Roma migrants from central and eastern Europe have been
in the centre of recent public debates on EU immigration.
Local authorities are under pressure to respond to the arrival
of Roma, who are often portrayed as a difficult target group.
Reports commissioned by third sector agencies who
provide mediation services have tended to exaggerate the
number of Roma migrants in an effort to secure additional
financial resources. There is a risk that delegating support
to external agencies might strengthen the view that Roma
are unable to manage their own affairs, and that it might
perpetuate dependency