LISBON: The European Union economy grew at its fastest pace in a decade last year, with the 28 member states expanding by 2.5 per cent. It was the best performance since 2007, the year the global financial crisis began to unfold.
According to Eurostat, France recorded 0.6 per cent growth in the fourth quarter with Spain on 0.7 per cent, Italy on 0.3 per cent and the Netherlands on 0.8 per cent. Portugal grew by 2.7 per cent in 2017,