French minister rebuffs EU parliament on Roma expulsions (2nd Roundup)

Sep 9, 2010, 15:10 GMT

Paris/Strasbourg, France - French Immigration Minister Eric Besson Thursday rejected a demand by the European Parliament to stop his government's controversial Roma-expulsion policy.

'Europeans who sojourn on (French) soil without respecting conditions (of residency) will be repatriated to their countries of origin, either voluntarily or under constraint,' Besson said in a statement.

He was reacting to a resolution passed earlier Thursday by the European Parliament demanding that the deportation of Roma from France cease 'immediately.'

But Besson also rejected the suggestion that France was targeting the Roma, or Gypsies, specifically.

'France has taken no specific measure against the Roma,' he said. 'The treatment given these people has no connection with their real or supposed membership of the Roma community.'

President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right government has been under fire since late July, when it started repatriating Roma living in illegal camps, either via a voluntary 300-euro (385-dollar) payout or an expulsion order for those deemed a threat to public order.

EU lawmakers expressed 'deep concern' over measures 'taken by French authorities and by other (EU) member states authorities' and urged 'those authorities immediately to suspend all expulsions of Roma.'

The non-binding resolution also called on the EU executive, the European Commission, the Council of EU states and individual EU governments 'to intervene with the same request.'

The French crackdown has drawn criticism from the left-wing opposition, the Vatican, a human rights panel at the United Nations and Romania, where most expelled Roma were sent.

When the resolution was passed, Besson was in the Romanian capital Bucharest to discuss his controversial policy with Romanian authorities.

Only Italy, where a fellow right-wing government adopted similar policies two years ago, has been explicitly supportive of the French. Its Interior Minister, Roberto Maroni, even called for EU laws to be changed to make expulsions of Roma holding EU passports easier.

Under current rules, EU citizens staying in another country from the bloc for more than three months can be expelled if they have no means to support themselves or if they pose a serious threat to public order. But cases must be assessed individually, preventing mass deportations.

A day after they were told by EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding that an investigation into whether the French measures comply with those requirements was 'not yet finished,' EU lawmakers blasted the EU executive for its 'late and limited response.'

They also warned France that its plans to fingerprint Roma who accept the 300-euro handout to prevent double payments was 'illegal and contrary to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU Treaties and EU law' because it amounted to 'discrimination on the basis of ethnic or national origin.'

The resolution, presented by socialist, liberal, green and hard- left groups, was approved by a vote of 377-245, with 51 abstentions.

Two conservative groups, including the European People's Party (EPP), with which Sarkozy is affiliated, presented an alternative text which avoided criticism of French measures. But it was defeated in a 287-328 vote.

The EPP denounced the outcome as a 'regrettable political exploitation,' as it accused centre-left groups of hijacking the Roma issue to score points against their opponents.

'Pointing fingers at France and the European Commission as the left side of the European Parliament has done ... does not, unfortunately, address the real challenges ... of the Roma people,' said EPP deputy Simon Busuttil.