There are eight million Roma in Europe

In his opening speech, Romanian Foreign Minister and OSCE chairman in office Mircea Geoana described the situation of the gypsies as a social time bomb which would test the values of the new Europe.

The conference will focus on attempts being made in many countries to end discrimination and provide more equal opportunities.

Abject poverty

But the scale of the problem is daunting, especially in Eastern Europe.

There are believed to be some nine million gypsies worldwide, of whom up to 1.5 million live in Romania.

Most live in abject poverty.

Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase told the plenary session that there is no official record of many Romanian gypsies.

They have no birth certificate, nor identity documents.

'Window dressing'

In April this year, the Romanian Government unveiled a 10-year action plan to improve the living conditions of the community.

Critics have described it as window dressing to improve the country's chances of accession to the European Union.

One of the new themes the conference will address is the status of gypsies as a pan-European minority.

Gypsy leaders hope that a politically united Europe will grant them better rights than national governments have been willing to offer.