Roma expulsions
Cohn Bendit - Commission criticism better late than never, action must follow
EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding today criticised the ongoing expulsion of Roma people by the French authorities, the first time the European Commission has explicitly criticised France. The Commissioner also raised the threat of legal action against France. Reacting to the Commission's shift in approach, Greens/EFA co-president Dany Cohn-Bendit said:
"We welcome the decision by the European Commission to explicitly criticise the ongoing Roma expulsions by France, which is certainly better late than never. It is also a welcome follow-up to the strong resolution adopted by the European Parliament last week. However, the Commission must follow this criticism up with immediate legal action against all those member states with anti-Roma policies.
"The Commissioner has indicated the Commission will launch an infringement procedure if the French authorities fail to give a swift and satisfactory response to the Commission. There can only be one satisfactory response and that is an immediate halt to all deportations. France has had weeks to give this response: enough was enough a long time ago. Every day of inaction represents a further day in which France can continue with its disgraceful and discriminatory policies against the Roma, which clearly contravene basic EU law. The Commission must launch infringement procedures now against France and all other member states with policies blatantly infringing the rights of minorities."
