Roma in the Czech Republic: An Excluded Minority

In May 2004 the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union (EU) and another boundary, which had separated the country from Western Europe since the middle of the twentieth century, was finally removed. Czechs never stopped considering themselves European, despite the invisible lines drawn on political maps. They regard the cold war as a blip in the nation's long history at the heart of Europe. However, Czech society is not homogenous and with EU accession another group of people, with an equally long history in Europe, have also been accepted as members of the EU family. These people are the Roma.