Approximateley 200,000 Roma, or "gypsies," call Germany home. In Bulgaria that number is 370,000, and in Romania, 550,000. Other estimates put the two countries' combined total at 1.5 million.

Germany recently blocked a move by Romania and Bulgaria to enter the Schengen zone, Europe's passport-free travel area, placing the principle of a "borderless" Europe into question.

Is it racism? Or is it a reasoned call for better measures to avoid "welfare shopping"?