68% of Maltese believe their villages and towns benefitted EU funds
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The Eurobarometer Flash survey on citizens’ awareness and perception of Regional Policy shows that the vast majority of Europeans (81%) believe EU-funded projects have a positive impact on their life – when they are actually aware of those projects (only 40%).
The Commission has stressed the need for more communication from programme authorities and beneficiaries on EU-funded projects and laid out new requirements in its proposal for the next Cohesion Policy. This includes a communication plan for all programmes, social media activities and the organisation of events around important projects.
According to the Eurobarometer, most respondents said that EU should invest more in education, health or social infrastructures (91%), the environment (90%) and should focus on regions with high unemployment (69%), deprived urban areas (54%) and remote and mountain areas (52%).
MaltaToday reports that in Malta almost seven out of every 10 Maltese say they are aware their hometowns have benefited from EU-funded projects – yet just 29% say they benefitted personally from these projects.
The survey found 68% of Maltese saying they are aware of EU-funded projects in localities where they live, outstripping the 40% EU average who are aware of similar projects in their neighbourhoods.
