The Maltese were the most pessimistic people in the EU about economic expectations in their country, according to a Eurostat survey.

Eurostat recorded an index ranking of -18 for Malta compared to an average of +6 for the EU led by the Dutch where the confidence index was +41.

The survey, however, found that while the economy tops the concerns of most of the people in Europe, the biggest concern in Malta is inflation at 41%.

Immigration is not the main issue in any of the EU member states, but it is still the second most important concern in Malta (34%).

The environment comes in low in the list of concerns, with the highest score being sweden (20%). In Malta it is 8%.

As for energy, the only score above 10% was only recorded in Malta (24%), making it the fourth source of concern for the Maltese after the economy.

21% of the Maltese mentioned unemployment as a concern and 10% mentioned healthcare.

And despite the economic crisis being global in nature, the perception that national governments are best able to take effective action against the crisis is the highest in Malta, at 39%, compared to just 6% in the Czech Republic.

The survey also shows that confidence in the European Parliament has dropped by six points in Malta to 58%. Confidence in the European Commission dropped to 55 per cent from 59% in spring this year.

Support for Malta's membership of the EU has slipped from 57% in the Spring of this year to 45% in the Autumn. A majority of 59% still think that Malta benefited from EU membership, but that is down from 67% in the Spring.