Shaping a National Identity Malta in the European Union

A comparative analysis of the European Values Study and Eurobarometer surveys identifies continuity and change of the Maltese national identity in the European Union. A shift can be observed from an essentially local and strong traditional national identity toward a more regional, Mediterranean and European sense of belonging. The emotional transmission of an inherited national identity, which has so far been driven by people's attachment to the Church and religion, party politics, local and social solidarity, traditionalism and materialism, is gradually giving way to the reshaping of a national identity in a new social context. The latter is influenced by individualized values, the importance of leisure, and a concern with global solidarity. As citizens of the European Union, most Maltese hold a national-European identity over and above an exclusively national identity. Relative to their average European counterparts, however, fewer Maltese have an exclusively national identity, a European-national identity, or an entirely European identity. They are more likely to combine a national with a European identity. It remains to be seen whether the current national-European outlook of the European-oriented Maltese is taken over by the whole population in the reshaping of a Maltese collective identity for the near future.