Brussels, 25/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The situation of the Roma and how the Commission and the member states could engage with this issue better was also discussed at the Employment/Social Affairs Council held in Luxembourg on Thursday 21 October.
Speaking before the press at the end of the work, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion László Andor, said: “we need to make new commitments in this field and a taskforce on how Community funds could be better used will be set up”. This taskforce will consider how these funds could be better used in the future, with the aim of creating a framework for inclusion strategies for the Roma. Andor added that these strategies would be presented in April 2011, as announced by Vice-President of the Commission with responsibility for Justice, Fundamental Rights at Citizenship Viviane Reding. Commissioner Andor welcomed the fact that this will make it possible to work in cooperation with the Hungarian Presidency of the EU, which will present its programme in 2011.
Philippe Courard, Belgian Secretary of State for Social Integration and the Fight against Poverty, noted that the Belgian Presidency had decided to take account of the issue of the Roma in the framework of the events it is to organise to fight poverty and discrimination. The Presidency's objective is to prevent this population being stigmatised.
Amongst other things, Belgium has pledged to host the fourth platform on the integration of the Roma next December, with the theme “Education and services for early childhood”. The selection of this topic is part of the roadmap of the Spanish Presidency of the EU, which highlighted the education of children from an early age as the main priority for the integration of the Roma, Philippe Courard added. (G.B./transl.fl)