Journal of Danubian Studies and Research, Vol 7, No 1 (2017)

Abstract

Over the last three decades the Republic of Moldova has experienced several waves of reforms and counter-reforms. The governing political forces have implemented different reform strategies, mostly of them influenced by their political interest are short-term. 

Recently, in the public and also in the academic world we hear more and more about the need for an „administrative-territorial” reform. There are several projects and approaches of the future reform. What is common to the most of the discussed projects is the solution offered to overcome existing territorial fragmentation – amalgamation of the local communities. The European experience in territorial organization of local public power offers solutions other than amalgamation. One of these solutions is inter-municipal cooperation. The problem is the following: can inter-municipal cooperation be a solution for overcoming the territorial fragmentation in the Republic of Moldova or it can only be a complementary factor of the amalgamation?