Est. 1min 21-05-2008 (updated: 28-05-2012 ) Roma_CZ__CC_jurek_d.jpg Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The European Commission has warned the Italian government not to take “extreme measures” against EU citizens, just 12 days after Silvio Berlusconi was sworn in as prime minister. A debate in the European Parliament took place on the eve of the first session of the Italian government and the expected adoption of a package of measures to crack down on illegal immigration. The heated exchange opposed Socialist MEPs and their Italian centre-right and eurosceptic colleagues. EU Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla said that an Italian plan to expel EU citizens was “an extreme measure”. The statement is the first serious warning from the EU executive to the government of Silvio Berlusconi, although further clashes are likely as the Commission pushes for a quick solution to the garbage crisis in Naples and questions state aid to Alitalia. The Romanian authorities fear that resentment against Roma will affect law-abiding Romanians living in Italy. Among the measures the Italian cabinet is expected to adopt today is the criminalisation of illegal immigration, with jail sentences of up to four years. Read more with Euractiv Parliament backs calls for EU anti-discrimination law The European Parliament has reminded Commission President José Manuel Barroso of his commitment to put forward a directive outlawing discrimination on a whole range of grounds, including disability, age, religion or belief and sexual orientation, as Brussels finalises preparations for a social policy package to be presented in June. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters Positions"The Roma people [...] need to have the same liberties, the same rights as the others. They are not third country immigrants, they are citizens of the EU and they should not be discriminated against," Commissioner Spidla said. "I consider that the Roma cannot be victims of those who want to run a right-wing populist policy," PES leader Martin Schulz said. Romanian MEP Adrian Severin (PES), who is a former minister of foreign affairs, warned that "Roma-phobia" in Italy was combined with Romanian-phobia. "In Italy, a country worth our respect and love, the populist rethoric of some parties, united with the neo-fascist doctrine of the others, fuels inter-ethnic hatred, encourages anti-Roma pogroms and prepares the ground for new racial laws. In a very bizarre way, the Roma-phobia was combined with the Romanian-phobia," Severin said. Michael Roth, a parliamentary spokesman on European policy for Germany's ruling Social Democrats (SPD), said the Berlusconi government "is already showing its lack of respect for basic European rights". Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) leader Graham Watson said he was concerned that the upcoming Euro 2008 soccer match between Italy and Romania could be a flashpoint of violence. Italian MEP Romano Maria La Russa (Union for Europe of the Nations Group) said at the debate that the PES group is attempting to lambast a democratically elected government. "Roma are abducting children, they are stealing, this is the image they have," he said. Humgarian MEP Lívia Jároká (EPP-ED), who is of Roma ethnicity, described the situation of the Roma as "terrible everywhere in Europe," adding: "This is a question that should not be over-politicised [...] it is important that the Italian government should do its best to combat discrimination and not expel the Roma from Italy." Italian MEP Luca Romagnoli (NI) asked the Union to "create a Roma state in the East, where they could govern themselves autonomously". Commissioner Spidla said in his following statement that he found some of the MEPs comments "unacceptable". BackgroundResentment towards Roma grew after the establishment of many illegal camps. Some camps outside Naples were even torched by locals. According to the National Statistics Institute of Italy, some 196,000 Romanians work legally on the peninsula, but Italian authorities estimate that some 342,000 Romanians live in Italy. The estimate by Caritas, an NGO, is even higher – 556,000. S ome 160,000 Roma are estimated to live in Italy, 70,000 of whom are Italian nationals. The rest are immigrants from Eastern Europe, mainly from Romania (roughly 60,000), according to the NGO Opera Nomadi. Further ReadingPress articles The Press Association:Veltroni slams attacks on gypsies UPI:Italy, Spain Clash over treatment of Roma Deutsche Welle:EU warns Italy against Roma discrimination Tha Guardian:This xenophobia reveals the power of organised crime
