About: Roms

Pope pleads for European unity, warns against fear-mongers

Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for Europe to stick together and revive the ideals of its founders on Sunday (2 June), saying ideologies and fear-mongering politicians were threatening its very existence as a bloc.

Salvini wants census of Roma communities to expel non-Italians

Italy's new government plans to carry out a census of the Roma community with an eye to kicking out anyone staying in the country illegally, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said yesterday (18 June).

Commission wants Roma NGOs involved in spending EU funds

Marking International Roma Day, the European Commission on Monday (8 April) urged member countries to ensure that NGOs representing Roma are involved in the planning and use of EU funds for integration into society.

French minister accused of racism following Roma comment

Ethnic Roma living in France are considering legal action against Interior Minister Manuel Valls who said in an interview that Romani migrants from Bulgaria and Romania didn’t want to be integrated into society. 

Hungarian far-right stages anti-Roma show of strength

Blaming Roma for everything from petty crime to trash on the streets, thousands of supporters of Hungary's far-right opposition Jobbik party rallied in the eastern city of Miskolc yesterday (17 October).

France wants to convene EU summit on Roma issue

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says his country will request “in the following days” holding a European Council meeting to make decisions “at the European level” on the Roma - many of them from Romania and Bulgaria - who settle in illegal camps in France and other countries.

France puts Roma issue on EU summit agenda

The French government will ask the Cyprus EU presidency to put the question of Roma inclusion on the agenda of the 18-19 October European summit, the government announced yesterday (22 August).

France may lift work restrictions for Bulgarians, Romanians

French government officials are to meet next week to decide whether to lift working restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals in an effort to provide legal status for some 15,000 Roma from these countries living in France.

French cabinet under fire over Roma expulsions

  Rights groups have accused France’s Socialist leaders of abandoning electoral promises by continuing the arbitrary expulsions of Eastern European Roma that were begun under former President Nicolas Sarkozy.

France blocks Romania, Bulgaria’s Schengen bids

France produced new arguments yesterday (8 December) to support its position that Romania and Bulgaria are not ready to the join Europe's visa-free Schengen travel zone, citing poor border and immigration controls.

Hungarian EU Presidency to push for Roma strategy

The upcoming Hungarian EU Presidency will give the plight of the bloc's Roma minority the attention it deserves by mobilising resources in the 'Europe 2020' strategy, Hungary's Ambassador to the EU Péter Györkös said on 26 November.

French expulsions now aimed at ‘Romanians’ and ‘Bulgarians’

In the first nine months of the year, France repatriated 6,562 Romanians and 910 Bulgarians, according to French Immigration Minister Eric Besson, who has stopped referring to them as Roma. EURACTIV Romania reports.

Europe hit by scores of Western Balkan asylum seekers

Officials are considering removing visa-free travel for Western Balkan citizens as growing numbers of asylum-seekers from these countries hit the borders of Sweden, Belgium and Germany.

Battered Sarkozy finds temporary refuge in world affairs

French President Nicolas Sakozy hosted a trilateral summit with Germany and Russia to prepare for his country's G20 presidency, finding temporary refuge in world affairs as more than a million people took to the streets of France over planned reform of the pension system.

Parliament clears visa-free travel for Albanians, Bosnians

The European Parliament yesterday (7 October) backed visa-free travel to Europe's Schengen area for Albanian and Bosnian citizens, setting the EU assembly on a collision course with France, which opposes the proposal following its controversial crackdown on illegal Roma camps.

France opposes further EU visa liberalisation talks

Following France's controversial expulsions of illegal Roma migrants, most of whom were EU nationals of Romanian and Bulgarian origin, Paris has signalled its opposition to lifting visa requirements for Bosnian and Albanian citizens. EURACTIV.fr contributed to this article.

France handed ultimatum in Roma row

The European Commission has decided to take France to task regarding its summer crackdown on illegal Roma camps, giving Paris until 15 October to prove that its policies comply with EU laws guaranteeing the free circulation of people.

Brok: Right personnel mix is key for EEAS

The European External Action Service (EEAS) can be set up only if the European Parliament approves the staff and financial legal base based on the presence of at least 60% "Community personnel" in the new diplomatic corps, German MEP Elmar Brok (European People's Party) told EURACTIV in an interview.

Commission hits out at racist Roma statement by Bulgarian minister

The European Commission yesterday (27 September) described as "unacceptable" a statement by Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, who said that the Roma community was an "incubator" for crime. Dnevnik, EURACTIV's partner in Bulgaria, reports.

Romania, Bulgaria’s presidents push for Schengen accession

During a visit to Sofia yesterday (23 September), Romanian President Traian Basescu found an ally in the shape of his Bulgarian colleague, Georgi Parvanov, as both called for the speedy joint accession of the two countries to the Schengen area. Dnevnik, EURACTIV's partner in Bulgaria, reports.

EU to press ahead with Roma case against France

Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, who was caught in a bitter row with Paris last week over the French government's Roma expulsions, said the European Commission will start a legal procedure against France and several other EU countries for failing to transpose into national law a 2004 directive on the free movement of persons.

Inter-institutional tensions overshadow EU summit

Recent tensions between France, the European Commission and the European Parliament over the Roma expulsions carried out by the French authorities this summer are likely to mar today's EU summit, which was supposed to discuss the Union's common foreign policy.

EU’s Reding loses patience with France on Roma

Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for justice and fundamental rights, announced today (14 September) that she will launch a legal procedure against France for discriminating against the Roma. The way Paris has managed the issue is "a disgrace," said Reding in a rare loss of temper.