The Euro Area’s GDP grew by 0.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, easing from 1.2% in the previous quarter and marking the weakest expansion since the second quarter of 2024, in line with the earlier estimate. The loss of momentum reflected the energy shock stemming from the Middle East after the outbreak of war in the region, which drove sharp increases in the prices of key energy commodities from early March.
Among countries with available data, growth slowed in Germany (0.3% vs 0.4% in the previous quarter), France (1.1% vs 1.3%), Italy (0.7% vs 0.9%), the Netherlands (1.2% vs 1.8%), Belgium (0.8% vs 0.9%), Cyprus (3.0% vs 4.3%), Lithuania (2.5% vs 3.3%) and Austria (0.6% vs 0.7%), while Ireland’s GDP contracted (-6.3% vs +3.0%).
By contrast, growth picked up in Spain (2.7% vs 2.6%), Estonia (1.3% vs 0.8%), Portugal (2.3% vs 1.9%), Slovakia (0.9% vs 0.8%) and Finland (1.3% vs 0.1%), and remained unchanged in Bulgaria at 2.9%.
