Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-07-Speech-1-124"
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"en.20080707.18.1-124"2
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"We, too, are dismayed by the latest measures announced by the Italian Government to solve the ‘Roma problem’ in Italy. I think it a great shame that we are having to hold such a debate here today. I myself was rapporteur for the accession of Slovakia for years and had a great deal to do with the Roma issue. I always used to say: discrimination is inadmissible, it is quite simply prohibited: so say the rules and agreements of the European Union. The registration of Roma smacks strongly of discrimination, and this did not happen in Slovakia’s case. It is a shame that I am now having to conduct this debate on account of the actions of the government of an existing Member State.
The most recent package issued by Italian Minister of the Interior Roberto Maroni to tackle the ‘Roma emergency’, as the government is now calling it, leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The creation of a database of fingerprints of Roma children runs counter to the EU’s fundamental principles of non-discrimination, equality before the law and protection of minorities.
This measure was announced even though the European Commission has not yet completed its evaluation of an earlier package of Italian measures. In May of this year, the Prefects of large cities were granted extraordinary powers to take action against illegal migrants and Roma, powers that raised eyebrows in our ranks even then. Therefore, I should like to call on the Italian Government to exercise great restraint in order to avoid overstepping the boundaries of what is permissible in Europe. I would urge it to abandon that measure: it has no place in the European Union.
The European Commission finds itself in a situation here that, to my knowledge, has never occurred before, and so we would ask it to scrutinise the measure closely. The Commission must take an objective position, look at the letter of the Treaty, and not let itself be swayed by political considerations. This approach and Italy’s are skimming the edges of the EU Treaty, and the Commission must make it crystal clear where the boundaries lie.
It should be made clear that the issue here is not just Italy, however. This latest episode is a further illustration of the need for a much more active policy to break the social and economic isolation of the Roma and combat discrimination against them.
Last Wednesday the Commission presented an overview of what is now possible with European instruments, for which I should like to express my thanks. As the Commission says, there is scope for Member States to make more and better use of the existing instruments to promote the integration of the Roma. I also expect the Commission to present the specific plans that were still lacking last week, however. Parliament also calls for this in various resolutions, most recently dating from January of this year.
If one thing has become clear, it is that we can no longer delay in truly taking the Roma and their position in Europe seriously. The Roma are a very special minority, which cannot be counted as a traditional minority. The issue is one that concerns the whole of Europe, particularly since the most recent enlargement rounds, as a result of which a great many Roma became EU citizens. When all is said and done, a policy of repression will not solve the problems of the Roma, nor the problems and tensions to which they sometimes give rise in our society. An integrated approach is important and, as I see it, the Italian Government’s approach to the problem is unacceptable."@en1
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