Media discourses, policies and social resonance on the example of the Roma issue in Eastern Europe

After the collapse of totalitarian regimes in Eastern Europe and the accession of most countries from the region to the European Union gradually Roma issue became topical for Europe. This was a logical consequence of surge of anti-Gypsy attitudes in public space and media. In frames of the European Union accessions process for most countries in the region a prerequisite bacame an active national policy for solving the problems of Roma and for democratisation of the media environment, and adapting of anti-racist discourse. The democratisation process flows unevenly across the countries, but today it can largely be considered complete and in the state policies and the media environment in regard of Roma dominates today (at least formally) anti-racist discourse. In the proposed presentation we will analyse the resonance of these prerequisite on the public perception of the Roma communities. We will show that it doesn’t led to reduction of the existing since centuries anti-Gypsy stereotypes, but led to their development, strengthening and enriching with new aspects. Dominant throughout the region bacames a new stereotype about the unfairy 'priviliged Roma'. This new stereotype largely influences the emergence and development of numerous overtly nationalistic and pro-nationalistic parties in whole region of Eastern Europe and attributed the strengthening of anti-European attitudes and in result the anti-Gypsy rhetoric in the media and political messages was changed, but continues to carry concealed but strong racist messages. From this perspective, anti-Gypsy pogroms and ethnic tensions as we are witnessing during the last years in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria are not surprisе, but rather a logical consequence of the social development processes in the region. In conclusion it will be argued that policies of 'affirmative actions', regardless of precious goals may lead to results contrary to expectations, if not implemented carefully.