CZECH REPUBLIC: The 19th International Steering Committee for the decade of Roma inclusion opens in Prague

Record ID: 860607

  • Title: CZECH REPUBLIC: The 19th International Steering Committee for the decade of Roma inclusion opens in Prague
  • Date: 1st October 2010
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 16th October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Czech Republic
  • City:
  • Country: Czech Republic
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA4QAY849EUZ4Z3J3SN0VG8VRZA
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  • Story Text: Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas opened a conference on Roma in Prague on Thursday (September 30), a day after the European Commission threatened France with imminent legal action over its expulsion of Roma migrants.
    The 19th session of the International Steering Committee met at Cernin Palace in Prague to discuss issues of Roma integration across Europe.
    "We know that it is necessary to improve the coexistence of the Roma community with the majority," Necas told conference delegates.
    World Bank representatives reported on a study entitled "Roma Inclusion: Challenge for Europe", which detailed financial and economic aspects of Roma in the community.
    France has sent around 8,000 Roma back to Romania and Bulgaria this year, bulldozing illegal camps where they were living on the outskirts of French cities as part of what French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called a crackdown on crime.
    The French human rights ambassador was interrupted during his address to delegates by the clinking of glasses aimed at causing disruption.
    "France is, in a large extent, enduring the consequences of the plight of the Roma people in this region - in this part of Europe where they are not integrated, where they are not accepted, where they are suffering discrimination and racism," French Human Rights Ambassador Francois Zimeray told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
    The European Commission on Wednesday (September 29), said Paris had two weeks to comply with European Union law or face sanctions.
    But rather than focusing on whether France may have broken EU laws against discrimination with the expulsion of 8,000 Roma, the Commission's statement on Wednesday dealt with France's failure to incorporate EU law into national statutes, a substantial softening of its previous position.
    "Considering the juridical aspect and the last development at the level of the European Commission, I think it is the problem of France to solve this problem with the European Commission," said Valentine Mocanu, state secretary at the Romanian Labour Ministry.
    Any EU government can expel citizens of another EU state from its territory if they pose a risk to public security or are a burden on social assistance. Measures have to be proportional to the risks and cannot target a particular ethnic group.
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