point fall in GDP was the worst result since the end of 1998 and gross domestic product slipped too in the Netherlands and Finland, while halting in Belgium. Germany grew a surprise 1 percent, but domestic demand stayed weak, while Spain is thought to have continued growing strongly due to solid consumer spending and France, the euro zone's second-biggest economy, remains the big unknown for now. Spanish Finance Minister Pedro Solbes said the German GDP surge was "good news" and his Dutch colleague, Gerrit Zalm, said he expected things to get better in the euro zone. Bundesbank Chief Economist Hermann Remsperger was less sure. "After the strong expansion in production in the first quarter, growth will probably have lost some of its momentum in the following months," he told Reuters in an interview. Despite the gravity of the situation, it was unclear what -- if anything -- the ministers and central bankers could do at talks that began on Friday among the euro zone ministers and broaden out to envoys from all 25 EU countries on Saturday. --More 2044 Local Time 1744 GMT
