In their first look at data for the 1st quarter, Eurostat’s preliminary flash estimate shows quarter-on-quarter growth of +0.1% for both the European Union (EU) and the Euro-zone; this is half the pace that was seen in the final period of 2025. Compared with a year earlier (Q1-2025), GDP has grown by +1.0% in the EU and +0.8% in the Euro-zone which is also a marked deceleration.
At this stage, data is only available for 15 EU Member States. The fastest quarter-on-quarter growth was recorded in Finland (+0.9%), Hungary (+0.8%) and Spain (+0.6%). Only 3 countries – Ireland (-2.0%), Lithuania (-0.4%) and Sweden (-0.2%) – registered contractions but there was a flat trend for France and Portugal. Of those in negative territory in the first period of 2026, only Ireland is in a recession using the conventional definition but Irish GDP data is mainly driven by changes in charging structures by large multi-national companies which are headquartered there and is not a true reflection of the underlying economy.
Year-on-year growth (Q1-2026 compared to Q1-2025) was positive in 14 countries, with Spain (+2.7%), Lithuania (+2.5%), Portugal (+2.3%) and Czechia (+2.1%) leading the way; only Ireland (-6.3%) recorded a decline – see the note above.
All the data is seasonally adjusted.
You can access Eurostat’s preliminary flash GDP estimate on their website:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/news/euro-indicators (30 April) or request it from MTA.