The majority of Maltese feel it is “justified” to buy counterfeit products, such as DVDs, electronic games and music, if the price of the originals is too high, according to an EU-wide report.
Counterfeits are illegal and anyone selling or buying them may be prosecuted. However, for the majority of Maltese, it is “not a crime” as it is justified by the high price tag of the originals.
However, Maltese respondents did concede that by buying pirates, they were supporting cheap labour and illegal trade channels.
Counterfeit products are easily available in Malta and despite several campaigns conducted by the authorities and individuals in the past, the problem keeps resurfacing.
Numerous items have been confiscated, particularly in open-air markets, but similar products resurface on the stalls sometimes a few days, if not hours, later.
According to the EU-wide survey, conducted by Misco in February among 500 Maltese respondents, 52 per cent saw “nothing wrong” in buying a pirated product.
In the rest of the EU, the majority (51 per cent) feel buying counterfeits is never justified, even though 44 per cent said they would have no problem buying a pirate.
Malta is not the only country with a “pro-counterfeit” mentality. The majority in Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Austria, Romania and Slovakia share the Maltese way of thinking.
The survey, which explored the EU population’s knowledge about its single market, shows there is a high percentage – 48 per cent – of Maltese who have no idea what the single market is all about.
However, 26 per cent said the internal market was good for trade and business.
This lack of knowledge is a stark difference to the EU’s average of only 24 per cent who had no clue how to reply to the same question.
Asked whether they would be interested in moving to another EU member state to work, 71 per cent of the Maltese did not consider this to be an option, citing family constraints as the main reason. In other member states language was considered to be a barrier by 39 per cent.
On the other hand, while only six per cent of Maltese said they had worked for over six months abroad, 23 per cent said they would consider this opportunity if a good offer came their way.