Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1518643
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 APRIL 2024 SURVEY action is a red line not to be crossed of those with a secondary level of education favour such a step, sup- port for Malta's participation in a future EU army rises to 60% among those with a tertiary level of educa- tion. Moreover, while only 29% of those earning less than €1,000 a month agree with this step, sup- port rises to 63% among those earning more than €3,000. Support for direct Maltese mil- itary participation in the case of an attack on a member state by an external power is low even among the young and the more educated cohorts. Among those aged between 16 and 35, opinion is evenly split on whether Malta should engage mil- itarily in the defence of another EU member state - 44% agree while 43% are against. In all other age groups opposi- tion to Malta sending its troops to war is high and rises to 61% among those aged over 65. The only categories where an absolute majority support Malta's participation in military action against an invading power are the tertiary educated (51%) and those earning more than €4,000 (75%). A breakdown by gender shows that females express the same sup- port for the creation of an EU ar- my as males (42%) but women are slightly more opposed to Malta's participation in such an army than their male counterparts. Methodology The survey was carried out was carried between 7th March 2024 and 21st March 2024 for which 657people opted to complete the survey. Stratified random sampling based on region, gender andage was used. A fraction of those who opted to complete the survey chose not to answer a few ofthe questions for which they are treated as miss- ing values. Missing values analysis was thencarried to determine the type of technique to replace the val- ues. A combination of logistic an- dlinear regression with predictive mean matching where applicable was used to replace certainmissing values completing and enlarging the sample set from which the final results wereextracted.The margin of error for this result 3.82% for a confidence interval of 95%. NONE of the European political families are specifically calling for the creation of a formal EU army but both the Socialists and Democrats and the European People's Par- ty favour enhanced cooperation in defence matters, with the latter going furthest in this direction. The Socialists and Democrats, the political family of the Maltese Labour Party, rather vaguely refer to the need to implement a strong European Common Security and De- fence Policy that "complements NATO". They refer to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine as "a turning point in histo- ry" which "proves that greater collaboration and deeper solidarity is needed to face the new international environment". The so- cialists also support the development of the European defence industry through "tar- geted and smarter spending, greater joint procurements of defence products, closer cooperation in intelligence and further col- laboration in cybersecurity and the protec- tion of critical infrastructure". The EPP which includes the local PN, on its part boasts of being the political force that stands for a Europe "that can defend itself" and "support those who fight for Eu- rope and its values". Its manifesto also comes closer to the idea of a military Union setting the creation of a European Defence Union as its long-term goal and even proposing a commissioner responsible for defence. This would also in- volve the integration of European forces "in the land, sea, cyber space and air". "These forces should complement national militaries, aligned with NATO's new force model, with a rapid deployment capacity of a permanent and immediately available force". But the manifesto makes it clear that this should "not prejudice the specific neutral character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States" like Malta. The manifesto suggests that these coun- tries will still be expected to pay up for the collective security of the Union through the creation of a European Fund aimed at financing "external military interventions" enabling Member States "that do not wish to mobilise their armed forces for this pur- pose to make a financial contribution to the collective European defence". Similarly, ALDE- the liberal centrist group in the European Parliament also advocates the creation of a European Defence Union "in close cooperation with European and NATO partners" by 2040, allowing Europe "to defend its territory", "provide collective security to its citizens", and "be prepared to deploy military capacity efficiently and quickly." It also states that every European effort in the field of defence "has to be embedded and coherent with NATO". More vaguely in what could be a sign of different views between traditionally pac- ifist and left wing parties and the more hawkish German Greens, the European Greens (represented in Malta by ADPD) vaguely express support for the develop- ment of a European security union "within existing structures" and in full respect of in- ternational law, while insisting that military interventions "must only ever be the last resort" and promising continued military assistance to Ukraine. The European Left which has no Maltese affiliates is the only party to defy this con- sensus for increased defence cooperation. While condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a crime under international law, it is the only party to call for "a return to the negotiation table, a ceasefire, and a with- drawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine" and to warn against a new arms race in Eu- rope. The party also calls for enshrining the "rejection of war as an instrument for the resolution of international disputes as one of the fundamental principles of the EU". It also insists that the common security and defence policy of the Union "shall not prejudice the specific character of the secu- rity and defence policy of certain Member States," while making a specific reference to the Ireland which like Malta joined the EU on condition that its constitutional neutral- ity is respected. On the other end of the spectrum, the conservative right-wing ECR's co-chairman Nicola Procaccini from Meloni's Brothers of Italy has also recently spoken in favour of the creation of a European army to com- plement NATO. The even more right-wing Identity and Democracy group, which in- cludes the French National Rally, the Italian Lega Nord and the Alternative for Germany is traditionally more ambivalent on foreign policy issues and its politicians are viewed with suspicion in view of past ties with the Putin regime. The party had also invited Europe's most lukewarm supporter of Ukraine; Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party to join the group. But the latter who has expressed a preference for joining the ECR group, is still keeping his options open. What the European parties say on defence If another EU member state is attacked by anon-EU member state, should Malta join other EU member states in providing military assistance to this state? Overall response Response by age