From a human rights perspective, Stijn Smet on the Strasbourg Observers describes the “utterly unacceptable treatment of Roma by Sarkozy’s government”. The discriminatory practice violates both the freedom of movement within the EU and the prohibition of collective expulsions. The blog post links to the resolution by the European Parliament and the 5 August 2010 missive containing further instructions on the ‘evacuation’ of Roma camps.
However, the blog post does not stop there. It notes the existence of cases which fall under the radar screen of international media, but reveal a poisonous attitude towards Roma. One such case concerns the Brussels area, where there is now no place to station caravans legally. The blog entry describes attempts to prevent Roma from stationing their vans illegally, and it goes on to discuss to which extent states (including Belgium) have a positive obligation to provide spaces for the ‘Gypsy way of life’.
The blog post is an introduction to complex questions facing not only the European Union and the Council of Europe, but national, regional and local authorities all over Europe. This blog post needs to be read in European public administrations.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. The Day of Multilingual Blogging 26 September 2010is drawing closer. It is arranged by the European Commission Representation in the UK and joined by the multilingual blog aggregator Bloggingportal.eu as well as individual Eurobloggers.
Showing posts with label minorities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label minorities. Show all posts
Monday, 20 September 2010
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
France: How to help Europe close ranks against your country on Roma expulsions
Through Bloggingportal.eu and other sources I have tried to follow the voices of Europeans on justice commissioner Viviane Reding’s attempt to stem the tide of ethnically motivated collective expulsions of Roma from France.
Conor Slowey, The European Citizen, has steadfastly called for action from Commission president José Manuel Barroso, commissioner Reding and the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, in and open letter to them published in the blog entry Europe: Speak up on Rights and Citizenship! (5 August 2010), the blog post The Moral Authority of Europe (26 August 2010) and the latest entry The Commission bravely missed an opportunity to stay quiet (15 September 2010).
As a French citizen, Greg Henning is ashamed. On EU Weekly he asks for punishment for the government of France (in French): Punissez-nous, Punissez-nous ! (14 September 2010)
Journal du Marché Intérieur highlights the “virulent” language of the Commission’s press release before arriving at the two grounds for legal proceedings Reding has promised, in: Roms : la Commission en colère sur la France (14 September 2010).
On her EUobserver blog, Honor Mahony commented on the strong language of Reding’s speech, which had been “a long time coming”. After recording the lies and denial of basic principles of EU law by French government ministers, Mahony ended by saying that the commission has finally taken a stand, and filled the moral void that has been at the centre of the EU since this sorry – and dangerous – episode began.
Anne-Marie Blajan, on Menaru, offers a view from Romania, from where many of the Roma have gone to France. She comments on the policies of the French government, as well as on the difficulties to integrate the Roma, in: Despre romi, despre Comisia Europeana si despre noi, romanii (14 September 2010).
Mary Honeyball MEP (S&D group, UK Labour) congratulates Reding for her strong and outright condemnation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s “totally indefensible expulsion” of Roma people from France: Commissioner Reding attacks Sarkozy on Roma expulsions (14 September 2010).
France one step closer to being indicted, Anders Selnes writes on Swedish Europabloggen, recording the false assurances by French ministers: Frankrike ett steg närmare EU-åtal (14 September 2010).
Yesterday Jean Quatremer joined the fray with a post where he called commissioner Reding’s statement a declaration of war, but he also explains the misleading statements by the French ministers and the arrogant and bombastic counter-attack by Pierre Lellouche against the resolution by the European Parliament: Roms: La Commission européenne accuse la France de discrimination raciale (14 September 2010). Instead of foolhardy wars of words with the Commission, France would better Europeanise the real problem of the Roma.
In a second post, Quatremer expends almost as much energy to lambast Reding for speaking English with the Brusslels press corps.
I would be more worried about the continuing stream of arrogant and insulting comments from president Sarkozy’s government and political party, such as still today by UMP spokesperson Chantal Brunel (via Fabien l’européen).
They could hardly have been more effective in isolating France and forcing even the unwilling member states to distance themselves from the its discredited government, if it had been their intention.
