Brussels, 08/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On International Roma Day, 8 April, the European agency for the Roma has called on European governments to outlaw any form of discrimination against members of the Roma community, the agency states in a press release. The member states are also called upon to step up their “efforts to set in place genuine inclusion policies”, with the Commission due to take stock on these inclusion strategies in place across the EU at the end of May. The agency also calls on the Commission to act and to take sanctions against countries which are “guilty of exactions” against members of the community. “In recent years, declarations in principle of political decision-makers recommending better integration of the Roma have abounded. In many cases, these declarations have proven to be wishful thinking”, said Stefan Rostas, president of the agency. The evacuation of a camp in France “at Ris Orangis, on 3 April 2013, is the most recent example of this. France, not long ago a herald of human rights, is now frustrating these same rights. But the other European countries, notably Hungary, Romania and England, are doing just the same”, Rostas continued (our translation throughout).
On the initiative of the Greens/EFA, a “Roma” village is to be set up outside the European Parliament on Monday, in order to raise awareness of the many forms of discrimination faced by the Roma, particularly in employment, education, health and housing.
In order to mark the day, the Commission has also called on the member states to do more to include the Roma. Commissioners Viviane Reding, Laszlo Andor and Johannes Hahn also reminded the member states of their obligations, specifically the implementation of their national action plans for the inclusion of the Roma, set in place in 2011. In an assessment of these national strategies carried out in 2012, the Commission observed that the use made of European funds for the Roma and their integration differed from country to country and, in some cases, proved to have been poorly used. Only 20 member states, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden, had clearly earmarked funds for the Roma and inclusion policies.
EPP member Joseph Daul and Roma MEP Livia Jaroka have issued a press release in which they express their hopes that the inclusion of this community will be a key priority in this decade.
The leader of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, Hannes Swoboda, said that the EU had not yet delivered as it should have to end discrimination and exclusion for the Roma. For things to change, the S&D Group calls for a European commissioner responsible for promoting the integration of Roma people to be appointed. This commissioner would be responsible for ensuring that the member states respect their commitments and that the EU funds they receive to implement their Roma integration policies go to the right targets. (SP/transl.fl)