They passed a motion condemning a new plan by the Italian government to fingerprint all the members of the Gypsy (or Roma) community living within Italy. The Roma have become a political scapegoat recently in Italy, being blamed by politicians for rising levels of street crime in Italian cities. In response, the Italian government has begun compelling all Roma people to be fingerprinted and have their vital statistics registered with law enforcement whether they are suspected of a crime or not. So far no other minority group within Italy is being subjected to the same process. Tens of thousands of Roma are believed to live in camps on the outskirts of Italy's largest cities, often in abject poverty.
Given whose leading Italy these days, the move isn't a huge surprise. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi built his ruling coalition with two questionable parties - the Northern League, which has long held anti-foreigner views and the Alleanza Nazionale, a party described as "neo-fascist". Rome's new mayor Gianni Alemanno (also a member of Alleanza Nazionale) promised during the campaign to deport 20,000 illegal aliens and Roma people from the city.
The European Union likes to make a big deal about protecting the rights of minority groups within Europe. So will the EU step in on behalf of the Roma in Italy? So far, it doesn't look promising, the motion passed by the EP was 'non-binding', meaning there is no punishment clause against Italy should they keep the fingerprint program going.
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