European Integration, Migration and Representation: The Case of Roma in France

Differing Romani Mobilities? The Case of Cross-Border Migration of Roma Between Slovenia and Austria

“…Some studies show that differences in migration patterns do not arise simply because of ethnicity, but need to be observed from an intersectional perspective, and include the consideration of, for example, gender and class (Nacu 2010;Kóczé 2017). However, a large proportion of this research focuses on particular migration patterns of Roma, especially from countries such as Romania to countries like the UK (Matras and Leggio 2018; Humphris 2017), Spain (Magazzini and Piemontese 2016; Vrabiescu and Kalir 2017), Italy (Solimene 2011;Hepworth 2012) and France (Ram 2013;Sardelić 2017a), as well as on the construction of the representation of the poor Roma migrant (Richardson 2014;Ciaian and Kancs 2016). This image of a poor Roma migrant has been used to show the limits of EU citizenship (Parker 2012) as well as in broader debates on the politics around migration in general, such as those seen around the UK's EU membership referendum (Brexit) 3 and benefit tourism by EU citizens (Sardelić 2018).…”

“…The image of Roma living on social benefits rather than working exists in various national contexts (Richardson 2014;Ciaian and Kancs 2016;Martin et al 2017), although this prejudice has also expanded beyond simply national contexts. For example, it also appeared in the debates on EU citizenship and how Romani individuals practice and engage with their supranational citizenship (Parker 2012;Parker and Toke 2013;Aradau et al 2013;Çağlar and Mehling 2013;Faure Atger 2013;Ram 2013). After the fall of the Berlin Wall and in the discussions that occurred on EU accession for the former socialist countries with high Romani populations (especially Bulgaria and Romania), the public discourse perpetuated the fear that Roma would move en masse towards "old" EU Member States (Guglielmo and Waters 2005;Sardelić 2018).…”

The position and agency of the ‘irregularized’: Romani migrants as European semi-citizens

“…Many politicians, especially those from France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, have questioned whether free movement as a fundamental right of EU citizens should apply unconditionally to all because, as they argue, some EU citizens abuse this right and become an unreasonable burden for the host state (Faure Atger, 2013: 182; Ram, 2014: 207). Such politicians expressed apprehension regarding the (potential) free movement of Romani individuals with citizenship in post-socialist states, which had just joined the EU with the 2004 and 2007 enlargements.…”

“…These governments portrayed mobility as one of the misconducts of Roma as a social group (Barany, 2002; McGarry, 2010). During EU membership negotiations with post-socialist states, one of the most prominent topics was the protection of Roma minority rights on the basis of the 1993 Copenhagen Criteria (Ram, 2014; Spirova and Budd, 2008; Vermeersch, 2012). But this was not merely out of humanitarian concern for Roma but also precisely because of the expressed fear of Romani mass migration (Kymlicka, 2007: 77).…”

“…The free movement of Romani migrants became one of the most contentiously debated issues not only on the subject of the Roma writ large (Grill, 2012; Pantea, 2013; Ram, 2014; Vermeersch, 2012) but also in the context of the Free Movement of Citizens Directive (Carrera and Faure Atger, 2010; Faure Atger, 2013; Parker and Toke, 2013). It also became a source of discord between some EU member states and the European Commission.…”