Goodbye 1c and 2c? Majority Of Maltese Want To Abolish Small Denomination Coins
61% of Maltese people to phase out 1c and 2c coins with the shopkeeper rounding off the coppers to the nearest 5c, a new Eurobarometer survey has found.
This survey was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the Euro in the European Union. It has been 14 years since Malta has adopted the currency.
78% of Maltese found the Euro to be beneficial for the country while 66% found that it helped facilitate foreign travel.
68% of Maltese respondents found the Euro banknotes very easy to handle.
Europe-wide, 77% of respondents across the euro area say that having the euro is a good thing for the EU and 69% say the same about the euro for their country.
The survey also measured public perceptions of the EU financial support provided to EU Member States to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.
It reveals that 75% of respondents support the Recovery and Resilience Facility – the instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU – believing that it is good to provide a recovery plan of €750 billion supporting all Member States, through grants and loans, on the condition that they implement green, digital, and social investments and reforms.
The results also show strong support for SURE, The European instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency, with 80% of respondents expressing their belief that it was good to provide EU loans to help Member States keep people in employment.
When asked more specifically about abolishing 1c and 2c coins, 64% of European respondents said they are in favour such an abolition. There is a high fiscal and environmental cost for the non-return of the small change.
Do you agree it is a good thing to get rid of the small change?
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