Frattini says existing European directives apply to Romanians in Italy

Berlusconi’s newly formed government prepares a set of measures against illegal immigration and Romanians are on the frontline, AFP informs. Former European Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini declared that in the case of Romanians in Italy the situation was clear, as current European Directives will apply to them. At his turn, Romanian PM Tariceanu blames Italian authorities for their lack of action which lead to the proliferation of nomadic camps in Rome’s outskirts.

The attitude of Italian politicians against Romanian immigrants in Italy stirred up disapproval at the European level but Frattini assured European officials that Italy will apply the European Directives and will not discriminate against nationalities.

One of these directives rules that EU citizens who fail to support themselves financially or commit felonies can be expelled. The Italian government took this directive to the extreme, arguing that foreigners who earn less than the legal Italian minimal revenue and cannot find a household in three months of their arrival will be expelled.

At his turn, Romanian PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu organized a meeting on immigration in Italy where ministers of the Interior, Labor, Justice, Foreign Affairs and European Affairs were present. Tariceanu declared that the situation in Italy was mainly caused by the lack of measures taken by Italian authorities against illegal camps at Rome’s outskirts.

Tariceanu said that Romanians and Italians have too many common interests to jeopardize the diplomatic relations and thus a solution needed to be found. Tariceanu underlined the fact that it was in the interest of both Italians and Romanians to find a common solution to the problem.