European Parliament – Page 2

Members of National Parliaments and of the European Parliament join forces to fight antigypsyism in Europe

PRESS RELEASE

Brussels, 19 October 2018

Members of National Parliaments and of the European Parliament join forces to fight antigypsyism in Europe

Brussels, 18 October 2018 – For the first time, Members of National Parliaments were invited by the European Parliament to discuss the fundamental rights of Roma and fighting antigypsyism. The Alliance against Antigypsyism urged Members of National Parliaments from across the European Union and the Western Balkans to work on increasing political will in their countries to combat antigypsyism and contribute to building a racism-free society.

Soraya Post, Member of the European Parliament who initiated this meeting, expressed a strong appeal to participants: “One year ago the European Parliament adopted my report on the Fundamental rights aspects in Roma integration in the EU: fighting antigypsyism that gives concrete recommendations and legislative demands for how we can fight antigypsyism. I hope that today’s inter-parliamentary committee meeting will support Member States to start taking their responsibilities seriously.”

Jelena Jovanovic, Policy and Research Coordinator of the ERGO Network, said: “The lack of explicit recognition of antigypsyism makes it impossible to develop specific indicators and to commit resources to fight the phenomenon. It also results in institutions’ inability to properly monitor acts of antigypsyism and evaluate the impact of relevant policies. The EU must put the fight against antigypsyism at the core of future Roma inclusion policies and include a meaningful gender perspective in policy-making and implementation.”

Romani Rose, chair of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, said: “Antigypsyism, like antisemitism, is aimed primarily at the Sinti and Roma or at the Jews, but in fact, they are an attack on democracy, on the rule of law and our common European values. Above all, therefore, antigypsyism in Europe must finally be banned, sanctioned and consistently fought. An important contribution will be the establishment of an ‘Independent Expert Commission on Antigypsyism’ in Germany following a resolution of the German Bundestag, which shall be established by the federal government in 2019.”

Establishing truth and reconciliation commissions at national and EU levels is indeed key to analyse the causes and manifestations of antigypsyism, as well as to develop appropriate strategies to combat it.

Michaël Privot, Director of the European Network Against Racism, said: “Members of national parliaments are key actors in making the fight against antigypsyism a reality for Roma and improving their lives. They can play a role in reinforcing social cohesion in the face of a worrying increase of xenophobic voices in Europe. We need to build unity across groups affected by racism and implement efficient national and local policies. National plans against racism can complement and reinforce strategies for Roma inclusion, ensuring that all forms of racism are recognised and given equal attention.”

For further information, contact:

ERGO Network: Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova, Executive Director,

g.hrabanova@ergonetwork.org

Tel: +32(0)2 893 10 49

Central Council of German Sinti and Roma: Jonathan Mack, Policy Officer, jonathan.mack@sintiundroma.de

Tel: +49 (0) 6221 981101

European Network Against Racism (ENAR): Georgina Siklossy, Senior Communication and Press Officer, georgina@enar-eu.org

Tel: +32 (0)2 229 35 70 – Mobile: +32 (0)473 490 531

Notes to the editor:

The ‘Alliance against Antigypsyism’ is a coalition of organizations that promote equality of rights for Roma and combat antigypsyism on institutional and societal level. The aim of the Alliance is to advance understanding of antigypsyism as a specific form of racism, and to strengthen the political will and institutional mechanisms in order to tackle antigypsyism in Europe. The Alliance is coordinated by the European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network, the European Network against Racism (ENAR) and the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.

The report of the LIBE Committee “Fundamental rights aspects in Roma integration in the EU: fighting anti-Gypsyism” of 25 October 2017 is available here.

The announcement and background documents of the Interparliamentary Committee meeting of the European Parliament LIBE Committee are available online.

Photo Copyright : © European Union 2018 – Source : EP

Minimum Standards for Minorities in the EU

On Monday 3 September 2018, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) held a mini-hearing on minimum standards for minorities in the EU. The respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities is one of the EU’s founding principles and the effective protection of minorities across the EU needs to be strengthened.

ERGO Network Executive Director Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova was one of the experts invited to the hearing to give input to the Committee’s report on the topic. She pointed out that Roma and other minorities enrich the diverse cultural heritage of the EU; the protection of their rights, however, is currently not ensured. EU Member States have different definitions for minorities and apply different standards for their protection. There is a need for a common understanding and definitions, but also for ensuring the protection of minorities especially against discrimination and any forms of racism.

