The European Union recorded a current-account surplus of €80.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to balance-of-payments estimates published by Eurostat on 2 October. The calendar- and seasonally adjusted amount equalled 1.6% of EU gross domestic product. The surplus was lower than the €98.0 billion, or 2.0% of GDP, recorded in the first quarter of 2026. In Q2 2025, the EU had reported a €91.7 billion surplus, also equal to 2.0% of GDP. This report concerns the current account, which brings together cross-border goods and services transactions and income flows; it is not a government budget surplus or simply a goods-trade surplus.

The current account has four main components: trade in goods, trade in services, primary income and secondary income. In Eurostat’s seasonally adjusted quarterly comparison, the goods account registered a €62.9 billion surplus, down from €63.6 billion in Q1. The services surplus fell from €48.1 billion to €41.7 billion, while the primary-income surplus dropped from €15.7 billion to €0.8 billion. The secondary-income deficit narrowed from €29.3 billion to €25.2 billion. These components combine to form the current-account balance, but they need not move in the same direction. For example, a smaller deficit in one account may not prevent the overall surplus from declining when other surplus components weaken.

The numerical change between the first and second quarters was particularly visible in services and primary income. The goods surplus was €0.7 billion smaller. The services surplus declined by €6.4 billion. The primary-income surplus fell by €14.9 billion to €0.8 billion. At the same time, the secondary-income deficit narrowed by €4.1 billion. Eurostat separately reported that the capital-account deficit widened from €1.7 billion to €16.2 billion. The capital account is not one of the current account’s four components; it is reported as a separate account. The capital-account result should therefore not be added to the €80.2 billion current-account surplus.

The figures for the EU’s current-account balances with partner countries and regions are based on data that are not seasonally adjusted. In Q2 2026, the EU recorded surpluses of €89.8 billion with the United Kingdom, €23.9 billion with Switzerland, €12.9 billion with Canada and €10.3 billion with Brazil. It registered deficits of €66.6 billion with China and €30.3 billion with the United States. These partner balances do not use the same presentation as the seasonally adjusted €80.2 billion aggregate. Comparisons must retain the adjustment method and coverage of each table; partner balances do not separately present every EU member’s intra-EU transactions.

Member States’ own current accounts were also presented as unadjusted national data covering both intra-EU and extra-EU transactions. In Q2, 11 of the 27 members recorded a surplus and 16 recorded a deficit. The largest surpluses were €45.0 billion in Germany, €19.7 billion in Ireland, €16.9 billion in the Netherlands, €13.2 billion in Denmark, €11.6 billion in Sweden and €8.7 billion in Spain. The largest deficits were €7.8 billion in Romania, €6.5 billion in France, €6.2 billion in Poland and €3.8 billion in Greece. National totals are not the EU’s aggregate balance with the rest of the world: intra-EU flows are included in each country’s row.

The current account covers transactions between resident and non-resident entities. Eurostat’s definition includes trade in goods and services as well as primary- and secondary-income flows. The capital account covers capital transfers and the acquisition or disposal of non-produced, non-financial assets. The financial account records transactions in financial assets and liabilities between residents and non-residents, including direct investment, portfolio investment, other investment, derivatives and reserve assets. These accounts are easy to conflate in everyday discussion, but they measure different transactions. A current-account surplus does not mean corporate profits, a government budget surplus or only that goods exports exceeded imports.

Eurostat says its estimates for the reference quarter are based on figures supplied by Member States 82 days after quarter-end for euro-area members and 85 days after quarter-end for members outside the euro area. The office therefore classifies the Q2 2026 figures as provisional; past values may be revised when countries transmit later data. This report does not forecast the direction or size of any revision. The key details for readers are the indicator type, calendar and seasonal adjustment, reference quarter and provisional-data notice. Keeping those details intact makes the €80.2 billion result comparable with the prior quarter and the same quarter of the previous year. The release alone does not provide a forecast for a future period.