2011-11-17

MEPs discussed the situation of the Roma in the member states of the European Union during the plenary session of the European Parliament on the 16th of November. Representative of the Polish Presidency at the Council and secretary of state in charge of equality of chances El¿bieta Radziszewska and Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou attended the meeting to answer MEP’s questions.

These referred mainly to the rights of the Roma within the EU, the means to combat anti-Roma manifestations, European action in support of the Roma and the details and status of implementation of the EU strategy for the Roma.

Ms. Radziszewska presented, in the name of the Polish Presidency, the results of the Wroclav Platform and assured MEPs about the intent of the Council to support grass-root, regionally based policies. She also put forward the Polish Presidency’s initiative to declare the 2nd of August the Day of the Roma Holocaust.

The main speaker of the debate was the only Roma member of the EP, Hungarian MEP Lívia Járóka, who pointed out four issues that need to be solved in order to assure the success of the EU strategy on the Roma adopted this June. She considers that first and foremost the institutional and coordination framework needs to be defined and finalized at the level of the EU and the member states as well. A so called European Crisis Map can be then developed that would aid in identifying micro regions faced with grave structural deficiencies and finding the optimal means of intervention in every case. In order to ensure that the EU and national resources produce sustainable improvements, we need greater geographical and time coverage, revision of the rules of co-financing and the transposition of the 43/2000 EU directive on equal treatment into national legislation – said the Hungarian MEP.

Contributing to the debate, DAHR’s MEP Csaba Sógor emphasized the European dimension of the Roma issue and urged for the hasty implementation of the referring policies. The politician has previously supported ideas in the subject such as the return of Roma intellectuals to their communities and the assuming of their origins and identity by Roma Youth.

Here follows the MEPs speech:

„Dear Colleagues! Roma communities all over Europe are faced with specific problems whose solutions require great efforts on behalf of the European Union, the member states and the Roma communities as well. The high rate of employment, the sometimes total lack of skill required for in the education system and the labor market that can be seen in Roma communities, as well as the discrimination and social exclusion that results from these all cast a shadow on Europe’s future.

We can fight the discrimination of the Roma only if we finance programs that contribute to their social inclusion: this can be achieved through their involvement in the education systems and on labor markets. Even though the member states with large Roma populations bare the main responsibility, the problem is common to us all: the road we step on in the Romas’ integration will define the future of Europe.

I sincerely hope that we will be able to talk about real successes in this field in ten years time: but changes need to occur not only in the statistic indicators, but in the everyday lives of local communities as well.”