Maltese voters say migration, not defence and security, should be the top priority during the campaign for this June’s European Parliament elections, bucking the trend across many other EU countries, a new EU study shows.
The Eurobarometer study, published just under eight weeks before election day, surveyed 506 people in Malta throughout February.
When asked to select from a list of topics that ought to be a priority during the campaign, half of Malta’s respondents opted for migration and asylum, more than twice as many as voters across the rest of the continent.
Younger respondents under the age of 24 were less keen to hear about migration during the campaign compared to their older counterparts, listing it third in their list of priorities behind health and the economy.
Cyprus was the only other European country to list migration as the top priority for the campaign, topping the list for 41% of Cypriot voters.
Just 17% of Malta’s respondents said that the EU’s security and defence should be the main talking point in the campaign, far below the 31% of EU voters who believe this to be the case.
Defence is the top priority for a third of all EU member states, with nine countries listing it as the top priority they want discussed during the campaign.
The EU’s position on defence has been a key talking point in recent weeks, with Prime Minister Robert Abela frequently criticising European leaders for fomenting conflict.
The subject also raised controversy after it emerged that Abela had voted with other EU leaders to bolster defence expenditure during a European Council summit in March.
Poverty, health and climate change also above defence
Aside from migration, the Maltese also want to see the electoral campaign focus on issues such as poverty (38%), health (41%) and climate change (33%).
Over one in five said that consumer rights should be treated as the top priority, possibly in a nod to MEP Alex Agius Saliba’s ongoing campaign for the European Commission to investigate food price monopolies in Malta.
Agricultural policy was also surprisingly high in Malta’s list of priorities, suggesting that the farmers' protests, which were taking place at the time of the survey, may have been playing on respondents’ minds.
EU should focus on food security and climate
Despite not wanting to hear too much about defence and security throughout the campaign, almost one out of every three respondents in Malta (29%) said that it is an issue that the EU needs to focus on to reinforce its position in the world.
That, however, was still well below the EU average of 37%.
Unlike most other European voters, Maltese respondents said that the EU should focus on food security and agriculture to strengthen its position, topping the list at 37%, followed by climate and the reduction of emissions at 32%.
Nonetheless, the Maltese agreed with their European counterparts in believing that peace is the value that the European Parliament most needs to defend over its next legislature, with 47% of Maltese voters saying that this is the case.
A little over a third said that human rights were the value most at risk, while just over a quarter of respondents listed the rule of law and democracy as the two values the EP needs to safeguard.