Moldova's town-hall merger drive nears July 31 deadline
Moldova's territorial reform is approaching a key deadline, with 165 more town halls making final decisions to merge voluntarily, Government Secretary General Alexei Buzu said in a video statement.
Of those, 98 town halls are consolidating into 33 larger, stronger units covering 142,000 residents, who will receive more than half a billion lei — over €25.5 million — for development projects.
"The funding will be disbursed according to the commitments made and the agreed timeline," Buzu said, adding that another 48 town halls are expected to finalize merger decisions soon. He thanked citizens and mayors for backing the process.
The voluntary phase of the reform closes on 31 July. From August, the government will launch a mandatory amalgamation process, in which it — rather than the communities themselves — will decide which localities merge. Until then, localities can still choose their own merger partners, structure their new administration, and set their own priorities, with the government offering development incentives to support the transition.
Authorities say more than 1,000 voluntary merger decisions have been approved so far, meaning roughly 70% of Moldova's town halls are now involved in the process.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
