Romania Red-Faced Over Diplomatic Gaffe in Paris

The Romanian foreign ministry has apologized once again for the "intolerable and deeply regrettable situation" caused by invitations sent out to a reception for Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on February 10 that contained insulting remarks about some of the guests.

The emailed invitations included a spreadsheet that described some of the guests as "undesirable" and another as "ghastly".

Last week, the ministry said the embassy said sorry for the error, noting that the annotations were personal remarks, but the row has not gone away.

In a second statement Monday, the ministry said one diplomat had been summoned to Bucharest. Yvette Fulicea, head of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Paris, involved in the scandal, was also given a warning

The ambassador to France, Bogdan Mazuru, wrote a letter of apology to the Romanian writer who exposed the gaffe but did not personally have a rude description.

Iohannis has used his visit to France to lobby for Romania's inclusion in the EU's passport free Schengen area. Other key topics include controversies over the Roma community in France and the conflict in Ukraine, a neighbour of Romania's.