Eurozone: debt rises in the second quarter of 2026. Italy is close to overtaking Greece

Brussels – Public debt: Italy edging ever closer to Greece. At the end of the second quarter of 2026, the Italian Republic’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 139.9 per cent, compared with 140.8 per cent for the Hellenic Republic. The trend towards the government in Rome ranking first in the EU for debt levels in 2027 therefore continues. This upward trend is not unique to Italy, as Eurostat notes in the data released today (21 October): At the end of the April–June 2026 quarter, the debt-to-GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 88.8 per cent, up from the 88.4 per cent recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Compared with the first quarter of 2026, fifteen Member States recorded a deterioration in the state of their public finances, and consequently an increase in their debt levels. These included Italy. The most significant increases, according to the European Statistical Office, were observed in Poland (+3.0 percentage points), Portugal (+2.1 pp), Latvia (+1.9 pp), Lithuania (+1.6 pp), France (+1.4 pp), Italy and Malta (both +1.3 pp), and Estonia (+1.1 pp). 

Regarding the main components of liabilities, at the end of the second quarter of 2026, general government debt in the eurozone consisted of 84.5 per cent debt securities, 13.1 per cent loans and 2.4 per cent cash and deposits. 

Across all 27 Member States, the debt-to-GDP ratio rose by almost half a percentage point, from 82.5 per cent in the January–March period to 82.9 per cent in the April–June period. In the EU, the composition of debt was 83.9 per cent debt securities, 13.8 per cent loans, and 2.4 per cent cash and deposits.

Stable deficit

There is, however, good news on the deficit front. Eurostat has also published the annual figures for this indicator, and the figures show that in the euro area, the ratio of the public deficit to GDP remained unchanged at 3 per cent in 2024 and 2025. In the EU, it also remained unchanged at 3.1 per cent, the same level as in 2024.

Among EU Member States, the highest deficits were recorded in Romania (-7.8 per cent), Poland (-7.2 per cent), Belgium (-5.2 per cent), and France (-5.1 per cent). There is good news for Italy, which stands out for bucking the trend with a reduction in its deficit between 2024 and 2025, falling from 3.4 per cent to 3.1 per cent.