Brussels, 17/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - Three main principles will have to be applied to help better integrate the Roma people. This will include geographic and thematic concentration, systematic implementation of national strategies for the Roma and, finally, the creation of partnerships, explained the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, during an event organised at the European Parliament by the Open Society Foundations (OSF), which focused on the Roma situation in Europe, on Tuesday 17 November.
With regard to the first principle, the Commissioner is subsequently calling on the local, regional and national authorities to better target their action and allocation of funds, in an effort to enhance the impact of the action helping the Roma. The second principle sets out a preliminary condition ('ex-ante conditions') regarding the payment of European funds and the application of national Roma integration strategies. Finally, the third and final principle underlines the need for convergence between the action taken by civil society actors (NGOs and Roma charities) and the local and regional authorities, through partnerships.
In this context, the Commissioner explained that the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is actively supporting the integration of the Roma in four different areas simultaneously: access to nursery education and early learning, a point the Commissioner considers as an absolute priority, access to health and social services, the regeneration of the disadvantaged rural and urban areas and action to tackle segregation in the allocation of accommodation.
Ruus Dijksterhuis, the head of ErgoNetwork, an organisation that represents the interests of the Roma in Europe, informed EUROPE that “things are improving a bit… But the problem is that the Commission is not doing enough to ensure that the member states use these funds better for improving the situation of the Roma”. She added that although the integration of the Roma population is covered within the national remit, “the Commission should not hide behind its mandate”. In this connection, she welcomed the determination displayed by Commissioner Cretu to introduce a collective monitoring mechanism when using funds to increase the integration of Roma charities.
The Commissioner also intends to meet the Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourova and the Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Marianne Thyssen, to discuss this issue. Another meeting is expected to take place in the next few months with civil society actors involved in the integration of the Roma. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)