Joining the European Union meant a huge leap in the development of the country and local communities in Romania, say mayors from across the Prut. They are ready to share their experience with the mayors of the Republic of Moldova. In an event titled “Fraternal Round Dance”, which took place in Chisinau, a group of mayors of communes of Romania’s Maramureș, representatives of the Association of Communes of Romania (ACoR), exchanged opinions, good practices and established new cooperation relations with their counterparts from the Republic of Moldova, members of the Congress of Local Authorities of Moldova (CALM),  IPN reports.

The local elected representatives of the two states spoke about the opportunities of the twinned communes of the Republic of Moldova to absorb pre-accession funds, the obstacles in the process of absorption of these funds and what the central and local authorities should pay attention to when negotiations with the EU take place. The mayors could see their counterparts with whom they are twinned or to establish new cooperation relations.

Ioan Mătieș, mayor of Mureșul Mare, Maramureș, reiterated that the mayors of the Republic of Moldova have the same interest as their Romanian counterparts – to integrate into the European community. “We want to show them the difficulties we overcame so that they can avoid them. The experience gained by us means a step forward for our brothers, and the speed at which they will manage to overcome the obstacles will be much greater,” said the mayor of Mureșul Mare, quoted in a press release issued by CALM.

Vladimir Bodean, mayor of Şișcani commune of Nisporeni district, stressed that the local public authorities of Romania and those of the Republic of Moldova have extensive experience in terms of twinning, and there are countless remarkable results. “We are ready to assimilating all the information we receive from our equals regarding the absorption of financial resources by Romania during the pre-accession period. We hope very much that all citizens of the Republic of Moldova will realize that the European Union is our lifeline in terms of infrastructure, better living conditions and security,” said the mayor.

Romania has been a member of the European Union since 2007. CALM and ACoR established a collaborative relationship in 2010.