Human Rights Court asks Romania to stop eviction of Roma community

The European Court of Human Rights has asked Romania to stop the threatened eviction of a Roma community, according to a statement of the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC). The Roma are currently living in containers located outside the Eforie city in southern Romania, but the local authorities have threatened to evict them because of utility debts. This would have been the third in a series of evictions that started in October 2013, when 100 Roma were evicted from their homes in Eforie, as the houses were demolished. Initially left homeless, they have later been housed in an abandoned school. However, their trouble hasn't stopped there. In 2014, they've been evicted again and moved into a container settlement on the outskirts of town. "They learned in August 2015 that they were racking up unaffordable water and electricity bills they would never be able to repay. Earlier this month, they were given eviction notices based on a local council decision they knew nothing about," reads the ERRC statement. Thus, the Roma have once again faced eviction, without the council offering them any alternative accommodation and leaving them homeless. The eviction notice was supposed to take the people out of the containers this week, but the European Court stepped in and stopped it. The Romanian Government should present a solution for this Roma community to the Court until next Tuesday. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com