SPEAKERS: JR: Jeff Randall VP: Victor Ponta    

VP:     Unfortunately the bad news is always more interesting than the good news. So if you mention the crime rate, I could only say that we've stayed in very close contact with the British Law Enforcement Agencies and we have co-operated very well. We are always ready to increase this cooperation to send more Romanian police officers because I think that fighting together, we can have important to results. So the idea is that we are absolutely committed to work together with your police officers, to fight the criminality, which might have a source in Romanian citizens.  

JR:     I'm curious Mr Ponta because nearly 70% of all begging offences in London are Romanians about 90% of cash machine offences, about 80% of pick pocketing offences are Romanians. Why do you think it is that the Romanians are so active this way in crime? In particular in London?  

VP:     I am afraid this is more complex situation, which regards the cultural integration and our historic incapacity; I am talking about not only Romania but the whole region, to better integrate the Romanian representatives minority. So it's something that we have changed the strategy in the last period and we have tried to cooperate with the European commission and some of the member states, UK, France, Germany and we have invested much more in better integrating the Roma community back here and Romania, not to simply wash our hands and to say that it's some other responsibility. We are not going to have a strong result in the short term because nothing can be changed in several weeks or months, but we can have solid results if we work together and we are very pragmatic in implementing all of the strategies and in medium and long-term we will see the results.  

JR:      So what you are saying is that the criminal fraternity amongst Romanians is largely Romanian Roma?  

VP:     This is what your police officer has informed us and your statistics, that most of the Romanian citizens, which are, involved in this small criminality acts, belonging to the Roma minority. I think it's my responsibility as a Prime Minister and it's our responsibility as a European continent; to vary seriously and responsibly tried to offer better conditions, to better educate and to better integrate the Roma community people. Back here in Romania, Bulgaria or Hungary or the Eastern European Countries, as I said having a more pragmatic and effective strategy, it's an important thing, but having results on a short-term it's going to be more difficult.  

JR:      Romania has already lost about 3 million people to emigration in recent years; common sense tells us that when the doors open to Britain next year, many, many more will come here.  

VP:     No, fortunately this is not true because we have, as you mentioned, 3 million Romanians since 2007, they have found new jobs, new lives especially in Spain and Italy which are the countries where our culture and language makes adaptation much easier. So I would speak on behalf of the 99.5% of the honest and hard-working Romanians living abroad, of course the ones doing illegal things are more visible in the media, but it doesn't make all the others guilty for this. So according to all of the independent research and even the British government has benefited from this kind of independent research, the Romanians that wanted to emigrate, they have already done it and 1 January, we will see absolutely no significant change in this.  

JR:      Mr Ponta, if the EU is to mean anything to future generations, it has to do be a two-way street; rewards must be both ways. I can see what Romanians get from Britain, but in your view what does Britain get from Romania?  

VP:     I think that being a member of the European family, it implies advantages and disadvantages, responsibilities and sharing common values and all kinds of freedom is one of the most important values. I would say that the United Kingdom, because you mentioned UK, has had in Romania, not only Romania all of the countries in the Eastern part of Europe, strong partners, strategic partners, political partners, but even economic partners because a lot of jobs are still in the UK because medium market like Romania has 20 million inhabitants, it's open to the UK economy. We have had important investments of UK companies here in Romania and our economy is growing at a time of decrease at the European level and I think that a united Europe would be more fitted to resist in the competition in the worldwide competition, with some big countries from Asia, United States and all over the world. This is my view and I think that it's a common project and it's important to see the advantages, not only the disadvantages of this important project in which I strongly believe.  

JR:      Indeed, well Mr Ponta that’s why we have had you on the show tonight. Many thanks for your time and we really do appreciate it.  

VP:     I appreciate very much, thank you very much.