PROMOTING CIVIL SOCIETY AND INTER-ETHNIC DIALOGUE IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EU ASSOCIATION PROCESS (CIVID)

From July 2018 to July 2019 the Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP) together with its partners, the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) and the Institute for Strategic Initiatives (IPIS) has implemented the project “Promoting civil society and inter-ethnic dialogue in the Republic of Moldova in the context of the EU association process (CIVID)”, kindly supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.

The project team has conducted a series of dialogue workshops on the local and regional level to promote the civil society and inter-ethnic dialogue in the Republic of Moldova (RoM). As an outcome of these activities, the project partners have collected key issues and respective recommendations voiced by the participants that aim at strengthening the social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova. Participants from all regions of the country have contributed to the debate and provided input based on their professional as well as personal experience.

The discussions were structured into four sectors: 1) Education, 2) Economic Development and Social Rights and 3) Media. In addition, a cross-cutting topic, namely 4) the Role of the EU Association Agreement for the social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova has been discussed. By supporting the inter-ethnic dialogue and through engagement with the Agency of Inter-ethnic Relations (AIR), the project also sought to contribute to the implementation of the Strategy for Consolidating the Interethnic Relations in the Republic of Moldova (2017-2027) and its respective Action Plan for 2017-2019.

This synthesis report provides an overview of the findings and recommendations and shall provide the basis for further discussion among and between civil society representatives from different ethnic communities, public officials and other relevant stakeholders for the inter-ethnic dialogue in the Republic of Moldova.