"Europe's Gypsy Problem"

This past week, the Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg met with one of President Sarkozy's foreign policy advisors; he will meet with his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, later this week. One of the big topics is nuclear power, but the more controversial issue concerns France's recent expulsion-repatriation of Roma, or gypsies, primarily from Bulgaria and Romania. The move was widely supported in France, though it is scandalous in the bien pensant human rights world. As John Derbyshire explains, (in an article for which this post is named) the "official" reason is that many Roma overstayed their French visas, though it is also clear that many became a burden on the unemployment and welfare systems. As Derb notes, these migrations to West Europe have increased in recent years, largely because of the much lower hurdles required for citizens of EU nations to travel freely within the EU. (Of course, Roma are not just moving to Western Europe; witness the struggles between Czech Republic and Canada over visas last year.)

The interesting thing about this development is the way in which the Central and Eastern European Roma have changed from a post-communist human rights problem, with western governments and advocacy organizations flagellating new EU member states for their treatment of gypsies (which, to be perfectly fair, was rather justified) to a European problem. A while back, the mayor of a Czech town proposed building a fence around a Roma ghetto. Needless to say, this was poorly received outside of the surrounding areas. But then the mayor called on the Minister of Human Rights at the time, Michal Kocáb, to "come and live here for while then." Eventually, the project was (rightly) canceled, but it expressed the frustration of local authorities in managing what another mayor referred to as "the un-integrate-ables." All the while, western governments were shocked at these developments.

Now, the free movement of people in Europe has inevitably led to the free movement of, well, everybody. This honestly and truly is a great thing for Europeans. However, it also means that some problems that were once confined to national borders have themselves been Europeanized. In some ways, this may not be a bad thing. If problems of Roma integration are diffused, best practices and educational schemes will perhaps develop more rapidly, and western European nations would have a slightly better handle on the problems new member states have with integrating all their citizens, guaranteeing them equality before the law and an environment of non-discrimination. It would also allow governments of European nations to be slightly more realistic about their abilities and limitations.

On the other hand, other incentives, such as those recently unveiled by the Czech Minister of Labor and the Minister of Education, would link welfare payments to school attendance, still would require state-based, rather than European-based solutions. Nevertheless, while many Roma move extensively, the majority do tend to stay where they're at, and so state-sponsored efforts would still be necessary. Moreover, the EU tends to issue these sorts of things in the form of relatively flexible "directives" that the member states tend to implement however they feel.

Derb ends his piece on a somewhat sour note, arguing that the gypsy population of Europe cannot integrate, simply because they have little "desire or aptitude" to do so. And indeed, it is a challenge. No matter what the human-rights activists say, it is more complex than just saying "stop being racist," and magically Roma and whiter Europeans will simply sit down around a campfire and sing Kumbaya. It is certainly true that some at least would like to have a better shot, however, and those are worth looking at.