84% of the Maltese view EU membership as beneficial - Eurobarometer

84% of the Maltese view EU membership as beneficial, according to a Eurobarometer poll issued today.  

The share of respondents who believe EU membership is a good thing for their country varied widely, from 74% in Ireland to only 31% in Greece.

As in 2015, 60% of respondents said their country benefits from being part of the Union. This percentage has remained stable in repeated surveys, from 56% in 2009, down to 52% in 2011 and up again up to 60% in the past two years. 

In addition, according to 71% of respondents, there are more issues uniting Europeans than dividing them.

Elements of European identity

Democracy and freedom remained key values for 50% of those interviewed, while the Euro declined significantly to 33% (down 6 points from 2015), particularly in the Eurozone. Nearly one in two Europeans felt that a harmonised social welfare system would reinforce their sense of being a European citizen (46%, +1). 

More engagement needed? 

Worrying for the EU, Europeans felt that their voices count less and less, in particular at national level. Only 53% of respondents said that their voice is heard in their own country (-10 compared with 2015). 

Furthermore, people do not have a...