Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said in an interview published on Saturday that the Italian economy is expected to grow by 1% this year, in line with the overall level of the Eurozone. The Meloni government predicted in April that GDP would grow by 0.6% in 2026, but the Italian budget watchdog UPB released a more optimistic forecast last month, which is expected to grow by 0.9%. Meloni said, “The Italian economy is performing steadily. The data for the first half of the year indicates that the growth rate may reach 1% in 2026. This level is the same as the Eurozone, and may even surpass the Eurozone.” Italy's GDP grew 0.3% month-on-month from January to March and 0.2% in the second quarter. By the end of June, the so-called “established growth rate” was 0.8%, which means that even if GDP remains unchanged for the remaining two quarters of 2026, the annual growth rate will be 0.8% higher than in 2025.

Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said in an interview published on Saturday that the Italian economy is expected to grow by 1% this year, in line with the overall level of the Eurozone. The Meloni government predicted in April that GDP would grow by 0.6% in 2026, but the Italian budget watchdog UPB released a more optimistic forecast last month, which is expected to grow by 0.9%. Meloni said, “The Italian economy is performing steadily. The data for the first half of the year indicates that the growth rate may reach 1% in 2026. This level is the same as the Eurozone, and may even surpass the Eurozone.” Italy's GDP grew 0.3% month-on-month from January to March and 0.2% in the second quarter. By the end of June, the so-called “established growth rate” was 0.8%, which means that even if GDP remains unchanged for the remaining two quarters of 2026, the annual growth rate will be 0.8% higher than in 2025.