Malta is the EU country most concerned about climate change, the possibility of a nuclear incident and the spread of the war in Ukraine to other countries, according to a recent Eurobarometer study.
But Malta is among just three member states where a majority of respondents think things are going in the right direction in their country: Luxembourg, Malta (both 65 per cent) and Ireland (46 per cent). In the remaining 24 countries, the majority think things in their country are going in the wrong direction.
While 81 per cent of citizens in the EU identified climate change as a leading issue, in Malta the rate was 93 per cent, the highest in the 27-nation bloc. Estonia was the least concerned, with only 44 per cent of respondents identifying it as a worrying issue.
Maltese citizens were also the most worried about the spread of war in Ukraine to other countries and the risk of a nuclear incident, with 93 per cent of respondents reporting these as worrying issues versus the European average of 81 per cent in both cases.
In Poland, 91 per cent of respondents said they are worried about the war in neighbouring Ukraine spreading to other countries, while in Lithuania 90 per cent of those surveyed indicated they were worried about the issue.
In the remaining 24 countries, the majority think things in their country are going in the wrong direction
Both Poland and Lithuania share a border with Belarus, a country with a government known for its pro-Moscow stance. The Dutch were the least concerned about the spread of the Ukraine war, with only 62 per cent identifying it as a worrying issue.
Migration
Migration also featured prominently among Maltese concerns, with the country second in the bloc most concerned about the matter. Only Cyprus exceeded Malta’s rate of 92 per cent, by one percentage point.
Both countries are on the forefront of migration crises.
Cost of living
Asked about their level of concern relating to the rising cost of living, with increased food and energy prices given as an example, 96 per cent of Maltese participants responded that they were worried about the issue. This puts Malta in ninth place in the EU and three percentage points above the European average.
Looking at the measures taken to tackle the rising cost of living, one in three Europeans is satisfied both at the national government and EU level. Satisfaction ranges between 66 per cent in Malta and 15 per cent in Estonia for national measures and between 55 per cent in Ireland and 13 per cent in Estonia for EU ones. Greece was the most concerned about the cost of living, with 100 per cent of respondents identifying it as a worrying issue. This concern proved to be significant across the bloc, however, with more than seven in 10 respondents in every country saying they were worried about the rising cost of living.
The countries least concerned about rising food and energy prices were Denmark (77 per cent), the Netherlands (81 per cent) and Romania (82 per cent).
The Eurobarometer survey is a comprehensive public opinion study designed to gather information about attitudes to social and political issues across the union. The survey is conducted twice per year, from April to May and October to November.
A total of 507 Maltese participants were consulted in face-to-face interviews last autumn, with an additional 25,924 citizens taking part in the rest of the EU.