Majority in EU expect living standards to fall in 2024 – poll

EU citizens want the fight against poverty to top the European Parliament’s agenda as most households expect their living conditions to deteriorate in 2024, a new Eurobarometer poll has indicated.

According to the bloc-wide survey carried out on behalf of EU institutions and published on Wednesday, 73% of respondents think their standard of living will decrease over the next year, while 47% have already seen their living standards reduced due to the pandemic, consequences of the Ukraine conflict, and rising inflation. The study also found that 37% struggle to pay their bills either sometimes or most of the time.

A strong percentage of those who indicated that their living standards have declined, or who expect them to fall over the next year, are in Cyprus (77%), Greece (70%), and France (69%).

When asked whether they had difficulties paying their monthly bills during the last year, 36% of Greeks indicated “most of the time,” while 50% “from time to time,” and only 14% “almost never or never.”

To compare, in Sweden, 93% said they “almost never/never” struggle to pay the bills.

At the same time, a vast majority of those polled believe that EU actions have had a positive impact on their daily lives. The biggest disadvantage of being a member state, according to the survey, is that people have little influence on EU decisions.

The statistics were published six months ahead of the European Parliament’s 2024 elections, which will be held between June 6 and 9 across all 27 member states.

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