import re


def remove_accents(text):
    """Removes common accent characters."""

    text = re.sub(u"[àáâãäå]", 'a', text)
    text = re.sub(u"[èéêë]", 'e', text)
    text = re.sub(u"[ìíîï]", 'i', text)
    text = re.sub(u"[òóôõö]", 'o', text)
    text = re.sub(u"[ùúûü]", 'u', text)
    text = re.sub(u"[ýÿ]", 'y', text)
    text = re.sub(u"[ñ]", 'n', text)

    return text