Not only money, but also reforms and above all assistance in planning and implementing reform projects. European citizens seem to appreciate the role of the European Union in promoting and supporting Member States in carrying out reforms in a wide range of sectors, starting with healthcare, education and public administrations which Europeans would like to be less bureaucratic and more transparent. This is one of the key conclusions of a flash Eurobarometer survey conducted last April among nearly 26,000 respondents in all 27 EU states.
Comparison of best practices and crisis management
From the multiple answers provided by the Eurobarometer survey, it emerges that 42% believe that one of the most important aspects of participation in the Union is the exchange of good practices, confirming the value of comparison, at all levels, between the different realities that make up the Union. Therefore, important help can come from discussions with EU partners. A similar percentage also considers the support provided by the EU to Member States in crisis management: pandemics, natural disasters or conflicts to be relevant. However, the latter aspect does not seem to worry the Italians: only 9%, in fact, consider European aid to be relevant. European financial support remains a weighty element: 34% of those questioned indicate it as a significant contribution from the EU to reforms in the Member States, on a par with technical assistance. But that’s not the first concern.
Health, education and public administration
Public health and education are at the top of the concerns of European citizens. In 11 Member States, more than 60% of citizens are calling for public health reforms and 56% consider these reforms necessary. The percentage drops slightly for education, but still remains above 50%. In Italy, 54% ask for a public health reform, while “only” 43% would like an education reform. More than 45% of European citizens think that public administration in their country is complex, burdensome and slow. To increase trust in their country’s public administration, respondents think it should be less bureaucratic (52%) and more transparent (44%) about decisions and the use of public funds. In Italy the percentage of those who ask for “less bureaucracy” rises to 61%, just below the percentages of Greece and Cyprus. At least four out of ten respondents in Italy (43%), Romania (41%) and Cyprus (40%) respond that the EU can support reforms in their country “by helping to improve skills and abilities in public administration”. In contrast, this type of support is mentioned by less than a fifth of respondents in Hungary (19%) and Finland (16%). Very high (49%) is the request of Italians to have more trained public officials, almost like that of Cypriots. About a third of those interviewed believe that greater communication with citizens and more fluid interaction with more qualified public officials would help improve public trust in the administration. Many are asking for greater involvement in the decisions of the PA, but not in Italy where the request for greater opportunities to participate in the decision-making process stops at 15%.
Don’t worry about the migration issue
European citizens do not appear particularly concerned about the issue of migrants. Only 15%, in fact, considers migration a priority area of intervention in their country. And Italians are completely in line with the EU average. The percentage rises to 37% in Cyprus and 31% in Sweden after recent security problems. In addition to Malta (30%) percentages above 20% are recorded in several Northern European countries: Belgium, Germany, Holland, Austria, Ireland. Virtually all Eastern European countries are below 10%.
The sector that least worries Europeans and even less Italians is the financial sector, for which only 10% ask for reforms, a percentage that drops to 6% in Italy.