Most see themselves as both Maltese and European

A Eurobarometer survey held in June 2012 and published today shows that two out of every three Maltese citizens see themselves as Maltese and European at the same time. This is in contrast to the trend in Europe where only an average of 43% cherish the European identity. Research carried out two years ahead of the 2014 European elections reveals an inversion of trends over six months with citizens from 20 EU member states increasingly seeing themselves only in terms of their national identity, rather than identifying themselves as being at once citizens of their country and Europeans. That trend is not followed in Malta, however, where two out of every three Maltese citizens still see themselves as at once Maltese and European, even if 37 per cent of the population still sees itself as "only Maltese". The European Parliament Eurobarometer also sought to gauge Europeans' perceptions of the European Union, their knowledge of the institutions and their expectations in this time of crisis. It finds that in the eyes of many Europeans, the values of freedom and democracy are the main elements that make up European identity, followed by the Euro as well as...