The positive trend of GDP in the EU is continuing. For the second quarter running the percentage rate has registered a further increase of 0.9% both the in the Eurozone and in the EU-25: the growth in GDP is equivalent respectively to 3.3% and 3.5% over the third quarter of 2005. It’s significant that the countries that present the best results in terms of GDO all belong to the group of new members: Latvia (+2.5%), Slovakia (+2.2%), Malta (+2.1%) and Estonia (+2%). This increase is attributable in the first place to the sector of investments (+1,5%) and to a further boom of exports (+3.6%), factors reinforced by the contained increased both for the expenditures of families and for imports: the latter continue to present a significant disproportion between member states, fluctuating between +21.9% in Latvia and -3.6% in Malta. On an annualised basis, the growth of GDP in 2006 was 2.7% in the Eurozone and 2.9% for the EU as a whole (almost double that of the previous twelve months), compared with +3.3% in the USA and +2.2% in Japan.
