Fact
Sheet
There
is no doubt that there are some good achievements in addressing
issues related to ethnic and religious minorities in
Europe
. But even the most optimistic of the politicians and bureaucrats of
the European Institutions and Intergovernmental Organisations
dealing with Human Rights would refrain from talking about
significant progress when it comes to Roma and most of the Islamic
minorities. Extreme nationalism, social exclusion and racism are far
from being under control and arguably the Roma are in the worst
situation of any other European ethnic group.
At
this moment (January 2007) the European Union (EU) has a number of
significant resolutions on Roma (7 of the European Parliament
and 3 of the European Union Council),
excellent European reports,
over a hundred of documents of the European Commission (EC) focused
on or including Roma and there has been a good number of Joint
Inclusion Memorandums (JIM) and National Action Plans (NAP) with
Roma focused chapters.
The
European Commission(EC) has encouraged the new Member States with
substantial Romani communities to include Roma in their National
Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF).Those
strategies set the most important development policy objectives and
priorities to be supported under the main funding European
opportunity the Structural Funds.
On
top of these documents proving the acute problems faced by Roma
since 1984 one can find some structures within the EC focused or
targeting Roma related issues.
In December 1999 at the Summit of Helsinki,
under the impression of the pending eastwards Enlargement of the EU
the Finish Presidency put a particular stress on the situation of
the Roma and Sinti. A special working party on issues related to
Enlargement issues was established at the Council level, the
so-called COCEN Group. The following paragraph was included in the
official document which signaled the fact that the Group was
supposed to pay attention to Roma related issues:
“The
European Council reaffirms the importance of equal enjoyment of
human rights by all individuals. Special attention should be paid to
the improvement of the situation of those groups which do not form a
majority in any State, including the Roma. The European Union is
committed to working to achieve this objective together with the
Council of Europe and the OSCE.”
An
Interservice Group was established in early 2004, and an Expert
High Level Group on Social and Labour Market Integration of
Ethnic Minorities that has as one of its priorities the Roma in
January 2006. Also in 2005 the Group
of Commissioners focused on fundamental rights named the
Commissioner of Directorate General (DG) Employment and
Social Affairs Vladimir Spidla as the Roma responsible Commissioner
as the group targeted the “anti-discrimination, equal opportunities and the social integration of
minority groups”.
Better awareness within the European Commission coupled with
professionalism and dedication of some people within DG Regional
Policy, DG Employment and Social Affair and DG Enlargement lead to
increased funding going towards Roma related projects and some good
practices.
A scheme of Roma internships was established within the European
Commission that trains 10 Roma per year in
Brussels
and a call for tender for establishing a European Roma Network has
been launched in 2005. In 2007 the grant was given to the European
Roma and Travelers Forum.
This is far from all, the European Parliament has since 2004, 2 very
active Roma elected members from
Hungary
and at least another 40 pro-Roma MEPs. The non EU Intergovernmental
Organisations have been also quite active. The Council of Europe in
Strasbourg
has produced more than five hundred Roma related documents since
1984 and has a Roma focused division within its structures, the OSCE
has adopted the Action Plan for Roma and Sinti and has appointed
since 1999 a senior Roma advisor. The UN had adopted a Roma specific
document-the General Recommendation 27 in 2000. In
2003, nine countries out of which 5 are members of the European
Union joined what it looked as one of the most promising political
projects in the Central and Eastern Europe, the Decade of Roma
Inclusion(started in 2005) an initiative strongly supported by the
World Bank and the OSI.
All these would seem more than enough to bring about the dramatic change
needed by the European Roma. I argue here that despite seemingly
perfectly prepared
Europe
is yet no able to provide a basis for hope when it comes to the
betterment of the Roma situation.
Resolution of the European Parliament on the Situation of
Gypsies in the Community (1984) ; Resolution of the European
Parliament on Education for Children whose Parents have no Fixed
Abode (1984) ; Resolution of the European Parliament on
Illiteracy and Education for Children whose Parents have no
Fixed Abode (1989) ; Resolution of the European Parliament on
Gypsies in Community (1994) ; Resolution of the European
Parliament on Discrimination against Roma and Sinti (1995) ; Resolution
on the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the European
Union (2005) ; Resolution on the situation of Roma and Sinti
women in the European Union (2006).
EU Support for Roma Communities
(2002) DG Enlargement, Situation of Roma in an enlarged Europe
(2004) DG Employment and Social Affairs; Review of the European
Union PHARE assistance to Roma
minorities (2004) DG Employment and Social Affairs ;Thematic
Comment No 3: ‘The Protection of Minorities in the EU’
by the EU Network of Independent Experts in Fundamental
Rights(2004) ;Equality and non-discrimination – Annual report
2005 (special section on ‘Improving the situation of Roma in
the EU') DG Employment and Social Affairs Key
Voices 2005: Access to Justice, DG Employment
and Social Affairs