More than 470 civil servants from the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia and three northern districts have studied the official language at three-year courses organized by the National Association of European Trainers with the support of OSCE and IDIS Viitorul. The authors of the state language study program say that as many applicants want to study the official language so the training courses will continue. Igor Munteanu, the executive director of IDIS Viitorul, said yet that though they identified financial solutions for teaching the courses in other districts, the state should make a larger contribution. The OSCE ambassador Brendan Moran, while attending a meeting summing up the results of the program, said that the authorities are the first that should take care of the linguistic integration of the minorities. “This integration implies responsibility on the part of both sides. The representatives of the minorities must acknowledge the necessity of knowing the state language, while the authorities should treat the subject very seriously,” Brendan Moran said. Most of the participants in the program said they would like to continue the study. Ludmila Dovgani, senior specialist at the Balti City Hall, says that after attending the courses, she can draw up official documents in the state language. Yet, she wants she could speak it fluently. For many times, the simple study of the language is not enough. Many of the civil servants from zones that are compactly populated by national minorities complain that they need a communication environment to strengthen their linguistic abilities, but there is no such for many times. This happens mainly in the Gagauz autonomy. Governor Mihail Formuzal considers that the state language should be better taught in schools. “Only two people spoke to me in the state language during one year and a half since I am in office. That’s why, I think we should include more people in such programs, implement more efficient teaching aids such as CDs and lay the stress on instruction in schools. But we need support. The Government supported only partially our request. We got 4 million lei to better organize the teaching of the state language in schools, but we asked for 13 million lei,” Formuzal added. Under the legislation in force, the candidates for public posts are obliged to know the state language.