The Roma Civil Monitor, a project issuing civil society shadow reports on National Roma Integration Strategies in 27 EU member states, shows that even where Roma are recognised as minority, respect of their rights is still lacking or the minority status is only granted for ‘autochthonous’ Roma and not those of migratory background.

ERGO Network believes that the lives of minorities in every country are fragile; the policy frameworks on minorities are depending on political will and societal climate. For Roma the situation is even more difficult, as there is no home country standing behind them to support the growth of their cultural heritage and language or to ensure the full recognition and protection of their rights. The European Union is the safeguard that brings hope to many.

Minimum standards for minorities should ensure rights to both ethnic and national minorities. They should also pay attention to intersectionality, especially when it comes to discrimination of LGBTI and people with disabilities.

During the hearing, Gabriela Hrabanova furthermore expressed the importance of addressing antigypsyism as core problem for the exclusion of Roma. “Antigypsyism is not explicitly recognized in the relevant policy and legislative documents and antigypsyist crimes are often not seen as such by the responsible institutions”, says Hrabanova. As stated in the European Parliament Resolution on fighting Anti-Gypsyism from 2015 and in the LIBE Committee Report on Anti-gypsyism from 2017 the situation of Roma is worsening and there is a need for urgent action to ensure the remedy of the centuries’ long discrimination and marginalization.

Member states should take both proactive and reactive measures to safeguard equal access of members of minority groups to services, goods, information, etc. and to provide mandatory trainings to duty-bearers.

But importantly, there will be no achievement without real and systemic consultations of minority groups at local, regional and national level to prepare, run, monitor and evaluate both minority specific and mainstream programmes in order to ensure their inclusiveness and non-discrimination.

Roundtable in the European Parliament on Transparency Criteria

Transparency and Accountability Criteria for Roma Grassroots NGOs

Brussels, 28 June 2018

At a round table discussion in the European Parliament ERGO Network and its members from the Western Balkans, Turkey and the ‘Visegrad countries’ Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic presented a new project that will strengthen Roma civil society as independent and transparent watchdog organizations.
The event was kindly hosted by Soraya Post (Greens/EFA), Peter Niedermuller (S&D), Tomas Zdechovsky (EPP) and Javor Benedek (Greens/EFA).

Being transparent and accountable are important prerequisites for the effectiveness of civil society that is taken seriously by its institutional counterparts and other partners, and at the same time gives the right to demand transparency and accountability from other stakeholders.
–Therefore ERGO Network developed a set of ‘transparency and accountability criteria’ and a corresponding capacity-building tool to improve the quality in governance, financial management and performance of grassroots organisations.

The discussion was opened by ERGO Network Director Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova who stressed the importance of promoting transparency and accountability within NGOs and among institutions.

Benedek Javor MEP welcomed the transparency criteria through a video message. “In particular I found especially meaningful the goal for equal partnership with the institutions for the better connection with the grassroots level and greater sustainability of NGOs” Benedek Javor said. He also stressed the importance of funding for NGOs in order to be able to fulfill the duties as watchdogs organisations. Tomas Zdechovsky MEP added that the spotlight on Roma participation in the European Parliament needs to happen all year long and not only during the Roma Week.

Jelena Jovanovic, Policy and Research Coordinator of ERGO Network presented the transparency criteria and explained the cooperative development process between all partners, followed by Andras Nun, director of the one of Hungarian ERGO member organisations Autonomia Foundation who introduced the participants to a board game ‘to help you fall in love with the dreadful issues of accountability and transparency’.

In the second panel of the day participants heard from Vitor Teixeira, Transparency International Europe, about the importance of not just being transparent as civil society, but more so holding institutions to account. Gabriella Civico from Civil Society Europe discussed the shrinking space for civil society in Europe and repeated the call for better funding for civil society’s watchdog role.

The debate was closed by Bodil Valero MEP and Natacha Katatchkine, Head of the EU internal policy team for the Open Society European Policy Institute. Bodil Valero and Natacha Katatchkine added that the lack of transparency has been used by those who want to silence things. She closed by pointing out that NGOs are ready to take the lead and are able to bring tools like those of ERGO Network.

The project was implemented with financial support from the European Commission and the International Visegrad Fund.

Download the Transparency and Accountability Criteria

European Parliament takes important step forward to address the fundamental rights of Roma

Press release

European Parliament takes important step forward to address the fundamental rights of Roma

Brussels, 26 October

The European Parliament adopted yesterday the own-initiative report on “Fundamental rights aspects in Roma integration in the EU: fighting anti-Gypsyism”, calling upon the European Commission and EU Member States to put the fight against antigypsyism at the forefront of efforts for the social and economic inclusion of Roma. The Alliance against Antigypsyism welcomes the report as another milestone of the European Parliament to address antigypsyism – the specific racism faced by Roma, Sinti and Travellers – and to ensure fundamental rights for Roma.

