Bulgaria's Schengen Accession will not be affected by Roma expulsion from France - EC official
Controversy surrounding the repatriation of Roma of Bulgarian and Romanian nationality will not affect those two countries’ relations with Europe.
The decision to expel hundreds of Roma from France (mostly back to Romania) has triggered sometimes sharp criticism, particularly in Romanian media. But, according to European Commission spokesman Matthew Newman, the issue of the Roma in France has "nothing to do with Schengen Area accession", Bulgaria media reported on August 24 2010.
"There aren’t any accession criteria concerning issues like the one with the Roma from Bulgaria, and Romania living in France," Newman said.
According to the plan, both Bulgaria and Romania are set to join the Schengen Area in March 2011.
France’s expulsion of Roma began last week when 79 people were expelled. The European Commission says it is following very closely France’s controversial treatment of the Roma. This was only the first group of around 700 Roma who face extradition.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to clamp down on Roma last month following a series of clashes between Roma and police in two French cities. The government ordered the destruction of 300 Roma settlements; so far more than 50 have been broken up.
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