The Cluj International Community met in December 7th, 2021, with Mayor Emil Boc, in a new, hybrid (online-offline) edition of “Meet the Mayor”, an event in which representatives of expats from Cluj ask questions directly to the mayor.
Foreigners settled in Cluj told Emil Boc that they want a city with fully electrified public transportation, more charging stations for electric cars, with bike lanes that connect suburbs to the rest of the city, and more pedestrian areas in the neighborhoods, entertainment and shopping facilities that might reduce the pressure upon the city center.
The discussions at this year’s meeting focused on the local authorities plans to ensure a sustainable and comfortable future for the city, with a focus on prioritizing green technologies. The Mayor Emil Boc presented the already finished investments in Cluj-Napoca as well as those that are developing now, from areas, but with an emphasis on education, infrastructure, as well as sustainable development of urbanism and urban mobility.
Members of the International Community in Cluj have shown their willingness to collaborate with the Mayor in order to achieve a healthy development of the city, but also to increase the quality of life of its inhabitants by supporting the implementation of the European Green Pact. All European countries must join this initiative as soon as possible in order to be able to reduce carbon emissions by at least 55% until 2030. Such a supportive and collaborative initiative came from Gianluca Zanelatto, representing the Italian Business Club in Cluj and researcher at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. He expressed his support for helping the municipality to adhere more easily to the European Green Pact.
”The European Green pact is here, it is coming more and more over companies, organizations and municipalities. I want to ask you, is the Cluj municipality prepared to align its development strategy by respecting the sustainability conditions imposed by the European Commission, regarding the Green Pact? I have lived in Cluj since 2011. The development of the city is very clear from year to year, it is obvious that the municipality is trying to add value in order to increase the comfort and the quality of life. It is clear that a green and comfortable city is one where there are no cars, and in Cluj things are being done to go in this direction. But people don’t necessarily understand, for now, these matters and the steps taken to get the cars out of the city. I think that they should be better informed, in the medium and long term, not in the short term, regarding what is being done in the city in order to become a green one. I am offering to collaborate on this matter, because my doctoral topic is based on this subject so I would be happy to collaborate”, said Gianluca Zanelatto.
„We will schedule a meeting next week to discuss more on this topic and we will collaborate for sure. We are willing to learn from your experience and from the research you make”, replied mayor Emil Boc.
Emil Boc considers the decrease of taxes and duties for HoReca: “We strive to keep the city alive, this is how we have supported this sector so far. In the 2022 budget, we are open to discuss financial aid as well.”
Another topic discussed during the “Meet the Mayor” by representatives of the French community in the city was related to the support for the HoReCa domain, strongly affected by the restrictions imposed in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic. The mayor gave assurances that, in addition to the support provided so far, in 2022 he is willing to discuss with the business environment representatives about opportunities for financial assistance.
„First of all, we, here at the local level, had to impose the rules, as they appear in the legislation adopted at the national level. We understand how difficult it has been and still is for HoReCa. What we can do and how we can support HoReCa is not necessarily through cash grants, but by keeping the city open. Then, we have a high vaccination rate, here in Cluj-Napoca, over 50%. And you should know that the infrastructure for vaccination in the municipality is also provided by the City Hall at the moment. No resources came from the Government, everything is local. So this is also our support for HoReCa. Second, we strive to keep the city alive. And doing this has not been and is not easy at all. I think you know how criticized I and my colleagues were for trying to keep the city alive in the tourist circuit. Of course, I know there are discussions, there should be adjustments to taxes, there should be financial aid. We are open to talk. We can talk about the 2022 budget, see how we can afford to provide financial support, perhaps in the form of tax cuts. So far, I’ve done everything I legally could. But, I emphasize once again, we tried as hard as we could to indirectly support the HoReCa system.”, explained mayor Emil Boc during the MTM 2021 meeting.
End of term for Antonio Patane
The 2021 MTM meeting ended with Antonio Patane stepping down from his position as CIC president. For his entire activity, Mayor Emil Boc presented the businessman with a diploma of excellence.
„First of all, I would like to express, both on my behalf and on behalf of the entire international business community in Cluj, our appreciation and many thanks, Mr. Mayor, for finding time in your busy schedule for the annual open dialogue, that has already become a tradition with the International Community in Cluj. The Cluj International Committee has existed for many years as an informal organization, but for the past two years it has become a legal entity, with legal status, known as the Association of Foreign Investors in Cluj. On this occasion, I would like to inform you that starting from 2022, I will hand over the baton to the new president, who will be elected soon. Rotational leadership is normal and rational in a cosmopolitan community like ours. The change is healthy and positive, a new tab and a new set of ideas are more than welcome, for innovation “, said Antonio Patane at the last MTM meeting, in which he participated as president of the Cluj International Community.
MTM has been taking place since 2012, bringing the mayor of Cluj, Emil Boc, face to face with the expats from the city. The dialogue is open, and the mayor is freely asked questions, the answers to which are important for the international community living here, whether they are businessmen, students or individuals who have chosen Cluj as their place of residence. The event normally takes place twice a year, but just like last year, due to the Covid pandemic, in 2021 this was the only edition, held online and partly offline (* by the presence of a group of 15 people in the Glass Hall of the City Hall).
“Meet the Mayor” started as an informal meeting with us, the expats living in Cluj: I invited the mayor, and he promised to always attend. We soon invented the phrase “Meet the mayor” and together with Cluj City Hall we started hosting MTM twice a year, as an independent event. Emil Boc was open and always answered the multitude of questions asked by the international public present. We believe that the event has really contributed to the overall success and international recognition of the city and is proof that we have, in Mr. Boc, an inclusive and concerned mayor. Cluj is the only city in Romania to host such an event “, says Shajjad Rizvi MBE, Honorary Consul of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and co-founder of CIC.
