STRASBOURG, France — The European Parliament on Thursday called the fingerprinting of Gypsies in Italy a clear act of racial discrimination and urged the authorities to stop it.
In a resolution, the EU assembly said that the measure is not supported by EU human-rights treaties and that EU citizens of Roma, or Gypsy, origin must not be treated differently from others in Italy, who are not required to submit fingerprints.
In Austria, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors and reports on the human-rights situation in its 56 participating states, including Italy, also expressed reservations about Italy’s handling of Gypsies.
The Italian government has begun the Roma fingerprinting as part of a wider crackdown on street crime. Italian newspapers have published photographs of officials taking fingerprints from the ink-stained hands of Gypsies living in and around Naples. Authorities are expected to move in on camps in other cities in the coming days.
Early examples of the papers filed in Naples showed local authorities also were identifying those fingerprinted according to their religion, ethnicity and education level.
Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said last week that the measure was needed to fight crime and identify illegal immigrants.
EU lawmakers called on the European Union executive to thoroughly check whether the steps taken by the Italian government violate European law.
Italy claims that the presence of Gypsy camps around large cities justifies the government to declare a state of emergency and implement extraordinary measures. EU lawmakers say the measures are disproportionate and inappropriate.
The parliamentary resolution was approved by a vote of 336-220, with 77 abstentions.
