Since 1974, the Eurobarometer has been gauging opinions in EU member states, accession states and candidate countries with twice-yearly reports. The latest report, published last Monday, covers the period until autumn. Charlot Zahra analyses the report and finds some interesting conclusions

The Eurobarometer surveys have established themselves as an excellent source of data on a wide range of topics, and provide a benchmark for governments, journalists and academics to gauge public opinion in their respective countries.

Therefore, the two reports published yearly give an indication of how public opinion changes over times. The fact that the question formats are kept the same from one survey to another, allows for comparisons to be made over a number of years.

Looking at the autumn 2005 report for Malta, a number of interesting findings emerge, and these provide for a deeper analysis of how public opinion in the country has changed, since Malta joined the European Union in May 2004.

It is not surprising that the same issues that were so important in 2004 are once again highlighted in the latest report.

The survey shows that the Maltese are still concerned with the economic situation, the increase in the cost of living and irregular immigration. These are the most pressing issues facing the country.

“The issue of immigration in particular has become a major concern for the Maltese over the past year. In the short-term, the Maltese are very pessimistic about the economy and employment prospects for Malta,” said national editor of the Eurobarometer, Robert Micallef.

Support for EU membership and the euro

The slide in support for membership of the European Union among Maltese respondents appears to have stopped. “According to the survey for which the fieldwork was done last autumn, 43 per cent of Maltese respondents said that membership of the European Union is a good thing. 18 per cent of respondents said that Malta’s EU membership is a bad thing, while 35 per cent said that it is neither good nor bad,” Mr Micallef said.

Support for EU membership in Malta had fallen from 55 per cent in Spring 2003, when the last general election took place soon after the referendum on EU membership, to just 40 per cent six months ago.

He explained how the level of support for the euro among the Maltese has remained unchanged at 50 per cent. Slightly more people are still undecided (14 per cent) according to this survey when compared to the previous survey (10 per cent). Thirty-six per cent are against the introduction of the euro.

The Maltese and EU institutions

When asked about how much they trust the European institutions, 60 per cent of Maltese respondents said they tend to trust the European Commission while 18 per cent tend not to. 63 per cent of Maltese respondents said they tend to trust the European Parliament while 19 per cent do not.

“These figures represent a significantly more positive outlook towards the main European institutions by the Maltese, when compared to the European public,” Mr Micallef said.

The Maltese and national institutions

Compared to the previous survey, a higher percentage of the Maltese population expressed trust in the press, radio and TV. They are all around the 50 per cent mark. The same level of trust in the media exists in the other member states.

Seventy-nine per cent and 81 per cent of Maltese respondents trust the police and the army respectively, and these same institutions are also the most trusted among the European public – although the percentages are lower.

“The trust shown by the Maltese in religious institutions is also very high – unlike in the rest of Europe. In fact, trust in Maltese religious institutions in Malta stands at a huge 30 per cent more than the trust shown by Europeans in their religious institutions,” Mr Micallef said.

An increase in trust in the Maltese government was recorded for the first time since spring 2003. Trust in both the institutions of parliament and government rose by just over 10 per cent from the previous survey – to 51 per cent.

Knowledge about the EU

Thirty-five per cent of survey respondents feel they understand how the EU works, while 52 per cent do not. However, Maltese respondents were more confident of their knowledge on EU affairs than their average European counterparts.

“The actual level of information about the EU was measured through a series of questions on basic facts concerning the history, structures and symbols of the union. Maltese respondents performed significantly more positively when compared to the participants in all the 25 member countries,” Mr Micallef said.

Issues of concern

The Maltese identified the economic situation, the increase in the cost of living and irregular immigration as the issues most of concern in the country.

71 per cent of respondents believe that the illegal immigration issue should be tackled jointly with the EU.

“In contrast, only a tiny portion cited housing, crime or terrorism as their main concern,” Mr Micallef said.

When compared to the 25 EU member countries overall, Malta’s respondents placed more emphasis on the economic situation, inflation and employment. Fifty-four per cent of Maltese respondents identified the need to combat rising prices as the single most important objective for the country in the long run.

The Maltese and the European Constitution

Sixty per cent of Maltese respondents support a Constitution for the European Union, while 16 per cent are against it. This represents a favourable increase of 10 per cent over the previous survey – possibly due to the parliamentary political consensus about the subject.

Despite the negative outcome of the referenda in France and Holland to ratify the European Constitution, support for the idea of a European Constitution remains widespread. Sixty-three per cent of European citizens support the concept of a constitution for the European Union, against 21 per cent who oppose this idea.

“It is important to emphasise that this question measures the extent to which people agree with the actual concept of a Constitution for the European Union and is not an evaluation of the text that has been rejected by France and Holland,” Mr Micallef explained.

Views of the Maltese public about the European Constitution are generally more positive than in the rest of the European Union. Forty-one per cent of Maltese believe that ratification of the current text should continue as originally planned, while only 22 per cent of Europeans believe so. Forty nine per cent of Europeans are in favour of re-negotiations on the failed Constitution.

The Eurobarometer survey in Malta

Eurobarometer surveys are carried out in all member states. Mr Micallef explained that for the Malta survey, 500 people were interviewed face to face.

The current Standard Eurobarometer was carried out between 10 October and 5 November 2005 in a difficult political context of the aftermath of the negative referenda on the European Constitution in France and in Holland and difficult discussions on the budget of the European Union.

All interviews took place in people’s homes and were conducted in Maltese.

The basic sample design applied in all states is a multi-stage, random (probability one).