95% Of Maltese Citizens Believe Corruption is Widespread
The 2024 Special Eurobarometer about Citizens’ attitudes towards corruption in the EU and it’s member states was published in July 2024 with bitter news for Malta
95% of Maltese people who took part in the survey estimate that corruption is running rampant, surpassing the EU average of 68%.
This ranked Malta in third, only falling behind Portugal and Greece. 506 interviews were conducted for the Maltese sample of the results, which accounts to around 0.1% of the current population.
73% of the participants stated that they believe bribes are accepted and distributed by political parties, and more than half said the same things about local politicians and officials responsible in issuing public tenders and building permits. However, 90% answered that in the past 12 months they haven’t witnessed a case of corruption.
The Eurobarometer was released along with the annual Rule of Law Report by the European Commission. Each member state is dedicated their own chapter about the situation of the rule of law.
In the abstract, it is underlined how the anti-corruptions recommendations issued from the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry have not yet been implemented. Another prevalent issue in regards to Rule of Law in Malta is the investor citizenship scheme, where one can buy Maltese citizenship.
The document recognises Malta’s progress in improving the efficiency of justice but notes how in some cases the length of proceedings are too long, taking around 491 days for civil and commercial cases. In regards to justice, it tackles the regulation of activities of lawyers and the high level of perceived judicial independence.
It also refers to the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and media freedom, and other institutional issues related to checks and balances. One of the most notable issue mentioned being the two largest media companies being owned by the two largest political parties and how there has been no discussion about establishing a National Human Rights Institution.
Do you think corruption is prevalent in Malta?
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