The number of companies that went bankrupt in the European Union (EU) rose in the second quarter, with an increase of 5.7% compared to the previous three months, a period in which they had decreased by 2.4%. In parallel, the new companies registered across the block fell by 0.5% on a quarterly basis, according to figures released by Eurostat.
In the 21 countries that share the euro, business insolvencies increased by 6.9% between April and June compared to the first quarter, when they had contracted by 2.3%. On the side of new registrations in the commercial registers, a slight quarterly decline of 0.1% was detected, following the -1.3% recorded in the first three months of 2026.
The community statistical office details that, between April and June, new business registrations fell in 5 of the 8 major economic sectors. Industry was the most affected activity, with a decrease of -3.6%, ahead of accommodation and food services (-3.4%) and social and educational services (-3.2%).
In the opposite direction, the registration of new companies advanced strongly in the field of information and communications, where an increase of +8.8% was observed, and there was also a rebound in construction, with a +1%. Financial services, for their part, remained unchanged.
Regarding bankruptcies, these grew in 5 of the 8 sectors analyzed. The largest increases were concentrated in education and social activities (+21.1%), transportation (+11.4%), and financial services (+6.8%), while decreases were recorded in accommodation and food services (-2.6%), construction (-1.7%), and commerce (-1.2%).
If the focus is broadened to the whole of the Twenty-Seven, Malta (-50%), Cyprus (-41.7%), and Slovakia (-33.5%) led the reductions in the number of business bankruptcies. On the opposite side, the most marked increases occurred in Estonia (+31.8%), Greece (+31.6%), and Croatia (+20.5%).
In terms of business creation, Ireland (+20.4%) was at the forefront of the increase in new companies, followed by Belgium (+8.2%) and Sweden (+7.6%). In contrast, Luxembourg recorded the largest contraction in company registrations during the second quarter (-24.2%), accompanied by Lithuania (-12.4%) and Denmark (-8.2%).
In the case of Spain, the number of new companies registered in the second quarter decreased by 5.8%, after already having fallen by 6.5% in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, business bankruptcies in the country increased by 2%, after having been cut by 5.2% between January and March.