Ambassador Brasioli: Romania meets Schengen criteria since 2011

Romania meets the criteria for joining the Schengen Area since 2011, and Italy supports this goal, Italian Ambassador Diego Brasioli said Thursday night.

In his speech as host of Italy's National Day celebration at the embassy in Bucharest, he said, "Italy is very close to Romania and we proudly support its legitimate aspiration of joining the Schengen Area. We think Romania has met all the necessary criteria for becoming a part of the Schengen Area as early as 2011."

He mentioned the Romanian community in Italy and the successful integration of Romanians into the Italian society.

"I think it's hard to imagine a closer relation between two countries than the one between Italy and Romania. We speak very much alike languages, we share cultural values, we have similar tradition," the ambassador said.

He also insisted on the bilateral economic relations: "More than one million Romanians live in Italy and are successfully integrated into our society. More than 20,000 Italian companies invest and produce in Romania, in all economy areas. (...) More than 2,000 Italian companies entered the Romanian market in 2015."

President Klaus Iohannis, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Valeriu Zgonea and other public personalities attended the celebration of Italy's Republic Day at the embassy in Romania.

Developed by Codecraftsman