EC asks for proof that expulsions meet rules

THE European Commission has asked France to prove its expulsion of Roma migrants meets EU rules.

In a report, three of the 27 commissioners questioned whether France was meeting the EU's legal requirements when sending the migrants back to Romania and Bulgaria. But the report withheld judgment.

In the past month France has expelled 1,000 Roma from illegal camps, bringing the total this year to nearly 9,000, as president Nicolas Sarkozy pursues a security clampdown.

The expulsions have left the EU's executive Commission with a dilemma as it struggles with the need to give member states room to act, while ensuring the bloc's policies on protecting minorities and the free movement are respected.

EU experts say the legality of the expulsions hinges on the conditions under which the Roma are being sent back rather than the fact of returning them, although France will probably have to show its crime crackdown is not targeting Roma alone.