More than a third of Maltese respondents to a Eurobarometer survey believe that Malta does not invest enough in defence and security programmes.

A new Eurobarometer survey released ahead of the Munich Security Conference showed Europeans' growing perception of threat for their countries in the current international situation.

The survey found that 37% of respondents in Malta consider national investment in defence and security insufficient, slightly above the EU27 average of 34%.

At the same time, 41% of Maltese respondents said Malta invests about the right amount in defence and security, in line with the EU average of 39%.

Only 8% of respondents in Malta believed that the country invests too much, compared to 17% across the European Union, while 13% of Maltese respondents selected "don't know," compared to 10% across the EU.

The survey, conducted between 5 and 12 January 2026, targeted EU citizens aged 15 years and older, and examined perceptions of security in the current international context.

505 interviews were conducted in Malta, while a total of 27,292 interviews were conducted across the EU.

In Malta, 60% of respondents agreed that the country's security is threatened, with 12% strongly agreeing and 48% somewhat agreeing.

This is lower than the EU27 average of 68%, where 27% strongly agreed and 41% somewhat agreed that their country's security is threatened.

A total of 39% of Maltese respondents said they disagreed that the country's security is threatened, including 26% who somewhat disagreed and 13% who strongly disagreed. Across the EU, 27% disagreed that their country's security is threatened overall.

When asked about personal safety, 48% of Maltese respondents agreed that their personal safety is at risk, slightly above the EU average of 42%.

In Malta, 15% strongly agreed and 33% somewhat agreed with this statement. Half of Maltese respondents, 50%, disagreed that their personal safety is at risk, compared to 51% across the EU.

Despite Malta's lower perception of national security threats compared to the EU average, Maltese respondents expressed relatively strong trust in the European Union's role in defence.

Six in ten respondents in Malta, 60%, said they trust the EU to strengthen security and defence in Europe and better protect its citizens.

This is higher than the EU27 average of 52%. Meanwhile, 39% of Maltese respondents said they do not trust the EU in this area, compared to 43% across the EU.

The survey also assessed views on EU-level investment in defence and security.

In Malta, 35% of respondents said the EU does not invest enough in defence and security programmes, compared to 32% across the EU.

A further 40% of respondents in Malta said the EU invests about the right amount, slightly below the EU average of 42%, while 11% said the EU invests too much, compared to 14% across the bloc.

Among Maltese respondents who believe their country's security is threatened, 40% said the EU does not invest enough in defence and security, compared to 32% across the EU.

Beyond defence spending, the survey also examined perceptions of EU space programmes, including Galileo/EGNOS, Copernicus and IRIS.

In Malta, 52% of respondents said that these programmes have a very or fairly important impact on the European economy, compared to 45% across the EU.

When it comes to citizens' everyday lives, 41% of Maltese respondents said EU space programmes have a very or fairly important impact, compared to 37% across the EU.

The survey also asked respondents to detail their priorities for the EU's Space Policy and programmes in the future.

Among Maltese, the first cited priority for EU space policy was security and defence (23%), followed by action on the environment and climate change, connectivity and digital communications (19%), and safer mobility and transport (15%).

Across the EU, respondents' first priority was security and defence (34%), followed by action on the environment and climate change, and competitiveness and growth of the European industry (13%).

Asked for their total priorities (multiple answers), 40% of Maltese respondents cited security and defence as a priority, compared to the 53% EU-wide. 39% of Maltese respondents cited action on the environment and climate change, as opposed to the 36% of EU respondents.

The Maltese (33%) also cited safer mobility and transport as one of the top priorities, whereas only 22% of respondents EU-wide cited this as a priority. 25% of Maltese cited competitiveness and growth of the European industry as a priority, below the 31% recorded for EU-wide respondents.

On the perception of threat, more than two thirds of Europeans (68%) believed that their country is under threat, as Member States with the highest threat perception were France (80%), followed by Netherlands and Denmark (77%), and Cyprus and Germany (75%). At the same time, 42% of citizens believe their personal safety is at risk.

The majority of Europeans trust the EU to strengthen security and defence (52%), especially in countries like Luxembourg (76%), Portugal (74%), Cyprus (73%) and Lithuania (71%).

Additionally, 74% of respondents approved of the EU's current level of defence investment, or believe that spending should be increased.

Support was particularly high in countries such as Lithuania (80%), Portugal (89%), Finland (83%), Spain (80%) and Denmark (78%).

A notable share of respondents reported being unsure about defence investment levels, with 10% saying they do not know about national-level spending and 12% about EU-level spending.

The survey also showed that EU space programmes' positive economic impact is widely recognised by youngest respondents (55%).