The European Political Community summit that took place in Moldova earlier this month was a major event, far from the eyes of ordinary people, but with a positive impact on the image of our country, said Mihai Bologan, executive director of the sociological company iData, during an IPN debate on Wednesday.

“It was probably harder to explain to people that it’s a private event, at a very high level, to which just journalists and certain officials have access, but in general, the general public watched this event from afar. I believe that Moldovans at large understand that the Summit had a big positive impact on the image of our country. There are also some concrete results: aid and grants were announced during the summit. Moldova was discussed in Europe’s and the world’s most important periodicals. Including the fact that Moldova managed to hold this Summit and demonstrated good organizational capacities. We found out that in record time we can repair a road about 40 kilometers long, for example. Of course, there are people who also have a negative opinion, who are influenced by certain sources of information and have an already prejudiced opinion”, said Bologan.

Mihai Bologan added that the vast majority of Moldovans have a geopolitical preference for our country, while a small part is not concerned about this aspect at all.

“I would say that more than 80 percent of our citizens have an opinion on the geopolitical vector. Only about 10-15% of them are not interested in this subject. I don’t think many people realize exactly what this process means. A large part of the population would like Moldova to join the EU, and another part some other bloc. Even if they don’t know how this bloc works and what it’s about. The awareness of what a union of states means is relatively small among the population. This means that the authorities should start more actively communicating with citizens, companies and institutions”, said Mihai Bologan.

As for the reintegration of the country and what people on the left bank think about it, Bologan said that, formally, the population there does not see how they could reintegrate.

“It is certain that a large part of the population got used to (the status quo), many were born in the Transnistrian region and do not know what the right bank means. It will be difficult, but there are several social-economic circumstances that could help a lot. There are many kinship relationships on both banks. Many residents of this region commute and work on the right bank. Economic relations and people-to-people relations could represent an impetus for the interconnection of the two banks. Politically it will be complicated, there is the subject of the Sheriff corporation, which is probably the bone of contention. When it becomes clear how this subject can be solved, it will be clear how we can solve other problems”, concluded Mihai Bologan.

The debate was the 10th installment of a series dedicated to the CPE Summit, run by IPN with the support of the Soros Moldova Foundation.