Europe agonises over Roma problem

According to media reports, the EU Commission is considering initiating breach-of-contract proceedings against France because of its Roma deportations. The weekly Sol urges an objective approach in the debate: "The Gypsy question is not as linear as the two sides try to portray it. On the one hand human rights and EU legislation make the persecution of an ethnic group ... an ignominious act. On the other a worryingly large proportion of that group adheres to practices that so-called civilisation perceives as threatening. And because society is not willing to insist with the necessary forcefulness that they refrain from violating the rights of others, the racist reaction of the one side and the populist anti-racism of the other are practically pre-programmed. ... In order to be able to accept the Gypsies without racism and populism we must find a way not to withdraw into a kind of Stockholm syndrome."

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