Jobs, debt, migration are EU’s future challenges, say Maltese

Maltese concern on the challenge of immigration to the EU is double that shared by citizens from other EU member states, in a Eurobarometer survey that was carried out in June and prior to the pushbacks controversy that erupted that same month.

36% of the Maltese respondents to the Eurobarometer survey said immigration was one of the main challenges the EU faced in the future. But this concern was eclipsed by the far more pressing challenge of unemployment (48%), and member states' public debt (42%).

The full Eurobarometer survey can be consulted online              

But reflecting Malta's geographical position at the southernmost tip of the EU, the Maltese respondents' view of immigration as a challenge was well over double that of the entire 28 member states' at 14%.

The major challenge for the entire EU respondents was unemployment (55%).

The Maltese were also more likely to go to the polls and vote for MEPs if European political parties had to also name their candidates for the role of Commission president (65%) compared to other respondents' 55%. The Maltese approval to this question increased by 13 percentage points over the last Eurobarometer survey.

For the first time, the next Commission President will be elected by the newly-elected European Parliament.

The Maltese were in total synch with other EU respondents, in being in favour of a directly-elected Commission president (70%).

Over 30% said they believed this will make the EU closer to citizens and reinforce democracy.

As in past surveys, 50% of EU citizens said being in the EU is a good thing (result for Malta was 64%), compared to 17% who view their country's membership negatively (9% of Maltese citizens view EU membership as a bad thing). An absolute majority of EU citizens see free movement (56%) and peace (53%) between the member states as benefits, followed by the euro in third place (24%).

The survey also shows that 77% of Maltese citizens (an 18% increase since June 2011) believe that, taking everything into account, Malta has on balance benefited from being a member of the European Union.

For the first time, the European Parliament will elect the European Commission President. 55% of EU citizens said they would be more inclined to vote in the parliamentary elections on 22-25 May if political families put forward a candidate for the post. 70% said they would be in favour of directly electing the President of the European Commission in future.

More Europeans described their identity as both national and European (49% of respondents, a six-point increase since June 2012). And 72% said that what brings them together is stronger than what divides them. The key elements of 'European identity' cited by the Maltese respondents are the values of democracy and freedom (44%), followed by the euro (38%) and history (36%), followed by culture and geography (29% and 25% respectively).