Luxembourg, Rabi'II 24, 1436, February 13, 2015, SPA -- The eurozone economy surprised to the upside in the last three months of 2014, posting quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.3 percent, the European Union's statistical office, Eurostat, said Friday. Economists had predicted an uptick of 0.2 percent - the same growth rate registered in the third quarter. Powerhouse Germany saw its gross domestic product (GDP) expand by an impressive 0.7 percent - the same performance registered by Spain. France posted a meagre 0.1-per-cent increase, while Italy registered zero growth, dpa reported. In crisis-stricken Greece, the economy shrank by 0.2 percent, the first negative result in three consecutive quarters. On an annual basis, fourth quarter GDP growth in the eurozone was up by 0.9 percent, up from 0.8 percent in the third quarter. In the 28-member EU, the economy expanded by 0.4 percent on a quarterly basis and by 1.3 percent year-on-year. Since the global financial crisis of 2008, Europe has lagged behind other major economies. Friday's data from Eurostat also showed that GDP in the United States grew by 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter and by 2.5 percent year-on-year in the final three months of 2014. -- SPA 14:00 LOCAL TIME 11:00 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w