Italy to Keep 2026 Deficit Below EU 3% Ceiling, Targets 2.8%

Italy plans to confirm a commitment to bring its deficit-to-GDP ratio below the European Union's 3% ceiling in 2026 from 3.1% in 2025, government sources said on Sept. 23, as Rome finalizes a new budget plan due in the coming weeks. The 2026 deficit target is 2.8%, sources said. The government expects this year's deficit to come in broadly in line with the 2.9% goal announced in April. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this month that Italy will revise its 2025 growth estimate upward to as much as 1%, from 0.6%. Italy needs to cut the deficit below the EU ceiling to exit the bloc's excessive deficit procedure. National statistics bureau ISTAT confirmed the 2025 deficit at 3.1% of GDP, raising last year's shortfall by €550 million ($628 million) instead of revising it lower. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said Italy cannot exit the procedure early this year but may do so in 2027.