Inter-Municipal Cooperation: An Alternative Solution for The Amalgamation Projects?

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 aworld we hear more and more about the need for an „administrativeterritorial” 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 acomplementary factor of the amalgamation?