Kenneth Clark in Roumania (I'm sooo embarrassed)

(Photo: EVZ.ro) I simply do not get it. Kenneth Clarke says there's no particular labour law shutting out Roumanians when there is and it's well known, too - it's aimed at both Roumanians AND Bulgarians. 'Must be restricted to some extent' is an understatement as any Roumanian trying to find work in the UK will tell you...The English term for Rroma is 'Roman', he said. No, actually, it isn't. The term for Rroma in the Uk is either 'gypsy' or 'Roumanian' because, lilke everywhere else, it is rare for the press to make a difference between the ethnicities. Kenneth Clarke is talking utter tripe. He also said that he thought the Roumanian justice system was making progress...well, I guess he isn't in Florentina Cîrstea's cell right now, for if he were, he'd be eating his words with his next bowl of gruel... How he came to that cock-eyed conclusion is yet to be seen.

Restrictions imposed to Romanians on UK labour market, transitional stage

30.09.10 | by: Alina Grigoras | in: homenews

Kenneth Clarke, the first member of the new London Cabinet to visit Bucharest, states there is no special susceptibility to Romanians. The British Minister of Justice, Kenneth Clarke, on an official visit to Bucharest – the first visit to Romania by a minister in the newly-appointed London Cabinet -, to meet representatives of the Government and of the judiciary and to confer with members of the British business community.

After yesterday's meeting with his Romanian counterpart Catalin Predoiu, Kenneth Clarke gave assurances that the work restriction for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens is not permanent. The official explained that their access to the UK had to be “restricted to some extent” given that, after the 2004 expansion of the EU, the flow of population from the new member states to the UK was much larger than expected by London at the time. “It was then that the restriction imposed to the other citizens (e.n. Romanians and Bulgarians) was set up, but this is a transition stage,” the British official stated. The British Justice Minister announced that the regulation of migration was, currently, under debate, but that this was not a political debate on the regulation of flows of people within the EU, but rather in reference to people coming from outside the EU.

He further stated that there is no special susceptibility to Romanian citizens among the Brits. “There is no special susceptibility to Romanian citizens in the United Kingdom and there is nothing even remotely comparable to France’s reaction to Romanian citizens. The English term for the Roma is Romans, and, as an MP, I’ve never received any complaints in reference to this population and they are not an issue in the UK,” the British Justice Minister stated. When asked how he qualifies France’s attitude towards the Roma, he refused to comment on France’s policy, but argued that any EU member state has the right to expel foreign citizens even if they are EU citizens, if they find themselves on the soil of the country in question without legal grounds. “I am glad that the UK government has never been involved in such an expulsion of an ethnic group and I am certain that we will not be involved in one either,” the British official assured.

During the afternoon, Clarke was received at Cotroceni, by president Basescu. According to Agerpres, the British minister recollected an earlier visit to Romania, many years ago, stating that many changes had occurred since then. “You are surely one of the few people who notice any changes in Romania,” the president Basescu said.

Comments

[Eva Pureza]

Yeees, you're right - it was the Polish Plumber period! Poland was okay - was EU!! And when I say 'was EU' I mean it wasn't seen as the poor cousin like Ro and Bulg... despite the fact that the Poles who came to work and strengthen the Eco market worked for twice nothing in, sometimes, appalling conditions. As do the Ros and Bulgs, in fact, more than just sometimes. It was that John Smith Scottish alcoholic who passed the law when he was minister. Its pure out and out racism.

[Paul]

I seem to remember the British government begging people from Poland, specifically, to come to the UK to do the work British citizens did not want to do. This was just before the economy crashed, so things might have changed since then. I do not know what made people from Poland more acceptable than those from certain other countries but, I have my suspicions.

I wonder if Mr. Clarke spent any time with ordinary Romanians before he came to his conclusion about the justice system in the country(?). You get such a good understanding of conditions in a country while rubbing elbows with their government officials...