Despite Malta not receiving any irregular migrants by boat for the past two years, the Maltese are still “very troubled” with immigration issues, according to a new Eurobarometer survey published yesterday.
Conducted by Misco last May, the results of the survey show that half of the 510 Maltese respondents mentioned immigration as one of the major problems facing the island.
In second place by far, at 19 per cent, they mentioned the rising cost of living and inflation as a ‘big’ problem.
According to the EU-wide survey, it is only in Denmark (57 per cent) and Germany (56 per cent) where concern over migration is stronger than Malta. Both countries are recipients of the bulk of third-country nationals into the EU.
In Italy, which has been taking all immigrants crossing from Libya, even those in Malta’s search and rescue area, migration concerns are still much lower. Only 28 per cent of Italians feel immigration is their major problem.
Instead, unemployment and the economic situation seem to be more on the Italian radar.
In general, the survey shows a positive attitude of the Maltese towards the more important aspects of life, particularly the economy and employment.
A total 80 per cent of respondents said they deem the current Maltese economic situation as good while 84 per cent described the financial situation of their household as positive.
While 42 per cent of respondents said that they are expecting Malta’s economy to continue to flourish in the next 12 months, another 35 per cent said that they are not expecting any major changes.
The survey’s results also show that the Maltese feel very European. In fact, 84 per cent of Maltese respondents said they feel they are citizens of the EU, the second highest percentage in the EU, after the Luxembourgers.
In 26 member states, most people said they feel they are citizens of the EU.
Surprisingly, a majority of people in the UK (53 per cent) said that feel they are citizens of the EU, more than in Italy and Bulgaria (49 per cent) and Greece (46 per cent).
Support for the EU’s political priorities remains strong according to the survey.
More than half of respondents agreed that public money should be used to stimulate private investment at the EU level. More than half of Europeans were in favour of a monetary union with one single currency, the euro.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com