Nice holiday? Nearly third of EU households couldn't afford one

As politicians, diplomats and lobbyists begin filtering back to Brussels over the next week, there will quite naturally be lots of watercooler conversations about their summer holidays.

Swapping anecdotes and advice about our travels with colleagues, it's easy to get the impression that everyone has just spent three weeks by a pool, at the beach or in the mountains.

An idea reinforced by the deluge of holiday snaps on social media, ubiquitous adverts featuring blissful family scen...