Welcome to My New Blog!

Finally, some of my ideas have begun materializing. For now, in a new blog. As promised, I am inviting you to visit my new blog which is about corporate social responsibility entitled Corporate and Responsible Blog .

In Transition with Moldova

I haven’t done much blogging in the last months. There are several reasons for such an extreme case of procrastination. First, I’m not aware of any policy or initiative undertaken by prime-minister Greceanii and her government worth talking about. Secondly, I’ve been using Facebook to share my personal adventures and pictures during what is, most likely, my last summer in Moldova. Thirdly, I’ve been thinking about a couple new projects. As soon as I get to a more advanced stage, I’ll post links here so that you can check them out yourself.

Below are some of my favorite pictures taken since my previous post.

Park Sculpture, Cartaret, New Jersey


Rockefeller Center, New York City


Union Square, New York City


Mountainbiking, Countryside, Moldova


African Ostrich, Bardar, Moldova


Public Park, Chisinau, Moldova


Poplars, Countryside, Moldova

Moldova's New Prime Minister: What to Expect?

After a seven-year-long disappointment with the leadership of Moldova's government - provided by the most-longevive Prime Minister, Mr. Tarlev - I can finally indulge in some optimism. The reason for such optimism is Moldova's new Prime Minister, Mrs. Zinaida Greceanii and her handpicked Cabinet of Ministers. Beside being a woman and bearing a physical resemblance to Margaret Thatcher , there are several important features that, in my view, distinguish her from the former PM and might make a difference in the way this country is governed.

- she is an experienced bureacrat;
- is politically-unaffiliated, at least officially;
- is a better speaker.

For now, that's about it. I am willing to give her and her team credit and even nurture a set of 'great expectations'. My expectations regard ANYBODY who becomes a Prime Minister in Moldova and since Mrs. Greceanii accepted this job, I will therefore make a (wish)list against which I will evaluate her performance until the end of her mandate. I expect my Prime Minister to:

- put public interest higher than her own and others' personal interests;
- take her job seriously (at least half as serious as Mrs. Thatcher);
- offer positive and demanding leadership;
- advocate for sustainable democratic institutions;
- communicate effectively with the public directly or via mass-media;
- be open to innovative ideas and proven best practices.

How difficult can it really be to fulfill these basic expections in a small country like Moldova?

P.S. Just noticed that Sandu Culiuc requested my opinion regarding Greceanii Government's priorities. I am not going to come up with anything new since a lot of analytical work has been already done for various other purposes (MCC Threshold Plan, National Development Strategy, various evaluations of EU-Moldova Action Plan, etc.) Greceanii Government's program reflects most of these priorities and is ambitious enough. So, all I will say now is that Greceanii's Government has a full plate and they better start working hard to prove there is political will for real reforms. The countdown against the 2009 parliamentary elections has begun :)

Corruption Haunts Romanian Politics

Financial Times makes an analysis of the serious political impasse faced by Romania. In its effort to fight wide-spread high-level corruption, the public decision making process has suffered the most and has come to a deadlock. Public servants are so afraid of being subject to allegations of corruption that they’ve been abstaining from making any type of spending decisions.

Civil servants are personally liable for any spending decision they approve. That may be a sound anti-corruption measure, but it means no one takes a decision.

Blogger Kosmopolit considers that the major cause of such extreme political malfunction is Romania's outdated constitution. He argues that:

Having clear majorities is indeed desirable for the Romanian political system, but it is questionable whether the proposed electoral reform is enough to change the political landscape. What Romania really needs is a far-reaching constitutional reform that transforms the bicameral system into a unicameral one. Even the semi-presidential system as such should be revisited because clear majorities would even work better with clearly divided powers and responsibilities.

I am not sure whether the constitution is really the main factor in the political crisis in Romania. After all, the Romanian constitution is based on the French model, and can't be too wrong. However, the consequences of fighting corruption described by the Financial Times are thoughtprovoking. How does a country manage to fight high-profile corruption without interfering and/or slowing down the public decision making processes?

NATO Membership: Catch Me If You Can

The Moldovan President's recent interview to the Russian daily Kommersant made the headlines this week in local media. He announced that Moldova is soon to finally resolve the Transnistrian conflict with Russia's full support. Russia requires Moldova to do just one more thing: to prepare a declaration of neutrality and invite US, EU, OSCE, Russia and Ukraine to co-sign it. In other words, to officially abandon the possibility to join NATO in the future, thus remaining, for an indefinite time, in Russia's sphere of influence.

