A Visit to Rome

Romanian PM Victor Ponta had talks with his counterpart Matteo Renzi and was received at the Vatican by Pope Francis

Mihai Pelin, 03.03.2014, 13:33

Late last week, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta made a visit to Italy, where he met with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi. They talked about bilateral relations, economic and commercial ties, as well as European issues. The two officials discussed means of boosting investment and cooperation in developing industrial and infrastructure projects in Romania. Italian foreign direct investments in Romania have reached 1.6 billion Euros so far. In terms of European policy, Ponta said Romania and Italy share a common stand:

Victor Ponta: “Our countries have always been well coordinated and have shared a common stand with regard to European development and the EU neighbourhood policy. In the second semester of this year Italy will hold the presidency of the EU and so Romania’s European objectives will be managed by a country with which we have very good relations.”

Italy’s support for the integration of the Romanian community and for promoting the Romanian language in Italian schools was also appreciated by the Romanian Prime Minister:

Victor Ponta: “I reiterated the importance of the way in which the almost one million Romanians in Italy carry their every day lives and how happy we are with the fact that the Italian education system promotes the teaching of Romanian language classes twice a week, with support from the Romanian government. Obviously, we appreciate the support for the integration of the Romanian community in Italy and for guaranteeing their rights, which are equal to those of any other European citizens.”

The Romanian Prime Minister was also received in private audience at the Vatican by Pope Francis. The two officials discussed bilateral cultural projects, aimed at supporting the Romanian Diaspora.

As a leader of the Social Democratic Party, Victor Ponta attended in Rome the Congress of the Party of European Socialists, where the German Martin Schulz, the current head of the European Parliament, was designated candidate for the office of European Commission president.