The EU Accession Process and the Roma Minorities in New and Soon-to-be Member States

The Roma have been referred to as a 'European Minority,' reflecting both their nature as a truly transnational minority and their importance for the process of European integration in Eastern Europe. Research generally argues that the European accession process, which has greatly influenced the development of politics in the region, has had a very direct effect on the states' policies towards this disadvantaged minority. This paper proposes to investigate the link between European Union (EU) accession and minority policy by comparing the situation of the Roma in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Romania. The paper uses survey data to compare the differences that exist between the situation of the Roma and members of the majority groups along several socio-economic indicators in these four countries. Our findings add to a body of literature that finds limited support for the role of EU accession in influencing Roma policy in Eastern Europe. The EU accession process seems to have narrowed the gap between Roma and the majority in several areas, while not achieving the expected result in a few others. Comparative European Politics (2008) 6, 81-101. doi: 10.1057/palgrave.cep.6110123