romanian village, european village - assesing the impact

8/14/2019 Romanian Village, European Village - Assesing the Impact

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This report discusses the results of the impact studies carried out in six Romanian villages in order

to assess the campaign for promoting the European values.

Mlina Voicu and Bogdan Voicu (senior research fellows, RIQL) designed the whole study,ensured the coordination of the fieldwork activities, and elaborated this report.

Thirteen researchers performed the fieldwork research in the six villages, and produced initial

repots for each of the villages:

AINTI (Anti commune, Mure County): Cristina Dobo and Cosmina Chiu (both RIQL)HNETI (Hneti commune, Botoani County): Adina Mihilescu and Gabriela Neagu (both RIQL)TOMANI (Tomani commune, Prahova county): Mihnea Preotesi and Claudia Petrescu (both RIQL)TRAIAN VUIA (Traian Vuia commune, Timi county): Laureniu ru and Carmen ru (both from the WestUniversity Timioara)TRIFETI (Trifeti commune, Iai County): Dana Niulescu, Cristina Bjenaru, Mariana Dan (all from RIQL)ZERIND (Zerind commune, Arad County): Melinda Dinc and Toro Timbor (both from the West UniversityTimioara)

Ioan Mrginean (full professor of sociology; deputy president, RIQL) provided technical expertise

during the whole activity.

Contact:Institutul de Cercetare a Calitii Vieii(The Research Institute for Quality of Life)

Casa Academiei Romne, Calea 13 Septembrie 13, etaj 2, sector 5, Bucureti, cod 050711

ph.: (4021) 411.48.00 fax: (4021) 411.48.05 e-mail: [email protected] http://www.iccv.ro


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Romanian Village, European Village. Assessing the impact of the communication campaign The Romanian Village, European Village.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................4

Introduction....................................................................................................................................6

I. The six villages. Basic facts ........................................................................................................7

I.1. Ainti, MS............................................................................................................................ 7

I.2. Hneti, BT......................................................................................................................... 10

I.3. Traian Vuia, TM................................................................................................................. 11

I.4. Tomani, PH ....................................................................................................................... 13I.5. Trifeti, IS........................................................................................................................... 14

I.6. Zerind, AR.......................................................................................................................... 16

II. Community initiatives & community life .............................................................................19

II.1. Tomani, PH...................................................................................................................... 19

II.2. Trifeti, IS.......................................................................................................................... 20

II.3. Traian Vuia, AR................................................................................................................ 21

II.4. Hneti, BT........................................................................................................................ 22

II.5. Ainti, MS ........................................................................................................................ 23

II.6. Zerind, AR......................................................................................................................... 24

III. Attitudes towards European Union and towards Romanian integration ........................25

III.1. Awareness about European Union................................................................................... 25

III.2. Interest in topic of European Union .............................................................................. 25

III.3. Attitudes towards European Union and towards Romanian integration.......................... 27

III.4. The European village....................................................................................................... 28

Defining the European village .......................................................................................28

My village: a European village......................................................................................29

III.5. Social representations of some of the values promoted through the campaign............... 32

Community involvement (spirit comunitar) ...................................................................33

Solidarity........................................................................................................................33

Romania .........................................................................................................................33Europe............................................................................................................................34

III.6. Conclusions...................................................................................................................... 34

Conclusions...................................................................................................................................35


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report aim to evaluate the attitudes of the Romanian rural population towards European Union

and to evaluate the villagers orientation toward two values: community spirit and solidarity. These

values are of special interest as long as the information campaign of Delegation of the European

Commission in Romania, having as target the rural population, focuses on them.

We have investigated six villages, coming from the six different clusters of the socio-cultural

typology proposed by Professor Dumitru Sandu for the Romanian rural localities. The six villages

include remote localities, and localities close to the towns, traditional and modern villages, poor and

better off communities, also including a good regional coverage, as well as village closer to the

Western border (the border with the EU), the Eastern one, or located in the middle of the country.

Table 1 and Table 2 briefly describe the six localities.

In each village we have carried out two stages of fieldwork: the first one was done in April 2005, in

order to have a baseline image of the respective village. The second visit in the village was done in

May 2005.Between 25 and 35 depth interviews were carried out in each stage in each village. The

subjects were randomly selected, but we have included in the sample key persons in transmitting

information at the community level (local representatives, school director, the priest), as well as the

main local entrepreneurs.

Summarizing, one can say that the inhabitants of the six villages display positive attitudes towards

the European Union and towards the Romanian accession, but they have strong representations

about the costs of the integration. On the other hand, the EU integration is not the main topic on the

public agenda of the villagers. Most of them have some general information and they do not

actively search for such information. Their attention is concentrated mainly on the information

related with the agricultural activities and with the EU regulation in the agricultural area.

The villagers from the six communities define the European village mainly in terms of goodinfrastructure, good economic development, high incomes and high level technology use in

agriculture. Most of interviewed people do not consider their village as being a European one. The

most frequent invoked reasons are: the lack of infrastructure, the low level of economic

development and the differences in the way to practice agriculture, few respondents mentioning the

differences in terms of values and mentalities. Only the people in Zerind consider their village as

being a European one, even if they have mentioned some differences, too.


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INTRODUCTION

This report aim to evaluate the attitudes of the Romanian rural population towards European Union

and to evaluate the villagers orientation toward two values: community spirit and solidarity. These

values are of special interest as long as the information campaign of Delegation of the European

Commission in Romania, having as target the rural population, focuses on them.

The present report tries to evaluate the attitudes towards European Union and the spreading of the

solidarity and of the community spirit in six Romanian villages. The six villages were selected at

the suggestion of Professor Dumitru Sandu, based on his paper which attempts to classify the

Romanian rural localities according to their cultural patterns1.

Table 3. The six cultural types of villages according to Dumitru Sandu and the localities selected for the current

assessment

Village type Defining featureNumber of

villages% of rural

populationAverage

size

Selected village(county in the

brackets)

Modern

With higher stocks of

education (better educated

population)

2.456 18,8% 770Tomani

(PH)

Of immigrationWith large percents ofimmigrants from other

localities

1.492 16,6% 1.117Traian Vuia

(TM)

Ethnic

minorities

With a high percent of

Hungarians741 7,0% 947

Zerind(AR)

Religious

minorities

The percent of minority

religious groups is higher

than average

2.284 29,2% 1.286Ainti(MS)

Isolated

Remote villages, far from

any town, far from

European roads

2492 13,7% 554Trifeti

(IS)

Traditional Low education stocks 2.592 14,7% 571Hneti

(BT)

1Dumitru Sandu. 2004. Culture and migration experience in Romanian villages, Sociologie Romneasc, II (3, toamna

2004): 179-201.


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Note: Dumitru Sandu used cluster analyses to propose a cultural typology of the Romanian villages. He considered the

education stock, the isolation, the percent of immigrants within the locality, the percent of religious minority groups, the

percent of Hungarians ethnics (as the second largest ethnic group in Romania). Combining the five criteria throughcluster analysis, one may get the above six types of villages

2. 12057 out of the 12402 rural villages with more than 19

inhabitants (at the 2002 Census) were classified. For other 345 villages Dumitru Sandu lacked complete data on the

considered indicators, while 236 have less 19 inhabitants or less. Other 995 villages are included in urban areas andwere not considered. Source: D.Sandu (2004), Table 5, page 188.