Ralf Grahn
Conor Slowey, The European Citizen, has steadfastly called for action from Commission president José Manuel Barroso, commissioner Reding and the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, in and open letter to them published in the blog entry Europe: Speak up on Rights and Citizenship! (5 August 2010), the blog post The Moral Authority of Europe (26 August 2010) and the latest entry The Commission bravely missed an opportunity to stay quiet (15 September 2010).
As a French citizen, Greg Henning is ashamed. On EU Weekly he asks for punishment for the government of France (in French): Punissez-nous, Punissez-nous ! (14 September 2010)
Journal du Marché Intérieur highlights the “virulent” language of the Commission’s press release before arriving at the two grounds for legal proceedings Reding has promised, in: Roms : la Commission en colère sur la France (14 September 2010).
On her EUobserver blog, Honor Mahony commented on the strong language of Reding’s speech, which had been “a long time coming”. After recording the lies and denial of basic principles of EU law by French government ministers, Mahony ended by saying that the commission has finally taken a stand, and filled the moral void that has been at the centre of the EU since this sorry – and dangerous – episode began.
Anne-Marie Blajan, on Menaru, offers a view from Romania, from where many of the Roma have gone to France. She comments on the policies of the French government, as well as on the difficulties to integrate the Roma, in: Despre romi, despre Comisia Europeana si despre noi, romanii (14 September 2010).
Mary Honeyball MEP (S&D group, UK Labour) congratulates Reding for her strong and outright condemnation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s “totally indefensible expulsion” of Roma people from France: Commissioner Reding attacks Sarkozy on Roma expulsions (14 September 2010).
France one step closer to being indicted, Anders Selnes writes on Swedish Europabloggen, recording the false assurances by French ministers: Frankrike ett steg närmare EU-åtal (14 September 2010).
Yesterday Jean Quatremer joined the fray with a post where he called commissioner Reding’s statement a declaration of war, but he also explains the misleading statements by the French ministers and the arrogant and bombastic counter-attack by Pierre Lellouche against the resolution by the European Parliament: Roms: La Commission européenne accuse la France de discrimination raciale (14 September 2010). Instead of foolhardy wars of words with the Commission, France would better Europeanise the real problem of the Roma.
In a second post, Quatremer expends almost as much energy to lambast Reding for speaking English with the Brusslels press corps.
I would be more worried about the continuing stream of arrogant and insulting comments from president Sarkozy’s government and political party, such as still today by UMP spokesperson Chantal Brunel (via Fabien l’européen).
They could hardly have been more effective in isolating France and forcing even the unwilling member states to distance themselves from the its discredited government, if it had been their intention.
Ralf Grahn
France expelling EU citizens: European voices
Yesterday, I tried to concentrate my view of commissioner Viviane Reding’s speech to the European press and the French government’s words and deeds concerning Roma expulsions into a short blog post.
Many have reacted, some long before and some later. Here are a few voices from the European online public sphere.
More than three weeks ago, Vihar Georgiev on European Union Law asked if the expulsion of Roma is legal, describing the rights and limitations under the two applicable legal systems: EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights (23 August 2010).
On 8 September 2010 Georgiev wrote a follow-up post, where he noted the heated debate in the European Parliament and the Commission’s failure to provide a clear answer. Yesterday he commented on commissioner Reding’s strong statement and the need for European politicians to grasp the importance of the legal foundation of the European Union.
Alphia Abdikeeva wrote on the blog of the Centro de Investigaciones en Derechos Humanos (CIDH), which is based in Spain: A ghost of racism in Europe (9 September 2010). She noted the acts and popularity of Nicolas Sarkozy, Thilo Sarrazin, Geert Wilders, Barbara Rosenkranz and Silvio Berlusconi to conclude that something is seriously wrong with the political climate across Europe. Is xenophobia the political mainstream, accurately expressing what the European public thinks?
Eva Peña on Eva en Europa published a blog post in Catalan: França portada als tribunals per la UE? (14 September 2010). In an unprecedented move, commissioner Reding has confirmed the position of the European Commission as the guardian of the Treaties, which enshrine the free movement of all citizens of the European Union. She wonders why the government of president Nicolas Sarkozy has ignored the warnings.
