Summary of the day
Seventy-three per cent of Europeans think their standard of living will decrease over the next year, according to a Eurobarometer poll published this morning.
37% have difficulties paying bills sometimes or most of the time, the study found.
The majority of citizens believe that the EU has an impact on their daily lives, and most have expressed interest in the upcoming European parliament elections, according to the poll.
In Austria, 22% of respondents said EU membership is a bad thing for their country. Only 12% of Hungarian respondents said they have a total negative view of the EU.
47% of Italian respondents said EU membership is a good thing.
Italy has informed China that it is pulling out of the Belt and Road Initiative, Reuters reported.
Italy to pull out of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative - Reuters
Italy has informed China that it is pulling out of the Belt and Road Initiative, Reuters reported.
Italy is the only G7 country to have joined the programme, which focuses on trade and infrastructure.
Rome’s agreement with Beijing would have been renewed automatically in March 2024, unless Italy gave at least three months’ written warning.
Nevertheless, Corriere della Sera reported that the Italian government also sent China a letter expressing desire to maintain a strategic partnership.
The move comes as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, and Charles Michel, the European Council president, are set to meet the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, at a summit on Thursday.
They are expected to issue a veiled warning that unless China does something about the supply of cut-cost goods to Europe, the bloc could retaliate.
Updated