In April 2005 we have carried out a baseline fieldwork, in order to collect basic information about

each of the investigated communities. Along with the factual data, we have focused on existing

levels of social capital and community action, and the representations about EU and the EU

integration. Between 22 and 26 of May we had a second entrance into the six communities..

Between 25 and 40 subjects were interviewed in each village, including the four presumptive direct

recipients of the printed journal. All teams tried to integrate in the community and spent the nightsduring the fieldwork in the respective villages, hosted by local people. In depth interviews, peer

group discussion, and participative observation concurred to structuring a reliable image about the

proposed goals. The pretext used for us being in the respective village was a research of how well

the typology of the Romanian villages fits the existing reality and the investigation of the attitudes

towards EU accession.

We start with briefly presenting the major features of six villages. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on

describing the baseline position of the villagers towards collective action and EU integration.

Conclusions complete the report.

I.THE SIX VILLAGES. BASIC FACTS

I.1.Ainti, MS

Located in the nearby of Ludu, only five kilometers from the national road connecting Trgu

Mure to Cluj-Napoca, Ainti is the biggest and the better developed village of the Anti

commune (the names of the village and of the commune are different, but very similar!), counting

for 45% of the communes total population. Unlike the other four villages of the commune, with a

2From each of the six categories of villages identified through empirical analysis by Dumitru Sandu, we have selected

the one which is closer to the cluster center.


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mainly Hungarian population, Ainti is inhabited by Romanians.

Box 1. Ainti: Basic facts

Village: AintiPeripheral village in the commune: Anti, Mure County

Inhabitants (2002):........................................................................ 743% Hungarians (1992):................................................................. 3,5%% population with post-lower secondary studies (2002): ..........39,2%Average age (adult population, 2002):......................................... 49,7Distance to the closest town: ...................................................... 5 km (Ludu)

Religious groups: Orthodox, Greek-Catholic

Development level: average-high (it ranks 2.213, from 12.475 villages considered3)

The 244 households are relatively rich4 when assessing the immediate indicators of housing quality:

size, construction materials, maintenance, the fences, the courtyards etc. The roads are paved and in

relatively good condition.

Like many Romanian rural communities, before 1990 Ainti was better contacted with the life of

the nearest towns, at least through the higher number of daily commuters (about 300, according to

the villagers). Nowadays, there are only a few commuters left. Agriculture is re-enhancing its role

as main source of income. The plots of land are average as compared with other Romanian rural

areas, but more productive since they are used mainly for vegetable cropping and livestock raising.

One should note that farming is not directed only to subsistence: especially in the case of milk, the

production is mainly market-oriented. This ensures a relative prosperity (displayed in the few newhouses and in the relative variety of merchandises from one of the two shops), but also some

permanent connections with the outside world.

3Dumitru Sandu, Dezvoltare i srcie n satele Romniei [Development and poverty in Romanian villages], Sociologie

Romneasc, 4/1999. The data base, available at www.sociologieromaneasca.ro/baze/level98SR.zip, was updated in

January 2004 with data for 2002. The index combine the influence of the quality of the roads, the locality size, the

quality of the houses (construction material, access to running water and electricity etc.), the percent of employees, thepercent of non-farming occupations, the infant mortality, the attractiveness of the locality for migration, the structure of

the population (too old villages are penalized), the isolation (access to railway, national road, distance to closest city

etc.)4

As compared with the average Romanian village.


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Box 2. Ainti: occupations

Main occupations: land cropping, stock raising

50-70 waged workers, mainly in public administration/services, but some 20

work in the private sector

Average size of the plot of land: most households own 2-5 hectares, but a few have about 20 ha

Livestock: 200 cows, 6-700 sheep, 120 goats, 70-80 horses (most households own 1-2 cows, 5-6

sheep)

10 tractors, an electric milking machine

Milk is sold to large milk processors such as Danone and Albalact

Cereals and vegetables are sold out in the markets of Ludu, Ocna Mure, Turda or Cmpia Turzii

Circulatory migration is not high, but somehow it played an important role in the village life. One

of the most influent persons within the locality is a former emigrant in Switzerland. Lately he came

back home, and started a small farm, also buying an electric milking machine. He is one of the most

important centers for information dissemination in the village.

Box 3. Ainti: Transportation, Communiting, Communications, Migrants, Shops

Commuters: 10-15

Highschool students: 16-20 (mostly in Ludu, some in Trtgu Mure, too)

Connections: buses to Ludu (2 every day). Railway connection is available from Ludu, which is

also located on the national road, and has good bus connections to Trgu Mure and

Cluj-Napoca.

10-15 circulatory emigrants.

Communications: almost half of the households have a fix phone; there are some 80-90 mobile

phone subscriptions. Some 100 households have cable TV. Several Radio stations have

good signal and can be received in Ainti.

Newspapers get an average audience.

2 shops, 2 pubs, a bricolaj store.

Despite the coexistence of two major religious groups (Orthodox and Greek-Catholic), no conflicts

were noticed. Some tensions may be related to the more important help received by other villages ofthe commune (inhabited by Hungarian speaking population) from some Dutch donors, but these

strains are rather weak.


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I.2.Hneti, BT

Hneti, the capital of the homonym commune, is a poor village, located in the middle of nowhere,

on a secondary road, 11 kilometers South-East of the small and low developed town of Sveni, and

50 kilometers far from Botoani town.

Box 4. Hneti: Basic facts

Village: Hneti

Capital of the commune: Hneti, Botoani County

Inhabitants (2002):...................................................................... 1274% population with post-lower secondary studies (2002): ..........26,9%Average age (adult population, 2002):......................................... 51,2Distance to the closest town: .................................................... 11 km (Sveni)

Development level: average (it ranks 5.675, from 12.475 villages considered5)

The village is defined as poor by its inhabitants and really looks bad: bad roads, completely

unpaved, dust all over the place, all 527 house are made from clay, except for the 5 for which they

used brick. In the middle of the village, strongly contrasting with the old shattered houses, there a

new church, raised up recently, and dominating the place. The church is made from brick.

The relatively low educated population finds its main occupations in agriculture. The villagers

infrequently leave the locality: their products are bough by regional collectors. The lack of relations

with the outside world is illustrated by the impressive number of shops: 13! However, the variety of

the products commercialized in these shops is low, reflecting the poverty of the village.

The few cars are rarely used by the owners. The bad roads, and the lack of resources are invoked by

the villagers, but one may add that they do not have the need to use the cars since they use to travel

only inside the village.

Box 5. Hneti: occupations

Main occupations: land cropping (80% corn, 20% sun flower), stock raising

91 wage earners, mostly in public administration/services

but some 20 work in the 3 micro-farms

Average size of the plot of land: most households own 2-5 hectares, but a few have about 20 ha

Livestock: 676 cows, 608 pigs, 986 sheep

Milk is sold to a small regional milk processor

5Index proposed by D. Sandu. See note 1.


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The only 15 highschool/vocational schools students prove the low investment in education.

Isolation also contributes to perpetuating the existing structure of qualifications, maintaining

manual workers (mainly farmers) as the numerically dominant category.

Box 6. Hneti: Transportation, Communiting, Communications, Migrants, Shops

Commuters:

Highschool students (in Sveni): 15

Connections: buses to Sveni (3 every day). Sveni is not on an important route, but has some

railway and road connections to Botoani.

