The average growth rate in Eurozone countries stood at 1.7% in the first quarter of 2017, according to Eurostat’s initial estimates, while it was calculated at 2% for the EU28 area. This is in contract to the Greek economy, which was the only country that registered a drop in growth for the sam3e period. According to Greece’s official statistical services (ELSTAT), which released its projections on Monday, the Greek GDP contracted by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2017, compared to 2016, while it also fell by 0.1% compared to the end of 2016. Eastern European countries recorded the highest growth rates with Romania leading with 5.7%, followed by Poland (3.9%) and the Czech Republic (2.9%). According to data by ELSTAT and the Greek Finance Ministry, recession is deepening to the point where it is now at the worst stage in a decade. The first quarter of 2016 was the worse since after 2008. The State General Accounting Office revealed that in April a 1-billion-euro deficit in public revenue investment had appeared, while the 1.7-billion-euro primary surplus was achieved in the quarter after the state had frozen its spending.