According to a poll published on Monday, 56 percent of Italians want, in one way or another, Giuseppe Conte as their prime minister.

The EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell is going to Moscow in February, even though its opposition star Alexei Navalny will most likely be in prison at the time.

European Democracy Consulting study said continued low numbers, or "even just a feeling of lasting under-representation", will lead to frustration and impact EU governance.

Negotiations on the European Commission's asylum and migration pact among EU states continues. But a rift is widening on the eight-month deadline for capitals to sponsor returns of failed asylum seekers.

The European Commission has proposed additional measures to limit non-essential travel within and to the European Union - amid fears over more transmissible mutations triggering a new surge in cases across the bloc.

Ultimately, the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, only unveiled in September, risks reinforcing bottlenecks and misery at the borders, should be thoroughly amended before final agreement.