CYPRIOTS top the list of EU citizens who think justice is too lenient, too much importance is placed on religion in society and spare time is more important than work.
But Cyprus hits close to the bottom of the lists when it comes to approving of homosexual marriage, adoption by homosexual couples and the contribution of immigrants to society. Very few Cypriots would also approve of the legalisation of cannabis.
In the latest Eurobarometer, due to be announced today, 97 per cent of Cypriots think criminals need to be punished more severely because there is too much tolerance these days. The figure is 12 per cent higher than the EU average.
In a nominally strongly Orthodox country, it was also surprising that 81 per cent thought religion is too important in society, which is almost double the average. In Greece only 34 per cent thought so and in Catholic Ireland only 42 per cent believes so. The Finns and Estonians were least concerned with only one fifth believing religion was too important.
Despite Cypriots apparent problem with the extent of religious influence in society, 86 per cent opposed homosexual marriage and 90 per cent opposed adoption for homosexual couples. Views in Greece were similar but slightly more tolerant. The EU average for both was 56 per cent and 68 per cent per cent respectively.
On the other end of the scale the 82 per cent of Dutch people supported homosexual marriage and 69 per cent approved of adoption for homosexual couples. Sweden and Denmark also scored close to the Netherlands in the tolerance levels.
Cypriots also scored low on their attitudes to immigrants, although the 30 per cent who believed immigrants contribute a lot to the country, was higher than countries such as Malta and all almost all of the eastern European member states. However in Sweden eight out of ten people view immigrants in a favourable way.
When it comes to spare time vs work, Cypriots also top the list with 69 per cent thinking leisure time is more important than working. Less than 50 per cent of Europeans in general feel the same. In Germany less than a quarter would prefer leisure time than work. Up top with the Cypriots were Estonians, Greeks, Spanish, Hungarians and Maltese. On the other side of the EU average were the Poles, the French and the Dutch.
In the general poll on attitudes to the EU, less than half of Cypriots think membership of the EU is a good thing for the country compared to the average of 53 per cent. Ireland tops the list at 78 per cent. Oddly enough even less Finns and Austrians think membership is a good thing with only 39 per cent and 36 per cent respectively saying that it is.
Despite this the EU conjures up a positive image for 56 per cent of Cypriots compared to only 28 per cent in the UK and 34 per cent in Finland. Again most positive was Ireland with 73 per cent and Greece with 58 per cent. But on average only 46 per cent of Europeans see the EU in a positive light.
Less than half of Europeans in general trust the European Commission with the least amount being shown in the UK with only one quarter of people showing trust in the Commission. Germans, Austrians and the French also showed a low level of trust in the Commission but in Cyprus the trust level was 55 per cent.
Cyprus topped the list of countries supporting a common European defence policy, with 89 per cent saying they were for such a development, more than ten per cent of the EU average. The Irish were least in favour at only 52 [per cent.
Cyprus also scored high with the view that the EU should have a common foreign policy towards other countries with 78 per cent of Cypriots being in favour, topped only by Slovenia and Greece with 80 per cent who held the same view. The EU average was 68 per cent. Least in favour of a common policy was the UK with 48 per cent.
