Romanian president visits Italy

Tied to Romania through their shared Latin culture and, since 2008, through a strategic partnership, the host of the largest Romanian community living abroad and the country of origin of many investors in the Romanian economy, Italy has always held a special place on Bucharest’s diplomatic agenda.

Four months after his inauguration, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis went to Rome on an official visit focusing on bilateral relations, European and international issues as well as the problems facing the Romanian community in Italy.

His counterpart Sergio Mattarella, has emphasised that the time has come for Romania to be part of the Schengen area, and has reiterated his and the Italian Government’s support for this goal to be reached.

According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Rome, during the talks the two heads of state also stressed the importance of the bilateral economic and trade relations.

Both presidents highlighted the role of the Romanian community in Italy and of the Italian community in Romania, which they described as a strong bridge between the two countries.

Contradicting the populist and xenophobic rhetoric of some Italian politicians, President Mattarella mentioned the substantial contribution of the Romanians to the economic development of his country.

Strongly supported by the diaspora in November’s election, President Iohannis has met with its representatives every time he has made official visits abroad, to Paris, Berlin or Warsaw.

On Monday he also discussed with representatives of the organisations protecting the interests of the around one million Romanians who live in Italy.

Mentioning the presidential election last autumn that turned out to be a complete organisational fiasco in the diaspora, Iohannis said all parliamentary parties in Bucharest publicly undertook to amend the legislation that regulates the voting rights of the Romanians living abroad.

"I’ve heard various opinions and concerns about how voting by mail or electronic voting may take place, whether it is secure enough, or what may affect it. These are all legitimate concerns. Experts will come up with technical answers and solutions, but I would like to offer an answer in principle: we should give up the presumption of distrust. I’m talking about citizens’ distrust in the authorities, the authorities’ distrust in citizens, and the institutions’ distrust in their own ability to prepare and organise this kind of voting", Klaus Iohannis said.

The importance and the beneficial role of the Romanian community in Italy was also acknowledged, during the talks with Iohannis, by the Speaker of the Italian Senate, Pietro Grasso.

In his official meetings in Rome, the President of Romania once again pleaded for support to the EU accession efforts of the neighbouring Republic of Moldova.