An EU Parlemeter Survey has found that Maltese respondents are more optimistic about the future of the European Union than they are about the future of their own home country, Malta.

When asked whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about the future of EU, 70% of 502 Maltese respondents answered positively, 27% said that they feel pessimistic, and 3% were unsure. When asked about Malta's future, the total "optimistic" percentage was 65%; a third (34%) of Maltese felt pessimistic towards the future of the country.

85% of Maltese participants feel optimistic for their own and their family's future, while 14% feel pessimistic.

Overall, Maltese respondents were recorded to be significantly more optimistic than the rest of the EU on average on these three accounts.

On average, 57% of EU respondents feel optimistic about the future of the EU and their own respective country; 76% said they are optimistic for their and their family's future.

More than half of all respondents - 52% of Maltese as well as EU respondents in general - feel pessimistic about the future of the world, according to this EU-wide survey.

This EU Parlemeter survey comprised 26,453 face-to-face interviews, 502 of which were with Maltese citizens. All data from this survey was recorded in November 2025. The survey was organised by the European Parliament.

Maltese respondents extremely supportive for EU unity amidst present global challenges

The survey found that an overwhelming majority of Maltese respondents would like the European Union and its Member States to work together in the face of current global challenges.

96% of Maltese respondents believe that the EU countries "should be more united to face current global challenges." 89% of all EU wide participants shared this sentiment.

Moreover, 94% of Maltese think that the EU should have a stronger collective voice on these issues at international level (EU average: 86%) and that the EU "needs more means" to face these same challenges (EU average: 73%).

81% of all Maltese participants hold the opinion that in the future, the EU's role to protect European citizens against global crises and security risks should become more important; 7% want this role to decrease in importance, while 12% are content if it remains the same. Meanwhile, two thirds (66%) of EU respondents believe that the EU should up its defences and resilience against global shocks.

In addition, 71% of Maltese believe that over 20 years later, Malta's membership in the EU has been positive - this percentage has risen by 12% since the previous survey in February/March 2024, just some 20 months prior. Simultaneously, the proportion of Maltese who think that Malta joining the EU was neither good nor bad has decreased by 13% within this same period.

This is more Europhilic than the general sentiment by EU respondents for their respective countries across the continent, which was recorded at 62%.

Only 6% of Maltese believe that EU membership has been "a bad thing" for Malta; this sentiment is around twice as strong across the entire EU, according to this survey data.

That being said, only around half of respondents from Malta (54%) and the EU (49%) think positively of the European Union itself. This favour has gone down 8% for Maltese since the previous survey in early 2024, and down 3% across the EU respondents. Among those who answered that they have a negative image of the EU, this opinion was held by 11% of Maltese and by 17% of all EU respondents. Around a third of respondents from both categories think neutrally of the European Union.

Maltese want European Parliament to tackle inflation, public health, climate change, and migration

When asked to select four topics they wish for the European Parliament to address, the issue of inflation, rising prices and the cost of living ranked first overall for EU respondents and also first among Maltese respondents. 40% of Maltese want this subject to be addressed at EU level.

The second-most selected subject for Maltese respondents was that of public health (38%).

Right as the data collection for this EU survey began, the Maltese government published the 212-page arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce on the legal proceedings between it and Steward Health Care on the hospitals deal. This context may have influenced the 9% jump experienced between May-November 2025 among the Maltese demographic.

34% of Maltese participants then voted for "environment and climate change" while 33% selected "migration and asylum."

Notably, the second- and third-most popular choices from EU respondents - "economy and job creation" selected by 35% of all EU respondents, and "EU defence and security" by 34% - were deemed less of a priority by Maltese citizens. Just 24% of Maltese respondents voted for the European Parliament to discuss "economy and job creation."

Only 19% of Maltese think "EU defence and security" should be discussed and addressed over other priority areas by the European Parliament, even though defence was later marked, by Maltese, as the top area through which the EU could enhance its global position.

Defence and security marked as Maltese's top priority for EU to strengthen international position

In this Parlemeter, survey respondents were given a list of key sectors and were asked to select which sectors the EU should focus on in order to strengthen its position in the world. Respondents were asked to choose their number one priority and select up to three major issues.

The top priority selected by Maltese and European participants in general was "defence and security." This option was selected by 32% of Maltese and 40% of EU respondents. The next top priority for Maltese respondents in this regard was "education and research" with 30% of the count.

The third-most selected subject by Maltese was "climate action and emissions reductions," selected by just under a quarter of all participating Maltese nationals.

In other points, as many Maltese believe that their standard of living will increase over the next five years (26%) as those who believe it will decrease over the same timeframe. Just under half of Maltese (46%) don't believe their standard of living will change.

EU citizens, on average, recorded more negative expectations for the next five years; 54% believe their standard of living will not change, 28% expect it to diminish, and 16% expect it to improve.

Europeans and Maltese 'highly worried' about security and safety-related concerns

The majority of respondents said they were "highly worried" about various security concerns; the number of Maltese who marked "highly worried" (marked as 7-10 where "1" meant not worried at all and "10" meant extremely worried) was higher than the EU average.

81% of Maltese are highly worried about uncontrolled migration flows, next to 65% of EU respondents. Maltese respondent's second most notable concern, marked by 80% of them, is "cyber-attacks from non-EU countries." This was a concern for 66% of all European respondents.

The next greatest concern is "active conflicts and wars near the European Union" - with 79% of Maltese saying they are highly worried on these situations. This was the number one greatest worry among EU respondents, with 72% indicating "highly worried."

Exactly three quarters of Maltese are highly worried about terrorism while 71% are highly worried about "natural disasters made worse by climate change."

When it comes to communication and society-related concerns, over three quarters of Maltese respondents said they are "highly worried" about fake content created by artificial intelligence (AI), like deepfake videos or false information (79%); disinformation (false or misleading information) (78%); hate speech online and offline (76%); and the protection of personal data online (76%).