Foreign minister, Levitte, discuss Roma, nuclear energy

The Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg met with diplomatic advisor to the French president Jean-David Levitte on Monday to discuss a number of issues including his position on France’s recent expulsion of hundreds of Roma for not abiding by French law. Not long ago Mr Schwarzenberg criticised the move in an interview for a Czech daily, saying it was impossible not to suspect that a racist perspective had played a role. In Paris on Monday, the Czech foreign minister raised the issue again saying it was a sensitive one for him personally, not least given he had grown up not far from a camp at Lety, Bohemia during World War II where hundreds of Roma were interned. Three-hundred-and-twenty-seven died there, while more than 500 were sent to the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz.

During their meeting Mr Schwarzenberg and Mr Levitte discussed other matters as well, such as the planned completion of the Czech nuclear power plants Temelín and Dukovany, in which France has expressed an interest.