The Roma deportation issue has been distorted by some Bulgaria media and blown out of proportion, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov said.

Mladenov said there was no danger of Bulgarians being restricted from free movement in Europe as some media led people to believe.

Any country "including Bulgaria, has the right to deport EU nationals who live in the country for a long time but cannot sustain themselves," Mladenov said.

"Bulgaria has excellent relations with France and there is no danger that the free movement of people in the EU will be restricted in any way," Mladenov added.

A plane of Bulgarian Roma to be repatriated from France is due to arrive on August 25 2010.

The group of Roma, 13 in all, will be followed by two more, ferried by Bulgaria Air planes, arriving on September 10 and 17. In total, 41 Bulgarian Roma are to be expelled from France, the report said.

Bulgaria's top diplomat said that there is a 2004 directive mandating the free movement of people in the EU, but it also stipulates that after a certain period of time everyone should have a permanent address, the means to sustain themselves and that the person should not violate his adopted country's laws.

"According to this very directive, Bulgaria also has the right to deport foreign citizens if they violate the rules. And in any case, the current situation in France concerns fewer Bulgarian citizens compared to nationals from other countries and the issue is blown way out of proportion by media – this is purely an internal French political debate," Mladenov said.

In a conversation with Mladenov on August 24, French EU affairs minister, Pierre Lellouche echoed the words of European Commission spokesman Matthew Newman:

"Controversy surrounding the repatriation of Roma of Bulgarian and Romanian nationality will not affect those two countries' relations with Europe".

The decision to expel hundreds of Roma from France (mostly back to Romania) has triggered sometimes sharp criticism, particularly in Romanian media. But, according to Newman, the issue of the Roma in France has "nothing to do with Schengen Area accession".

"There aren’t any accession criteria concerning issues like the one with the Roma from Bulgaria, and Romania living in France," Newman said.

According to the plan, both Bulgaria and Romania are set to join the Schengen Area in March 2011.

France's expulsion of Roma began last week when 79 people were expelled. The European Commission says it is following very closely France's controversial treatment of the Roma. This was only the first group of around 700 Roma who face extradition.