A recent diplomatic gaffe has brought Romania back into international headlines. The Romanian Embassy in Paris mistakenly e-mailed an internal note containing disrespectful comments along with an official invitation to a reception. The embassy had invited guests for a February 10 reception marking Romanian president Klaus Iohannis’ visit to France.

The internal document mistakenly attached to the invitation e-mail described some of the guests as ‘undesirable’ and even ‘repulsive’. The guests were all Romanians, members of the Romanian diaspora.  One of them revealed the gaffe by sending an open letter to the Romanian Ambassador to Paris. Romanian online newspaper Cotidianul.ro published his open letter.

The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry sanctioned the embassy employee with a warning and apologized for the mistake. It said the comments were purely personal, and did not reflect the embassy’s opinion in any way.

According to Romanian media, the director of the Romanian Cultural Institute Yvette Fulicea  forwarded an e-mail she had received from the ambassador's secretary. Fulicea  added her text, but forgot to remove the extra attachment, meant for internal use only.

editor@romania-insider.com