Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Eurozone Economies Grow Beyond Projections VOA News 13 August 2010 Shoppers are seen in front of Paris main department stores, France, 11 Aug 2010 Photo: AP Shoppers are seen in front of Paris main department stores, France, 11 Aug 2010 The European Union says the economies of the 16 nations using the euro currency grew at a better than expected pace in the second quarter. [1]Eurostat says the euro zone economies expanded by 1 percent over the first quarter. The jump represented a nearly two percent increase over the same period last year. The upswing outpaced that of the United States.  Analysts say the euro economy was boosted by 2.2 percent growth in the German economy for the second quarter. Germany's surge, its biggest in 23 years, was aided by sales in the construction industry and an increase in exports.  Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. References 1. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/ .