EU Roma framework – Page 2

Strengthening Roma participation under the 2020 EU Roma Strategic Framework

Strengthening Roma participation under the 2020 EU Strategic Framework for Roma Equality, Inclusion and participation and NRIS

Article 11 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) specifies that EU institutions “shall, by appropriate means, give citizens and representative associations the opportunity to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action” and “shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society”.

The right to participation in public affairs is also recognised in Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and was recently reaffirmed in the Council of Europe Guidelines for civil participation in political decision-making, as adopted in September 2017 by the Committee of Ministers. One of its components is civil participation, which the guidelines define as “the engagement of individuals, NGOs and civil society at large in decision-making processes by public authorities”.

Download the paper here

Post 2020 EU Framework must be top priority in Covid-19 response

Appeal to the European Commission and the European Council to make the post-2020 EU Strategic Framework for Roma Equality and Inclusion a top priority in its Covid-19 response

Download the pdf version.

April 22, 2020

Honorable President of the European Commission, Ms Ursula von der Leyen

Honorable President of the European Council, Mr Charles Michel

On behalf of the European coalition of Roma and pro-Roma organizations, we call on the European Commission and the European Council to prioritise fundamental rights and the protection of the most vulnerable when redefining the EU agenda in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, we urge EU leaders to address the following three priorities in order to ensure the equal treatment, safety, well-being and equality of Roma communities and thereby contribute to ameliorating the pandemic situation for all Europeans:

An immediate European humanitarian response should coordinate and allocate sufficient resources to all vulnerable groups, in particular marginalized Roma communities and all racialized minorities, making sure they are reached in all Member States and enlargement countries.
The European Covid-19 Recovery Plan should fully take into account the needs of vulnerable Roma communities, and define them as a priority group in all mainstream policies and measures, including in economic aid and recovery, social protection, health care, housing, education and employment.
A post-2020 “EU Strategic Framework for Roma Equality, Social and Economic Justice and Combating Antigypsyism” must constitute a top priority in the Covid-19 response of the EU, Member States and Enlargement countries in order to comprehensively address the structural exclusion, inequality and vulnerability of Roma communities, that was dramatically exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Post-2020 European Roma Coalition signals its concerns about the negative consequences of a possible delay of human and minority rights initiatives, including the post-2020 EU Roma Strategic Framework, due to COVID-19. Such a delay will have a tremendously negative effect on the human rights and protection of vulnerable groups such as Roma. The Coalition calls on the European Commission and Council not to risk the safety, well-being and equality of 12 million Roma in the European Union and Enlargement Countries in a hasty decision to save resources.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, under the social distancing and public health measures, many Roma working in the informal sector lost their sources of daily income (such as working in private fields, collecting and selling scrap metal, small traders, market sellers; those working in the arts and culture, as musicians, cultural producers, artisans etc.). Rampant antigypsyism, including hate speech by the media and racist violence against Roma is increasing rapidly in many Member States and Enlargement Countries, particularly in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. In addition, measures of confinement are being applied disproportionately by some authorities, who argue that Roma communities are responsible for spreading the virus more rapidly, (e.g., in Bulgaria and Romania mayors organised checkpoints to control the movement from and to Roma neighbourhoods, including by sealing checkpoints with concrete in Kazanluk, Bulgaria to make the neighbourhood accessible only through the checkpoints).

There is a real danger that, as we move globally deeper into an imminent economic and humanitarian crisis, the needs and concerns of minority groups will be overlooked by governments. European and international efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate its long-term economic and social consequences should start with addressing racial inequalities and achieve social justice for all.

Now more than ever, Europe needs a prompt, robust and binding post-2020 EU Roma Strategic Framework for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Combating Antigypsyism that prioritises minimum adequate standards, targets and indicators in the areas of education, employment, health, social protection, housing and fighting antigypsyism, and that includes equally Enlargement and Neighborhood Countries to guarantee a level playing field in the access to basic rights and services. A delay in the adoption of the EU Roma Strategy because of the Covid-19 pandemic is not justified, since social inequalities and racism against Roma to date are now impacting disproportionately on Roma who live in squalid conditions, without running water, without income and food supplies, and at a much higher risk of infection and spread of the coronavirus. Prioritising the EU Roma Strategy is not only a moral and human rights duty towards Roma, it is also the right way to contain and minimise the impact of the pandemic for millions more citizens and residents that need EU support to push their Member States and Enlargement Countries to take action. [Follow the CSO response on the Roadmap] Moreover, delaying the adoption of the EU Roma initiative creates a risk that the future European framework as well as the consequent national Roma inclusion strategies will not be adequately integrated into the designing and implementation of the new cohesion policy or the post-crisis recovery policy.

