MEP Ramona Strugariu, co-president of the REPER Party, launched her candidacy for Cluj-Napoca City Hall on Saturday, in the company of former Prime Minister and European Commissioner, Dacian Cioloș, MEP Dragoș Pîslaru, the media and representatives of Cluj civil society.
Ramona Strugariu spoke about her priorities for Cluj-Napoca City Hall, as well as about the reasons underlying her decision to take up this candidacy.
She wants, among other things, an open and transparent administration that listens to citizens, is genuinely interested in the problems in their neighborhoods, but also encourages Cluj residents to get involved in the decision-making process and in the life of the community in which they live, following the model other European cities. According to her, the REPER Party has already developed an application in this sense, which it will launch soon and where the people of Cluj will be able to point out their problems.
Urban development that takes people’s needs into account
Regarding the development of the infrastructure in the city, Ramona Strugariu declares: “I want an urban development that takes into account the needs of the people. From the acute needs, from neighborhoods without school, recreational infrastructure, with streets with an uncertain legal regime or unconnected, to the good projects, with massive investments, that must happen. There are more than 4 billion euros declaratively committed to major infrastructure projects, but they cannot be realized simultaneously and at least part of them should have already been realized, as a top priority, I am thinking in particular of the bypass belt and the metropolitan train”.
At the same time, among the priorities mentioned during the application launch, there are also several initiatives for a green, climate-resilient city, with as little pollution as possible for its inhabitants:
“From the first month of my mandate, I am launching the project “Every Cluj resident with his tree”, and by the end of my mandate, in addition to expanding the green spaces in the city, we must together plant another forest for Cluj. To reach WHO and climate resilience standards, we need 50 square meters of green space for every person in the city. In Valencia, the European green champion in 2024, 97% of the inhabitants are within 300m of a green urban area. Someș has a very high potential from the perspective of biodiversity. We must continue to improve the blue green corridor until we are proud of this project”
Ramona Strugariu also promises a city that encourages young families and youth to stay in Cluj Napoca.
“Cluj, although it is such a large university space, is actually getting old. The demographic aging index here is 125.6 elderly people per 100 young people, higher than the national average. (121.2 – 100)
It is vital to have an administration in Cluj Napoca that addresses the problem of housing, jobs for young people, and youth activities.
The local administration can be an important facilitator and can negotiate with real estate developers so that, step by step, we have a consistent fund of affordable housing for young people in Cluj Napoca.
Nurseries, kindergartens – everything that means infrastructure for education – are part of a program attentive to the needs of young and professionally active people.
I want a hub for youth in Cluj Napoca and a city with more offers for the entrepreneurs of the new generations, more predictable for a young business environment that is already developing its projects in the community and expects the administration to be a partner. I want a map on the city hall’s website with European funding opportunities for young people, European money for SMEs, for green energy; there are guides already published by me as a member of the European Parliament, we make them good practices in Cluj.
A city of young people also means support for the vulnerable/forgotten/
I want us to take new steps towards young people and propose internship programs in local public administration for them.”
In conclusion, the candidate of the REPER Party for the mayor’s office of Cluj-Napoca declared that she wants to use the European money as much as possible with a head and with a vision, for projects for the direct benefit of the people of Cluj.
“I believe in efficient investments first, not grandiose before anything else. I believe in people participating in the life of their city. I believe in political collaboration and in dialogue for the community’s goals, with whoever and however necessary, so that we can get where the people want”, says Ramona Strugariu.
Along with the launch of the mayoral candidacy, the REPER Party also launched its list of local and county councilors, which includes engineers, IT specialists, teachers and directors of successful multinational companies. Iulia Costache, Mihai Bulboacă, Alexandra Holom, Adela Șpaimoc are on the list of the REPER Party for the local council, opened by Ramona Strugariu, while the list for the county council is opened by Camelia Sălcudean, Marius Popa, Viorica Bold, Mihai Bulboacă and Florina Russu.
Ramona Strugariu is the co-president of the REPER Party and MEP in the 2019-2024 mandate, with almost 10 years of experience in European public policies. As a lawyer, he actively fought during his first term in the European Parliament to fight corruption, protect the financial interests of Romanians, strengthen press freedom and integrate the Republic of Moldova into the European Union. At the same time, he negotiated, on behalf of the entire European Parliament, the European Anti-Corruption Directive and the Legislative Package to combat money laundering. According to independent organizations analyzing the activities of parliamentarians, he is among the most influential politicians in the European Parliament: top 5 MEPs in the field of justice, internal affairs and migration, top 15 budget and top 20 institutional and constitutional affairs. At the same time, in 2020, the organization VoteWatch Europe placed her in second place as a legislative activity in the European Parliament, in terms of the number of amendments and proposals formulated to various reports, and in 2024 Politico named her as one of the most active members of the Parliament European for the number of amendments submitted and recorded, 10,427.
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Tags: Ramona Strugariu launched candidacy ClujNapoca City Hall
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