Meloni sees Italy 2026 growth at 1pc, matching euro zone

MILAN: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expects Italy’s economy to grow by 1percent this year, in line with the euro zone, she said in an interview with newspaper Il Foglio published on Saturday.

Meloni’s government in April forecast 2026 gross domestic product growth of 0.6percent, but budget watchdog UPB last month issued a more upbeat projection of 0.9percent.

“The Italian economy is holding up well, and data from the first six months of the year could point to 2026 growth of 1percent, in line with, if not above, that of the euro zone,” Meloni told Il Foglio.

Italian GDP rose by 0.3percent quarter-on-quarter in January to March and by 0.2percent in the second quarter.

So-called “acquired growth” stood at 0.8percent at the end of June, meaning that even if GDP is flat in each of the remaining two quarters of 2026, full-year growth will be up 0.8percent from 2025. “It is also true that the Italian economy has struggled for many years to achieve sustained and steady growth,” Meloni added, citing energy costs and low productivity among the reasons.

“We are working to address these issues, but the results of those efforts will only become visible over the medium term,” she said. The Italian economy grew 0.5percent in 2025.

It hasn’t exceeded 1percent in the last three years despite the steady influx of tens of billions of euros of COVID-19 recovery funds from the European Union.