The authorities of the Republic of Moldova must understand that the financial support is very important for the Local Action Groups (LAGs) to be able to resist, the manager of Napoca Porolissum LAG Association of Romania Alina Baba stated in a public debate titled “LEADER approach in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, exchange of experience, transfer of good practices”. She spoke about the activities they carry out to develop communities in Romania and voiced hope that the LAGs in the Republic of Moldova will benefit as soon as possible from the pre-accession funds provided by the European Union.

The representative of Napoca Porolissum LAG Association noted that most of Romania’s rural and small-urban territory is covered by Local Action Groups. Most of the LAGs were established in Romania between 2011 and 2012. The rural development strategies are strictly based on community needs.

“Eleven years ago, I ascertained that the major problem of the young people was that they had nothing to do in their free time. And that’s when we started together with the public partners to identify solutions. You should know that the mayors are not easy to convince either. They want immediate results. And then one of the roles of the LAG is to be a facilitator between what the population wants and what the person who manages the locality wants. We tried to find a balance and explain to them that we need places where the young people can spend their free time. In addition to basic infrastructure, we need other things. Now we’ve funded bike lanes, a self-sustaining ice rink, meaning 98% of it sustains its own energy. We’ve funded sports fields before. We respond to the needs of the young people. Five years ago, we started working in parallel with young people. We created the Rural Youth Parliament and began to involve them in the democratic activities of the city,” said Alina Baba.

The representative of Napoca Porolissum LAG also said that for a Local Action Group to work properly, it is imperative to have animators who would talk to the people in the community to identify their needs.

“The animator is one of the essential pillars of a Local Action Group. The needs of the community are continuously changing. That’s why it is very important for the animator to be on the spot. We have two fellow animators who are every day, for 8 hours a day, in the community. Sometimes they organize meetings, sometimes the people just talk. It’s important to work at the local level all the time, to see what appeals we have. Sometimes we adapt the interventions we fund according to the needs of the community. The animators are very important, but they cannot make documents. They do fieldwork,” said the representative of Napoca Porolissum LAG Association.

Alina Baba also said that the Local Action Groups in Romania cooperate with those in the Republic of Moldova and in the future they can submit joint projects to benefit from European funding. She voiced hope that the LAGs of Moldova will benefit from pre-accession funds as soon as possible.

“We consult with those from the Republic of Moldova whenever needed. That means a continuous partnership. I hope that we will succeed in creating joint projects, including Erasmus projects. For the LAGs in the Republic of Moldova, I want the authorities to understand that the financial support is one of the most important things that the LAG must benefit from because, otherwise, it will not resist. I want the LAGs in the Republic of Moldova to benefit as soon as possible from the pre-accession funds allocated by the European Commission,” stated Alina Baba.

The public debate entitled “LEADER approach in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, exchange of experience, transfer of good practices” was the fifth installment of the project “Double integration through cooperation and information. Continuity”, which is funded by the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova. The content of this debate does not represent the official position of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova.