Roma in Europe: a Gap Between Facts and Fiction

This article is concerned with one of the most long-standing and rooted problems of modern European society  – the problem of relationship between Europeans and the Roma people. The author tries to consider the main paradigms within which the main stereotypes about gypsies, circulating in the European society, are forming. The author considers it necessary to reflect on the multidimensional nature of the «gipsy issue», going beyond the traditional approaches, due to their inefficiency.

Keywords: Gypsies, The Roma, Romaphobia, Roma issue, stereotypes, integration, criminal activity, mentality, EU.