European Parliament President Antonio Tajani has been criticized for his comments on the Roma minority | Sean Gallup/Getty Images Rights group slams Parliament President Tajani over Roma comments Italian politician said citizens’ income would ‘end up in the pockets of Roma.’

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani's recent comments on the Roma minority betray the depth of institutional racism in Europe, a rights group said Thursday.

Tajani, an Italian member of the center-right European People's Party (EPP), told Rai News in an interview earlier this week that the Italian government's plan for a citizenship income is "not going in the right direction,” adding that it "will end up in the pockets of Roma, of foreign citizens — from the EU and non-EU — and certainly not in those of many Italian citizens.”

Reacting to the comments, a spokesman for the European Roma Rights Centre said: "The Parliament president's concerns about Roma being the recipients of a basic income in Italy betray the depth of institutional racism in how the state perceives Romani people in Europe."

He added: "Roma have been in Italy for over 500 years. If the poorest Roma were entitled to a basic income, it would be a small start toward reparations for the repressive measures, repeat forced evictions, segregated camps, and widespread discrimination by the Italian government against Roma in Italy."

Tajani's comments also drew outrage from some members of the European Parliament, but the EPP leadership did not condemn them.

In a statement, Green MEPs Romeo Franz and Sven Giegold demanded “a public apology and correction from Mr. Tajani.” Franz, who speaks for his group on Roma rights, said that Tajani’s comments “suggest that he does not see Roma as Italian citizens.”

Green Co-Chair Philippe Lamberts asked Tajani about his comments on Wednesday in European Parliament in Strasbourg. Tajani said he has been misunderstood, and that he had been criticizing the citizens’ income overall (a key policy of the governing 5Star movement and part of the controversial Italian budget) and not specifically the idea of giving money to Roma.

The Parliament president did not respond to a request for comment on the criticism by the European Roma Rights Centre.

This article has been updated.