Reding’s comparison of Roma deportation to WWII atrocities draws France’s fury

“In what can be interpreted as a disparaging remark against smaller EU nations Sarkozy’s UMP party spokesperson Chantal Brunel said on Belgian radio that France would not take lessons in morality from a commissioner who represents 350,000 people”

The general perception that European Commissioner Viviane Reding committed a monumental gaffe in comparing France’s recent deportation of Roma to the atrocities of the Holocaust has been reinforced by Jewish author, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize laureate Eli Wiesel.

This does not mean that there is no criticism. Wiesel called on French President Nicolas Sarkozy to reverse his decision but stressed that any comparison with the Jewish case was not in place. 

Commissioner Reding ignited a firestorm in the prelude to what was supposed to be a run of the mill European Council meeting in Brussels when she commented on Tuesday that: "This is a situation I had thought Europe would not have to witness again after the Second World War."

The Justice Commissioner, who is also Vice President of the European Commission branded France’s conduct as being “a disgrace” and warned that legal action would be taken. 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy reacted with fury, and was determined to divert the summit meeting’s attention towards the spat, and to defend his country’s reputation as the home of human rights.

Although France has deported thousands of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma over the past few years, it began accelerating the process last month, as part of a high-profile crackdown on illegal camps in the country. Mr Sarkozy mockingly suggesting the Roma should go to her country, Luxembourg – a slightly ironic statement, seeing as the Nazis had killed each and every Roma in the country when it had occupied it in WWII.

Immediately after the comments made by Reding on Tuesday, Commission staff said the Vice President had the full support of President Jose Manuel Barroso. However, on Wednesday, Mr Barroso moved to soften the remarks, saying: “One of the...expressions used in the heat of the moment may have given rise to misunderstandings. Vice President Reding did not want to establish any parallelism between what happened in World War II and the present.”

France's European Commissioner Michel Barnier said that everyone should calm down “so we can avoid pointless polemics and certain historical parallels that do not make any sense”.

Reding has since moved to smooth things over, saying she regretted interpretations of her statement. France's Europe Minister Pierre Lellouche said Ms Reding's comments were "not appropriate".

"A plane ticket back to the European Union country of origin is not the same thing as death trains and the gas chambers," he said. While some nations have supported France, such as Italy and Germany, others have said they will await the legal analysis of France’s policy before commenting.

France says its policy respects EU laws. It denies that the expulsions target an ethnic group, saying they are done on a case-by-case basis. It also insists that most of them are voluntary. Many of those deported are offered cash payments of about 330 euros per adult and 100 euros per child.

But in what can be interpreted as a disparaging remark against smaller EU nations Sarkozy’s UMP party spokesperson Chantal Brunel said on Belgian radio that France “would not take lessons in morality from a commissioner who represents 350,000 people.

The Belgian Presidency of the Council of Ministers is now planning to organise a discussion between member states about the Roma issue as soon as possible in an attempt to ease tensions.

• Roughly 12,000 Roma currently live in France, after Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the EU
• Many have no work permits, so live in camps and resort to begging