The National Council for Combating Discrimination, Romania’s anti-discrimination body, fined Romania’s President on 10 February for saying “very few Roma want to work” and “traditionally many of them live off stealing”, during a 2010 news conference in Slovenia. It initially declined to take the case because the comments were made outside Romania. However, the Supreme Court ordered the Council to investigate the controversial statement.

ENAR Chair Sarah Isal said: “This is a positive and courageous decision, in particular because stigmatising comments have a particularly damaging impact when they are made by politicians. Romania’s judicial system is not afraid of condemning high-level politicians for hate speech, something other European countries should take example on.”

See full statement – http://cms.horus.be/files/99935/MediaArchive/pdfpress/2014-02-12%20Romania%20president%20Roma.pdf