Eurostat (Euroopan tilastot)

The EU27 Member States granted protection to 102 700 asylum seekers in 2012, compared with 84 300 in 2011. In 2012, the highest number of persons granted protection status was registered in Germany (22 200), followed by Sweden (15 300), the United Kingdom (14 600) and France (14 300). All together, these four Member States accounted for nearly two thirds of all those granted protection status in the EU27. The largest groups of beneficiaries of protection status in the EU27 were citizens of Syria (18 700 persons or 18% of the total number of persons granted protection status), Afghanistan (13 500 or 13%) and Somalia (8 100 or 8%).

The first estimate for the euro area (EA17) trade in goods balance with the rest of the world in April 2013 gave a 14.9 billion euro surplus, compared with +3.3 bn in April 2012. The March 2013 balance was +22.5 bn, compared with +6.9 bn in March 2012. In April 2013 compared with March 2013, seasonally adjusted exports fell by 0.8% while imports rose by 0.5%. These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA17) rose by 1.6% in the year up to the first quarter of 2013, compared with 1.3% for the fourth quarter of 2012. In the EU27, the annual rise was 1.9% up to the first quarter of 2013, compared with 1.3% in the previous quarter. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The number of persons employed decreased by 0.5% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.2% in the EU27 in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the fourth quarter of 2012, employment decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU27. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

Euro area annual inflation was 1.4% in May 2013, up from 1.2% in April. A year earlier the rate was 2.4%. Monthly inflation was 0.1% in May 2013.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the EU27 to the rest of the world reached 171 billion euro in 2012, while investment from the rest of the world into the EU27 was 159 bn in 2012. Investment from the euro area (EA17) to the rest of the world amounted to 238 bn while investment from the rest of the world into the euro area was 193 bn.

In April 2013 compared with March 2013, seasonally adjusted industrial production grew by 0.4% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.3% in the EU27, according to estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March production rose by 0.9% in both zones.

In the EU27, two thirds (66%) of all enterprises with ten or more employees provided vocational training to their staff in 2010, compared with 60% in 2005. The highest proportions of enterprises providing training were observed in Austria and Sweden (both 87%) the United Kingdom (80%), the Netherlands (79%), Belgium (78%) and France (76%), and the lowest in Poland (23%), Romania (24%), Bulgaria (31%), Latvia (40%) and Hungary (49%).

The EU27 external current account recorded a surplus of 21.8 billion euro (0.7% of GDP) in the first quarter of 2013, compared with a deficit of 7.7 bn (-0.2% of GDP) in the first quarter of 2012, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In 2012, 15.2 million foreign citizens worked in the EU27, accounting for 7% of total employment. Among these foreign citizens, 6.6 million were citizens of another EU Member State and 8.6 million were citizens of a country outside the EU. In the EU27, the employment rate for citizens of another EU Member State (67.7%) was slightly higher than for nationals (64.6%) and significantly higher than for citizens of a country outside the EU (53.7%).

In April 2013, compared with March 2013, the volume of retail trade fell by 0.5% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.7% in the EU27, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March retail trade decreased by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

GDP fell by 0.2% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.1% in the EU27 during the first quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter, according to second estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the fourth quarter of 2012, growth rates were -0.6% and -0.5% respectively.

In April 2013, compared with March 2013, the industrial producer price index fell by 0.6% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.7% in the EU27, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March prices decreased by 0.2% in both zones.

Following a sharp fall in 2009, EU27 international trade in goods with Russia has grown strongly since then to reach record levels in 2012. After falling from 105 billion euro in 2008 to 66 bn in 2009, EU27 exports to Russia have risen continuously to a peak of 123 bn in 2012. Imports followed the same pattern: a fall from 178 bn in 2008 to 118 bn in 2009, then continuous growth to a record level of 213 bn in 2012. As a result, the EU27 trade deficit with Russia rose from 52 bn in 2009 to 90 bn in 2012. The deficit in 2012 is primarily due to EU27 imports of energy from Russia (163 bn), partially offset by EU27 exports of manufactured goods (108 bn). In 2012, Russia was the EU27's third most important trading partner after the USA and China, accounting for 7% of EU27 exports and 12% of EU27 imports.

Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.4% in May 2013, up from 1.2% in April, according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The euro area (EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.2% in April 2013, up from 12.1% in March. The EU27 unemployment rate was 11.0%, unchanged compared with the previous month. In both zones, rates have risen markedly compared with April 2012, when they were 11.2% and 10.3% respectively. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Eurostat estimates that in 2012 carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion decreased by 2.1% in the EU27, compared with the previous year, after a fall of 4.1% in 2011. CO2 emissions are a major contributor to global warming and account for around 80% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions. They are influenced by factors such as climate conditions, economic growth, size of the population, transport and industrial activities, while various EU energy efficiency initiatives aim to reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases.

In the EU27, household electricity prices rose by 6.6% between the second half of 2011 and the second half of 2012, after an increase of 6.3% between the second half of 2010 and 2011.

Regional unemployment rates varied widely across the 270 NUTS 2 regions of the EU27 in 2012, with the lowest rates recorded in the regions of Salzburg and Tirol (both 2.5%) in Austria and Tübingen, Oberbayern and Trier (all 2.7%) in Germany, while the highest rates were registered in the regions of Ceuta (38.5%), Andalucía (34.6%), Extremadura and Canarias (both 33.0%) in Spain and Dytiki Makedonia (29.9%) in Greece.