Senior official Matei, senior German official Fabritius discuss situation of Romanian seasonal workers in Germany

Senior European Affairs official with Romania's Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) Iulia Matei had a meeting on Thursday with the German Federal Government's Commissioner for Immigrants and National Minorities within the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Bernd Fabritius, to discuss the concern of the Romanian official with the current situation of seasonal Romanian workers or residents in Germany.

According to MAE, Matei reiterated, "the concern of the Romanian official with the current situation of Romanian seasonal workers or residents in Germany, emphasising their essential role in key areas of the European economy, the importance of their rights being respected and securing adequate work and occupational safety conditions among the ongoing coronavirus pandemic." She asked for priority attention to be paid to this matter and expressed Romania's full readiness to continue to have as close a co-operation as possible with the German side on the matter.

Fabritius praised the Romanian workers for their activity and gave assurances regarding the support and availability of the German federal government in order to respect and ensure an adequate work and health framework. The two senior officials underlined the importance of maintaining a constant and open dialogue in order to jointly identify the best solutions for the Romanian nationals working in Germany.

During the meeting, the two officials also had an in-depth exchange of views in preparation for the next session of the Romanian-German Joint Governmental Committee on Matters Pertaining to the Ethnic Germans in Romania, scheduled to take place in the second half of 2020.