Economic growth fell by 0.2 percent in the eurozone and the 27-member European Union in the second quarter compared with the first three-month period of the year, Eurostat estimated Tuesday, August 14.

"GDP fell by 0.2 percent in both the euro area and the EU27 during the second quarter of 2012, compared with the previous quarter," according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the EU statistical office.

In the first quarter, gross domestic product growth stood at zero in both the EU and the group of 17 EU members that use the euro currency.

Compared with the same quarter of 2011, seasonally adjusted GDP fell by 0.4 percent in the euro zone and by 0.2 percent in the EU in the second quarter.

The figures reflect the crippling debt crisis that has engulfed the eurozone, forcing EU-IMF bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal and aid for the Spanish banking sector, while battering market confidence.

The new estimates show how badly Europe now lags behind its main economic and trade partners, with Eurostat saying GDP rose by 2.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the United States and 3.6 percent in Japan, according to AFP.