When “Inclusion” Means “Exclusion”: Discourses on the Eviction and Repatriations of Roma Migrants, at National and European Union Level

Abstract

The paper examines the ways and processes of creating exceptions to the enforcement of human rights law in the case of the Eastern European Roma migrants within the European Union. It uses as case study the 2010 campaign of Roma migrants' evictions and repatriations from France, and the related events that followed over a period of six years. The analysis of the discourses of French and European Union officials in relation to the evictions and repatriations highlights the relationships between the discursive construction of unwanted categories of migrants, and migration policy making by national governments and at a European Union level. The main argument is that these evictions and repatriations were primarily a fundamental rights issue due to the discriminatory dimension it was given by those proposing and applying it. However, the issue of discrimination became secondary in the debates which rather focused on the exceptional nature of the Roma and framed this population as an exception from human rights law enforcement. Concomitantly, the discourses made a shift from protection against discrimination to the issue of integration. The analysis examines the implications this shift had on diminishing the responsibility of national and EU authorities for protection against discrimination.

Integration as an Essentially Contested Concept: Questioning the Assumptions behind the National Roma Integration Strategies of Italy and Spain

“…In the case of Roma minorities and of racialised migrants more broadly, the discourses have shifted over the past decade from protection against discrimination to the issue of 'integration' (Ciulinaru 2018). More specifically, 'being integrated' in the case of Roma minorities in Italy and Spain seems to be associated with 'being a national' which, in turn, is perceived as belonging to the mainstream, understood as the white middle-class sector of society (Magazzini 2018).…”

Working with marginalized groups: towards more holistic strategies for social exclusion reduction of the Roma community in Kosovo

“…Further requirements of the document include: a commitment by all member states to developing national strategies; fighting against discrimination through inclusion and human rights; cross-involvement in decision-making including the Roma; civil society and local and regional authorities; sustainable and adequate funding, monitoring of results; and mainstreaming the Roma inclusion goals in public policies. The EU has a powerful framework strategy in support of the Roma; however, the strategy is considered inefficient by critics (Ciulinaru, 2018). The absence of a more "holistic approach" to integration strategies has made it more difficult for the EU to make a real progress, although it is questionable if the new EU framework will be able to achieve more (Bigazzi and Cserto, 2016).…”

“…Their presence was defined as a risk to the "public safety"a legal term, which is usually used for situations where the security of the state is at risk (Viscusi, 2010). French President's actions were perceived as that of policing as he implied that the Roma migration is a criminal problem, although the collective deportation of the Roma has not been an outcome of criminal investigations (Ciulinaru, 2018). Extremist groups in some European countries are still using the anti-gypsy campaigns and violent groups against the Roma communities have been reported in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary (Amnesty International, 2012).…”

Framing “The Gypsy Problem”: Populist Electoral Use of Romaphobia in Italy (2014–2019)

“…In specific countries, McGarry (2017); Garner (2019); Wemyss and Cassidy (2017), focusing on the UK case, stress how both political actors and the media contribute to racialize Roma; in France, Mayer et al (2019) analyze the patterns of Romaphobia, and Ciulinaru (2018) isolates the discourses of exclusion related to the eviction and repatriation of Roma migrants.…”