Malta ranks second biggest supporter of EU accession

Malta will no longer be known as the most EU-sceptic among the new EU member states, with a Eurobarometer survey published yesterday putting the island as the second biggest supporter of EU membership.

But the scepticism has not been replaced with optimism, as Maltese support for membership actually dwindled by five per cent since October.

However, the euphoria has actually evaporated to a larger extent in the other nine acceding states (most notably Hungary) which are now placed in the mid-range of the support ranking scale.

This failing support, however, does not mean opposition to membership, with only 16 per cent on average saying that membership was a bad thing.

Half the Maltese respondents said they believed the EU was a good thing; 26 per cent said it was neither good nor bad and 16 per cent that it was a bad thing.

The survey carried out on a sample of 500 between February and March indicated that the Maltese were generally the most likely - in all issues - to believe that things will change after membership.

The general trend of short-term life expectations in Malta show that the percentage of respondents who believe that their life will remain the same has dropped since winter 2000.

An improvement in life expectations in the medium term (next five years) from a personal perspective is foreseen by respondents. This could be explained by a rather down-to-earth and pragmatic belief that life will be hard in the beginning (soon after accession) but will become more stable and eventually improve once EU membership would become more ingrained in the mentality of the Maltese.

In terms of satisfaction with life domains, specifically with the economic situation in Malta, respondents are not foreseeing the year to come to be a good one. Lithuania is, in fact, the only accession country where more people foresee a prospering rather than a declining economy.

Turning to information, the survey findings show that knowledge of EU-related facts was rather high among Maltese respondents.

Lower levels of perceived knowledge were present among Maltese respondents who hold that EU membership is a bad thing.

Three out of 10 respondents believe that the EU was portrayed too positively in the media while around four out of 10 respondents feel that the EU was portrayed objectively.

The most supported EU policy by Maltese respondents is the enlargement of the EU. The second most supported policy is a common defence and security policy among EU member states, followed by one common foreign policy.

A total of 46 per cent of the Maltese interviewed said they support the euro, a reduction of two per cent from October. At the other end of the scale, 82 per cent of Slovenians would favour its introduction.

Support for most policies was slightly lower in Malta compared to the EU average.

For more than one out of every two respondents, the EU means freedom to travel, work and study. The EU also means having a stronger say in the world. This means a lot for Maltese people - the EU is seen as an opportunity to be heard, being such a small country.

Many respondents also mentioned democracy, peace and cultural diversity.

Economic prosperity was mentioned, too by many respondents but not as much as freedom to travel, work and study. This indicates a rather active perception about the economy and the EU as opposed to a passive one.

In general, Maltese people tend to perceive the role of the EU as a policy-making body. This can be observed by analysing the perceptions of respondents on such issues as the protection of the environment, the educational system and the health care system.

The Maltese look up to the EU when it comes to the role that it has vis-à-vis the improvement of policies in the various member states.

Fears related to membership are common among most new member states particularly the transfer of jobs to countries with lower production costs.

According to four out of 10 respondents, the right to veto should be retained as it is, in order to preserve national interests. The equivalent percentage for the new member states was higher.

On average, three out of 10 respondents said that the number of votes should be proportionate to the population.

This option was less popular in Malta than in the new member states and the EU-15. Naturally, a significant smaller population would determine Malta's contribution in decision-making matters.

The most trusted institutions in Malta are charitable/voluntary organisations, followed by religious institutions and the army. The ranking of the first two institutions is a clear reflection of the values that are still strong and accorded great importance in Malta.