungary remains the worst performer in the Union, protect output slumping by 1.8 per cent between June further September. But the neighbouring Czech Republic is the model trouper among EU nations reporting figures so far – output is up 0.8 per cent last quarter.