At this moment Moldova is at a political crossroads. But will it move into the direction of the EU?

Wolfgang Behrendt is head of political and economic department of the Delegation of the European Commission in Chisinau. He believes Moldova is on the right track. Igor Munteanu, director of the influential social-economic think-thank IDIS Viitorul believes that the EU should put more effort into the monitoring of the reforms.

Political reforms

Behrendt: “There are improvements in this country, but it goes step by step. The big problem for Moldova is not to create the laws, but to implement them. I believe there is a lack of well qualified people. And those who are skilled leave the country, or work for a company which pays more than the government.”

Munteanu: “The EU should put much more pressure on the reforms of governmental institutions. In the past years they were supporting political figures who promise change, like what they did with president Voronin. That is obviously not working. One of the big problems right now, with reforming the institution, is the fact that the power of the presidential clan is everywhere.”

Behrendt doesn’t want to comment on the presidential influence within society. “But there has to be a change in mentality on all political levels. In this country things have gone on a certain way for many years, and now they have to do it on our terms. The elite in the top knows what the EU wants from them. But to get it all the way down, into all levels of the bureaucracy, that is another story.”

Totalitarian state

During the demonstrations in April, people got killed, journalists reporting on the scene were beaten. In the aftermath people became terrified of the police, students got tortured and NGOs got checked by financial police. That doesn’t seem like a move towards EU, but more a move towards authoritarianism.

Behrendt: “I don’t believe this country is going in the direction of an authoritarian state like Belarus. Remember that Moldova is a country in transformation, with all the problems that come with that. Like a weak and fragile state. It is slowly moving in the right direction, and sometimes it moves back.”

Munteanu isn’t that positive. He is afraid that his country might end up on the wrong track. “This moment, right after the April elections, is a crossroad for Moldova. Now the EU should stick to its principals. If it promotes prosperity and democracy, it should keep the principles very high. The European Union often has a lot of arguments not to do something for us. We are too far, we are too busy, we are still digesting. We know these arguments very well. But now it’s time for them to say that their principles really matter, also for the European citizens outside their borders.”

Expectations of the people

Behrendt: “I believe that the people of Moldova are realistic. They understand that accession to the EU is right now not on the agenda. In this country there is this hope that the EU will bring a better life. A hope not only for more money and better living conditions, but also for more stability and rule of law. They hope that the EU can help them achieve that.”

Munteanu: “Our country does not need the EU as a gift overnight. This country needs transformation, and that can only be accomplished if there is a golden ticket at the end of the race. But in general people expect too much from the EU. That is something you see in all the countries which are willing to integrate. What it is that Moldavians really want from the EU? The commitment of the EU, people need this to accept the fact that they have to suffer. In the end all we need is some democratic solidarity.”

Strawberries are everything for Lozovanu. “You cannot have too many of them,” he smiles. “Everybody wants to eat our strawberries. In our village, we are famous.” He takes a small plate and finds the biggest and the best.

But the love for strawberries is not the most interesting thing about Gheorghe Lozovanu. In a country where a quarter of the workforce is abroad, it’s hard to find someone who has made a clear decision to stay in Moldova.

Staying in Moldova

The reason for Lozovanu to stay is simple, but at the same time complicated. “It doesn’t feel good to leave my country,” he says. He takes his time and starts to think about it. “It is a feeling which is hard to describe. This is my country, these are my roots.”

“When you leave Moldova, you can’t really contribute to the development of the country,” he believes. Although one third of the country’s GDP are remittances, experts say the money that is sent back, is not invested into the society. Lozovanu agrees. “The money they earned in Italy is put into the house, or a car.”

But that doesn’t mean he blames his fellow Moldavians for leaving. “Everybody in this country dreams of a good life and many believe they can find it in another country. It is true you can make much more money abroad. But it takes more to have a good life. For example being close to your family and friends.”

The village is my home

Lozovanu was born and raised in the village of Lozova. A wide spread village 45 kilometers northwest of the capital Chisinau. It is located between green hills filled with vineyards and young barley. A fresh valley wind sweeps the branches of the willows in front of the house. Like his family name, the village originates from these trees which you find everywhere in the region.

This is home for Lozovanu. For no price does he want to live somewhere else. During his agriculture study he spent a few months in Great Britain. “At the moment I entered the plane, I knew that this wasn’t right.”

Improving business

So after his study, he decided to improve the situation and took a more commercial stand on the strawberry fields of his parents. “On the countryside everybody believes they are an expert. But they aren’t really. Things just go as they always went. My parents never studied how to grow strawberries. They just did it.”

Lozovanu takes an other approach. “For example I experiment with different races, bigger ones then we normally have here in Moldova. People are not used to them, but they love them.” He also invests time in studying about his product. “I read books about the best way to grow them. If you want to improve things, you have to study. I think it’s the key to everything.”

Lozovanu dreams of improving his business even more. Last year he applied for a US fund to create an irrigation system, but he didn’t get it. “There are limited amount of funds, and in our region some other projects received the money.” Another thing he loves to have is a greenhouse, so he isn’t dependent on the seasons and can work all year long.

Fear for corruption

But at the moment Lozovanu isn’t that keen on making his strawberry business much bigger. The reason for this is the fair amount of corruption in the country. According to the World Economic Forum this is after the difficulties of getting finance, the biggest factors why people are not investing in Moldova.

“Right now the government leaves us alone. We only have half a hectare of ground and we sell our products on the market in Chisinau. Nobody wants any money from us. But if your business grows, people will see money. At that moment everybody wants their share.”