(Brussels) As far as the citizens’ financial position is concerned, the Eurobarometer survey that was posted earlier today “shows that the repercussions of the crisis are increasingly felt. Nearly one half of the EU population (46%) state their lifestyle has already been lowered by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the rise in the cost of living”. 39% of respondents have not seen their lifestyle lowered yet, “but expect they will in the coming year, with fairly negative prospects on 2023”. Another telling indicator of increasing economic problems is the higher number of citizens having problems paying their bills “most of the time” or “a few times”, nine percent points more, from 30% to 39%, than in Autumn 2021. In Italy, such figure is 64%.
“Understandably, people are worried about the rising cost of living as more and more families are struggling to make ends meet. Now’s the time for us to provide solutions to keep our bills under control, reject inflation and make our economies grow. We must protect the most vulnerable ones in our society”, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, states in commenting such figures.