Europe emerged from a double-dip recession in the second quarter with stronger than expected growth of 2% over the quarter before, according to official figures released Friday, as hard-hit southern European economies Spain, Italy and Portugal delivered surprisingly strong results. But the economy in the 19 countries that use the euro currency still lagged pre-pandemic levels and trailed the faster recoveries in the US and China, with the delta variant continuing to cast a shadow of uncertainty over the upturn.