The unprecedented expansion of the European economy between 1997 and 2006 (GDP increased by more than 57% in the EU27) was halted between 2007 and 2009 due to the global financial and economic crisis which also affected Europe. In 2010, the GDP of the EU27 partly recovered from the effects of this crisis, increasing by approximately 4.2% between 2009 and 2010. This development continued, albeit at a slower pace, with 3.0% in 2011;
Significant differences in GDP growth exist among almost all Member States of the EU. In 2011, economic growth resumed in 25 of 27 EU countries whereas the economies of only two Member States – Portugal and Greece – contracted. Greece, in particular, was the only Member State in which the recession deepened between 2009 and 2011;
The GDP for the EU28 (expressed in Purchasing Power Standard per inhabitant in constant prices) shows the following development, illustrated in below. Since 2011, the total GDP in PPS for EU28 Member States have again reached the pre-crisis level. The recovery starting in 2009 was ongoing until 2013, but with lower growth rates as in the period 2002-2007.
Figure 3.6 reflects the 2013 GDP Index (in PPS) of selected countries compared to the EU28 average. As can be seen from this figure, 15 of the 39 selected countries reach a GDP per capita (in PPS) above the EU28 average, whereas 24 countries don’t reach the EU28 average. Amongst the latter are new Member States (which joined the EU after 2004) but also Italy, Spain and Greece.