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The EU summit taking place in Brussels has become dominated by the row between several European members regarding treament of the Roma people. Whilst this is without question a major subject, it has triggered substantial friction among European leaders..
Two elements in particular have made the topic front page news. One is the comment made by Viviane Reading, the EU justice commissioner, who compared the French treatment of Roma with that of the Jewish people during the Second World War.
The EU justice commissioner made her comments in the wake of a leaked document from the French interior ministry which indicated that Roma people were being targeted as a group on ethnic grounds as a priority, despite the government denying this.
However, when other European countries criticise the actions of France, for the most part it can be hypocritical. As the EU spread east, it was inevitable for Roma people to migrate. But with their westward migration they have also brought with them the stigma attached.
There are a number of causes to explain precisely how this happened. Being a relativley nomadic people, the Roma have found it difficult to integrate themselves to a country.. However in numerous eastern bloc countries the Roma people were eligible for an education and were given books and other materials. Western European countries have on the other hand witnessed extremley high desertion rates of Roma people in schools.
The typecast of the Roma people is of no education, no social integration and a life of crime in general, and it is for these reasosns that European countries have been trying to deport the Roma people. The Danish government has been seeking ways to remove them, the Swedish have secretly been removing them, Germany has repatriated them to Kosovo, the Belgians have destroyed their camps and the Italians have declared a state of emergency.
The Roma people have unknowingly brought themselves to the heart of European politics and what the EU represents. A London solicitor would almost certainly advise that its an incredibly difficult case which will last for a long time.
One of the most important aspects of the European Union is the right to freedom of movement. Solicitors in West London would probably chuckle at the irony of the Roma people who have mastered the ability to move freely and at the same time send the EU into turmoil over freedom of movement.
There is no debating the sensitivity of this case. The migration of people is a very complicated legal matter and one that needs calmness and patience on the behalf of European countries. The legal and moral implications of the treatment of Roma people in Europe ultimatley demands serious consideration by the people, lawyers and politicians of Europe .
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