The Romanian Center for European Policies (CRPE) and EURACTIV Romania has launched the report Businesses that changed communities. Between Western support and Eastern propaganda – an analysis on the methods used by the public in Romania and the Republic of Moldova to inform themselves, perception on the Eastern-Western influences, as well as how the anti-Western propaganda occurs.
The report aimed to find and gather facts and concrete initiatives of the West in Romania and in the Rep
ublic of Moldova. Precisely, it sought to understand what is going on in the economic area of these societies, besides the political areas – how anti-Western propaganda manifests here, how citizens perceive influences from both the West and the East and, especially, – the East or the West – left something behind.
Analyses on the anti-Western propaganda in Romania and the Republic of Moldova were coupled with the stories of businesses from both sides of the Prut. Entrepreneurs from the Republic of Moldova were invited to describe how they see the West, whether it has produced a change in their life, community or country and what it would mean standing away from European values. Thus, over 800 people responded to two online surveys launched by EURACTIV.ro on the perceptions of the information sources and East-West narratives, while Report.md – a news portal covering European affairs supported by the Moldovan Branch of CRPE and EURACTIV.ro – documented the views of the Moldovan entrepreneurs on the impact of the West on their lives, community and businesses.The report and related research are part of a more complex project aimed at understanding and fighting anti-Western propaganda – “Telling the true stories of economic development: A new way to combat ant-Western propaganda and disinformation” – supported by the Black Sea Trust of German Marshall Fund. The project explored and promoted successful cases of private businesses development following fruitful interactions with the West.
The materials documented by Lilia Zaharia, Violeta Coleșnic, Elena Covalenco and Vitalie Călugăreanu are available on on www.report.md and pe www.euractiv.ro websites. The editorial management of the report was ensured by Bianca Toma, the program director of CRPE and the editorial team of EURACTIV.ro.
More details about each entrepreneur, as well as the investments that brought improvements to small communities in the Republic of Moldova can be consulted in the full version of the report available in Romanian too.
The views presented in the report belong exclusively to the authors and do not lead to any liability on the behalf of the partners, donors or institutions.