Brussels, 24/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission noted in a report presented on Wednesday 23 May that member states' efforts to integrate the Roma are insufficient. Although all states have put national strategies in place to improve the economic and social integration of the Roma, the financial means available for achieving this are far from adequate given how urgent the situation is and the challenge that this represents. The magnitude of the challenge is all the greater as, according to the new report published on Wednesday 23 May by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Roma continue to be subject to discrimination and social exclusion in the countries of the EU, where they live in considerable numbers.
The Commission's report. Since April 2011, a European framework has identified four pillars to provide a base for national action to promote integration of the Roma. The Commission is now publishing several examples of best practice. Thus, Slovenia and Finland are considered as exemplary when it comes to promoting the integration of Roma in the field of education, while Bulgaria and Spain set an example in the field of access to employment. When it comes to access to healthcare and housing, Ireland and France are cited as examples. Nonetheless, the assessment undertaken by the Commission has shown that only 12 states (Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden) have set specific funding in place. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding therefore states that the current commitments taken by national governments generally correspond to “strategies on paper”, with few “tangible results”. It is now necessary, she states, for “member states to move up a gear and strengthen their efforts with more concrete measures, explicit targets, earmarked funding and sound monitoring and evaluation”. Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor, for his part, wished to point out “the need for our October 2011 proposal that member states, for the 2014-2020 financial period, should have in place an appropriate Roma inclusion strategy before receiving European Social Fund money for it”.
Joint FRA and UNDP report. The authors of the report sought to make a comparison in 11 EU member states (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Spain) between the socio-economic situation of the Roma and the non-Roma living nearby. The comparison was carried out on the basis of the same four pillars chosen by the Commission in its own evaluation. “These survey results paint a grim picture of the current situation of the Roma across the 11 EU member states surveyed”, Morten Kjaerum, FRA Director, notes in a press releases. For as long as the “discrimination and anti-gypsyism persist”, the Roma will be unable to escape the vicious circle of discrimination, exclusion and poverty, he states. The main points set out in the pillars of the inquiry reveal that: 15% of young Roma adults have a diploma of higher, general or professional education, compared to 70% of their counterparts living in a nearby environment; fewer than 30% of Roma have employee status; 45% of them live in housing that does not have all the normal facilities (kitchen, toilet, electricity); and nearly 40% of Roma state they have witnessed malnutrition among those near to them.
Reactions. Noting the lack of involvement on the part of civil society and local authorities, as well as the reticence of states to set up a mechanism for monitoring inclusion of the Roma, Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA, France) urges the Commission to keep a watchful eye open. She denounces, however, the fact that only a minority of states has developed a concrete strategy for access to housing and healthcare for the Roma and that very few governments have undertaken targeted programmes. Livia Jaroka (EPP, France) is less categorical, saying in a press release on Wednesday 23 May that most countries have put forward a “credible and profound” plan for inclusion of the 12 million European Roma. Jaroka, who is also the European Parliament rapporteur on EU strategy for Roma inclusion, felt it was essential to ensure that Roma communities can take part in the process of assessment and monitoring of measures proposed by the different states. Thus, the activity of NGOs must be particularly encouraged. Nonetheless, for the European Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC), the Commission's assessment is no more than a statement of failure. National strategies have proven so flawed that they cannot even be considered as a first step forward, said Shannon Pfohman, ERPC President, before going on to add that these strategies reflect a total lack of political will. (JK/transl.jl)