There are certain simple everyday incidents that convince me that there is no real political will to fight the bureaucracy that ordinary people have to face in their daily lives.

I have recently bought a year's supply of multivitamins from a reputable online pharmacy in the UK. I did this to try and reap the benefits of competition to which the EU gives so much importance. These vitamins in fact cost me a third of the price that I would have to pay for them in Malta. But that was before I added the cost of local bureaucracy.

A few days after ordering these goods, I received a parcel notice inviting me to go to Maltapost's parcel office in Qormi to have two small parcels inspected. To do this, I had to take a half-day off work and spend a considerable amount of time to travel from Naxxar and back. It took me 15 minutes to find a parking place 200 metres from the post office. I then had to queue for more than half an hour before a very customer-friendly Custom's official asked me to open the parcels for inspection.

Of course, I have no problem with parcels being opened for inspection, even if this should be done at random. But why can't such inspections take place in the various post offices near our towns and villages? Has anyone calculated the cost of people having to take time off to collect their parcels?

Another question: why can't the parcels be opened by Customs officials and inspected for any illegal substances and then delivered to the recipient as was done up to some months ago?

Until we tackle local bureaucracy in its most diverse forms, we will remain second class citizens within the EU.