France to send 700 Roma back to Romania
EU watching to ensure freedom of movement rules not breached
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France has put 79 Roma migrants on a plane back to Bucharest, Romania, the first expulsion of migrants since President Nicholas Sarkozy vowed to remove the growing community in July. Another 262 will be flown back Friday. Each adult will be given 300 euros, with an additional 100 euros for each child. France wants 700 jobless migrants living in camps to go back to eastern Europe. Tens of thousands of Roma have fled poverty and discrimination in Bulgaria and Romania for better opportunities in wealthy Western Europe since Romania joined the European Union January 1, 2007. The EU has warned France that it must abide by the freedom of movement rules which apply to all citizens of member states. France’s foreign ministry says the expulsions are legal because individual countries retain rights to restrict movement for reasons of public order, security or health. Overall, there are an estimated 15,000 Roma living in France.