Forty-eight per cent of Maltese citizens have difficulties paying all their bills at the end of the month, one of the highest percentages among the 25 EU member states.
However, 43 per cent do believe that many products have become cheaper since Malta joined the European Union.
According to figures released yesterday, the Portuguese (61 per cent), Greeks (58 per cent), Italian (58 per cent) and Lithuanians (54 per cent) appear to struggle more than the Maltese to pay their bills.
At the other end of the scale, only 12 per cent of Swedes said they have difficulties in “making ends meet”. However, more than a third of European citizens said they had the same problem (37 per cent).
The Swedes appear to be doing quite well for themselves and optimistic about life with 69 per cent saying prices had gone down. But only 18 per cent of respondents in Luxembourg could say the same.
These are some of the highlights of two special Eurobarometer surveys conducted in February and March 2006 in the framework of the Commission’s Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate.
According to EU citizens, comparable living standards, followed by the introduction of the Euro in all member states, and a common Constitution are elements which are of most importance for the future of Europe.
These Eurobarometer surveys show that there is greater optimism about the direction in which things are going at the European level. A total of 39 per cent of Europeans consider that things are going in the right direction in the EU in comparison to the national situation (34 per cent share the same view regarding the national level). On the contrary, if 43 per cent of Europeans think things are going in the wrong direction in their own country, they are only 27 per cent to state the same in the EU.
In Malta, only 37 per cent said that things are going in the right direction locally, going up slightly to 40 per cent with regard to the EU.
The European Union has a positive “image”. It is above all perceived as democratic (67 per cent), modern (67 per cent) and protective (54 per cent). However, close to one in two respondents considers it to be technocratic (49 per cent) and inefficient (43 per cent).
Forty-two per cent of the Maltese respondents believe membership to be a good thing (EU average 49 per cent), however the fact remains that certain criticisms are levelled at the lack of political and cultural integration at the European level.
The surveys show that for Europeans, the element which is perceived to be of most importance for the future of Europe is by far, comparable living standards (51 per cent), followed then by the introduction of the Euro in all member states (26 per cent) and a common Constitution (25 per cent). The latter remains true for 29 per cent of the French and 32 per cent of the Dutch.
The elements that could most strengthen the feeling of being a European are a “European social welfare system” (32 per cent), a European Constitution (27 per cent) and the right to vote in all elections in the member state where citizens live (21 per cent).
A total of 47 per cent regard globalisation as a threat to the national employment situation (a fear particularly felt in France and Greece, 72 per cent; Malta, 40 per cent) while 37 per cent hold the opposite view (77 per cent in Denmark; Malta, 44 per cent).
There are some other interesting results.
For example, 91 per cent of Maltese citizens are happy living in their country (EU 25, 90 per cent). When asked if they had socialised with other EU national in the previous 12 months, 47 per cent said they did.
Travelling to another EU country does not seem to be high on the agenda with only 24 per cent of respondents saying they had. In comparison, 10 per cent of Greeks said they visited another EU country while 80 per cent of Luxembourg citizens said they had done so.
When asked whether EU citizens would prefer the welfare state to be managed by their respective national governments or if the EU should provide a ‘harmonised welfare system’, 56 per cent of Maltese respondents opted for the latter (EU 25, 62 per cent). Support for a harmonised welfare state is high among the new members states and low in countries with excellent social welfare systems like Finland (47 per cent).