About 50 cars.

10-15 circulatory emigrants.

Communications: almost half of the households have a fix phone; there is low or almost no signal

for mobile cells, no matter the provider. A cable TV provider recently started to provide

the service to the households. Only the national radio station and Radio Iai (also part of

the public radio network) can be received.

Newspapers are infrequently red.

13 shops & pubs (almost all the shops are also pubs and vice versa).

I.3.Traian Vuia, TM

Traian Vuia has excellent road connections on the national road that connects Timi oara to Deva,

which makes the 21 kilometers distance from Lugoj to seem smaller. There are few inhabitants

(only 141 houses), but they constitute a dynamic community.

Box 7. Traian Vuia: Basic facts

Village: Traian Vuia

Peripheral village in the commune: Traian Vuia, Timi County

Inhabitants (2002):........................................................................ 485% Hungarians (1992):................................................................. 0,4%% population with post-lower secondary studies (2002): ..........27,1%Average age (adult population, 2002):......................................... 49,9Distance to the closest town: .................................................... 21 km (Lugoj)


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Development level: average (it ranks 6.882, from 12.475 villages considered6).

The lower development estimate included in the Box 7 is due mainly to the distance to the nearest

town, to the small size, and to the lower education stock, but otherwise the village has the potential

for fast grow, through its good infrastructure and being located in a region which highly attractsinvestors.

Box 8. Traian Vuia: occupations

Occupations: farming, wood industry (2 saw mills are running in Traian Vuia, anther one and a

wood factory are located in the nearby Sceni, both employing people from Traian

Vuia), light industry (5 women are employed by the Ricker shoe factory in Fget)

64 wage earners.

Average plot of land: most households own about 3 hectares, but 3 households have about 20 ha

each. An Italian investor owns even larger plots

Agricultural products are sold in the Lugoj maket, but also in Fget.

There are few people which graduated more than compulsory education. However, currently the

investment in upper-secondary education is quite high. One can also note the relatively high media

consumption, stimulated by the reception of several TV channels and radio stations, by the access to

newspapers through the existing commuters which add to the subscriptions, and through the

telecenter set up here by the Centre for Rural Assisstance7.

Box 9. Traian Vuia: Transportation, Communiting, Communications, Migrants, Shops

Daily commuters: at least 15 (Fget, Sceni, Lugoj).

Highschool/vocational school students (in Fget, Lugoj, Timioara): most of the lower-secondary

graduates.

Connections: the regular buses that connect Timioara to Deva, Sibiu, Alba Iulia pass and take

passengers from Traian Vuia, too. The Traian Vuia railway station (on the secondary

line Lugoj-Simeria) is located far from the village (7 km on the road, 5 km if

shortcutting through the field), but the Mntur station is closer (4 km from the village).

Few circulatory emigrants.

Communications: almost half of the households (76) have a fix phone; younger people also use to

have mobile phones. Cable TV, many radio stations, both local and national can be

received. A Telecenter provide free Internet services to the inhabitants.

The villagers have a higher consumption of written press, most of the newspapers being brought

from the surrounding towns.


7A NGO, member of the Soros Open Network. The telecenter is a place with computers, copying machines, printers,

and Internet connection.


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I.4.Tomani, PH

Located on a secondary road, but near the Ploieti-Mizil-Buzu national road which connects

Bucharest to Moldova, Tomani is far from being a remote village. Several buses are used by the

numerous daily commuters. Farming is just a complementary activity, part of a semi-urban life

style.

Box 10. Tomani: Basic facts

Village: Tomani

capital of the commune: Tomani, Prahova County

Inhabitants (2002):........................................................................ 832% Hungarians (1992):................................................................. 0,1%% population with post-lower secondary studies (2002): ..........46,2%Average age (adult population, 2002):......................................... 44,8Distance to the closest town: .................................................... 15 km (Ploieti)

Development level: average-high (it ranks 4.170, from 12.475 villages considered8).

The houses do not impress, but they look acceptable. Brick is generally used. The roads are paved.

Generally, the locality offers a feeling of relative stability, and average wealth. M gula, the village

which can barely be differentiated from Tomani is quite similar (only a road sign separates the

houses from the two twin-localities). Discussing about Tomani implies discussing about Mgula

and vice versa, since the two communities share similar issues, agenda, culture, and customs.

Box 11. Tomani: occupations

Occupations: various. Farming is just a secondary source of income

over 300 wage earners, from which about 70% are daily commuters.

Average plot of land: most households own very small plots (0,5-2 ha). Half of the village has

greenhouses.

The vegetables are used mainly for households consumption. There are 10 producers who sell the

vegetables in the markets of Ploieti, Buzu, or Braov.

Circulatory migration affects some tens of households. New houses are the sign of the prosperity of

the successful migrants, but also of the local entrepreneurs, either merchant, millers, oil stiller (from

the nearby pipe) etc.



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The past investment in education reflects today not only in modern employment, but also in the

option for continuing school after compulsory education. Most of the youngsters go to the nearby

towns for vocational education. Some opt for highschool, and even University is a consideredoption for latter on.

Box 12. Tomani: Transportation, Communiting, Communications, Migrants, Shops

Daily commuters: over 200 (Ploieti, Mizil, Urlai, Valea Clugreasc).

Highschool/vocational school students (in Ploieti, Mizil, Urlai): most of the lower-secondary

graduates go to vocational schools, some to highschools, very few abandon learning.

Connections: Regular buses to Ploieti. 18 trains stop daily in Tomani (the station is on a main

railway line), connecting the village to Ploieti and Buzu, and, farer, to Bucharest and

Moldova.

50-70 circulatory emigrants. A local transportation company has a visible announcement that they

ensure trips to Italy and Spain, the main destinations for work emigration.

Communications: 80% of the households have a fix phone; 150 mobile phones are reported, and the

townhall is currently assaulted with requests to confirm the ownership over the houses

(many villagers lack the papers attesting the ownership of the house), in order to

guarantee access to buying mobile phone subscriptions. Cable TV is present, but also it

is easy to receive through air antennas many TV channels and radio stations, both local

and national. Some 15% of the villagers have a computer.

Relatively high use of written media, mainly bought from Ploieti.

Several shops display a variety of products, at prices comparable with those from Bucharest.

I.5.Trifeti, IS

Trifeti, the capital of the homonym commune, is a quite large village9, located near the border with

the Republic of Moldova, on the bank of the Prut River. 40 kilometers of national road separate

Trifeti from Iai. Some other 40 kilometers, but mostly on country roads, should be covered in

order to reach the small town of Sveni, the second nearest urban area to Trifeti.

Box 13. Trifeti: Basic facts

Village: Trifeti

capital of the commune: Trifeti, Iai County

9Actually, the present-day locality resulted from merging the villages of Trifeti and Damache.


