Romanian President On Visit To Italy
Basescu’s schedule includes a visit to a camp of nomads in Rome, a meeting with the representatives of the Romanian communities living in Italy and a meeting with Berlusconi, followed by a press conference.
Romania’s foreign affairs minister Lazar Comanescu accompanied Basescu to Italy.
Basescu’s visit comes after the authorities in Rome adopted a series of regulations targeting people’s security, which were highly disputed even in Romania. Some say the regulations, which include fingerprinting nomads, breach the EU provisions regarding the free movement and discriminate against ethnic Rroma people.
According to Italian daily La Repubblica, Italian Interior minister Roberto Maroni said in an interview mid-July that Basescu has nothing against the Italian government‘s policy regarding the camps of nomads. Basescu dismissed the statements and said the Italian reporter most likely made a confusion, adding he never met with the Italian interior minister.