Brussels, 09/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission should use the experience of local elected representatives and of associations working on the ground to help it draft a genuine European strategy for the Roma. Alternatives to simply expelling the Roma exist in host countries. That is the main message that S&D MEPs drew from their visits to two Roma villages on Wednesday 9 February and their meetings with elected representatives and several representatives of associations and non-governmental organisations in Seine-St-Denis on the outskirts of Paris, the S&D Group in the European Parliament (EP) says in a press release. The delegation was led by S&D deputy leader Hannes Swoboda (Austria) and was made up of Sylvie Guillaume (France), Brita Thomsen (Denmark), Kinga Göncz (Hungary) and Maria Muñiz de Urquiza (Spain).
“We were told that the Roma suffered discrimination here, for example, on access to jobs. The Commission should investigate”, said Swoboda (who is the joint chairman of a Roma taskforce within the S&D). “There is a striking gap between the brutal policy of expulsion employed by the French government and the efforts of local authorities, with the help of many associations and NGOs working on the ground, to help these people find their places in society” he added.
After visiting the temporary reception centre for Roma in Aubervilliers and a village being renovated in Saint-Denis, Sylvie Guillaume said that “this centre is perhaps not the model for all to follow. But of the 13 families living there, most are employed and all the children attend school. For these families, this is a start on the way to being part of society”. She stated: “What is striking is the lack of involvement by elected representatives. These projects were started without any major funding and often had to overcome huge amounts of red-tape, without any help or support from the state. Europe must offer financial and technical support to these integration schemes”.
The S&D press release notes that, for several years, the Roma population in Europe has been one of the priorities of the group in the EP. MEPs have also visited several Roma encampments in Serbia, Hungary, and Slovakia, as well as in France on Wednesday. They will next visit Bucharest, in two weeks' time, the S&D Group says. (G.B./transl.rt)