Communication is crucial in explaining benefits of European integration, Iurie Leanca

Foreign Affairs and European Integration Minister Iurie Leanca thinks it is crucial for the government to communicate with the general public in order to explain the benefits of the European integration so as to mitigate euroscepticism, which recent polls showed to be rather high and going up among Moldovans. “It is true that the government, while being so plenary immersed in efforts to reform socioeconomic areas, has paid less attention to communicating with the general public to explain them the essence of the on-going modernization processes and their effects. It is crucial to engage in communication in a structured and systemic manner with the population to explain the benefits that we will obtain in the short and medium run following meetings with European officials”, he stated in an interview with Info-Prim Neo. “The assessment given to the results of polls by political analysts and sociologists rather indicate a causality between the drop in the percentage of EU accession supporters and the economic crisis experienced today by the EU, or more precisely the entire Europe, and not only. In fact, similar trends are being recorded within the EU itself as well, as the member countries' populations have been affected by the crisis. What we feel and see today, we certainly cannot ignore, but perhaps what is more important is the prospect of the economic situation getting eventually better in Europe, with direct implications for the living standards in Moldova. The fact that the EU is investing in the modernization of our roads, and you can see it by yourselves by taking a trip across the country, in our power grid and gas connections, in the development of agriculture and wine industry, should most certainly make us confident and optimistic about Moldova's European future”, said Iurie Leanca. In this context, the Minister said that the Moldovans should clearly distinguish between the objecting of reaching Europe by oneself and becoming part of Europe. “ It is a big difference between making it to Europe and becoming integral part of Europe, enjoying, on equal footing with other member states, all the opportunities of increasing living standards that a united Europe are offering. For example, trade will not be any longer with a foreign market, but with the internal market of the EU, whose part Moldova will be as well, and this will automatically exclude all cross-border issues, duties, customs, and so on. Accession to the Schengen Area, plenary participation in all the EU policies on cohesion and regional development, rural development, investment promotion, support to small and mid-sized enterprises, a common energy market, are further examples of the indisputable advantages of the EU membership. Further, benefits of political nature are more than obvious. However, all these can only be achieved through plenary accession, if I may say so, to the EU”, Iurie Leanca stated in his interview with Info-Prim Neo.