In the first three months of the year, Europe's economy formally entered a double-dip contraction due to an increase in COVID-19 cases and a late vaccine deployment.

According to the most recent Eurostat estimates, GDP in the Eurozone fell by 0.6 % in the first quarter and by 0.4 % in the EU27 as a whole. Following a revival in growth last fall, the European economy contracted for the second quarter in a row, falling into a double-dip recession.

However, only Italy's economy has replicated the trend of the national economies that have published data so far.

Other countries registered increases in one or both of the previous two quarters.

The French economy grew by 0.4 % during the first three months of this year, following a downturn at the end of 2020, though the national statistical agency characterized the recovery as "restricted."

In Germany, the situation was the opposite, with some rise in the fourth quarter of last year and a sharp fall — of 1.7% — being shown by recent projections.

The fall in production was less than the 1% recession predicted by analysts, but it was still much less of the recovery seen in the United States and China, two other global economic pillars.

The US economy rose 1.6 %, in the first quarter according to data released on Thursday, fuelled by universal coronavirus vaccines and huge federal stimulus expenditure.

Economists anticipate an acceleration in Europe in the coming weeks when the continent's vaccination deployment accelerates and coronavirus lockdowns are lifted.