EUROLAND/ROMANIA: As Own Governments Ignore Them, Roma Test EU Borders...And Nerves.

NYTIMES/ SUZANNE DALEY :    "Migration within the 27 nations of the European Union has become a combustible issue during the economic downturn. The union’s latest expansion, which brought in the relatively poor nations of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, has renewed concern that the poor, traveling far from home in search of work, will become a burden on wealthier countries. The migration of the Roma is also raising questions about the obligations of Romania and Bulgaria to fulfill promises they made when they joined the union. Romania, for instance, mapped out a strategy for helping the Roma, but financed little of it. Mr. Sarkozy has demanded that the Romanian government do more to aid the Roma at home."

AND: “There is nothing to focus the minds of policy makers like an army of poor people heading your way,” said Bernard Rorke, the director of Roma Initiatives for the nonprofit Open Society Foundation.

For a report on Roma living and working conditions in Romania, SEE:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/17/roma-france-dreams-better-life

SPAIN: The New Austerity Unsettles Many With Painful Cutbacks.

NYTIMES/ SUZANNE DALEY describes one family's changing conditions/

    "This was the deal that Gema Díaz, 34, thought she had made: When she took a job with this city as a purchasing agent 12 years ago, she knew her salary would be low. But the income would be reliable. She could expect steady raises, manageable hours, six weeks of vacation, a good pension and the usual benefits — from free health care to subsidized housing.
Now, as Spain embarks on a range of austerity measures, the careful math of Ms. Díaz’s life is coming undone. Her salary is being cut. Her pension does not look so secure. Even the day care for her second child — due in August —will cost more."