| ROMANIAN - ITALIAN RELATIONS FROM BUCHAREST'S STANDPOINT 10/01/2008 |
| (2008-01-10) |
| Last updated: 2008-01-11 15:08 EET |
Relations between Romania and Italy are, in no way, undergoing a crisis - Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu insisted on repeating. On Wednesday, Cioroianu signed a common declaration with Massimo d’Alema, his Italian counterpart, on renewing the bilateral strategic partnership between the two countries. Romania and Italy have shared many affinities over time, from their common Latin origin to their common EU and NATO membership, and the record number of trade exchanges. Italy is perhaps the European country most similar to Romania, even in terms of experiences of poverty, which drove Italians to emigrate in search of a better life many decades ago.
The same phenomenon is being experienced by Romanians at present. Many Romanians have chosen to seek work in Italy, motivated by the high demand for labour, the country’s relative proximity, along with the warm climate and linguistic similarities. The overwhelming majority of Romanian immigrants in Italy, hundreds of thousands according to official sources, and over a million according to media estimates, are there working to earn an honest wage for their families back home. Nevertheless, recent atrocities perpetrated by Romanian criminals - almost all of Roma ethnicity, insignificant in numbers, but easily noticeable - have infuriated the Italian people. Adrian Cioroianu believes these are
“Events that were born inside that very important Romanian community in Italy, out of the Italian society’s tolerant ways, that made many Romanian immigrants feel welcome in cities throughout the country, and establish a community that has clearly been economically beneficial to the Italian Republic. Sadly, amongst an honest, hard-working society of immigrants, there is a small minority of people who will perpetrate such crimes.” Nevertheless, there is no doubt that in late 2007, public pressure and scandals were wielded by officials in Rome as political instruments. From neo-fascists to impenitent communists, Italian politicians have outcast immigrants, forcing the government into expelling entire communities suspected of being a threat to public safety. Meanwhile, as tensions subsided, Minister D’Alema himself declaring that:
“Mass immigration accompanied by criminality is a phenomenon present not only in Italy, but in all Western countries. One of the reasons is the natural difficulties in social integration encountered by any community established abroad.” Referring to the Italian foreign minister’s official visit to Romania, the media in the peninsula stated that the common declaration “is the beginning of a closer cooperation” and that “peace and harmony” are slowly being restored” between the two countries.
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2025-04-03
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