- Sputnik International, 1920
Energy Crisis in Europe
Europe is bracing for tough winter as US-led push to “punish” Moscow for its military operation in Ukraine backfired on the EU, which has faced months of skyrocketing energy prices and rising inflation after Brussels joined Washington in attempting to “phase out” Russian oil, coal and gas.

One in Four Italians at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion: Statistics Institute

© AP Photo / Luca BrunoA workers walks holding a lawn mowers in Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy, Thursday, May 14, 2020. Regional governors have been pressing the government to be permitted to present their own reopening plans, taking into account the level of infection and also the growing economic crisis.
A workers walks holding a lawn mowers in Tremezzo, Lake Como, Italy, Thursday, May 14, 2020. Regional governors have been pressing the government to be permitted to present their own reopening plans, taking into account the level of infection and also the growing economic crisis.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 11.10.2022
Subscribe
ROME (Sputnik) - One in four Italians is currently at risk of poverty or social exclusion, as the economic situation has been worsening in the country with each passing day due to inflation and increasing electricity and food prices, the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat).
For comparison, the figure was 25.4% in 2021, according to the statistical office. Married couples with children are now at the highest risk. The most acute situation is observed in families consisting of five or more members. In such cases, the statistical indicator stands at 38.1%, after an increase by almost 2% in one year.
Massimiliano Dona, the head of the National Union of Italian Consumers, called the data published by Istat on Monday "dramatic and shameful."
"This already alarming and explosive situation is doomed to worsen further in 2022 due to increased utility bills and high prices. In fact, skyrocketing inflation is an invisible tax that hits the poorest groups first and foremost. In this case, given the mandatory spending on electricity, gasoline, gas and food, this leads to the impoverishment of those who are already on the verge of poverty, turning them into beggars," Dona said.
Since the beginning of the year, member states of the European Union, including Italy, have been facing accelerating inflation, caused in part by Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine. Most consumers consider inflation a top-priority problem, given the growing food and energy prices, and cuts into spending power.
In mid-June, Italy hit a new record of around 5.6 million citizens living in absolute poverty, breaking the 2020 COVID-19 high of over 1 million citizens, according to Istat. The situation has been rapidly deteriorating in the country since then due to the growing annual inflation rate that hit 36-year record high of 8.4% in August 2022.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала