Businesses believe EU membership was beneficial

Ninety-two percent of respondents in a business survey conducted by the Malta Business Bureau feel that EU accession has been beneficial, or very beneficial, for the country, with the adoption of the single currency being cited as the most beneficial result of membership.

These statistics were revealed by the Malta Business Bureau, during a business breakfast meeting this morning.

The MBB felt it was opportune to evaluate how EU membership has affected the Maltese business community five years after membership. The survey, entitled ‘The Effect of EU Membership on Maltese Business’, was carried out amongst the members of the MBB’s parent organisations - The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association.

The survey also revealed that access to EU funding was seen as a main advantage, with one out of every four of respondents stating that they viewed this as a prime advantage of membership. However, many also felt that less bureaucracy and more information was needed when it came to applying for funding.

Despite the current economic crisis the vast majority of respondents declared that they are optimistic about the prospects for the coming year; 59 percent feel that that their business is performing well in the current economic climate, but half of the respondents do not expect the economy to improve significantly within the next 12 months.

MBB president George Micallef said the survey aimed to gauge the performance of different businesses operating within various sectors, enabling the MBB to increase its efforts to offer more value added service to its members and the business community at large.

"The MBB’s primary role is to safeguard and promote the business interests of its members and parent organisations, at a European level and to help achieve this purpose, it has just restructured its local set up’, he said.