Romania shows great openness towards the Republic of Moldova. This is especially felt at the level of relationships that are created between people in twinned communities. To get the most of these relationships and bring them to another level for the benefit of societies on either side of the Prut River, more involvement is needed from the central authorities, thinks Valentina Casian, mayor of Strășeni and also vice president of the Moldovan Congress of Local Authorities CALM.

During an IPN discussion, Valentina Casian said that that the purpose of such twinnings is to bring institutions closer together, forge close ties between communities on both sides of the Prut, but these efforts should also be supported financially.

“We have to admit that we have some parliamentarians who also help to establish such partnerships, but some financial support wouldn’t hurt. While this is not the most important aspect for us, the financial part must also be ensured so that we can exchange experience, organize cultural activities on both sides of the Prut, and implement these projects together. Today we do face such problems: if we are involved in a cross-border project, for example, the Bessarabian side cannot even ensure its financial contribution to the project. It would be great if there was a dialogue between the local and central authorities, because it is also important for Moldova’s path towards the European Union, to see what our possibilities are and to establish a very concrete plan of actions. We at the local level have so far shown that we are open and have taken this step, but it is important that there is also the support of those at the center so that these agreements are consistent and have an impact on the communities”, said Valentina Casian.

The local official underlined that one major goal of twinning projects with Romania is to borrow good practices. This becomes even more important in the context of Moldova’s European integration aspirations.

“We have a lot of objectives and the most important one is to adopt good practices. Because we in Moldova have a lot to learn from each other, but even more so we have a lot to learn from our colleagues who are already in the European Union. I’m talking about the adjustment of the legal framework to the legislation of the European Union, and the dialogue between the local authorities and the central authorities, among other things”.

According to Valentina, the advantage of a close partnership with Romania is that there is no language barrier. “It is very simple to cooperate when raising funds, exchanging experience, and we have to do this. We need to consolidate our efforts, harvest this energy and ensure this interface in the process of the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, an interface that will be convincing for everyone”, added Valentina Casian.