| ABOUT THE ROMANIAN ROMA IN ROME 1/08/08 |
| (2008-08-01) |
| Last updated: 2008-08-03 16:12 EET |
The President of Romania, Traian Basescu, Thursday went on a one-day visit to Rome, where he had a meeting with Premier Silvio Berlusconi. The two analysed the impact of the new security legislation in Italy, on Romanian citizens, the Roma in particular, viewed as discriminatory by European institutions,. Whether the meeting was a success or a failure is hard to tell simply judging by the rather ambiguous statements made by the two officials. Back in Bucharest, the Romanian president said,
“I suggested, and Prime Minister Berlusconi agreed, that by October the governments of Romania and Italy should draw up a project for the social inclusion of the Roma ethnics with Romanian citizenship living in Italy. The project should be adopted in a joint Romanian-Italian government meeting, and the European Union should provide the funding.”
Talks focused on the problems raised by the Roma ethnics coming from Romania. Traian Basescu even visited an authorised camp accommodating gypsies, and told them that Romania insisted that they should be regarded as European citizens, but that it is their duty to behave accordingly. Premier Berlusconi, in his turn, said that the meeting with Traian Basescu was interesting and friendly, and said he was glad to see many Romanians choosing to live in Italy. According to Berlusconi, close to one million Romanians are becoming part and parcel of the Italian society, and are making a substantial contribution to the development of the economy. One of the Romanians living in Italy told president Basescu about their experience in Italy:
“We do our jobs here and work very hard, but we find ourselves targeted by these media attacks, which are, admittedly, triggered by crimes perpetrated by fellow Romanians. But those who stand to lose are the honest people, and, most importantly, our children.”
Which means things are not quite as they should in Italy. Traian Basescu acknowledged that fact, and added he did not agree with all the laws passed in Rome. But he did create some confusion when he announced that his comments, put down on a so-called “non paper,” were handed to the Italian Interior Minister, and not to his counterpart or to Prime Minister Berlusconi. A non paper is an unofficial, unsigned note, whose addressee is not even under obligation to read it. We still hope officials in Rome will read it, and the reaction will be positive.
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2025-04-03
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