The majority of Maltese are not prepared to pay extra for products and services that help the needy in developing countries.
According to the results of a new Eurobarometer survey, four out of every 10 Maltese also want the EU to reduce its aid to poor countries, even if such assistance has already been promised.
The study, conducted in Malta in June by Misco, shows that many in the EU are feeling the economic pinch and are becoming more insular when it comes to development aid.
Although similar to results obtained in other EU member states, Maltese respondents seem to be more willing to practise what they preach when they say that charity begins at home.
In fact, while in the rest of the EU the average of those not ready to pay extra for products from developing countries stands at 52 per cent, in Malta this rises to 60 per cent.
Only 31 per cent of Maltese said they were prepared to pay more to help those in need.
The same attitude emerges when people were asked whether the EU should keep its promise to increase development aid.
While only a few in the EU say that it should revise its policy in view of the downturn of the economy, 40 per cent of Maltese respondents said the EU should not keep its word and revise downwards its aid budget.
The EU is considered to be the major donor of development aid in the world and surpasses by far the US in the amount of money transferred to developing countries.
Malta is also doing its part and has already surpassed its obligations, contributing about €7 million or 0.15 per cent of its gross national product to development aid. The island is committed to increase its share to 0.33 per cent of GNP by 2015.
Despite such official generosity, only two per cent of Maltese respondents said that they knew where the country’s development aid was going.
The majority, 52 per cent, said that they did not have a clue about the beneficiaries of Malta’s development aid and another 34 per cent said that they knew only “a little”.
Every year, the Foreign Affairs Ministry publishes a list of beneficiaries of Malta’s development aid. The majority is given to Maltese missionaries and NGOs with projects in Third World countries.