Two thirds of the Maltese (65 per cent) would be more inclined to vote in the May 2014 European elections if political families named their candidates for the next President of the European Commission, according to a new 'Eurobarometer' survey, published today.
For the first time, the next Commission President will be elected by the newly-elected European Parliament.
The survey also shows that 77 per cent of the Maltese (an 18 per cent increase since June 2011) believe that, taking everything into account, Malta has on balance benefited from being a member of the European Union.
The survey was conducted in June, in the wake of the long-term EU budget discussions and prior to the migrants 'push back' controversy. Views were collected from more than 27,000 respondents across the 28 EU states.
For the first time, the European Parliament will elect the European Commission President. A total 55 per cent of EU citizens said they would be more inclined to vote in the parliamentary elections on May 22 to 25 if political families put forward a candidate for the post. Seventy per cent said they would be in favour of directly electing the President of the European Commission in future.
The fight against unemployment, social inequalities and public debt were the challenges most cited by respondents for the years to come.
More Europeans described their identity as both national and European (49 per cent of respondents, a six-point increase since June 2012).
And 72 per cent 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 per cent), followed by the euro (38 per cent) and history (36 per cent), followed by culture and geography (29 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively).
As in past surveys, 50 per cent of EU citizens said being in the EU was a good thing (result for Malta was 64 per cent), compared to 17 per cent who view their country's membership negatively (nine per cent of Maltese citizens view EU membership as a bad thing). An absolute majority of EU citizens see free movement (56 per cent) and peace (53 per cent) between the member states as benefits, followed by the euro in third place (24 per cent).