Maltese citizens feel closest to the public administration among all EU citizens, according to a Eurobarometer survey.

But although the number of these Maltese is almost triple the EU average, nearly half of Maltese citizens want to see more transparency from public administrations in decisions taken and the use of public funds.

Released on Thursday, the survey, Understanding Europeans’ views on reform needs, asked participants about public administrations in their country, their efficiency, transparency and where they can improve.

The survey defined public administrations to be national, regional and local bodies that deliver crisis response, provide services and contribute to the sustainable development of the European economy.

According to the survey, 43% of Maltese want more financial transparency. This is just 1% lower than the EU average.

The use of public money has been a recent point of tension in the media. On Wednesday, investigations by Times of Malta, OCCRP and The Shift News revealed that public funds intended for the running and revamping of three public hospitals were used on luxury cars, private schools and even Netflix subscriptions.

According to the survey, 39% of Maltese respondents want less bureaucracy within the government while 34% said public administrations needed to have more moral integrity. On average, less than a quarter of EU respondents thought moral integrity would help bridge trust.

A total 43% of the Maltese want more financial transparency from public administrations, it is one point less than the EU average. Photo: EurobarometerA total 43% of the Maltese want more financial transparency from public administrations, it is one point less than the EU average. Photo: Eurobarometer

When it came to whether national administrations were close to the people, 42% of Maltese respondents said they were, pushing up the EU average to 15%.

However, 37% of respondents said Maltese administrations lack transparency and just over a third characterised them as slow when providing services. This was lower than the EU average.

At the top of the list for the Maltese when it comes to areas that need to be reformed the most, public health services top the list, closely followed by education and employment conditions. 

Other areas that the Maltese want to see improved range from migration and the financial sector to more direct solutions such as digitising public services and a greater focus on transitioning to green energy.

When asked how the EU can support such reforms, 43% of Maltese said financially while a similar amount said through educating administrations on how to implement reforms.

Although the Maltese feel close to their administration, Malta is tied for last when it comes to the amount of contact citizens have with public administrations, with both Croatia and Malta seeing 58% of people as having no contact with the administrations for the past year.

Only 7% of Maltese respondents said that they have contacted public administrations more than 10 times in the same time span.

When asked how such interactions could be improved, 45% of Maltese respondents said they wanted more opportunities to take part in the decision-making process while an equal amount sought clearer information regarding public procedures and services.

Other responses included more user-friendly digital services, more digital services in general and a clearer single point of contact for requests to the administration.

 

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