No problem. Moldova's Constitution already recognizes this status. However, public opinion has started questioning this status and hope of eventually changing it by moving closer to NATO was growing. To an international observer, Moldova's way of dealing with Russia over its Transnistrian conflict (and many other issues) might seem at least cowardly, particularly if compared to bold and defiant Georgia and assertive and colorful Ukraine. One would assume: different negotiation approaches - different outcomea and rewards. Not the case. How are Georgia and Ukraine being treated for openly defying Russia and aspiring to join the NATO and then EU? They get a cold shoulder from EU's and NATO's major player, Germany, in the face of Chancellor Angela Merkell who explicitely opposes the possibility that these two countries enter a new phase of their relationship with NATO - the Membership Action Plan(MAP).

"Countries that are involved in regional or internal conflicts can not become members [of the alliance]"

How should Moldova understand this statement? Pretty straightforward: Germany doesn't seem to care for the difficult and bumpy road from totalitarism to democracy in countries like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. Indeed, why would Germany want to spoil its lucrative political and economic friendship with Russia? Perhaps these three countries are not worth such a sacrifice or maybe haven't yet earned the right to aspire to NATO membership. However, I was really hoping that at least the European Union with its polical philosophy and ideology would be worth it.

Kosovo: Who Wants to Be in Serbia's Shoes?

As someone interested in world politics, I find the Kosovo case extremely interesting from several points of view. It is unique. No other conflict in Europe attracted so much attention, involved so many interests and raised such controversy in the post-communist era. It is new. This example of contemporary history in making brings about unprecedented combinations of events, decisions and alliances. It is unpredictable. Nobody knows what the recent developments – the unilateral declaration of one province’s independence from an internationally-recognized sovereign state and its swift recognition by US and major EU states – will eventually lead to. Yet, almost all European states have concerns, fears and expectations stemming from the Kosovo case. Take Romania, for example. Therefore, the decision whether to recognize Kosovo’s independence or not is determined primarily by the self-interest of individual countries.

Moldova has not recognized Kosovo, and is not intending to. It has strong reasons for that. Moldova has a region that has unilaterally declared its independence long time ago - Transnistria. No other country has recognized it since then. Even Russia who has frequently threatened to recognize it if the West recognizes Kosovo, has abandoned this intention and is now trying to save face . Although the nature of the Transnistrian conflict is essentially different from the Kosovo case, the separatist leaders of Transnistria have rushed to urge the international community to apply the Kosovo resolution to their case.

Another observation is related to how a country is forced to take collective responsibility for the atrocity against human beings enacted by its past leadership and army. Perhaps the majority of democratic countries with respect for human life still perceive Kosovo as a victim and Serbia as an aggressor. This type of perception is very important in contemporary Europe, which values world and regional security higher than national and ethnic interests. This perception enables European countries to endorse an action contrary to the spirit and practice of international law in the area of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. I bet no country would want to be in Serbia’s shoes right now.

Are Moldovan VIPs Really Very Important?

Today I came across an article about something I, too, have been pondering lately, namely a relatively recent fashion of identifying and ranking Moldovan VIPs, practiced by local mass media outlets. In this article, Vadim Tataru of the Civic Action wonders whether such ratings, instead of acknowledging real achievements and performance, in fact manipulate public opinion by creating the illusion that the shortlisted individuals are indeed very important and influential people in the Moldovan society.

Vadim Tataru's article describes the methodology which must be employed if the intended result is a credible and reliable VIP rating. Instead of using a sociologically-sound methodology, Moldovan media outlets tend to use rummors, cliches and unverified information as basis for their ratings. As a result, VIP ratings feature individuals of questionable influence such as singers Cleopatra and Pavel Stratan, but fail to include truly influential people such as the trainer of the national football team, Igor Dobrovolski.

Although a number of media try out such ratings, the most assertive is the local VIP Magazin with a flattering motto: "The magazine of famous people". Every Sunday afternoon there is a VIP Magazin program on ProTV featuring various people from politics, business, media, culture, etc. I actually don't mind reading and watching these people talk about their lives and careers as most of them are interesting. What I do mind, however, is their random labeling as a VIP, which in my understanding should be a person of outstanding achievement and significant positive influence on the development of the society. Unless a mass-media outlet can afford to use a scientifically-sound methodology properly, any half-way attempt is bound to result in a dishonorable exercise of public manipulation.

