EU spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein told reporters the European Commission was aware of school segregation. She added that both countries could benefit from EU aid "helping people to bridge ... the gap of finishing education, and going to the labor market."

"We do hope there would be concrete measures taken on the ground to bridge segregation," she told reporters.

The EU call came after Amnesty International released a report highlighting problems of "de facto open segregation" against young Roma children in Slovakia.

The report said that large numbers of children are being forced to attend Roma-only schools, while others are being placed in "special" facilities although they do not have learning disabilities.

"Regardless of their individual abilities, Romani children receive a substandard education in segregated classes," said Nicola Duckworth, of Amnesty International. "The failure of the government to provide adequate education for them blights their future employment prospects and adds to a cycle of marginalization and poverty for Roma people."

Beyond that, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled Tuesday that the Czech Republic had discriminated against Roma children, routinely placing them in special schools based on tests that could have been biased.

The verdict, which came in a high-profile case brought by 18 Roma, or gypsies, aged 16-22, could have far-reaching consequences on how Roma children are educated in European countries.

Based on the verdict, legislation in all member states of the Council of Europe, which administers the court, will have to be revised to ensure that Roma children do not suffer from discrimination in schooling.

The 18 Czech nationals of Roma origin complained they had been unjustly placed in special schools for children with learning difficulties, and had been unable to follow the ordinary school curriculum.

In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, among other countries, Gypsies remain at risk of social exclusion, despite government programs designed to integrate them into mainstream society, according to the council.

The EU has routinely called on the countries to do more to end the marginalization of the Roma population, setting aside millions in EU aid programs the member states can use to bolster education, housing as well as job programs.

Roma are now one of the largest, poorest, and fastest growing minorities in Europe, with a total population on the continent estimated at between 7 and 9 million.

International Herald Tribune, Europe