The eurozone has officially slipped into recession after EU figures showed that the economy shrank by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to BBC.
This follows a 0.2% contraction in the 15-nation area in the previous quarter from April to June.
Two quarters of negative growth define a technical recession.
The news was widely anticipated and follows data showing that Germany and Italy, two of the biggest eurozone economies, are already in recession.
The BBC correspondent in Germany, Steve Rosenberg, said the figures were not a surprise.
"The Germans had their gloomy economic news [on Thursday] and as Germany is the dynamo of the European economy, when there are problems there, it drags the rest of the region down with it," he said.
On Thursday, figures showed the German economy, one of the world`s largest, had shrunk 0.5% in the third quarter, following a 0.4% drop in the second quarter.
Spain`s economy also shrank in the third quarter, the first such drop since 1993. Analysts are now convinced that a slump in household spending and a property crisis are likely to push the Spanish economy into recession as well next quarter.
