Official figures show that the 16 countries that used the euro at the end of 2010 grew by a mild 0.3 percent in the final three months of the year, the same as the previous quarter.

The increase reported Tuesday by Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, was in line with forecasts following figures showing that Germany and France, Europe's two biggest economies, grew less than anticipated during the period.

Analysts reckon that heavy snow during December was one of the reasons behind the tepid pace of growth. But Greece and Portugal posted negative growth as austerity measures bite.

Economic activity is expected to accelerate in the first quarter of 2011 according to surveys.

Estonia became the 17th euro country in January.