Madrid, 28 Oct. (AKI) - Dozens of Romanian citizens who have been deported from Italy have moved to the outskirts of Spain's capital Madrid, Spanish police claim.

According to Spanish daily ABC, Romanians have recently begun arriving in Spain by bus and settling in Canada Real and San Sebastian de los Reyes, areas traditionally inhabited by Spaniards and Moroccans.

The report does not specify whether the Romanians that moved to Spain are mainly of Gypsy ethnicity.

In early October, Italy's Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said that Roma Gypsies have left the country and gone to 'permissive Spain'.

"We thought there were 120,000 (Roma Gypsies in Italy). There are fewer. Many of them have gone to the more permissive Spain of Zapatero," said Maroni, referring to Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

At least 70,000 Roma Gypsies are Italian citizens, and many others come from European Union countries such as Romania or from countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Meanwhile, the Romanian government has been desperately trying to lure Romanian migrants to return to their country, due to a chronic shortage of labour, especially in the construction sector.