Italy is taking part with other European countries in an initiative to help Romanian citizens belonging to the Roma ethnic group. Our Ambassador to Bucharest, Diego Brasioli, recently took part in a visit to Frumusani, which is home to a large Roma community. The visit was organised by the British Ambassador on behalf of the coordination group of like-minded countries on the issue of Roma integration (Spain, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Finland). It provided an opportunity to see at first hand the difficulties experienced by Romania’s Roma population in terms of integration.
The Roma community’s problems
Issues highlighted by the representatives of the Roma community include precarious housing conditions, the lack of a good road network, and high school-leaving and child labour rates. The community expressed the hope that the European ambassadors’ interest will translate into an improvement in Roma living standards.
The visit was just one of a growing number of initiatives on the difficult conditions of Romania’s Roma citizens, which seems to point to increased political awareness of the problem. This in turn should take concrete form in the Romanian authorities’ intention to promote and strengthen educational integration. Italy will continue to provide Romania with all the necessary support to ensure that the institutions in Bucharest and the local authorities have effective instruments to implement the laws and regulations introduced over the years.