Global Scans · Italy · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: The Italian economy is already in a fragile state and a now likely period of political uncertainty would be likely to do further damage. In particular, Italy's banking industry is seen as vulnerable to a loss of confidence. Italy could be the next domino to fall out of the EU through increasing populist party support.

• [New] Italy will need to speed up the rollout of reforms if it is to benefit from all the resources allocated to it before the deadline for disbursements in 2026. Coface
• [New] The consolidation of public finances will proceed gradually and could enable Italy to exit the European excessive deficit procedure - initiated in 2024 - as early as 2026. Coface
• [New] The Italian economy will remain exposed to the fragile demand and recovery of its European neighbours, given that over 55% of its goods exports are destined for the rest of the EU. Coface
• [New] The Italian economy is expected to continue its modest recovery in 2026. Coface
• [New] In 2026, Italian export growth will increasingly shift from non-European regions. Circolo B2B
• [New] Italy has delayed its coal phase-out to 2038. youth4planet
• [New] In February of 2026, Italy introduced a surcharge on the regional tax on production activities (IRAP) for energy companies that would apply from 2026 to 2027. Tax Foundation
• [New] Italy has delayed the permanent closure of its four coal-fired power plants to 2038, after the war in the Middle East caused the cost of producing electricity from gas to spike. Climate Home News
• [New] The Italian economy will grow by 0.5% in 2026 (against the 0.6% estimated in December). Il Sole 24 ORE
• [New] Italy, the Netherlands and Spain confirm that they will be sending warships to defend Cyprus, including the Cristobal Colon frigate. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
• [New] The state aid ruling on Italy's Decreto Bollette, which will set the precedent for whether other Member States can replicate carbon cost reimbursement measures. Capstone DC
• [New] Italy's Competition Authority opened a sector inquiry into quantum computing, examining barriers to entry linked to proprietary standards and the risk of quantum technologies being absorbed into existing dominant cloud ecosystems. Tech Policy Press
• [New] HYBA (Italy) will partner with ITB Auto SRL (Italy) to advance a modular and swappable EV battery system designed to improve flexibility and reduce costs for fleet electrification and reduce charging infrastructure dependence. EIT Urban mobility
• [New] Italy highlighted that the growing use of alternative digital distribution channels creates risks of over-indebtedness and exposes vulnerable groups to aggressive Buy Now Pay Later or other new product offerings. OECD

Last updated: 24 April 2026