P.S. After having posted this, I found another ongoing online rating. This time the online magazine LadyClub.md wishes to identify the degree of sexiness of 18 Moldovan politicians. By the way, many of these people are among Moldovan VIPs.

Moldova's European Integration: How to Avoid Failure

The timeframe allowed for the implementation of the EU-Moldova Action Plan (EUMAP) is bound to expire soon. This makes Moldovan analysts and think-tanks attempt to reveal the reasons why the implementation of EUMAP has failed. To date, there is an overall consensus regarding the complete failure of the EUMAP. The latest study undertaken by analyst Dumitru Minzarari and IDIS Viitorul is a good read for those still wondering why the gap between European and Moldovan quality of life standards has been widening rather than narrowing and why there is so much talk and so little performance on behalf of public institutions.

The conclusion of the study is that the current government never really intended to implement the measures forseen in EUMAP because by reforming the judiciary sector, strengthening independent mass-media and democratic institutions, it would have eroded all the benefits it currently derives from the status-quo. However, it gained time and political capital by PRETENDING to implement it. The study also factors in Russia's open resistance to Moldova's possibility of joining EU.

The study contains an idea for overcoming the problem. The scenario proposes Moldovan non-governmental organizations establish and maintain an alternative cooperation forum with the Visegrad countries' governments and NGOs (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) to mobilize alternative resources around the Moldovan European integration aspirations and implement the EUMAP. Basically, to create an alternative pseudo-government to do the job of the inefficient Moldovan government with the support of several EU countries. Although I agree with the description of the problem, I find the proposed solution neither justified nor feasible. We may want a positive change in the quality of governance, but the way to pursue change is not by creating an illegitimate replacement for the current government thus creating false expectations misplacing the object and burden of accountability. Since only citizens, represented by competing political parties, can change the government in a democracy, they need to be further educated in exercising tighter control over their government, demanding and recognizing real progress. It may take a longer time, but this is the only way change will translate into progress.

Managing Teleradio-Moldova: Truth or Libel?

Foto:www.deca.md

Now that the long Moldovan holidays are over, besides such events as abundant snowfall that made the traffic even more difficult, and the car accident caused by Mayor of Chisinau, I hear people talking and writing about failures. Failure to successfully implement laws, policies and plans, failure to reform public institutions, failure of Moldovan citizenry to demand a better political representation and government.

It is too bad we are starting off a brand new year with such a poor progress evaluation. However, it is good to see some people feel compelled and independent enough to deliver the bad news. To continue the previous discussion about the well-being of Moldovan public institutions, let’s take the case of the public TV&Radio company Teleradio-Moldova. Two members of the company’s supervisory board published a report which spells out some facts and figures that suggest an extremely poor management of this important but highly-vulnerable public institution. For example, out of all television companies active in the country (about 7), the public TV Moldova1 with 92% coverage has merely a 4.7% audience. In addition, the report provides a colorful picture of how the company is managed on everyday basis, including its human resources, finances, public relations. Evidently, in this picture, the director of the company does not look very good. So, he decides to sue the authors of the report - and the organization they are affiliated with - for libel.

Will have to see what the court – another public institution – decides in this case. For now, however, I look at this report as a favor to the public in the sense that it provides some hard evidence (although, I must admit, still poorly documented and referenced) about the quality of management of one of its key institutions – the national television and radio. It does provide some answers to those of us wondering why the quality of Moldova1 and Radio Moldova programs reached a level so low it is below any criticism.

Moldovan Democracy II: The Amazing Story of the Christmas Tree

Once upon a time, Chisinau Mayor issued a decision to have a beautiful Christmas tree installed in the central square of the city. The city agency in charge of such activities purchased the tree and installed it in the square. The municipal police was charged to guard and protect the Tree. However, in the morning, the Mayor and other city residents witnessed a miracle: the Christmas tree has moved across the street.

Although I wish this were a miracle, it is not the case. It is an example of the municipal police in action. In the middle of the night, the police assisted in the relocation of the Christmas tree. When asked by the Mayor for an explanation, the head of the police blamed everything on the agency that installed the tree. (More here )

One might wonder how this can be possible. According to Moldovan legislation, although it is funded from the city budget, the wonderful municipal police is subject to double subordination: to the Mayor and the City Council, on one hand, and to the Minister of Interior (who is subordinate to the Prime Minister and the President) on the other hand.

