Italy: Fingerprinting helps integration, PM claims



Rome, 15 July (AKI) - Fingerprinting of Roma Gypsies, including children, will help immigrants integrate in Italy and deter criminals, Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday.

"We are in favour of immigration policies...fingerprinting will allow foreigners to integrate and and deter those who come to Italy to commit crimes," Berlusconi told journalists in Rome after a meeting with European Commission President Manuel Jose Barroso.

Italians have a "welcoming spirit" towards foreigners "deriving from our history and our Christian and Catholic convictions," Berlusconi (photo) stated.

Echoing earlier comments by Italy's Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, Berlusconi said the government's plans to fingerprint Roma Gypsies are aimed at establishing the identity of individuals living in their camps.

"We want to stress our strong wish to guarantee Roma Gypsy children the right to attend school and receive the same education as Italians," Berlusconi continued.

Barroso said policies towards migrants must be compatible with "European rights and values."

The European Commission has yet to issue a formal statement on whether the Italian government's move to fingerprint Gypsies is compatible with European law.

Members of the European Parliament last week rebuked the Italian government for its plans to fingerprint inhabitants of Gypsy camps in Rome, Naples and Milan - including children.

The Euro-MPs condemned the fingerprinting as a direct act of racial discrimination and called on Italy to stop the practice.

About 60 percent of Italy's 150,000 Gypsies have Italian citizenship. Tens of thousands have entered Italy in recent years since Romania and Slovakia joined the EU. Many Italians blame them for a rise in crime.
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