Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1499488
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 MAY 2023 Maltese believe public administration is close to the people but lacks transparency JAMES DEBONO MALTESE public administra- tion enjoys the strongest reputa- tion across the EU of being 'close to the citizens', according to a Eurobarometer survey. But the perceptions survey al- so showed that the Maltese are the third most likely in the EU to describe public administration in their country as lacking trans- parency. Respondents in a Eurobarome- ter survey were asked what best describes the public administra- tion in their country. They were presented with nine descriptions, both positive and negative ones, and they were asked to choose up to three de- scriptions. The findings show that 42% of Maltese respondents described their public administration as 'close to the citizens' , the high- est in the EU. In contrast only 18% described Malta's civil service as 'not close to the citizens'. Moreover, only 19% described the public administration in their country as 'complex and burdensome', which was the lowest in the EU. The most likely to consider public administration in their country as 'complex and bur- densome' were those in France (60%), Bulgaria (58%) and Ger- many (56%), while the lowest shares are observed in Malta, Luxembourg (19%), Estonia (20%) and Sweden (21%). The Maltese (37%) were also the third most likely to describe public administration in their country as one lacking transpar- ency after the Poles (45%) and the Greeks (41%). Furthermore, while believing that their public administra- tion is close to the people, the Maltese were also among the least likely to have had contact with the public administration in their country - between one and three times in the past 12 months. The percentage of people who have contacted a public ad- ministration between once and three times ranged from 25% in Malta to 54% in Hungary. Mal- ta was one in four countries, where over half of respondents said they had not contacted public administration in the past 12 months - Malta (58%), Croa- tia (58%), Ireland (55%) and the Netherlands (52%). Respondents were then asked what improvements could in- crease their trust in the public administration in their country. They could choose up to three improvements from a list of eight. The share of respondents men- tioning 'more moral integrity in the public administration' ranged from 12% in Latvia to 35% in Po- land. Countries with a propor- tion close to that of Poland were Estonia (34%), Malta (34%) and Italy (33%). Finland (13%) and Sweden (14%), on the other hand, join Latvia at the lower end of the country ranking. The Maltese are the most likely in the EU to believe that their public administration is close to them but are also among the most likely to think it lacks transparency. JAMES DEBONO looks at the latest Eurobarometer survey Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana opening the Public Service Week expo (Photo: DOI