That's not true. You can easily get, in Italy, over 4% on 12mo-locked saving accounts (random comparison website : https://www.confrontaconti.it/conto-migliore/miglior-conto-d... ), and Italy inflation right now is around 6%.
This kind of return on ultra flexible accounts is basically unheard of in most of Europe in recent memory as far as I know (born & lived in Europe as recently as 2019). What you describe are called Certificate of Deposit (CDs) in the U.S. and you can get 5.50% for those in August 2023 [1].
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-b...