Brussels, 21/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - The speech by Commissioner Vladimir Spidla on the violence against the Roma in Italy (see EUROPE 9664) was welcomed by most of the MEPs who had called for it. It was not about accusing Italy, Spidla said, the problem existed in other countries, and the key point was ensuring existing directives were observed. These allowed for refusal of residence, but insisted that account be taken of personal situations, and they allowed expulsions, but only if there was a real and serious threat. It was about improving social inclusion, by means of long-term measures and, especially, concrete short-term measures through targeted programmes funded by the Social Fund, in particular coming to the assistance of administrations which did not have the means to deal with emergency situations. Spidla condemned the racist violence fed by hate-filled speeches, and said that the Roma were not born criminals or beggars.
Two Hungarian MEPs, Livia Járóka (EPP-ED) and Viktoria Mohácsi (ALDE), condemned the treatment of the Roma, and called for measures to integrate them. The debate was, of course, dominated by Italian MEPs, all animated to a greater or lesser extent, with some arguing that parliament was not the place for polemics, while calling for people to face up to reality and observe the rules (Monica Frassoni, for the Greens/EFA) or calling for more effective use to be made of EU funds (Umberto Guidoni, GUE/NGL). Most, however, gave full vent to their recriminations and accusations. Some on the Right called for the Schengen Agreement to be suspended for six months, while some on the Left accused the new Berlusconi government of bringing race back into Italian legislation. Veteran MEP Marco Pannella (ALDE) said, “It is our duty to call ourselves into question: Italy is not a democracy”. The lively exchange which ensued with Romano La Russia (Alleanza Nazionale) led to chairwoman Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL) admonishing the pair: “We are not in the Italian parliament …,” she told them. Giuseppe Gargani (Forza Italia) summed things up correctly when he said that the debate had fallen short of the level of Commissioner Spidla's comments and of those of Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialist Group, who had called on MEPs to try especially to find solutions. (L.G.)