Eighty-two per cent of the Maltese are satisfied with their life in general, according to a Eurobarometer survey published by the European Commission.
The Maltese mentioned epidemics, international terrorism and organised crime as their top three fears in life.
Malta tops the list of the average fear percentage among all the EU candidate countries.
In the survey, 62 per cent of the Maltese said they support the idea of the EU having its own European Foreign Minister. Fifty four per cent of the Maltese will also support a common defence policy among the member states of the EU. A European army is not attractive to the Maltese - they tend to agree least among the candidate countries; only 45 per cent agreed with the idea and 38 per cent said they tend to disagree.
The survey, the first to be carried out after the referendum and the general election in Malta, found that 51 per cent of the Maltese support EU membership and that only 19 per cent are against whereas 24 per cent consider EU membership neither good nor bad. The trend shows a six per cent increase in the support level for membership when compared to autumn of last year.
Asked how they would vote in a referendum on EU membership, 71 per cent of the Maltese aged 18 and over, said they would vote in favour whereas 25 per cent said they would vote against.
The satisfaction of the Maltese with life exceeds the average of both current and future member states.
The survey established a significant gap between the life satisfaction levels in the candidate countries and those in the EU. The survey says that this remains probably the most significant difference found between current and future member states.
While only fewer than two in three people in the candidate countries (60 per cent) say they are very or fairly satisfied with the life they lead, life satisfaction in the member states has stabilised at about 80 per cent. The only exceptions are Cyprus (84 per cent), Malta (82 per cent) and Slovenia (82 per cent) whose satisfaction with the life they lead is even higher than the average level of the present 15 member states.
Only 30 per cent of Bulgarians and 38 per cent of Romanians said they were satisfied with the life they lead.
The survey also found that the Maltese are the most likely to feel their situation will improve (50 per cent) over the next five years. Only 16 per cent of the Maltese believe their life could get worse over the coming years.
Sixty per cent of the Maltese are satisfied with the way democracy works in Malta whereas 38 per cent are dissatisfied.
Asked to name the top three most widely trusted institutions, the Maltese said they trust most (85 per cent) charitable or voluntary organisations, followed by the army and the police (both 71 per cent).
The Maltese mentioned the economic situation, unemployment and the issue of pensions as the top three most important problems facing their nation.
Trust levels for television and the press are lowest in Malta among all the 13 candidate countries.
The respondents were also tested on their knowledge of basic EU-related facts. They were asked 10 questions, including to state whether the EU is made up of 15 states, whether the EU quarters is in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg and whether there are 15 stars on the EU flag.
The Turkish have the lowest score (only 2.59 correct answers) and the Maltese have the highest score (5.32). The survey says that 31 per cent of the Turks were unable to give a correct answer to any of the 10 questions and Maltese respondents got at least one statement correct. The survey concludes that the Maltese are the best informed on the trivia questions.
The survey also shows that 81 per cent of the Maltese pay at least some attention to news related to the EU. It also shows that 66 per cent of the Maltese say they consider themselves to some extent to be European rather than just their own nationality.
It has also shown that 100 per cent of the Maltese have heard about Malta joining the EU.
Asked what it means to being a citizen of the EU, the Maltese mentioned the right to work in any EU country, being able to study in any EU country and the right to move permanently to any country as the three most meaningful realities of membership.
The survey also showed that 55 per cent of the Maltese are in favour of replacing their national currency with the euro, 11 per cent are undecided and 34 per cent are against.
Fifty per cent of the Maltese said they will definitely vote in the elections to take place next year for five Maltese members of the European parliament.
The Maltese are the weakest supporters for a common foreign policy with only 52 per cent expressing themselves in favour - 21 per cent are against.
The survey also showed that the Maltese are the most likely to favour direct elections for the president of the European Commission (34 per cent). Malta has also expressed the strongest support for the current system - in fact, support for the president of the commission to be chosen by both the European parliament and the heads of government is even more widespread.