The euro is up against the pound as the European Union appears to harden its stance against Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. It was also bolstered by better-than-expected German industrial data, which entered positive territory again. Italian retail sales also picked up more than expected year-on-year.
The European Court of Auditors has released its latest annual reports, giving the EU budget a ‘clean bill of health’ for the twelfth year in a row. Nonetheless, it did highlight the misspending of around €4 billion of funds in member states with poor checks on the final destination of investment. Debate is like to continue over the bloc’s budget for the next seven years. Germany, as its largest net contributor, is looking to cap the amount spent.
