Italian Foreign Minister demands the expelling of Romanians who committed crimes. Bucharest issues formal apologies

The Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, asked for the adoption of severe measures against foreigners who commit crimes in Italy, referring mainly to Romanian citizens. The reaction of the Italian head of diplomacy comes after six Romanian citizens were arrested on Tuesday, suspect of brutally raping an Italian young women.

In Frattini’s opinion, foreign delinquents should not be kept in Italian prisons, since their upkeep is paid for by Italian citizens, „The purpose is for criminals to serve their sentence in their own countries”, said Frattini, quoted by Rador. According to Frattini, Romania would prove „European solidarity” accepting to imprison Romanian citizens sentenced in Italy.

Romanian Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu discussed the situation over the phone with Frattini and apologized for the last crime committed by the six Romanians, but also reminded Frattini that it is not normal to blame an entire people for the deeds of a small number of criminals.