The Cabinet also discussed the fact that EU membership offers local councils the opportunity to have five representatives and five substitutes on the Committee of the Region, said Dr Borg. This committee devises EU policies for local governments.
Dr Borg, who is responsible for local government, was speaking at the launch of the 2004 Award for Environment and Cleanliness, a scheme organised by Iklin local council.
He explained that the improvement in the environment is largely due to the initiative and hard work of local councils and said that local councils should be given more power to provide services that were previously centralised.
The ministry is currently examining several proposals presented to amend the Local Councils Act which aim to help local councils provide a higher quality service without any excess bureaucracy.
The proposals include the selection process for mayors and how long a council will be in office.
Dr Borg stressed that with Malta’s accession to the EU, local councils must take every opportunity presented to them to provide an even better public service.