EU commission urged to act on Roma deportations

The European commission is coming under increased pressure to assess whether France has violated human rights laws in sending thousands of people back to Romania and Bulgaria.

MEPs discussed the situation for Roma people in Europe at Tuesday's Strasbourg plenary session, as criticism mounts over the French demolition of Roma camps and president Nicolas Sarkozy's tough repatriation policy.

Responding to a statement from the European council and commission on the issue, Hannes Swoboda, vice chair of parliament's Socialist group, said he was "deeply disappointed" with what the EU had done so far.

Viviane Reding, commission vice-president for justice and fundamental rights, told MEPs of the need to uphold European law and to ensure that no citizen becomes "the target of suppressive action just for belonging to an ethnic minority".

The EU was investigating whether France was targeting Roma people in this way, she added.

"It has been very important to stress that the social and economic issue of Roma is not just an issue of the month of August but an issue for every day of every year," Reding told MEPs.

Any targeted action against Roma people would be "incompatible with the fundamentals on which the EU is founded", she said.

EU social affairs commissioner László Andor said the commission was "fully committed" to protecting Roma rights.

Calling on policymakers to "stand by our principles" and respect "core values of the EU", he said, "Nobody should face expulsion just for being a Roma."

However, Swoboda said that the commission's response had been inadequate, adding, "This is scandalous. I want to know whether the French government has broken the law. Give us a clear answer," he said.

EPP deputy Lívia Járóka, who is the only representative of the Roma community in parliament, said a common European strategy was needed on Roma inclusion.

"Nobody should face expulsion just for being Roma," she said.

"Large-scale repatriations might be repulsive, but even more repulsive were the empty human rights promises of the last decades, when technically nothing has been done to alleviate the terrible poverty of Roma, except for chanting a few code-words about anti-discrimination and tolerance when it was politically handy.

"This strategy must tackle the economic situation of socially-excluded Roma - and equally non-Roma - such as structural unemployment, low qualifications, dwellings in seriously disadvantaged micro-regions and the barriers to self-employment from which our people are trying to escape when migrating."

Romanian ALDE deputy Renate Weber said France "was profiting" from the situation by paying €300 per adult, and €100 per child for them to leave the country.

"The French government, on the pretence that the repatriation is voluntary, has convinced itself that buying off the Roma's conscience is a humanitarian act," said Weber.

"It is regrettable that in 2010 the country which is the birthplace of human rights, has stooped to such methods.

"This type of behaviour was already used two years ago by Italy while the then European commission preferred to shut its eyes.

"This is why the European commission carries part of the responsibility for this wave of deportation of Europe's Roma."

Commission president José Manuel Barroso had also indirectly raised the issue in his 'state of the union' address, saying EU "governments must respect human rights, including those of minorities".

"Racism and xenophobia have no place in Europe," he said.

"On such sensitive issues, when a problem arises, we must all act with responsibility. I make a strong appeal not to reawaken the ghosts of Europe's past."

Swoboda told MEPs that Barroso's comments had not been critical enough, and ALDE president Guy Verhofstadt called on the commission, as "the guardian of the treaties" to "react without any hesitation".

"It is not its right but its institutional duty," Verhofstadt said following the 'state of the union' speech. "What's taking place in France is unacceptable, and unfortunately is not an isolated case.

"Several governments while confronted with the difficulties of the economic crisis, are sliding towards populism, xenophobia, and racism."

"The Roma are European citizens. In a world full of uncertainties, Europe must remain more then ever the continent of liberty, tolerance, and justice."

Tuesday's discussions came as the commission established a Roma taskforce to look at ways of improving the use of EU funds in boosting Roma integration.

The commission is also calling on the Belgian presidency to hold a joint meeting of justice and social affairs ministers as soon as possible, to be followed up with annual ministerial meetings on Roma integration.

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