French PM asks EC to make sure Romania uses European funds to solve the Rroma situation

Newsroom 25/08/2010 | 17:08

French prime- minister Francois Fillon asked the president of the European Commission (EC), Jose Manuel Barroso in a letter, to compel Romania to use the annual funds of EUR 4 billion that it gets from the European Union for the integration of the Rroma population, informs Reuters.

The French PM chose to write to Barrosso because “France does not have the legal means to force the Romanian government to spend these funds for shelters and the education of its population,” but “Europe can.”

France repatriated hundreds of Rroma citizens of Romanian citizenship these past few weeks. The French government alluded that it could block Romania’s entry into Schengen if this situation is not solved, said Pierre Lellouche, secretary for European affairs, quoted by Reuters.