Albania, North Macedonia are Maltese favourite EU candidate countries

A majority of Maltese back EU membership for nine out of 10 candidate countries, provided they meet the conditions of accession, a Eurobarometer survey shows. 

The results indicate that an absolute majority of Maltese are in favour of Albania (57%), North Macedonia (57%), Moldova (54%), Montenegro (54%), Serbia (53%), Ukraine (53%), Bosnia Herzegovina (51%) and Georgia (51%) joining the European Union. 
A relative majority (47%) favours Kosovo joining the EU but a relative majority (47%) opposes Turkey’s bid. 

Although Turkey remains an official candidate country for EU membership, its accession process is currently frozen. Negotiations have effectively been at a standstill since 2018, when the EU Council halted progress due to ongoing concerns about democratic backsliding in Turkey. 

The Eurobarometer survey quizzed respondents from all 27 member states on whether 10 potential and current candidate countries should be allowed to join the EU if they meet the conditions of membership. 

Majority support Ukraine joining 

Across the EU Ukraine emerges as the most favoured candidate country. 

But support for Ukraine’s membership bid in Malta is more lukewarm than that registered in 14 EU member states. 

These included Sweden (91%), Denmark (81%), Finland (81%), Lithuania (72%), Ireland (67%), Spain (67%), the Netherlands (65%), Portugal (65%), Latvia (64%) and Estonia (60%). 

But Malta registers a higher level of support for Ukraine joining the EU than 12 other member states. The lowest level of support for Ukraine’s membership bid is registered in Hungary (30%) and Bulgaria (31%). A majority of Italians  (51%) are also opposed to Ukraine becoming a member even if it fulfils the conditions of membership. 

Support for other candidate countries shows more variation across the member states. Montenegro, the second most favoured candidate overall, is the top choice in seven countries: Slovenia (70%), Hungary (66%), Slovakia (65%), Luxembourg (57%), Poland (52%), Czechia (43%), and Austria (40%). 

North Macedonia and Albania are the most preferred candidates in two member states each. Respondents in Slovenia (70%) and Malta (57%) selected North Macedonia as their top choice, while Albania received the highest support in Malta (57%) and Italy (48%). 

Serbia is most strongly supported in Cyprus (72%), Greece (71%), and Bulgaria (63%). Moldova is most favoured by respondents in Romania (67%), Latvia (64%), and Poland (52%). Bosnia and Herzegovina registers its highest support in Croatia (74%) and Slovenia (70%). 

Turkiye is the least favoured candidate overall. Support for Turkiye joining the EU is highest in Romania (60%) and Hungary (58%) and lowest in Cyprus (13%). 

Malta most optimistic on enlargement 

Malta also stands out as the most optimistic country in the EU when it comes to enlargement, with 74% expressing a positive view. This places the Maltese ahead of Poland (72%) and Ireland (67%). By contrast, the least optimistic respondents are found in Czechia (41%), France (43%), and Greece (44%). 

When asked about the greatest benefit of future enlargement, almost half of the Maltese (47%) cited the creation of a larger market for EU businesses.  

Concern on uncontrolled migration emerges as the Maltese people’s main concerns on enlargement (49%), followed by concern on corruption, organised crime and terrorism (42%) and the erosion of European values (36%). Only 20% of Maltese are worried about the cost of enlargement to tax payers in contrast to 37% of all EU respondents.