BRUSSELS (AFP) - The economy of the 15 nations sharing the euro contracted in the second quarter for the first time since the bloc was formed in 1999, according to a second official EU estimate on Wednesday.

The eurozone economy shrank 0.2 percent in the second quarter after expanding 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year, the European Union's Eurostat data agency said, confirming a first estimate.

On a 12-month basis, the economy also slowed sharply, growing 1.4 percent in the second quarter after expanding 2.1 percent in the first.

With a steady flow of downbeat economic data in recent weeks, there are increasing concerns that the eurozone may have fallen into recession, which is technically defined as two successive quarters of contraction.

The situation was only marginally better in the 27-nation EU in the second quarter, when the bloc's economy contracted 0.1 percent compared with the first three months of the year. Compared with a year earlier, the economy grew 1.4 percent.

The weakness in Europe was driven by slumps in its biggest economies, with Germany, France and Italy all contracting.

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