The dubious honour of being the first European Union country in recession has fallen to Denmark, writes David Ibison in Stockholm . The economy shrank 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year and 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year, meeting the criteria for being technically in recession.

But the economic reality is far less dramatic than the dreaded "R" word implies. Denmark's recession has as much to do with statistical aberrations as declining output.