European Parliament

Some short-sighted, egoistic Member States, still driven by nationalistic visions, do not wish to engage in finding a solution to a problem and prefer to pass that problem to smaller, weaker states.

Or, as François Mitterand said once, ‘nationalism means war'. This attitude is against the European spirit and legislation and cannot be tolerated by the European Parliament, an institution that has every reason to react in this situation, as it already did some years ago in the similar case of Italy. The Roma community is an European community, not a national one; therefore, the Roma issue with all its possible problems must be solved at European level, with European instruments, not at national level.

No EU Member State could be condemned to being a ghetto for the Roma, as well as the right of all European citizens to free movement cannot be limited on the basis of ethnic criteria. France cannot close the Bethencourt scandal through the diversion of punishing the Roma, without receiving the prompt and drastic reaction from the EU. The European Commission cannot adopt in this situation the ostrich policy as it cannot treat the French and Italian cases according to double standards. It must urgently adopt the necessary measures in order to ensure the defense of the common European interests and legislation, in particular of Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.