The French Foreign Ministry (Quai d’Orsay) has never admitted the existence of the European Union, or at least its binding rules, says Mieux connaître vos droits en Europe (in French), but discusses much more in at least three detailed blog posts: Affaire ROM/France : Complément au billet précédent, another Affaire ROM/France and ... derniers episodes du feuilleton … (14 September 2010)
On the basis of an introduction by Colman, The European Tribune community discussed French government incomprehension at outside criticism of its targeted deportation of Roma migrants: Cry me a river. Try to resist herding immigrants into it. (14 September 2010). The tone was set by the remark “Imagine being criticised for exploiting racism for short-term political gain”, referring to the French Minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche.
The discussion brought to light the contradiction between Silvio Berlusconi’s earlier exploits in Italy and the attention president Sarkozy’s government is getting for similar actions in France. During the discussion, the situation unfolded, from a first news alert to commissioner Reding’s statement.
A great day for Europe, says Desde Bruselas when Viviane Reding finally stated that the Commission had no alternative but to commence infringement procedures against France (in Spanish): Por fin! Parece que la comisión iniciará un proceso de infracción contra Francia (14 September 2010).
Kouchner?
I am not overly surprised by the populist law-and-order drive or the utter disregard for common European values and rules by the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy, but I wonder how Bernard Kouchner – known for his humanitarian and human rights work – can remain a member of that government, as its Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
Ralf Grahn
Many have reacted, some long before and some later. Here are a few voices from the European online public sphere.
More than three weeks ago, Vihar Georgiev on European Union Law asked if the expulsion of Roma is legal, describing the rights and limitations under the two applicable legal systems: EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights (23 August 2010).
On 8 September 2010 Georgiev wrote a follow-up post, where he noted the heated debate in the European Parliament and the Commission’s failure to provide a clear answer. Yesterday he commented on commissioner Reding’s strong statement and the need for European politicians to grasp the importance of the legal foundation of the European Union.
Alphia Abdikeeva wrote on the blog of the Centro de Investigaciones en Derechos Humanos (CIDH), which is based in Spain: A ghost of racism in Europe (9 September 2010). She noted the acts and popularity of Nicolas Sarkozy, Thilo Sarrazin, Geert Wilders, Barbara Rosenkranz and Silvio Berlusconi to conclude that something is seriously wrong with the political climate across Europe. Is xenophobia the political mainstream, accurately expressing what the European public thinks?
Eva Peña on Eva en Europa published a blog post in Catalan: França portada als tribunals per la UE? (14 September 2010). In an unprecedented move, commissioner Reding has confirmed the position of the European Commission as the guardian of the Treaties, which enshrine the free movement of all citizens of the European Union. She wonders why the government of president Nicolas Sarkozy has ignored the warnings.
The French Foreign Ministry (Quai d’Orsay) has never admitted the existence of the European Union, or at least its binding rules, says Mieux connaître vos droits en Europe (in French), but discusses much more in at least three detailed blog posts: Affaire ROM/France : Complément au billet précédent, another Affaire ROM/France and ... derniers episodes du feuilleton … (14 September 2010)
On the basis of an introduction by Colman, The European Tribune community discussed French government incomprehension at outside criticism of its targeted deportation of Roma migrants: Cry me a river. Try to resist herding immigrants into it. (14 September 2010). The tone was set by the remark “Imagine being criticised for exploiting racism for short-term political gain”, referring to the French Minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche.
The discussion brought to light the contradiction between Silvio Berlusconi’s earlier exploits in Italy and the attention president Sarkozy’s government is getting for similar actions in France. During the discussion, the situation unfolded, from a first news alert to commissioner Reding’s statement.
A great day for Europe, says Desde Bruselas when Viviane Reding finally stated that the Commission had no alternative but to commence infringement procedures against France (in Spanish): Por fin! Parece que la comisión iniciará un proceso de infracción contra Francia (14 September 2010).
Kouchner?
I am not overly surprised by the populist law-and-order drive or the utter disregard for common European values and rules by the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy, but I wonder how Bernard Kouchner – known for his humanitarian and human rights work – can remain a member of that government, as its Minister of Foreign and European Affairs.
Ralf Grahn
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