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Inhabitants (2002):...................................................................... 1764% population with post-lower secondary studies (2002): ..........21,4%Average age (adult population, 2002):......................................... 47,4Distance to the closest town: .................................................... 45 km (Iai, Sveni)

Development level: low (it ranks 8.430, from 12.475 villages considered10).The national road which connects Iai to Botoani ensures Trifeti with a relative affluence of

regular buses, but the villagers seem to use them infrequently. The connections with the outside

world occur mainly inside the locality: There are no commuters, except for several school teachers,

living outside Trifeti, but teaching in the local school. The milk, the cereals, other agricultural

outputs are sold in Trifeti, to the merchants which come here to buy the respective goods. A

market (bazaar) is periodically taking place in the village and cheap clothes, shoes or construction

materials can be bough or got in exchange for agricultural products from people coming from Ia i,

Suceava County, or the Republic of Moldova. Unaccustomed with searching for better markets, and

lacking authorized slaughter houses in the nearby area, the villagers accept very low prices for the

meat, when selling it to intermediates which come in Trifeti for this purpose.

Box 14. Trifeti: occupations

Occupations: Farming is the main occupation.

Daily commuters: None.

Some of the school teachers daily commute from other localities to Trifeti.

The cereals (corn, soy, sun-flower) are sold on site, to people coming in Trifeti to buy them. Often, barter is employed: the cereals are exchanged for firewood, clothes, etc. Milk is

collected at low prices by the three milk collectors existing in the village, which

represent small processors from Iai and Vaslui.

A mill for corn and wheat does exist in Trifeti.

The relative isolation of Trifeti is also reflected in the lack of qualified personnel for running the

local school units. For this purpose, the school from Hurmuzeni (a dependant village) was closed

and two buses run four daily courses to bring the pupils in Trifeti. This happens in the context of

the relative over-supply of teachers at national level.

Moreover, the number of houses exceeds the number of households: 550 dwellings as compared

with 533 households.



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Box 15. Trifeti: Transportation, Communiting, Communications, Migrants, Shops

Daily commuters: none.

Highschool/vocational school students (in Iai, and fewer in Vldeni): about 40% of the lower-secondary graduates. The local perception is that very few of them return to the village

after graduating.

Connections: Regular buses to and from Iai, but also to Sveni. No direct acces to railway (20

kilometers to the nearest station).

Only 27 households (out of 533) own cars.

20-30 circulatory emigrants. International migration is a rather new phenomenon.

Communications: 250 out of 533 households have a fix phone. The signal of the two main mobile

phone operators is very poor in the locality, almost inexistent inside the house. Very few

mobile phones are reported to exist. National television (TVR1 and TVR2), a TV

channel from Chiinu, one from Moscow and, in very poor conditions, Antena 1 are theonly TV channels that can be received in Trifeti. Few villagers own satellite antennas.

Only Radio Iai and the national public station can be received.

Low incidence of written media.

10-15 villagers own computers.

Several shops display a variety of products, at prices comparable with those from Bucharest.

Poverty is expressed through the high number of households (a quarter of the village families!)

applying for social welfare: 141 applications, from which 130 are approved. Most of the houses are

made from clay, but they look clean, solid and are quite nice painted. However, the outbuildings are

less well maintained.

A dispensary does exist in the village, but the equipment last from the 80s.

The main problem of the village is the access to water. Almost all the villagers use wells, but the

water from the wells is infested with nitrites, nitrates and lead (two times more than the accepted

level). However, lack of resources led to using the same water (boiling can not solve the problem,

by contrary, increasing the level of nitrites).

I.6.Zerind, AR

Zerind is located on the national road parallel with the Western border which connects Arad to

Oradea, between Chiinu-Cri and Salonta. The Hungarian speaking population gets most of the


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information from the Budapest and Bekescsaba radio stations and TV channels from, but defines

itself as rather Romanian than Hungarian.

The very old (many are over 100 years old), clay-made houses are well maintained, and surroundedby clean courtyards, with grass and flowers. A townhall decision enforces good maintenance of the

courtyards, fences, walls etc., supposing penalties for the contraveners.

Box 16. Zerind: Basic facts

Village: Zerind

capital of the commune: Zerind, Arad County

Inhabitants (2002):........................................................................ 898% Hungarians (1992):...............................................................90,5%% population with post-lower secondary studies (2002): ..........28,5%Average age (adult population, 2002):......................................... 50,1

Distance to the closest town: ..................................................12,5 km (Iai, Sveni)

Development level: high (it ranks 989, from 12.475 villages considered11).

The aging process affected the village starting the 70s when many people started to migrate to

towns. Nowadays, the process is slower, but still affects the village. However, there are the

premises for development: good road connections, flourishing economic activity in the nearby

localities etc.

Box 17. Zerind: occupations

Occupations: Farming is the main occupation, but it tends to became complementary to wageearning in other sectors.

150 wage earners, most of them in public administration/services, but also in the

nearby localities: Chiinu Cri (a shoe factory), Ndab (the Aqua Fujikura factory

producing cables for machines is the main employer in the area, attracting 40-60

employees from Zerind), Avram Iancu etc.

The agricultural products (vegetables, diary, cereals) are sold mainly in Chiinu Cri, but also in

Oradea, Arad, or even in the Zerind market (organized each Thursday and Sunday,

the Zerind market is a place where barter can happen especially for cereals

exchanged for firewood, apples, etc. with people coming from Maramure, Cluj,

Covasna, Harghita, or even from Tulcea)

There are some very small local companies: auto-mechanics, constructions etc.

The village is open to the outside world, with witch constantly interacts. The local market attract

various visitors, but the Zerind inhabitants use to find markets for their products or for selling their



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labor in the surrounding towns, both in Romania and in Hungary.

The access to various media sources increases the level of knowledge about societal

transformations, the familiarity of the villagers with the social environment and speed up thedevelopment.

The mentioned depopulation left several houses uninhabited. The price of a house is quite low

(some 200 millions lei for a 2000 square meters residence), also due to the cheap construction

matrial (mainly clay). Zerind attracted a few families of pensioners from Oradea, Arad or Timioara

who preferred settling down here.

Box 18. Zerind: Transportation, Communiting, Communications, Migrants, Shops

Daily commuters: about 100.

Highschool/vocational school students: most of the lower-secondary graduates go to highschools or

vocational schools in Arad, Oradea, Salonta, Chiineu Cri or Gyula.

Connections: Almost hourly buses to and from Arad, respectively Oradea. The Zerind railway

station is located at 5 kilometers from the village.

There are about 150 cars in the commune (Zerind and the dependent village of Iermata).

International (circulatory) migration has a high incidence, especially for the roma community.

Hungary is the main destination.

Communications: half of the households have a fix phone. About two thirds have mobile phones.

Optic fiber ensures the access to the Internet of the entire village (!). No cable TV

provider, but air reception in good conitions for TVR1, TVR2, and, rarely ProTV, as

well as for the most Hungarian TV channels (MTV1,MTV2, RTLKlub etc.). Some 12

national and local radio stations, both from Romania and Hungary, are easily received.

Very high interest for the written press. Both Romania and Hungarian, local, regional and national

newspapers have daily readers in Zerind.

3 shops (low variety and rather cheap products), 3 pubs.


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II.COMMUNITY INITIATIVES & COMMUNITY LIFE

From West to East the examples of rich community life are fewer, and willingness of the villagers

towards cooperation decreases. However, one can meet, almost everywhere, some potential for

participatory development, for collective action. In the following, for each village, we briefly

describe some specific elements. We start with reviewing the formal development projects that are

supposed to be based on and to foster social capital and community participation. Then we discuss

some of the informal activities, closer related to community life. Third, we emphasize once more

the examples of past participation. Forth, we take a look at the villagers declarations about

involving in future collective projects, for community sake. Finally we offer an overall assessment

of the local participatory culture.

