After the European Council conclusions of 23-24 June calling for the rapid implementation of the European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies, this note by Tamara Buschek summarises the situation of the Roma in the EU and analyses the existing European legal provisions concerning the Roma (principally in terms of free movement and of non-discrimination) by taking the French government’s measures of August 2010 as a test case. The note finally presents the key initiatives adopted by the European institutions to improve the Roma’s situation in the EU.

With the economic and financial crisis having hit European countries in different ways since 2008, the EU is considering how far each country is responsible and what kind of solidarity is needed to overcome this challenge. Europeans have hastily set up solidarity mechanisms that their monetary union was lacking. Questions about the legitimacy and the limits of European solidarity are now very much being asked out in the open...

The Initiatives taken this year to guaranty monetary stability and economic growth in European economies plead for a larger debate on the reinforcement of European solidarity between Member States and their reciprocal responsibilities. The current European context calls for a demonstration of solidarity and justice, so that the consented austerity does not aggravate exclusion risks and poverty. This reinforcement of European solidarity would be an additional step for a social Europe.