There is an ongoing conflict between the central and municipal governments, and this story is yet another manifestation and outburst. The City government intended to install a Christmas Tree early enough for all Chisinau residents to enjoy a longer holiday season and provide the opportunity to celebrate Christmas Day, including on December 25. The central government insisted that the Christmas Tree be mounted not earlier than December 30 presumably because the majority of city dwellers are Christian Orthodox who celebrate Christmas by the old calendar (January 6). In this conflictual situation, the municipal police preferred to display their loyalty not to city residents (who elected their Mayor last summer), but to the central government. Indeed, Moldovan democracy is amazing!

Financial Times Joins Debate on Moldovan Identity

In the previous posting I discussed Furman's opinion regarding the quality of democratic institutions in Moldova. One thing I agree with him is the existence and continuous exacerbation of the Moldovan identity crisis. It is like an active volcano that occasionally erupts and triggers chains of decisions, events and actions in the public sphere, both domestically and internationally.

One such recent eruption happened during a visit of the Moldovan President to Brussels, the capital of EU. The President complained about Romania's alleged attempts of undermining Moldovan sovereignty. As a result, a number of international media outlets such as Financial Times joined the debate on Moldovan statehood, security and identity.

Moldovan Democracy: How Amazing Is It?

I came across an interesting, yet somewhat controversial article Amazing Moldova by D. Furman. The author looks at the situation of democracy in Moldova from a different perspective and finds that Moldova's metamorphosis from a Moscow-ruled Soviet republic into an independent country is profoundly unique in the midst of the NIS area. Although Moldova has become neither a truly democratic state, nor a “weakly managed” democracy such as Azerbajan or Belorus, it managed to combine in an unprecedented way features from both types. Moldova peacefully combines two extremes records in the NIS area: on one hand, the revival and return to governance of a powerful communist party, and on the other hand, the highest level of alignment of its institutions to the general democratic model.

According to Furman, despite serious economic difficulties and a profound national identity crisis, the Moldovan democratic institutions have continuously developed. In fact, he claims, the societal cleavage on the national identity issues has actually reinforced the Moldovan democracy. Moreover, the return of the communists, instead of killing democracy, has actually strengthened it. The most amazing conclusion of Furman’s analysis is that Moldova can even teach other countries a lesson … in political honesty.

“The specific Moldovan circumstances contributed to the situation in which the “rules of the game” were followed by both the Moldovan ‘players’ and, more consistently, by the West. The result is not bad. Possibly, Moldova’s most important lesson resides in the fact that, very often, honesty is the best way of doing politics.” (own translation)

I think the basic question raised by Furman is both important and interesting. Moldova is indeed a unique case in terms of political development. Perhaps, from outside and in comparison with other NIS countries, Moldova’s situation does not look so bad. However, I cannot agree with Furman’s optimistic view regarding democratic institutions in Moldova. From within, they seem to stagnate and public respect towards them is continuously falling. The revival and return of a communist party to power might not have killed (but frequently discouraged) all democratic institutions and processes (a worst case scenario which, by the way, is being gradually enacted in Russia by a non-communist party). The return of the communists and their on-going rule should be seen and evaluated in terms of opportunity costs. The low quality of governance brought by the communists has allowed major development, social and security challenges to stay unresolved or even worsen. For years now, Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe, largely due to continuous lack of political astuteness and maturity. Preserving status-quo is the easiest thing to do in Moldova, and should not be regarded as a political accomplishment.

CSR for Moldova: Too Soon, Too Late?!

Eurasia Foundation, American Chamber of Commerce and United Nations Development Programme in Moldova joined their efforts and organized an international conference Corporate Social Responsibility for Moldova on November 8 in Chisinau City. An outstanding fact is that this project was financed primarily from corporate sponsorship. Eurasia Foundation came with the idea, attracted two like-minded partners - the AmCham and UNDP - and conducted a fundraising campaign, which resulted in 10 companies making financial contributions to cover related costs.