Since the six villages are very different with respect to the analyzed topics, we preferred to treat

them separately, and not as a whole. One should note the huge variations in participative culture

from the very rich community life of Zerind, to the almost inexistent aggregation of common

interest which occurs in Hneti. Implementing some development projects, which suppose some

community cooperation, is only a weak indicator of the presence of positive social capital within the

community. Many times those projects are done at the initiative of county level authorities or even

of some central bodies. The community contribution in such a case may be solely financial or based

on the work of social welfare recipients. Local debate over such a project usually misses. On the

opposite, some less formal or informal, but institutionalized activities (such as electing the village

shepherd, having the habit to have public debate, supporting a football team etc.) are manifestations

of a deeper, latent propensity towards collective action. They are the roots for producing the public

good within the community, no matter which form this may take.

II.1.Tomani, PH

Formal. No grant-financed projects have ever been implemented in Tomani. There was an attempt

to apply for SAPARD 2.1, at the initiative of the miller (one of the most salient local entrepreneurs),

for modernizing some parts of the local roads (including the main road and the road to the bakery,

which also belongs to the miller). Despite the fact that the townhall invested some 100 millions

ROL in the feasibility study, the application was not submitted due to administrative problems (not


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finishing it before deadline is the version of the current mayor; not wanting to continue the project

despite winning financing, is the version of the former mayor. The townhall reported that they have

initiated some projects and asked for financing from the county council.

Informal activities. It seems that there are very few moments in which the community acts as a

community. No notable local festival is to be mentioned, no evidences of common projects were

found. The annual perish fair is the only local event which gathers the community, but the activities

consist mainly in assisting to the religious service and then dinning with family.

Past participation. The past experience includes three completely different stories. The miller tried

once (1998-1999) to pave the road to the bakery. He brought the gravel and asked the direct

beneficiaries those who were living on the respective street for help to spread it on the road.

Nobody contributed. On the other hand, some villagers built a small bridge few years ago, for

common sake. Third, when the natural gas pipeline was installed, in 1992-1993, the initiative

belonged to the priest from a neighboring village, also part of the Tomani commune. The priest

gathered a huge amount of money from the local people and financed half of the works. The second

half was provided by the townhall, who took lately the initiative of finishing the works. Local

people also contributed with labor.

Declarative potential participation in future projects. It seems that most of the local people think

that the community projects should be realized at the initiative of the townhall, and should consider

mainly the use of the social welfare recipients as labor force.

General participatory culture. One can easily label Tomani as a conflictual community. Deep

conflicts are often mentioned by the villagers. The priest, the mayor, the former mayor, the school

principal, the priest from the neighboring village, and the miller are most representative leaders and,

in the same time, the most contested or beloved by the different groups of interest. There is room

for community spirit and some of the former initiatives prove this, but it is impeded to express by

the current conflicts.

II.2.Trifeti, IS

Formal. Several projects, financed through grants by organizations that specifically imply local


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participation and certain levels of collective action, were implemented during the last few years in

the commune. However, most of them involved the other localities of the commune, not Trifeti.

For the rest, the initiative belonged mainly to the Townhall.

Informal activities. There is no stated opportunity for people to spent time together. Usual ftes,

such as the annual parish fair, are marked only by the religious service. On the other hand, a

football team, not formally participating in any league, does exist at local level, being supported by

the local people.

Past participation. Some past examples of participation are to be noticed, but it seems that they

occurred mainly during communism, at the initiative of authorities.

Declarative potential participation in future projects. As elsewhere, there are opinions stating

that the existence of the labor force given by the social welfare recipients hinder the propensity to

perform voluntary activities for the common sake.

General participatory culture. Pervasive luck of trust and parochial-dependent civic culture

denies developing collective actions. However, the football team example proves that if the

incentive is well selected, the local people can aggregate their interest in producing the public good.

II.3.Traian Vuia, ARFormal. A common project, dead before birth, is mentioned by everyone. It was about ensuring the

access to current water (the village still uses wells) and generated important local debates. Since the

majority opposed to the project implementation, it was stopped before being started.

Informal activities. A football team functions in Traian Vuia, too. Not playing in any official

league, it is supported by local contributions and volunteering. Several religious fetes are mentioned

by the villagers as good opportunities to meet, even outside the religious service and ritual.

Past participation. Some small examples pledge for the involvement of the villagers in pastcollective action for producing the common good, such as cutting the woods for the school.

Declarative potential participation in future projects. The opinions are not consensual. Some

villagers are skeptical that the community spirit do exists; others think that people will contribute to

common actions, when needed.


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General participatory culture. Several examples of local initiatives (specifically petition making)

suggest an emergent participative culture. There are several institutionalized spaces were common

problems are debated: the pub, the church (after the Sunday service), the front door benches etc.Blocking the running water project is due to such a public discussion.

II.4.Hneti, BT

Formal. Several development programs were implemented with the support of various international

financers, but it seems that local contribution and the impact on increasing social capital were rather

very low.

Informal activities. There is no information that people use to spent time together in activities that

may lead to developing collective action, enhancing social solidarity or public debate over

community issues etc.

Past participation. According to the local priest, it seems that the new church (an example of

conspicuous consumption since it highly contrasts with the poverty of the houses) was built with the

financial and in kind (labor support of the villagers: helping in construction works, preparing food

for the workers etc.). Some people confirmed participation but it seems that the volunteering was

somehow imposed through moral coercion of the priest. Today, the new church is infrequently

used, since (according to the inhabitants) the priest has the tendency to conserve it and the service is

organized either in front of the church or only in the pronaos.

Declarative potential participation in future projects. The local people tend to confirm that they

will involve if common projects occur, but the local authorities and elites are rather skeptical.

General participatory culture. Traditional community, Hneti lacks participatory culture.

Previous attempts to stimulate participation (imposed by the need to access grants from various

development founds) supposed top-down approaches, with initiative and decision located almostsolely at the level of the local authorities.


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II.5.Ainti, MS

Formal. Several attempts and a couple of grant-financed development projects contributed to some

local public works. However local community was very little or even not at all involved. On the

other hand, there is the experience of building a new dispensary, and a monument. Both implied

community cooperation, and financial and work contributions. The extension of the water system

was also made with the inhabitants active involvement (work).

Informal activities. The strongest local institution related to the collective action is the yearly

selection of the village shepherd. Some 50 households (about a quarter of the village) participate in

the election/assessing the biddings process, one of the most important issues in the community life.

The event has an immemorial tradition, and it is usual held during the second day of the Easter.

Some festivals were occasionally organized, at the initiative of the townhall (opening the

dispensary, inaugurating the monument etc.), but they were rather formal, and did not attract local

participation.

One should also note that the local community built some informal (not legalized)

institutions, probably borrowed from the Saxon villagges Nachbarschaft located some hundred

kilometers down South12. Specifically, the local community owns the dishes and plates, the tables

and benches, the sets of table linen etc. necessary in case of large events such as weddings or

funerals (sometimes they loan these to the neighboring villages). On the other hand, an informal

mutual help fond (banca igneasc) functions from 1998 as an informal insurance system, with

some 100 contributors. They have elected from the beginning a cashier and a comity. The cashier

gathers about 3 millions lei monthly. When risk occurs for one of the contributors the comityevaluates the damages and the respective household is compensated for the loss (there are two

different products, which imply different contributions: insuring people for the case of

death/accidents, and insuring livestock). There is no formal control over these two lately mentioned

institutions, except for the community esprit.

