Euro Area Growth Rebounds to 0.4 Percent After a Flat First Quarter
Euro-area output rebounded in the second quarter of 2026, growing 0.4 percent from the previous quarter after being unchanged in the first. Across the wider European Union, GDP increased 0.5 percent after growth of 0.1 percent.
Compared with the same quarter of 2025, euro-area GDP was 1.0 percent higher and EU GDP 1.2 percent higher. The corresponding first-quarter rates were 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent.
Eurostat described the figures as preliminary and subject to revision. The estimates draw on submissions from 19 Member States covering 96 percent of euro-area GDP and 94 percent of EU GDP, with individual growth rates published for 15 countries.
The country table
| Economy | Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | Q2 year on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euro area | +0.3 | +0.2 | 0.0 | +0.4 | +1.0 |
| European Union | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +1.2 |
| Ireland | +1.3 | −3.6 | −7.0 | +3.9 | −5.6 |
| Lithuania | +0.3 | +1.9 | −0.1 | +1.7 | +3.8 |
| Sweden | +0.5 | +0.9 | 0.0 | +1.4 | +2.8 |
| Finland | −0.1 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +2.5 |
| Portugal | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +2.5 |
| Spain | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +2.7 |
| Czechia | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +2.0 |
| Estonia | +0.3 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +2.1 |
| Hungary | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +1.6 |
| Netherlands | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +1.3 |
| Germany | 0.0 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.9 |
| France | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.7 |
| Italy | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +1.0 |
| Belgium | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | 0.0 | +0.5 |
| Austria | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 | 0.0 | +0.8 |
Quarterly changes on seasonally and calendar adjusted volumes. Netherlands, Finland and Sweden year-on-year rates are calendar adjusted. Source: Eurostat.
Ireland added volatility without inventing the rebound
Ireland recorded the strongest quarterly increase at 3.9 percent, after contractions of 7.0 percent in the first quarter and 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Its GDP was still 5.6 percent below its year-earlier level.
Eurostat classifies the Irish estimate as a frontier series and cautions that it may rest on developing methods or incomplete sources. Irish GDP is also strongly affected by the activities of multinational companies.
An exact Irish contribution to the euro-area headline cannot be derived by multiplying its national growth rate by a nominal GDP weight, because Eurostat aggregates chain-linked volume measures and the euro-area rate is not a simple weighted average of the published national percentages. What the distribution does show is a genuine regional improvement: the median quarterly rate across the 15 countries was 0.4 percent, and ten of them grew by at least 0.4 percent.
Spain kept outperforming the other large economies
Spain expanded 0.7 percent, extending a run of four consecutive quarters of growth of at least 0.6 percent, and was 2.7 percent higher than a year earlier.
Germany, France and Italy each grew 0.2 percent, so Spain expanded three and a half times as fast as any of the other three largest euro-area economies during the quarter.
Belgium and Austria recorded no quarterly growth, the weakest results among the reporting countries. Both had expanded in each of the three preceding quarters.
Annual growth strengthened almost everywhere
The euro-area annual rate rose from 0.5 percent to 1.0 percent, reflecting both the stronger quarter and a favourable base.
Fourteen of the 15 countries reported positive annual growth, Ireland being the sole exception. Lithuania led at 3.8 percent, followed by Sweden at 2.8 percent and Spain at 2.7 percent, with Finland and Portugal both at 2.5 percent. Germany at 0.9 percent, France at 0.7 percent and Belgium at 0.5 percent were the weakest positive readings.
Why it matters
Growth of 0.4 percent after a flat first quarter is a meaningful improvement, and slightly faster than the quarterly rates recorded across the euro area during the second half of 2025.
The national releases show the composition is still uneven. France’s growth came principally from net trade and was offset by an aerospace-related inventory drawdown, while Germany reported stronger exports alongside declining capital formation. Spain remained the clearest large-economy outperformer.
For monetary policy the question is whether the rebound converts into sustained household consumption and business investment, or stays dependent on exports, inventories and country-specific factors. For Gulf economies, the euro area remains an important market for energy, petrochemicals and industrial products and a major source of machinery, vehicles and capital equipment, and annual growth of 1.0 percent points to improving but still moderate European demand.
What to watch
Eurostat publishes its t+45 flash estimate on 14 August, adding employment data and further national detail, with broader estimates on 7 September and 20 October. Earlier euro-area and EU quarterly figures were not revised in the 30 July release, so the revision risk lies ahead. Germany publishes its detailed second-quarter breakdown on 25 August.
Sources
Eurostat, euro indicators 2-30072026-AP, 30 July 2026. INSEE, Informations Rapides No. 184, 30 July 2026. Destatis, press release No. 269, 30 July 2026.