The funds came from companies, the skills came from the non-profit sector. Who benefited? Because the actual value of this Conference – knowledge and information about CSR practices abroad and in Moldova – is inherently a public good accessible directly to participants and indirectly to a wider audience - via media outlets that covered the event, this blog, private and public discussions, and debates – it is difficult to identify and quantify beneficiaries. Although knowledge about CSR – and for Moldova CSR is new knowledge – is important, there is something even more important for Moldova. Cooperation as process, cooperation among sectors – pubic, non-profit, private, media – towards achieving a mutually advantageous societal goal – be it knowledge creation/dissemination, or policy implementation, or job creation – was the most valuable Conference result of all.

Genuine CSR practices exist in Moldova, and this was the most vocal conclusion of the Conference. CSR is good for companies and society at large, both internationally and in Moldova. Government needs to understand this and encourage CSR-friendly policies and laws, media needs to learn to distinguish between CSR and corporate publicity, and the non-profit sector needs to take initiative and be at the right place, at the right time and with the right idea. Then, CSR will be at home even in Moldova. Here is a TV7 news report on the Conference.

Searching for Truth in Moldova

Lately, I’ve had a pressing desire to find reliable facts on several issues of public interest, or what media likes to call “scandals”. When I feel such need for truth, I remember a story of several blind men who attempted to describe an elephant. Each of them touched a different part of the elephant, and concluded that the elephant was, in fact, something that resembled 1) a big snake 2) a sword fish 3) a tree trunk 4) a wall 5) a rope, etc. The idea of the story is that everyone is right in their own way, and that the ever-escaping truth can be attained only by considering all possible opinions.

I’ve followed this rule of thumb for the last couple of years in the public sphere in Moldova, and I discovered that Moldovans are pretty opinionated people. Almost everyone is eager to offer their opinions on pretty much every possible topic. Media abounds in various opinions. However, listening to this multitude of opinions rarely led to any miraculous revelation of truth. Why? The majority of opinions – particularly those continuously present in Moldovan media – are poorly informed and seriously biased. Politicians are, of course, the most outspoken, although as poorly informed as the majority of common citizens. This leads to a very lively public life: about 2-3 scandals – domestic and international – a week. Moldovan politicians like to politicize things, and one can’t blame them for that. After all, their job is to accumulate political capital in any possible way and from any possible source. Therefore, as a rule, politicians shouldn’t be regarded as a reliable source of information.

Then, who and/or what could be reliable sources of information, hard data and real facts? In an ideal world, public institutions (financed by taxpayers) would provide objective information – via mass-media and civil society – back to the public. Once highly-objective information is publicly available, then a politician can use it – as any other citizen – to support his arguments, propose changes and win votes. We all know that Moldova is not an ideal world, but, interestingly, of all these key elements, objective information is the one missing in the Moldovan public sphere. That is, before they could express their opinion regarding what the elephant looked like, the blind men needed to actually touch a REAL elephant.

Ukraine: Emerging as Regional ENP Leader

High level EU officials paid an official visit to neighboring Ukraine for the EU-Ukraine Summit last Friday, 14 September. The delegation included the European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and EU's top diplomat, Javier Solana. The mere fact that these two EU leaders visited Kiev is pretty important both for Ukraine and Moldova. Apparently, Ukraine emerges as a regional leader in EU enlargement debate and negotiations, and Moldova is right in between the two sides.

Ukraine is one of the European Neighborhood Policy countries, along with Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia. Because the ENP does not open any doors to EU accession, Ukraine has taken a vociferous position in its relation with the EU. Namely, it advocates for a differentiation of the EU approach towards certain ENP countries who have legitimate and clear European integration aspirations, including Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Moldova - all former Soviet republics. Ukraine made this position very clear at the first ENP conference Working Together: Strengthening the ENP held in Brussels on 3 September, 2007.

Why is Ukraine's emerging role as regional ENP leader important for Moldova? First, Ukraine is a big country (47 million people) rich in natural resources, which gives it significant negotiation clout. Secondly, Ukraine is perceived as advancing better and faster on EU-driven reform paths. Thirdly, Ukraine has a politically-active citizenry, being a country where the Orange Revolution took place. All these factors allow Ukraine to strengthen its position as a regional ENP leader, and eventually persuade the EU that several countries deserve to be considered for membership. Needless to say, this opens a window of opportunity for the 3.5-million country stretching in between. Although, until recently, the Moldovan Government tried to talk the EU into considering Moldova as an accession candidate along with the Western Balkan states (unfortunately, without any success), it is important that the Government take serious measures not to miss this emerging opportunity, and cooperate closely with Ukraine in sharing and advocating this new position in its relations with EU.

