Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/647574
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 MARCH 2016 JAMES DEBONO THE Maltese are celebrated for their philanthropic generosity but the majority – 53 per cent – are not prepared to pay more for groceries and other prod- ucts from developing countries to support people living in these countries. Only 6% of the Maltese would be willing to pay 10% more while 38% would pay 5% more. This emerges from an EU com- mission survey held in member states. People in Luxembourg were the most willing to pay more for gro- ceries from poor countries while the Bulgarians were the least willing. The percentage of Maltese not prepared to pay more for goods from developing countries is six points higher than the EU aver- age. They are also more likely to see charity as an effective way to help developing countries. While 82% of Maltese think that giving donations to organisations which help developing countries is an effective way to reduce poverty, this opinion is shared by 65% of all EU citizens. Along with respondents in Swe- den the Maltese are the most likely to say that tackling pov- erty should be one of the main priorities of the EU (84%). They are also among the most likely to agree that this should be one of the main priorities of the na- tional government (56%). More than three quarters (78%) say development aid should be increased – 11 percentage points higher than in 2014 and signifi- cantly higher than the EU aver- age (68%). After those in Cyprus (89%) and along with those in Greece, respondents in Malta are also the most likely to say that of- ficial development aid is effective in tackling poverty in developing countries (87%). In addition, the proportion of respondents who agree that aid is an effective way to tackle irregular migration is above the EU average (79% vs. 73%). Across the European Union, peace and security (41%), and health and education (both 34%) are the most mentioned chal- lenges for developing countries. Although these are also the three most mentioned challenges by respondents in Malta, they are much more likely to mention ed- ucation (48%) and health (41%), and slightly more likely to men- tion peace and security (44%). Respondents in Malta are more likely than Europeans in general to think that individuals have a role to play in tackling poverty in developing countries (64% vs. 52%), but they are slightly less likely to be prepared to pay more for products from devel- oping countries (45% vs. 50%). Although the proportion of re- spondents in Malta who are per- sonally involved in helping de- veloping countries is higher than average (57% vs. 33%), this actu- ally represents a decrease of sev- en percentage points since 2014. Younger respondents in Malta (aged 15-24) generally hold more positive attitudes towards devel- opment aid than older respond- ents (aged 25+). For instance, younger respondents are much more likely to say that individu- als can play a role in tackling poverty in developing countries (77% vs. 61%), and they are much more likely to be prepared to pay more for products from devel- oping countries (65% vs. 42%). Younger respondents are also more likely to think development aid should be increased beyond what has been promised (24% vs. 14%). News Performing Arts Festival www.teatrumanoel.com.mt • bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt • T: (+356) 21246389 Orphée: Hadar Halevy (16th & 19th), Lucia Cirillo (17th & 20th) • Eurydice: Gillian Zammit • Amour: Francesca Aquilina Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Mro Philip Walsh with the participation of ŻfinMalta, Choreography by Mavin Khoo Directed by Denise Mulholland Set Design by Pierre Portelli • Costume Design by Luke Azzopardi 16, 17, 19, 20 March 2016, 8.00 p.m. Pre-opera talk 7.15 p.m. 1859 Berlioz revision Christoph Willibald Gluck The Maltese would not pay more for goods from poor countries