Eurozone dodges triple-dip recession but submerges in 'lost decade'

The data for the eurozone are awful," said Simon Tilford from the Centre for European Reform.

"It is a sign of just how bad things have become that Europe’s leaders will jump on any glimmer of hope to justify policies that they still cling to doggedly. But the fact is that output is still several percent short of where it was in 2008, and massively short of where it should be. Moreover, we have probably passed the cyclical peak already," he said.

"The electorates in Italy and Spain have been stoical so far, but this is predicated on the belief that things will get better. There is a false sense of complacency about what will happen if this depression goes on for year after year," he said.