Past participation. Apparently low, but the roots of a rich community life do exist and manifest.

Some events, important in the village life, are marked through cooperation: electing the shepherd is

the most salient example etc. Some meetings are also irregularly taking place in a place (the lawn in

from of the main local pub), institutionalized as the public space where debates on the local issues

12 The Nachbarschaft (neighborhood) is a well-known institution, existing mainly in the (former) Saxon villages from

Sibiu County. It consists in gathering the people with similar status from a certain village, usually grouped depending of

their position in a certain neighborhood (they live on the same street/s, for instance). The Nachbarschaft has an electedleader and plays the role of instance for solving community problems as an expression of communitarian solidarity: it

helps those which are in need when hazard occurs, it has line sets, plates and dishes, tables and benches which are used

at weddings, funerals, local festivals etc., it decides in some communities actions such as repairing or building roadsand ensure the community participation etc.


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use to occur. The already mentioned monument and the new dispensary add.

Declarative potential participation in future projects. There is a strong representation at the level

of the local authorities and elites that local people have nothing to offer when discussing theirinvolvement in community projects. Poverty is the post-rationalization invoked reason; age and lack

of time add. Some villagers voluntarily participated to building the new dispensary, and they

declare that will do it again, if necessary.

General participatory culture. The basic roots of participative culture certainly do exist. People

do cooperate for the local sake, but some mistrust separates the local authorities and the regular

people.

II.6.Zerind, AR

Formal. Several grant-financed projects were implemented during previous years, many of them

implying community participation.

Informal activities. Two active associations (ProZerind, and the League of The Pensioners)

develop many activities, being quite active at local level, and involving many villagers. Many

festivals symbolically mark the community life.

Past participation. Renewing the dispensary, consolidating the dikes, paving the roads and some

other projects for the common sake were developed with the community participation. Helping the

others in extreme and every day cases is a general rule.

Declarative potential participation in future projects. The very high level of participation and

solidarity

General participatory culture. A rich community life flourishes in Zerind, based on a strong

participative culture. People contribute to the creation of public goods, help and trust each other.Even local political parties strongly cooperate for common goals, no matter of their different views.


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III.ATTITUDES TOWARDS EUROPEAN UNION AND TOWARDS

ROMANIAN INTEGRATION

The Baseline has investigated four dimensions related to this topic: awareness about European

Union, interest on issues related to the European Union and to Romanian integration into EU,

attitudes towards EU and towards Romanian integration and local perception with the respect to the

own village: is it or is it not an European village?

III.1.Awareness about European Union

All the interviewed people from the six villages have heard about European Union, all of them

answering spontaneous and without difficulties to the question Did you hear about EU?. Generally

speaking, this is not a foreign topic for them. There are two definitions associated with the

European Union in the public perceptions, according to the collected data: European Union is a

country, a big and prosperous one and, the second one, EU is a union of states, an assembly of

states which Romania wants to join to. In both cases EU is associated with the idea of welfare and

prosperity, people mentioning:

EU is a place in which the people are better off (villager, Tomani) or

EU is an assembly of states in which we will be better off (villager, Tomani)

One should mention that the collected data did not indicate differences among the villages with the

respect to awareness about EU.

III.2.Interest in topic of European Union

Generally speaking, the interest of villages people in this topic is quite low, according to thecollected data. Again, the population seems to be rather homogenous with exception of Zerind

village. The inhabitants of the other five villages are not very interested in the issues related to EU

and to the Romanian integration into the European Union. The ordinary villagers have some general

information about what EU is and about the Romanian accession, but they do not actively search for

the information and they consider that their own welfare is a more important topic than the EU is.


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They use to gather information about EU from mass-media (TV, Radio and in some cases from the

newspapers), but the searching process is not a targeted one, they collect information only if it is

available and easy to get. Moreover, people from Hneti mentioned that they have received

booklets about EU from the townhall, but the information was not very clear and they did notunderstand the content.

On the other hand, the interest in EU information is not homogenous within the same village. Even

if the majority of population does not present a high level of interest in this topic, the local

authorities and the entrepreneurs are actively searching for the information and seem to be

interested to find out more about integration. Both categories, representatives and entrepreneurs, are

focused on the information regarding obtaining financial support for development projects. In

addition, entrepreneurs are concerned about EU regulation in their area of activity and they declared

that are forced to inform themselves, otherwise their activity will stop in 2007. In one case

(Tomani) the local entrepreneur has proven to be a centre of diffusion for the EU information,

declaring that he has discussed with the other villagers about EU requirements and he has explained

to the others what should be done in the future in order to adapt theirs activities to the new

regulations.

Zerind is an exception, as it is mentioned before. Here not only the representatives and

entrepreneurs, but also the villagers are interested in EU enlargement and they use to search for the

information. Moreover, the topic is present in the local public debate, people using to daily talk

about EU and Romanian integration.

There are many discussions on this topic each day (man, Zerind)

Those people who are reading newspapers and are watching TV, are talking a lot mainly about

EU requirements in the agricultural area. (woman, Zerind)

The explanation of this difference between Zerind and the others villages is related probably to the

geographic position of the village and to ethnic structure of the population. Zerind is located very

close to the Hungarian border and most of the inhabitants are Hungarian ethnics. Therefore, the

villagers have closer connection with the situation of Hungary, which is already an EU member and

they know more about what the EU integration means for a country. In addition, the localauthorities have organized courses about EU, informing people about opportunities and

requirements got by the integration.


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III.3.Attitudes towards European Union and towards Romanian integration

Generally speaking the attitudes towards EU is a positive one. People have favorable attitudes

towards EU, but they stress the differences between EU and Romania. European Union is perceived

as better of, more civilized, the respondents focusing mainly on economical aspects. However, there

are mentioned some others positive aspects of EU countries as sustained work, the lack of

corruption.

The differences [between Romanian and EU] are mainly the economic ones. (male, Ainti)

There are differences with the respect to the daily life, the salaries and the standards of living

(female, Zerind)

They are more developed then we are there is more order and the daily life is safer than it is in

Romania (male, Traian Vuia)

However, many interviewed people consider that Romania has many positive aspects compared to

EU countries. They say that EU countries are more developed from the economic point of view, but

Romania is more developed from the cultural point of view and the Romanians are cleverer than the

inhabitants of EU are.

Excepting the poverty I am proud of the Romanian scientists and writers, people who give

prestige to a country. We are different from the economic point of view, but from the other

respects I think that we are a little bit superior. (female, Hneti)

A Romanian uses to think differently, he is more inventive, he is able to manage in all the

situations (male, Tomani)

Regarding the Romanian integration into the EU the attitude is a positive one, but the optimism is

rather moderate. Almost all the interviewed people underline that the integration is good for

Romania, mentioning that it is the only solution for Romania. However, people perceived the costs

of the integration. The general perception is that Romania will be better off, on the long run, but on

the short run the situation will be not so good. The main perceived risks of the integration are: the

rising of prices and implementation of EU requirements in the agricultural area.

