Eurostat: Italian GDP will grow by 5% in 2021

Italy’s economic growth released Wednesday by survey Eurostat is estimated to be “significantly higher than that of the spring”, forecasting a rise in GDP from + 4.2% to + 5%.

In spring, Eurostat’s preliminary estimate of economic activity in the first quarter failed to capture a rebound that was “stronger than expected after the easing of restrictions and of mobility”.

This positive scenario, according to the European Commission, “will strengthen considerably” in the second half of the year, despite the fact that the recovery of some sectors, such as tourism, will be more gradual”.

For the EU executive, Italy will grow mainly thanks to the funds of the recovery plan, because it is public and private investments, supported “by the implementation of the recovery fund”, the national recovery plan, that remain “the main engine of growth”.

To return to pre-pandemic levels, however, Italy will have to wait for “the course of 2022”, said EU Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, while the eurozone will bounce back this year.

“However, we must not be satisfied with a rebound that brings us back to the very skimpy growth of recent years, but we must aim for stable, long-lasting and sustainable numbers, using investments and reforms of the recovery fund,” added Gentiloni.