Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1544529
WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT €1.00 WEDNESDAY • 22 APRIL 2026 • ISSUE 987 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY EDITORIAL • PAGE 11 Malta tops Mediterranean peers in public service satisfaction, EU survey finds 56% of citizens in Malta report being satisfied with their public adminis- tration, placing the country among the top performers in the European Union (EU) a survey by Eurobarom- eter shows. The figure—made up of 17% "very satisfied" and 39% "satisfied"—not only puts Malta ahead of its Medi- terranean peers but also secures it a joint fifth-place ranking among the member states included in the survey's data annex, alongside Lat- via. The survey published this week was held in in August 2025 includ- ed 500 Maltese respondents. CONTINUES PAGE 2 WEDNESDAY EDITION JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Malta's 2025 deficit to fall below predicted 3.2% MALTA'S deficit has been re- duced to below 3.2%, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana has announced. Caruana was speaking alongside Energy Minister Miriam Dalli during a Labour Party press conference as the pair slammed the Nationalist Party for their inability to ad- dress and understand the on- going global energy crisis. Dalli opened the press con- ference by quoting PN Leader Alex Borg, who, last Sunday, seemed to doubt whether the war in Iran can impact Malta. "Tell what Malta, a neutral country, has to do with it [the war in Iran]," he said. PN MP Adrian Delia's com- ments on the energy subsi- dies were also quoted. Dalli insisted that if Borg and his party cannot under- stand the implications of the energy crisis, they cannot possibly shield Malta from its impacts. Meanwhile, Finance Min- ister Clyde Caruana plainly stated that Malta's energy subsidies cannot exist with- out robust national finances. But despite Malta's expendi- ture to keep energy prices sta- ble, Caruana noted that the national deficit will continue to decrease. This, he explained, was a prelude to a press conference scheduled for Wednesday, where he will announce Mal- ta's 2025 financial results. Here, Caruana said that he will announce that his 2025 deficit forecast of 3.2% was in fact higher than the actu- al deficit, which will be an- nounced on Wednesday. The finance minister stated that Wednesday's financial results show that the PL has a sense of credibility when speaking about economics, one that the PN can nev- er have, because in times of crisis, Malta's economy was brought to its knees while its government did not shield the country from ruin. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Finance Minister Clyde Caruana is set to address a press conference on Wednesday to discuss Malta's 2025 financial results