The post-2020 European Roma Coalition with the support of

Central Council of German Sinti and Roma

Center for Policy Studies, Central European University (CEU)

European Network Against Racism (ENAR)

European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF)

European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network

European Roma Information Office (ERIO)

European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC)

European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)

Fundacion Secretariado Gitano (FSG)

International Roma Youth Network, TernYpe

Phiren Amenca International Network

Roma Active Albania (RAA)

Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (REDI)

Civil society united in their demands for the post 2020 EU Roma Strategic Framework

Civil society united in their demands for the post 2020 EU Roma Strategic Framework

Around 40 members of the civil society and other close partners worked hard in September to coordinate and prepare civil society’s input into the ‘Workshop on future policies for Roma’ organised by the European Commission’s DG Justice on 1 October 2019.

We organised two preparation meetings in ERGO Network: one on 16 September, ahead of a DG Justice consultation meeting, and another one on 30 September, ahead of the mentioned 1 October workshop. We also organised an online meeting and had intensive communication over emails to be well prepared and give our best to put together our priorities in terms of concrete demands for the future EU policies for Roma.

Before the 1 October workshop, the European Commission published three short background papers to provide a basis for discussion. The background papers proposed six different policy options for a future EU Roma Framework:

Option 1: “Do less” – no new framework
Option 2: “Do the same” – carrying forward the current framework
Option 3: “Do differently (1)” – fighting antigypsyism approach
Option 4: “Do differently (2)” – Social inclusion approach
Option 5: “Do better” – a revised EU Roma Framework
Option 6: “Do more” – broadened approach to equality and inclusion

During the meeting on 16 September, we created four working groups, based on topics of the published background papers, expertise and interest of civil society actors and we split the responsibilities to analyse the papers. We were soon ready to present our analysis to other civil society partners during the next civil society meeting in ERGO Network on 30 September.

Our position: Option 7

During the 30 September meeting, after very intense and fruitful discussions, the civil society partners agreed to present an “Option 7” at the European Commission workshop the following day. Option 7 can be seen as a combination of options 3,4 and 6, as it takes a double approach of focusing on social inclusion and combating antigypsyism. It combines mainstreaming of Roma inclusion across policy areas with a stronger monitoring component, asks for ensuring funding and puts emphasis on the importance of Roma participation.

At the 1 October workshop, ERGO Network Director Gabriela Hrabanova opened the civil society statements by presenting our option, and Roma civil society as a whole convinced with taking a very strong and united position, asking for a new Council Recommendation on Roma inclusion and combating antigypsyism. The activists furthermore also advocated for a new focus on so far unaddressed forms of antigypsyism such as environmental injustice.

As a follow-up to the workshop, we are asking for Option 7 to be further developed by the European Commission’s experts. Together with our partners we also continue to pursue other advocacy goals, such as asking the Fundamental Rights Agency to develop indicators to measure Member States’ answers to antigypsyism.

We now need everyone on board to continue lobbying for our demands also within the Member States and aim to create a strong and wide civil society support for an effective Post 2020 Framework both in the EU and in neighbouring countries.

If you would like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with ERGO at g.hrabanova@ergonetwork.org.

Towards a more holistic approach to Roma inclusion

Towards a more holistic approach to Roma inclusion in the EU: stronger policy mainstreaming and focus

The long term perspective of the Roma inclusion process implies that, at this stage, expecting major socioeconomic impact of the Roma integration process is premature. Although the necessary policies, tools and structures linked with the inclusion of Roma were put in place in the Member States, the actual implementation is still at an initial phase without mainstreaming them in the EU general policy initiatives.

Existing assessments of implementation of the social inclusion policies and programmes at EU and national level revealed that the policies and programs did not reach marginalised groups, and did not manage to improve the situation of Roma. This is why ERGO Network, with contributions from its allies, published a policy paper that provides specific recommendations on possible ways of mainstreaming Roma inclusion in the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework and post 2020 EU Roma Framework, key recommendations for the mainstream policies, and finally, not only initiatives/actions that should be taken by the European Commission, but also those that should be taken by Member States.

Towards a more holistic approach to Roma inclusion in the EU: stronger policy mainstreaming and focus

Towards a more holistic approach to Roma inclusion in the
EU: stronger policy mainstreaming and focus

It is essential that the Commission maintains its commitment to Roma inclusion by making sure that the EU policy after 2020 is more inclusive and continue their work in including Roma under the umbrella of mainstream policies and relevant financial instruments. This paper outlines some specific recommendations on how the Roma inclusion can be streamed in the next MFF and post 2020 EU Roma Framework.

Download link