In 2007 there will be a shock, it wouldnt be so easy there will be some costs, firstly related tothe prices[] However my opinion is that [the integration] is in Romanias benefit

because we will get money from abroad (male, Ainti)

There will be very hard for the peasants! All the people are concerned about the standards.

(male, Ainti)


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In my opinion [the integration] is very good! But not for us, maybe for my granddaughter!

Meanwhile it will be pretty hard! But there is no other way! (female, Zerind)

Previous researches, carried out in 200313 and in 200414, focused on the attitudes of rural populationtowards EU integration indicated a general optimism among the villagers especially because they

have perceived the integration as an opportunity to get subsidies from the EU funds 15. Different

from these results, the present data indicates a more realistic attitude; people are favorable to EU

integration but they are aware of the costs of integration. This change is due to the information

spread by mass-media in the last year and to the inclusion of the topic on the public debate.

Even if people share this optimistic attitude, there are some euroskeptics and there are some very

optimist persons, too. The skeptics invoke the rising of prices and lack of working places.

According to these people, after the integration Romania will become a market for the EU products

and Romanians will be in a worse situation than nowadays. On the other hand, there are some very

optimistic people who see the integration only as an opportunity to get money and to be helped

from the other countries: EU we will receive subsidies, money from 2007(villager, Hneti).

III.4.The European village

Defining the European villageWe have asked the interviewees to briefly define the European village. Most of the answers

considered the economic criteria, but some also added the mentalities as defining feature. The

definitions cluster in three large categories:

1. High quality infrastructure. The European village is a village which has good infrastructure

in terms of public roads, running water, sewerage, TV cable, hospitals, schools,

supermarkets. Generally speaking these definitions stress the similarities between the

European village and the urban are, this village is very similar with the town, it has quite the

same infrastructure and it provides the same life conditions for the inhabitants.

13Rural Eurobarometer carried out in 2003 by Gallup Romania for Delegation of the European Commission in

Romania and for Open Society Foundation, on a representative sample for the rural population in Romania.14

Modernizing Agricultural Knowledge and Informational System in Romania research carried out by the Research

Institute for Quality of Life in 2004 for the World Bank. For details see M. Voicu et others: Romanian Farms andFarmers Facing the EU regulations, Sibiu, Psihomedia Publisher, 2005 (forthcoming).


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A European village is:

a modern village, with good quality roads, with natural gas, with water and sewerage(Tomsani)

a beautiful locality with all the life conditions (Tomani)like in a small town, like in Sveni. Sveni is not European, but still You have good roads,

shops, a cinema, public utilities (male, 57 years, Hneti)

2. Economic development and welfare. According to this definition the inhabitants of the

European village have a quite high standard of living, having good and stable incomes.

Related to the level of development some definitions associate the European village with the

availability of the working palaces and with the low level of unemployment.

A European village is:

A developed village, with many working places (male, Hneti)

Those [village] are rich (male, 70 years old, Hneti)

A village with full employment, they are civilized (Tomani)

3. Mentalities. These definitions stress values and mentalities shared by the inhabitants of the

European village. There are emphasized few values like respect of law, tolerance towards

different opinions, hard working. One should mention that the reference to the mentalities is

not so spread among the respondents as the preference for economic aspect is.

European village is:Is the village in which everybody expresses its opinion and the others appreciate this opinion

(female, 18 years, Hneti)

A village with high level of civilization; the people are honest and there is no quarrel (Ttomani)

The live is more advanced. The democracy is good and we can see the results. The people are free

and they work according to their own capacities and willing (male, Hneti)

My village: a European village

We have also asked the villagers if they live in a European village. Most of the interviewees do

not consider they live in a European village. Except Zerind, all the investigated villages are

15See M. Voicu et al: Romanian Farms and Farmers Facing the EU regulations, Sibiu: Psihomedia, 2005

(forthcoming).


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homogenous, theirs inhabitants rejecting the idea that the locality can be labeled as European. The

most frequent invoked reasons are clustering in few categories, quite similar with the definitions of

the European village:

1. Differences related to the infrastructure. Many people point out that there village do not has the

same infrastructure as the European one has. Usually they invoke the lack of paved roads, of

running water, of sewerage system, of hospitals and schools.

Definitely it isnt an European village as long as we dont have a doctor, we dont have teachers

in the school, there is no heating in the classrooms, there is no sewerage or running water

and the streets are not paved! (Tomani)

We have a lot of work to do in order to become a European village, but we have done and we are

doing something in this direction! (male, Traian Vuia)

It isnt a European village. We dont have running water, natural gas (male, Traian Vuia)

2. Differences related to the standards of living and to the level of incomes. Some respondents

pointed out that their village is not a European one because the inhabitants are poorer. Moreover,

they consider that they are not able to take care of themselves and they need a substantial support

from the central authorities.

It isnt very European, because there are not money the people is poor we need money, we

need somebody to help us to be better off. (male, 46 yeas, Traian Vuia)

[Hneti village] is now like the institutionalized children: dressed, feed, pampered by the centralauthorities because we have a much reduced economic power. Maybe in 20 years Hneti

will be a European village! (male, Hneti)

3. Related to the previous category of answers, some respondents perceived the differences between

in terms of employment opportunities. Especially the young people from Eastern part of the country

share this opinion because they are more affected by the unemployment.

I guess we will not be a European village to soon, because we dont have available jobs (female,

38 years, Hneti)

We are very far from the European village. We dont have employment opportunities, we are

working as daily workers []. I dont believe that someone from the European village is

living in the same condition like we do! (female, 40 years, Hneti)

4. Differences related to agricultural activities. According to the respondents in Europe the

agricultural activity is more developed, more mechanized and less polluted; the agricultural land is


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not so fragmented like in Romania and is more efficient to exploit big surfaces of land. The

interviewees emphasized the idea of cooperation in exploiting the agricultural land and they

complain for the lack of agricultural associations in their village (in Tomani, by instance, there is

no agricultural association). On the other hand, many respondents stressed the idea that in theEuropean village the stables are outside of the localities and, as a consequence, the environment is

not so polluted and the neighborhoods are much cleaner.

Our village is not at all part of the big European village! [] as long as we are doing agriculture

like 60-70 years ago we cannot compare ourselves with the European developed villages! We

need progress and we have to do it! (male, Hneti)

About 5% of land is exploited by the agricultural association using modern technology, the rest of

the land is exploited using oxes and houses for ploughing and unselected seeds. (male,

Trifeti)

The agriculturists from Germany are members of associations and help each other. Today I need

the equipment, tomorrow you will need it! [] you cannot see this in Romania. We need

broadcasts about agriculture, not about culture! (female, 37 years, Hneti)

5. Differences related to the access to information. Some of the respondents have underlined the

differences between them and the inhabitants of the European village with the respect to the access

to the information.

It is far from the European village. Why? Because the information is transmitted with difficulties

and the information that finally arrived to us is not perceived in a correct way. The

information is arriving via TV or Radio and is interpreted by those who transmit it (male,

Traian Vuia)

6. Differences related to mentalities and values. Even if this reasons are not so frequent invoked like

the economic ones, some paid attention to the differences with the respect to non-material reasons.

The European village differs from the own village with the regard to respect of the law, honesty,

hard working, tolerance and cooperation in solving common problems.

