EC position on fingerprinting of Roma in Italy

In a letter to European Commissioner Jacques Barrot, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) expressed concern that the EC was endorsing Italy’s plan to forcibly fingerprint all Roma living in the country. The groups noted that such fingerprinting would be a form of discrimination because it targets people based solely on their ethnicity.

According to media reports, the EC approved the fingerprinting plan because the Italian government is not seeking «data based on ethnic origin or religion.» However, the EC has not disclosed information on how it arrived at its controversial decision.

Document:http://www.errc.org/db/03/42/m00000342.pdf