Brussels, 06/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - Since anti-Gypsyism is still very widespread in the world and in Europe, the European Commission pledged on International Roma Day (Friday 8 April) to continue to support local actors above all as part of the urban agenda, with a view to fighting against discrimination and segregation and improve the integration of the Roma community.
In a joint statement published on Thursday, vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, Employment and Home Affairs Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova and Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu underscored the Commission's continued commitment because “Roma do not have the same access to jobs, education, housing and healthcare,' and 'The exclusion, inequality and discrimination many Roma continue to face, is in strong contradiction with the Union's core values”.
They did not announce any new initiatives, considering that existing measures need to be implemented in the first place. The 'EUROPE 2020' strategy sets priorities that can be financed under the Cohesion Policy, they explain, and “the Commission will continue to support and monitor Member States' anti-discrimination policies to ensure that fundamental rights are respected for all. Roma are part of our Union and must not be left behind”. The Commission says more must be done at national, and particularly local, level, stating that one priority is access to education for Roma children.
This is where the urban agenda comes in that aims to boost cooperation between the Commission, member states and local actors in order to improve integration of the Roma, announced Cretu in a speech at the European Parliament on Wednesday 6 April. However, the Roma community is not specifically mentioned in the provisional (March) version of the Amsterdam Pact (see EUROPE 11505), which only talks about refugees and immigrants as priorities and themes for the urban agenda. This point was underscored at a meeting on Tuesday 5 April between Cretu and representatives of a number of European capitals and large cities (see EUROPE 11525).
There can be a number of explanations for this, explained Ana Feder, head of Roma integration questions at Eurocities. Firstly, integration of the Roma can be put under the theme of urban poverty, the third of twelve priority themes currently set out in the urban agenda. Secondly, the member states already have national Roma integration strategies, which are a prerequisite for obtaining financing. Feder said that it would therefore have been considered pointless adding a theme to the agenda that is already being dealt with at national and local level. Another source recognised the fact that the Roma aren't mentioned in the current version, but pointed out that this is not the final version of the document. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys and Pascal Hansens)