A majority of Italians admit to holding negative feelings about the number of immigrants settling in the country.
According to a survey carried out by the European Commission, around three-quarters of those polled felt negatively towards immigration concerning people from outside of the EU, while over half of respondents (56 per cent) are unhappy with the number of European migrants choosing to live in the country.
Just 3 percent felt ‘very positive’ about the thought of welcoming immigrants from outside the EU, while 33 per cent of Italians were ‘very negative’.
Attitudes towards fellow Europeans were marginally more positive. Again only 3 per cent of Italians said they felt especially welcoming to EU migrants, but a far smaller 19 per cent felt ‘very negative’ about their presence.
However, while immigration is one of the country’s key concerns, the majority of Italians state that they are more worried about the state of unemployment and the economy. While 18 per cent of those surveyed said that immigration was one of the two most important issues facing their country, a whopping 60 per cent of respondents believe that the unemployment situation is far more important, while 37 percent said the same about the economic situation.
Taxation was also deemed a more pressing concern, with 24 per cent of Italians claiming is one of the country’s most important issues.