Moldova sees insufficient efforts to have a common civic identity forged. This is one of the issues discussed by EU Delegation Head Pirkka Tapiola in an interview for IPN.
Pirkka Tapiola has identified the “polarized narrative” as a major internal enemy for Moldova.
“The more the narrative gets polarized the more polarization will take place at the level of citizens as well. That’s the atmosphere. This doesn’t help for the sense of we”, says the European diplomat.
“Some good things have also happened in this regard. The adoption of National Minority Integration Strategy was one of them and it was a very important step, and the EU and member states have been pushing for it.”
Pirkka Tapiola thinks it is important to create a sense of civic identity, “I am not even saying national identity or something else. This is all about what is there which unites us.”
He further suggested that the absence of such common identity makes the Moldovans expect more from either the EU or Russia to bring about change than from their own government.
“Without this sort of ‘we’ which needs to be forged between people with very different personal experience, self-identification and so on, there is an expectation that somebody else at the end will come and in a way take care, whether it is Russia, the European Union or for instance a member of the EU. That somehow somebody from the outside can come and take care”, argues Pirkka Tapiola, adding: “When one decides that one lives on this part of the territory and is responsible for his or her own fate, one puts pressure on vested interests.”
The European diplomat went on to say that while a helping hand could come from outside as well, and the EU is “there to help, support, fund (and) give advice”, “the rest should come internally”.
