France slammed for airlifting Roma en masse to Bucharest

France has been condemned for a policy of sending Romanian Roma from France back to their home country in a move which may violate EU rules forbidding collective expulsion

September 2010 - From the Print Edition

This follows a national move to destroy makeshift Roma camps which have appeared around French towns and cities in the last four years.
France is concerned that the camps are a factory of human trafficking and the promotion of aggressive begging.
The French Government has paid off each Roma adult with 300 Euro and a free airline ticket and each Roma kid with 100 Euro.
If the Roma did not take money and fly back ‘voluntarily’ the authorities gave them a month to leave or face ‘forced repatriation’ without the cash bonus.
Around 700 Roma were evicted from 40 camps in the first two weeks following President Nicholas Sarkozy’s announcement to destroy the camps. Under EU rules, a member state can only expel a citizen to another member state in conditions where that individual poses a grave danger to society - leading many commentators to argue the French Government is acting illegally.
France’s Interior Ministry argued all the Roma threatened with repatriation were subject to individual analysis.
But Roma groups were sceptical that such a diligent process of case-by-case research had taken place.
“Given the nature and scope of the expulsion measures which President Sarkozy indicated should be implemented within a three month period, it appears highly questionable that proper procedures, due process and individual consideration could be ensured,” said Tara Bedard, programmes director, European Roma Rights Centre.
A major fear is that this move will reinforce prejudices about the Roma as a criminal race. Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Baconschi was concerned about “the risks of populist provocation” and “xenophobic reactions” regarding the issue of Roma in France.
President Traian Basescu said he “understands” the position of the French Government and the problems of the Roma camps around French towns. “At the same time we support the rights of every Romanian citizen to free circulation in the EU,” he added.
Many of the Roma airlifted back to Bucharest have seen the trip as a paid holiday before they return to France.
Basescu has said that he will work with the French to find a “convenient solution” between the French and Romanians on the Roma issue.
Basescu argues that Romania helped present a Europe-wide initiative for dealing with the issue - but he has failed to gain the backing from some states.
“What happened in Paris is proof that we need a programme of integration at a European level of citizens of Roma extraction, keeping account of the fact that we must not confuse integration with assimilation,” said Basescu.
A European Framework Strategy on Roma Inclusion would be a clear step forward to guide EU and Member State responses to the integration and inclusion of Roma, argue Roma groups.
France has been attempting to deport the Romanian Roma since 2007, but is not alone within the EU. Similar measures and attitudes have been pursued in Italy, which declared a state of emergency to deal with Roma in 2008 and has been evicting Roma from settlements ever since.
In early July, Denmark expelled 23 Roma back to Romania and Germany paid more than 100 Roma to return to Romania in June 2009. Germany is also deporting many Roma to Kosovo.
Roma groups argue there are around 10,000 to 20,000 migrant Roma in France, although it is unclear how many of these are from Romania.