Eurobarometer: Maltese most concerned over immigration, housing and the environment

The Majority of the Maltese trust the European Union and are optimistic about the EU’s future, according to the latest Eurobarometer report

In terms of the main concerns for the Maltese, immigration tops the list, however environmental issues and housing are also concerns worth noting.

A new Eurobarometer survey released yesterday shows a strong increase in citizens’ positive perception of the European Union across the board – from the economy to the state of democracy.

These are the best results since the June 2014 Eurobarometer survey conducted before the Juncker Commission took office.

This latest Standard Eurobarometer survey was conducted after the European elections, between 7 June and 1 July 2019 in all 28 EU countries and five candidate countries.

Amongst the main findings are a record-high support for the euro and climate change turning into the second top concern at EU level, after immigration.

At 44%, EU citizens’ trust in the European Union has gained two percentage points since autumn 2018, reaching its highest level since autumn 2009 (when it stood at 48%).

It is now ten percentage points above trust in national governments (34%) and trust in national parliaments (34%).

This is the widest gap between trust in national institutions and in the European Union since autumn 2010, when 43% of Europeans trusted the EU, compared with 31% who trusted the national parliament, and 28% the national government.

In 20 Member States, a majority of respondents say they trust the EU (up from 17 in autumn 2018), led by Lithuania (72%), Denmark (68%) and Estonia (60%). In Malta, 56% said they trust the EU, which is higher than the EU average. In Malta, 20% said they tend not to trust the EU while 24% responded with ‘do not know.’

Asked whether the EU conjures up a positive or negative image 47% of Maltese answered with a positive (up by 4 percentage points from 2018), 42% answered ‘neutral’ and 7% answered ‘negative’. The rest said they do not know. More people in Malta said that the EU conjured up a positive image than the EU average of 45%.

In all EU Member States but one, a majority of respondents are optimistic about the future of the European Union; Greece (51% “pessimistic” vs. 45% “optimistic”) is the only exception. The highest proportions of optimists are seen in Ireland (85%), Denmark (79%), Lithuania (76%) and Poland (74%). At the other end of the scale, optimism is less pronounced in the United Kingdom (47%) and in France (50%).

In Malta, 69% of respondents said that they are optimistic about the future of the EU.

In terms of EU policies directly affecting Maltese citizens,58% of Maltese said they benefitted from no or less border controls when travelling abroad (higher than EU average of 56%); 63% of Maltese respondents said that they benefitted from cheaper calls when using a mobile phone in another EU country ( higher than EU average of 51%); and 60% of Maltese respondents said that they benefitted from improved consumers rights when buying products or services in another EU country ( higher than EU average of 40%).

Around 18% of Maltese respondents said they benefitted when living in another EU country and 16% benefitted through studying abroad in another EU country.

Asked what they believe are the most positive results of the EU, 57% of Maltese respondents highlighted the freedom of movement of people, goods and services within the EU. 47% highlighted peace among the EU states, and 45% highlighted the euro.

In terms of main concerns at EU level, more than a third of Europeans consider that immigration is the main concern at EU level (34%, -6 percentage points since autumn 2018), with the highest proportions in Malta (63%). This, in terms of the whole EU, is followed by climate change, which comes in second position with a six-point increase (22%). It is the first time that this item is mentioned by more than a fifth of Europeans. The economic situation (18%, unchanged), terrorism (18%, -2 since autumn 2018, and 26 since spring 2017) and the state of Member States’ public finances (18%, -1) share third place.

In terms of the concerns of Maltese at EU level, 63% were concerned over immigration, 26% with the environment, 22% with climate change, 16% with terrorism and 12% with crime. It is pertinent to note that people were able to pick more than one topic.

As for concerns of the Maltese at national level, the top three issues were immigration (49%), housing (43%), and the environment, climate change and energy issues (33%).

For the third consecutive time, almost half of EU citizens think that the current situation of their national economy is “good” (49%). In Malta, 85% of respondents said this. In terms of the single currency, a majority of respondents in the EU are for “a European economic and monetary union with one single currency, the euro” in 21 countries, a number that has remained unchanged since autumn 2017. In Malta, 73% are in favour.