Identitary Transformations inside a Roma Community Following the Accession of Romania to the European Union

Abstract

The paper summarizes a preliminary research part of a boarder project of studying identitary transformations in the last decades in Romanian Roma communities. We supposed these transformations are influenced by the change of the general political and economic frame, and, particularly, by the integration of the country in the European Union. Starting from the general question “what has changed in your lives during the last years?” 27 in-depth interviews with Roma ethnics were focused on four main themes: identitary values, relationship with the authorities, Europe’s image and the expectations towards the European institutions, and opinions on personal development.