Romania’s economy registered an advance of 4.8% in the fourth quarter of last year (Q4), compared to the third quarter, this being the strongest increase in Gross Domestic Product recorded by a member country of the European Union in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter, shows data released by Eurostat on Tuesday.

In contrast, the euro area economy contracted by 0.7% and the EU economy by 0.5%, in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to the third quarter. The largest decreases were recorded in Ireland (minus 5.1%), Austria (minus 2.7%), Italy (minus 1.9%) and France (minus 1.4%). On the other hand, the highest increases were recorded in Romania (4.8%), Malta (3.8%), Croatia and Greece (both 2.7%).

Over the whole 2020, the euro area gross domestic product contracted by 6.6%, compared to a decline of 6.8% as initially announced.

Also, in the case of the European Union, the figures on GDP evolution were revised up to a decline of 6.2%, compared to one of 6.4% initially forecast, according to Agerpres.

Eurostat data show that, despite developments above expectations at the end of the year, thanks to the performance of German industry, Europe’s economic performance for 2020 as a whole is weaker than that of rivals. Last year, the US gross domestic product fell by 3.5%, in Russia it fell by 3.1%, while the Chinese economy registered an advance of 2.3%.