21-Jan-2005 (From the ERIO)
On 19th of January 2005, during the Conference “Human Rights and EU Migration Policy “ organized by the European Commission in Brussels the newly appointed Slovakian Ambassador to the European Union, Mr. Maroš Šefèoviè expressed his view on Slovakian Roma citizens, whom he considers “exploiters of the Slovakian welfare system”.
Hate speech and xenophobic messages against Roma are widespread and mostly ignored, ‘anti-Gypsysism’ is still an acceptable form of racism often neglected and sometimes played down, ERIO said.
Arguably the second most popular politician in Slovakia, ex-prime minister Vladimir Meciar demanded once welfare cuts to Romany mothers in order to curtail "the reproduction of socially unadaptable and mentally retarded people." He thought of Roma as being "antisocial, mentally backward, inassimilable and socially unacceptable"