Abstract
he fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the emergence of two independent states - the Czech and Slovak Republics - brought wide-ranging changes in how inhabitants' identity is perceived in these states. The division of Czechoslovakia established new borders, which, nevertheless, did not have any strong effects, either on migratory movements between the newly founded states, or on the perception of group identity for some of the Roma/Gypsy groups in these countries.
The EU integration process in recent years has brought about new opportunities - movements of people, job opportunities and more intensive labour migrations. We discuss the problem of identity of a particular Roma/Gypsy group and the effect that recent social and political changes have had on their perception of who they are.
The core of our investigation concerns questions of identity (local identity, kinship identity, state identity, European identity or a transnational Roma identity?). We will discuss interrelationships between various strata of identities and the extent to which these relationships are influenced by the contemporary processes of EU integration.