The Romanian-Italian ties see constant improvement

While on a visit to Bucharest, the head of the Italian diplomacy, Paolo Gentiloni, has underlined the very good dynamics of the investment by his co-nationals in Romania.

Over 100 new Italian companies are adding to those already operating in Romania almost on a monthly basis.

According to the Italian official, this is proof of the trust the Italian investors have in Romania's economic stability.

"Our political ties are excellent, and the economic and trade relations have also been boosted. Italy didn't discover Romania a couple of months ago, or a couple of years ago, but placed its bet on the economic future on this country long time ago. And what is interesting is that this bet has been constantly renewed ever since", Paolo Gentiloni said.

The value of the Romanian-Italian trade has exceeded 12 billion euros, Italy being Romania's second largest partner and one of the first investors in its economy.

The role the Romanian community in Italy and the Italian community in Romania played in consolidating bilateral ties has been highlighted both in Bucharest and Rome.

The most important topic on the Italian and Romanian labour ministers' agenda in Rome, Rovana Plumb and Giuliano Poletti, respectively, was the protection of the rights of the Romanian workers in Italy, given that 1,108,000 Romanians are currently living in that country.

"Both I and my Italian counterpart, Minister Poletti, will be fully observing the fundamental right of the European citizens to find jobs in any other member state. This is our common stance on the 'Mobility' package, with clear emphasis on the workers' right to free movement and on the law that imposes and regulates the right to social insurance for those working in another member state", Rovana Plumb said.

The labour minister told Radio Romania that a large-scale information program on labor force mobility and the legal employment procedures has been implemented in Italy since September.

The two ministers have also tackled the 'Guarantees for Youth' programme' on developing cooperation in the social area.

"We have talked about our commitment in the European context, particularly about a social Europe focusing on economic issues but also on those related to work and the living standards of our employees. We talked about unemployment, black market labor and the problems we are facing in this sector in order to support people to work in good conditions, in both countries", Giuliano Poletti said.

Joint projects, Poletti said, are focusing on fighting illegal labor, creating jobs for the young people, risk assessment and the management of security and health conditions in the work place.