The cases of mass deportations carried out by France over the past weeks, will be discussed by the European Parliament at its first plenary session after the summer. MEPs have already expressed their concern over these cases, a concern backed by the Commission and also expressed by the Economic and Social Council which called for coordinated action by Member States.

The deportation of hundreds of Roma people this summer from France to Romania and Bulgaria will be in the agenda for the debate at the plenary session to be held on Tuesday 7 September. In this debate the European Parliament will discuss with the Commission whether French authorities breached EU provisions on freedom of movement and fundamental rights.

In a resolution adopted in March, Parliament stated that the failure of policies to promote the social integration of the Roma people must be examined critically, given the "unsatisfactory progress" to date. MEPs stressed at the time that Member States should make better use of structural funding opportunities to promote the integration of the Roma, and that the implementation of local projects should be monitored objectively.

In this respect, European Commission Vice-President and EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, emphasized that a comprehensive, Europe-wide solution has to be based on European directives on free movement of Europeans, on the prohibition of ethnicity-based discrimination and on equal employment opportunities, elements which were already pointed by the Commission in its Communication on Roma inclusion adopted earlier this year.

On its side, the European Economic and Social Committee has also called on institutions to urgently address the issue of Europe's Roma population in a concrete, constructive and responsible action by the Member States.

The Committee stressed that in trying to find concrete solutions to the problem of poor, uneducated and unemployed Roma communities, the EU member states must cooperate on hammering out a consistent approach to the issue throughout the EU.