LUXEMBOURG – Eurostat statistics agency says growth in eurozone sharply slowed down in the second quarter in what appears to be a result of concerns over Britain’s leaving the EU.

The agency said in a report on Friday that growth in eurozone came in at 0.3 percent, down from 0.6 percent in the three months to January but unchanged from the initial estimate given last month.

It added that the slower EU growth was also a result of a poor performance in struggling France and Italy.

The eurozone expanded 1.6 percent in the three months to June compared with a year earlier.

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, did better than expected with a gain of 0.4 percent in the second quarter, down from 0.7 percent in the first, AFP added in its report on Eurostat figures.

The better performance of the German economy is seen by analysts as a result of the growth in the country’s exports. What further contributed to the country’s economic performance is believed to have been an increase in private and public consumption.

France, on the other hand, declined to zero growth from 0.7 percent in the first quarter. This has already raised concerns among analysts over the economic outlooks for the country.

Also, Italy slowed to zero growth in the second quarter after an increase of 0.3 percent in the first quarter.

Spain, which his still bouncing back strongly after years in recession, grew 0.7 percent, just down from the 0.8 percent expansion of the first quarter.

Non-euro Britain meanwhile gained 0.6 percent after 0.4 percent.