28/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 24 July, the European Commission indicated that it would examine the recent law on identification of the Roma population in Italy, in an effort to establish whether it complies with European legislation. The Italian minister of the interior, Roberto Maroni, has sent a letter to the European Commissioner for justice and internal affairs, Jacques Barrot, assuring him that this law did not infringe European directives. During a press conference, Mr Barrot declared, “we have received assurances that he (Maroni: Ed) was not going to ask about the ethnicity or religion of these people”. He explained that he would wait until the end of July for clarification and that, “in light of this report, we will verify whether it complies with Community law”. (B.C/trans/rh)