Week-end in Tiraspol

Transnistria is a must-see destination for foreigners visiting Moldova. At least this is what the guidebooks say. So, my friends and I decided to spend our Sunday visiting Tiraspol, the capital city of Transnistria. Today, Tiraspol is a quiet and green city of about 160,000 inhabitants, located on Nistru River. It was established by Alexandr Suvorov in 1792 as a fortress protecting the Christian world against tatars.

However, to me, Tiraspol did not feel like home, unlike Ungheni or Cahul cites would. Maybe it is because the percentage of ethnic Moldovans is unusually small (circa 15%) or because the number of monuments of Bolshevic and Soviet heroes (Lenin, Kirov, etc.), existance of a museum of Transnistrian statehood, the presence of a red-and-green flag emanate the chill of an isolated frozen conflict zone.

How Much Moldovans Love Their Country

Moldova’s Independence Day – 27th of August – serves an occasion for Moldovans to assess their level of patriotism and define their attitude towards their country of citizenship. A couple of local TV stations conducted random interviews with Moldovans, and the general conclusion was that too many people had a wrong idea or no idea at all about this important holiday. After sixteen years of independence that is self-determination, self-governance, sovereignty, irresponsible mistakes and lesson learned, political turnarounds, used and missed opportunities, all types of mostly uncompleted reforms, ambiguous international participation, a great deal of people don’t really care about being citizens of Moldova.

Politicians, journalists, historians, analysts – the so-called local intellectual elite – all offered various explanations to this puzzling attitude. Some think Moldovans haven’t completed their national identity quest, others factor in the massive disappointment of Moldovans with their state and political elite, struggling for survival in poverty and injustice, yet others think Moldova as a country – too small, too vulnerable, and isolated – can inspire nothing but skepticism and disrespect.

These and many other arguments are probably true. However, one fact is truer than others: Generally, Moldovans are not patriots. Few Moldovan have a genuine sense of public good, communal solidarity and a shared vision on the future of their country. Moldovans’ love for their country is limited to their families and closest friends, the house(s) and trees and vegetables in their gardens. When a Moldovan enters the public domain and starts making decisions that affect people outside close circles, this is when this shortage of patriotism is accutely felt.

Action by and for Youth with Disabilities

An unusual event was launched today in Chisinau: Amprente Art Exhibition , which provides young people with disabilities the opportunity to display and sell their works of art and handicraft. This event is part of a broader Disability with Ability Campaign supported with American and Norvegian funds.

Everyone who is interested in enjoying the creativity of Moldovan youth, and seeing the world from a different artistic perspective, you are welcome to visit this exhibition at the National Archeology and History Museum of Moldova on 20-26 August everyday except Friday from 10 am to 6 pm.

Greece: A Model Tourist Destination

Greece was the destination of my vacation this summer. Still overwhelmed with the poetic beauty of the Cycladic Islands, I'd like to share my favorite pictures that will talk for themselves.

Santorini island


Colorful boats


Oia at dusk


World-famous sunsets


Donkeys still around


For more pictures, please see this slideshow

How Do Non-Profits Contribute to Moldova’s European Integration?

Although the biggest role in the implementation of EU-Moldova Action Plan is reserved for the Government, Parliament and Judiciary of Moldova, there is still a lot that non-profit organizations could do to help bring Moldovan society closer to European values, practices and standards. What could and should be done is up to the non-profits to figure out. For now, I will talk about an innovative initiative in this area – the Pro-Europa Centers in Balti and Cahul towns.


The Pro-Europa Center in Balti is run by Regional Center Contact, and the one in Cahul is run by Association Dialogue. The Pro-Europa Centers provide plentiful of EU-related information and training services to various social groups in their regions. Through activities such as workshops, study visits, public presentations and debates, guest speakers and public campaigns, Pro-Europa Centers encourage the non-profit sector, academic and professional communities, and the private sector to get informed and educated about EU affairs, thus enabling them to apply critical judgment regarding the governmental policies and reforms in this area. It is noteworthy that due to the efforts of Pro-Europa Centers, 2007 was the first year when Europe Day was ever celebrated in Moldova.


The Pro-Europa Centers will continue their activities in the following year. Currently, these Centers are being funded entirely by international donors. I hope this support will continue, and Moldovan Government will decide to contribute as well, given that European integration is officially a top priority on its agenda.