Romanian Congress in Spain

The second edition of the Congress of Romanians living in Spain starts on Monday. The works of the congress, held at Torrejon de Ardoz will focus on the residency and work conditions of the Romanian community living there. Some 200 people are expected to attend the event, representing 100 organizations of the Romanian community in Spain.

The emphasis will be on the legal regulations regarding the residency permits and the labor market. The discussions will also focus on measures to improve law enforcement, informs Romanian monitoring agency Rador. The Romanians plan that by 2008 to obtain means to better find jobs in Spain.

Romanians present at the Congress will also talk about joint Romanian-Spanish programs of integration of their communities while maintaining their cultural identity.

Several workshops will debate specific issues of interest like consular assistance, Romanian language education, Church support.

High-ranking Romanian officials will attend the Congress, including Education minister Cristian Adomnitei and Foreign Ministry state secretary Mihai Gheorghiu.

Spain currently hosts some 517,000 legally registered Romanian immigrants and another 400,000 illegal ones.