The people from the European village have the sense of work, they have a different mentality

which is lacking in Romania, because if there is poverty, there is no mentality!(male,Hneti)

There are differences in mentality, in infrastructure! (male, Traian Vuia)

We are not European, we have different mentalities! (male, Zerind)

One should mentioned that most of the respondents emphasize the differences related to the


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economic development and to the lack of infrastructure, even some of them talked about lack of

information and mentalities. Zerind is a different case, many respondents invoking the differences

in terms of mentalities between their village and the European one.

Even if in 5 villages of 6 the dominant opinion is that their village is not a European village, there

are some respondents who consider that they live in a European village. It is not the dominant

opinion, but some villager from Tomani, Traian Vuia and Ainti identified their village with the

European one. One should mention that in Hneti and Trifeti, which are the poorer villages

included in the investigation and with the lowest level of development, no one sustain that he / she

lives in a European village. In these two villages the inhabitants have stressed only the differences,

and they did not see the similarities.

There are two reasons invoked in supporting the idea that the own village is a European one, the

good infrastructure and the access to information. In Tomani and Traian Vuia some of the

interviewed people pointed out that their village is European because they have good roads and

good connections with the nearest town, they have cable TV and some public institutions (townhall,

police, polyclinic). In Ainti and Traian Vuia some people have mentioned the easy access to

information for sustaining the idea of Europeanism of their own village.

As we have pointed out before, Zerind is different form the other villages. Here, the dominant

opinion is that Zerind is a European village. People says that Zerind is European due to its

geographic position (5 km to the Hungarian border) and because they have adopted some European

models of behavior and regulations (the village is clean and the townhall has adopted regulation and

fine in order to keep it clean). On the other hand, Zerind is European because it has good

infrastructure, good connections and easy access to information. Generally speaking, people believe

that there are some differences between Zerind and a European village in terms of mentalities and

economic resources, but they consider their village to be European despite of these differences. On

the other side, Zerind is different from the other village included in the investigation with the

respect of geographical position and ethnic structure, as it is mentioned before.

III.5.Social representations of some of the European values

We tried to see how people use to associate one notion with other terms, in order to see what they

really understand when they are hearing the word. We have asked our interviewees to define six

words: cleanliness, law, community involvement ( spirit comunitar), solidarity, Romania and


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Europe. The first two words were used as a camouflage for the main focus of the research, which is

the existence of the solidarity and of the commune initiative and the attitudes towards European

Union. Therefore we analyze here only the relevant terms for the present report.

Community involvement (spirit comunitar)

Community involvement (spirit comunitar) is the most unknown concept from the list, gathering

rather ambiguous definitions from the interviewees. About half of the interviewed people declared

that they do not know what it means or used incorrect meanings for explaining the concept. Zerind

is an exception, with only one person giving a wrong definition. On the other hand, Zerind is the

village in which the community involvement is the highest compared to the other villages included

in the research. In Zerind the inhabitants know what community involvement is and they are

involved in the community life.

The valid answers cluster into two categories: Some tried to define the community esprit as in a

dictionary. Help, cooperation, working together, solidarity, harmony, mobilization, incentives,

community development or collective action are the most used key works invoked by the first group

of respondents. The second type of answers discussed merely how much community involvement,

collective action, civic participation etc. may be found in their village. The negative answers are

prevailing for this second cluster, the respondents underlying the lack of community involvement of

the village. Zerind is again the exception, only 5 persons of 20 interviewed people stressing the lack

of involvement in their rural community.

Solidarity

All the respondents have given a valid answer to this question. The interviewed people provide two

types of answers. The first one is identification with Romania (Romania is my country, is the

country in which we are living, we are from here, is an orthodox country). The second category

of answers are related to the national pride are they usually refer to some positive aspects of

Romania (beautiful country, the most beautiful country, the country where Ive been born in

and I love it, Im proud to live in this country). One should mention that even people belonging to

other ethnic groups (like Hungarians) gave similar answers and do not differ from the rest of the

investigated population.

Romania

All the respondents have given a valid answer to this question. The interviewed people provide two


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types of answers. The first one is identification with Romania (Romania is my country, is the

country in which we are living, we are from here, is an orthodox country). The second category

of answers are related to the national pride are usually refer to some positive aspects of Romania

(beautiful country, the most beautiful country, the country where Im born and I love it, Improud to live in this country). One should mentioned that even people belonging to other ethnic

groups (like Hungarians) gave similar answers and do not differ from the rest of the investigated

population.

Europe

All the respondents gave a valid answer to this question. Generally speaking, the answers can be

classified in three categories. The first one refers to a geographic entity, Europe being defined as a

continent or as a country (big country, beautiful country, rich country). The second cluster of

answers is related to European Union, people defining Europe as European Union and correlating it

with some characteristics of EU. Therefore, some people define Europe as a Union, the definition

stressing positive aspects associated with the standards of living (in EU people have a good life,

people are civilized). Other definitions mention the Romanian integration in the EU or underline the

unity of the European Union (EU is a big family, a unity or a nucleus). The third group of answers

consists in identifications with Europe (Europe is our continent or Europe will be our country)

and it is spread especially among the people from Zerind.

III.6.Conclusions

Summarizing, one can say that the inhabitants of the six villages display positive attitudes towards

the European Union and towards the Romanian accession, but they have strong representations

about the costs of the integration. On the other hand, the EU integration is not the main topic on the

public agenda of the villagers. Most of them have some general information and they do not

actively search for such information. Their attention is concentrated mainly on the information

related with the agricultural activities and with the EU regulation in the agricultural area.

The villagers from the six communities define the European village mainly in terms of good

infrastructure, good economic development, high incomes and high level technology use in

agriculture. Most of interviewed people do not consider their village as being a European one. The

most frequent invoked reasons are: the lack of infrastructure, the low level of economic

development and the differences in the way to practice agriculture, few respondents mentioning the

differences in terms of values and mentalities. Only the people in Zerind consider their village as

being a European one, even if they have mentioned some differences, too.


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CONCLUSIONS

1. The six villages satisfactory cover the variety of the Romanian rural area. Ahead from the

analysis which founded the typology, one may notice that we have investigated villages located

both at the border and in the middle of the country, from North and South, from East and West,

traditional and modern, ranging from low to high development. This makes the conclusions

extensible to the overall population of villages, allowing some intuitive predictions.

2. Better developed villages have also a richer community life, higher levels of social solidarity

and collective action.

3. The inhabitants of the six villages have a positive attitude towards the European Union and

towards Romanian integration.

4. Unlike some years ago, the costs of the accession tend to come more often in the discussions

about the EU.

5. On the other hand, the EU integration is not the main topic on the public agenda of the villagers.

6. The better developed and Western a village is, the more the villagers know about the EU.

7. Discussing about the EU is usually associated with farming within EU and the standards and

regulations belonging to the Common Farming Policy; with the post-accession processes from

the new member states, relevant in the perspective of Romanian integration; with the Romanian

corruption; with the differences between the development level of Romania and the other

member states; with differences in cleanliness and public utilities.

8. The villagers from the six communities define the European village mainly in terms of good

infrastructure, good economic development, high incomes and high level technology use inagriculture.

9. Most of interviewed people do not consider their village as being a Europea

romanian village, european village - assesing the impact

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