The Maltese people are strongly opposed to legalising gay marriages or to giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children.
This emerges from the results of a new EU-wide Eurobarometer study published in Brussels on Monday.
Apart from asking standard questions about the EU, the survey, conducted in Malta by Misco last October among a sample of 500 respondents, also tried to find out what the Maltese think of certain social issues, including the status of gay couples, the role of religion and the use of cannabis.
Seventy-three per cent of respondents said they would oppose a law legalising gay marriage; 18 per cent said they would approve of it. Regarding the possibility of gay couples adopting children, 85 per cent were against and seven per cent agreed.
The Eurobarometer survey results shows the views of the Maltese public on this issue as being among the most fervent.
On average, only 32 per cent of Europeans feel that homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children throughout Europe. In fact, in 14 of the 25 member states, fewer than a quarter of the public accepts adoption by same-sex couples.
Public opinion tends to be somewhat more tolerant with regard to homosexual marriages. Forty-four per cent of EU citizens agree that such marriages should be allowed. However, some member states stand out from the rest by their very high acceptance levels. The Netherlands, considered to be one of the most liberal societies in the EU, tops the list with 82 per cent of respondents in favour of homosexual marriages and 69 per cent supporting the idea of adoption by homosexual couples. Opposition is strongest in Greece, Latvia (both 84 and 89 per cent, respectively), Poland (76 and 89 per cent) and Malta (73 and 85 per cent).
In the EU, homosexual marriages, or a similar union between two persons of the same gender, are already allowed in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Sweden and in the UK.
The same opposition, although less intense, emerges with regard to the possibility of legalising the personal consumption of cannabis.
Seventy-seven per cent of Maltese respondents disagree while 15 per cent would be in favour. The average in the EU 25 in this regard is closer to the Maltese stand, 26 per cent being in agreement and 68 per cent against.
The importance of religion in Malta remains very strong according to the study. In fact, 70 per cent feel that the place religion has in Maltese society is "too important"; 27 per cent think otherwise. Other like-minded EU member states are Cyprus (81 per cent), Italy (63 per cent) and Slovakia (56 per cent).
At the other end of the scale are Estonia (20 per cent) and Finland (23 per cent).