We now urge EU Member States and the European Commission to follow the recommendations of the European Parliament and place antigypsyism in the focus of the post-2020 EU Roma Framework, as well as to treat antigypsyism as a horizontal issue and develop practical steps for Member States to combat antigypsyism.

Romani Rose, chair of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, said: “It was a historical moment for our minority when the European Parliament passed a resolution for the recognition of the Holocaust of Sinti and Roma in April 2015. This resolution declares 2 August as the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, and calls upon the EU Member States to recognize the genocide, as well as antigypsyism as the root cause of exclusion. The newly adopted report builds upon this legacy and takes another step into the right direction”.

Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova, director of ERGO Network, said: “The report calls for an end to the paternalistic treatment of Roma – an important step from regarding us Roma as mere clients – as well as to ensure equal access and enjoyment of fundamental rights. This is key since the institutions that are supposed to protect citizens from acts of discrimination and violence in practice all too often fail to extend the same level of protection to Roma as to non-Roma, precisely because of antigypsyism.”

Michael Privot, director of the European Network against Racism, said: “The report highlights the need to address the structural discrimination faced by Roma across Europe. The deplorable situation in which European Roma continue to live, eight years after the EU adopted measures for Roma inclusion, shows how urgent this is.”

There have been some positive developments to address antigypsyism at EU level, with the launch of infringement procedures by the European Commission against the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary regarding school segregation of Romani children, but more needs to be done. We expect the Commission to equally address housing segregation and forced evictions in various member states, including Italy and Bulgaria. The European Parliament should also tackle antigypsyism within its own house and take disciplinary measures against Members of the European Parliament who use hate speech against Roma.

You can download the press release here.

For further information, contact:

ERGO Network: Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova, Executive Director g.hrabanova@ergonetwork.org

Tel: +32(0)2 893 10 49, mobile: +32 (0) 48 99 74 753

Notes to the editor:

The ‘Alliance against Antigypsyism’ is a coalition of organizations that promote equality of rights for Roma and combat antigypsyism on institutional and societal level. The aim of the Alliance is to advance a better understanding of antigypsyism as a specific form of racism, and to strengthen the political will and institutional mechanisms in order to tackle antigypsyism in Europe. The Alliance is coordinated by the European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network (ERGO Network), the European Network against Racism (ENAR) and the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.
Please find the text of the report here.

Calling the European Parliament to sanction hate speech

ERGO Network sent an open letter to the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, to express our unease about racist speeches against Roma people, equal citizens of the EU, which were delivered by MEPs Mara Bizzotto and Angelo Ciocca during the plenary debate on International Roma Day, April 6, 2017.

These speeches happened even though the European Parliament clearly prohibits the use of defamatory, racist and xenophobic language in parliamentary speeches in January and increased the sanctions against MEPs using hate speech. Mr Korwin-Mikke’s discriminatory remarks towards women in March, for example, led to his 10 day suspension from parliamentary activities and 30 days loss of daily allowance. However, these rules were not applied in the case of the MEPs Mara Bizzotto and Angelo Ciocca, neither in the case of the British MEP, Tim Aker who stated that Roma immigrants from Eastern Europe would come to the UK as labour migrants and “alienate” the country.

These antigypsyist statements coming from MEPs elected to represent the interests of their constituencies – including Roma – at the EU level are in contradiction with the respect to human rights and fundamental freedom, democracy and rule of law has and have a direct impact on integrity of Roma people.

Such statements must not be without consequences. This defamatory racist language in the European Parliament has to be strictly ostracized in all cases. We are deeply concerned that if such actions are not handled according to the Rules of Procedure provided by Article 11 (3), this trend might see a further increase in the run up towards the upcoming European elections in 2019 and also increase the use of antigypsyist rhetoric at national level. Therefore, it is vital that the Parliament upholds its rules of procedure and also sends a clear message to national parliaments that the use of racist language and hate speech against minorities is not tolerated in a society where all people are equal under the values of the European Union.

ERGO also supports the proposal to set up a permanent monitoring system in the Parliament to report the use of discriminatory language and behaviour and to support the consistent application of the Parliament’s rules and relevant sanctions. Such a system could provide support for the Bureau in future incidents, which are unfortunately likely to reoccur.

You can find the letter to Antonio Tajani here.

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