According to the survey, carried out
last June in all EU Member States, there was a 9% increase over November 2011
in the number of citizens who look at the EU in a positive way. Moreover, half
of those questioned, described their countries' membership of the EU as a ‘good
thing'.
In terms of the sense of identity felt
by those questioned, the survey shows that there has been an increase in the
number of Europeans who regard themselves only in terms of their national
identity, rather than identifying themselves as being both citizens of their
country and European. This is not the case for Malta as 60% of Maltese citizens
still consider themselves as both Maltese and European. Only 37% of the
population considers itself as ‘only Maltese'.
The degree of knowledge about the EU
and its institutions is relatively poor, with the majority of Europeans saying
they know little about them and more than a third of them unable to name three
EU institutions.
However, it is noteworthy that the
European Parliament was the institution most often mentioned by respondents and
was rated as the institution that best represents the EU. Surprisingly, a
quarter of Europeans already know the date of the next European elections –
June 2014.
Job creation and fighting unemployment
(EU 72%; Malta 56%), reducing Member States' public debt (EU 37%; Malta 50%)
and increasing purchasing power and combating inflation (EU 35%; Malta 42%)
came in as the top priority anti-crisis measures for EU citizens.