Samenvatting

The dissertation at hand intents to analyze how public diplomacy can be used by Romania to improve the image of the European Union in the Republic of Moldova. Romania represents the biggest ally of the Republic of Moldova due to the historical, cultural and linguistic bonds between them. The disappointment generated by the pro-EU government from the Republic of Moldova led to the negative perception of the EU in the Republic of Moldova and to the rise of the pro-Russia parties. Although the EU has been a helpful partner for the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovans prefer closer relations with Russia. The methods that were used in gathering data to answer the central question of this dissertation were desk research and semi-structured interview. The result of the dissertation is that the current public diplomacy strategy of Romania is lacking several important aspects. There are no planned strategic messages in it while the activities laid out in the reports are not effective at communicating with the Moldovan audience because most of them take place in Romania, and not in the Republic of Moldova. The dissertation found that Romania works with NGOs through the Mobility Fund, a project that distributes small grants to joint projects of organizations from both Romania and the Republic of Moldova that aim to achieve change in areas such as European integration, administration reform or good governance. Another result is that Romania conducts its cultural diplomacy through the Romanian Cultural and its activity consistent, as between August 2016 and January 2017, it organized 57 cultural events in Chisinau. The conclusion of the dissertation is that in order to efficiently use public diplomacy, Romania should develop a long term strategy that includes planned strategic messages that will be propagated through events organized by the Romanian embassy at Chisinau. Moreover, Romania should play a facilitator role and pursue Moldovan NGOs to form a network that will push for the European integration of the Republic of Moldova increase the financial support granted through the Mobility Fund. As well, the Romanian Cultural Institute should continue its consistent activity and involve in its events artists that come from other EU Member States.