Fri, Feb 10 2012
Thousands of Roma from Bulgaria and Romania have sought sanctuary in Spain, Spanish social services said.
Aiming to escape poverty, the people have chosen large cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Seville, Spanish information agency EFE said.
They settle in deserted buildings or form camps on the outskirts of the cities. Some of the people live in the streets.
EFE quoted a Bulgarian of Roma origin as saying that life was difficult, because the emigrants lacked a home and work.
Up to now, the Bulgarian and Romanian Roma emigrants had been unaffected by the law, regardless of daily police patrolling, EFE said.
Foreign ministries criticise website that calls on visitors to lodge complaints against immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe.
‘I am delighted we managed to identify and attract some of the brightest and best people from Bulgaria and Romania to come and work at the European Commission,’ EC Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said.
The current ‘negative Arctic Oscillation’ – a weather phenomenon which leads to cold conditions in Europe and relatively warmer conditions in the Arctic – should shift into a more neutral pattern within the next two to three weeks.
The extreme cold has been blamed for almost 400 deaths across Europe. In Ukraine, where temperatures have fallen below minus 30 degrees Celsius, the cold is blamed for at least 122 deaths. Many of the victims were homeless.
At the end of Q3 2011, the highest government debt to GDP ratio was in Greece, at 159.1 per cent.