One needn't overlook the ethnic and religious hurdles to regional integration in either case to see the possibilities.

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When Roma ghetto schools close, and the children are redistributed among schools with an ethnic Hungarian majority, it helps integration efforts.

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We encourage the integration of the different ethnic groups to increase the common ground among them but we also respect each community's wish to keep its own space where it can practise its own religion and customs.

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Perhaps more than anything, it reminds us that different ethnic groups take varying paths to successful integration.

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But it demonstrates the strength of Russia's multi-ethnic empire and the depth of its integration in European affairs and security.

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