Brussels - The European Union's top official on questions of discrimination said Thursday that he is "deeply concerned" by the rising wave of violence against Roma in EU countries.

"I am deeply concerned by the reports of recent attacks against members of the Roma community, in Hungary and other countries," EU equal-opportunities commissioner Vladimir Spidla said in a statement.

"For more than 700 years, Roma have been an integral part of European culture and civilization. As fellow citizens, they are entitled to their full place in open and inclusive societies," he said.

The comments come three days after a Roma man aged 27 and his five-year-old son were shot dead in the ruins of their burning home in Hungary by unknown attackers.

The case sparked warnings of a "social crisis" in Hungary, with the country's ombudsman for minority affairs calling for an "ethnic peace plan" in the country.

But Spidla warned that the problem reaches far beyond Hungary's borders, with extremists in many member states targeting the Roma
- one of Europe's largest minority groups - as scapegoats in the current economic crisis.

"In some member states, it seems that the Roma have become the target of organised racist violence - fed by political populism, hate speech and media hype. In some cases, Roma are being made scapegoats for wider societal problems," he said. (dpa)