Fundamental Rights – Page 3

Meeting with Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit

ERGO Network delegation meets Cabinet of European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit

On 5 November 2020, the European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network facilitated an online exchange meeting between its national members and Ms Anouk Faber and Mr Christoph Nerlich, members of the cabinet of European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit (DG EMPL).

The objectives of the meeting were:

How to create positive synergies between the new EU Roma Strategic Framework and the European Green Deal, Next Generation EU, and the Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2021-2027?
How to ensure that the upcoming Action Plan of the European Pillar of Social Rights delivers on Roma inclusion, equality, and participation?
How can ERGO Network support your work and feed Roma perspectives from the grassroots level, also in light of the adapted European Semester?

During the meeting, ERGO Network Director Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova and Senior Policy Adviser Amana Ferro presented our work on social policy across a number of files which fall under the competence of DG Employment, such as the European Semester, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Youth Guarantee, Child Guarantee, the MFF, the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as social economy and minimum income. They stressed the need to better integrate the EU Roma Strategic Framework in mainstream initiatives like the European GreenDeal and the recovery packages, and reaffirmed ERGO Network’s readiness and commitment to support the European Commission, as well as national Governments, in its efforts to promote Roma equality, inclusion, and participation.

Our members Katalin Nagy (Butterfly Development, HU), Pedro Aguilera (Federation of Roma Associations in Catalonia, ES), and Adriatik Hasantari (Roma Active Albania, AL) spoke about how the upcoming Social Economy Action Plan and the reinforced Youth Guarantee can be very useful tools to contribute towards reducing the gap between Roma and majority populations, as well as about the importance of including the Western Balkans and Enlargement and Neighbourhood Countries in the learning and exchanges about Roma inclusion in Europe.

Cabinet members Ms Faber and Mr Nerlich confirmed Commissioner Nicolas Schmit’s commitment to Roma rights and inclusion and exchanged with ERGO Network members and staff about the best ways to engage with the above-mentioned policy frameworks in order to ensure a strong Roma dimension in Europe’s social and economic development strategies, as well as drew the attention to the key role of EU Funds (including InvestEU and ReactEu) to support these processes. However, they cautioned, a lot lies in adequate implementation, and civil society organisations have a key role to play in promoting the partnership principle in both funds and policy making, to ensure that the right priorities are being chosen and that the funds reach the most in need, including disadvantaged Roma communities.

ERGO Network hopes that this meeting marked the beginning of a fruitful cooperation with the Cabinet of Commissioner Schmit, and will continue to engage very closely with DG Employment on these issues.

Find the full meeting of the report here.

For more information, please contact Senior Policy Adviser Amana Ferro in the ERGO Network Brussels Secretariat.

European Commission releases Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy

European Commission releases Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy (ASGS) 2021 – What’s in it for Europe’s Roma?

On 17 September 2020, the European Commission published the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy 2021, accompanied by two annexes, namely the Guidance to Member States on Recovery and Resilience Plans and the Commission Staff Working document, template, Recovery and Resilience Plans. This package launches the European Semester 2021. ERGO Network and its national members have reviewed the Package from a Roma rights, equality, inclusion and participation perspective.

Read the full ERGO Network assessment here.

Released two months earlier than usual, the ASGS confirms the commitment to the European Green Deal and reaffirms the four key dimensions of Europe’s growth strategy – environmental sustainability, productivity, fairness, and macroeconomic stability – as guiding principles for the new European Semester cycle. However, it marks a distinct temporary change from previous processes, as it introduces new delivery mechanisms for the next 2-3 years. The main focus of this year’s ASGS is the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the central pillar of Next Generation EU, which is the European Union’s “emergency temporary recovery instrument to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, support an economic recovery and build a better future for the next generation.”

While there is no explicit mention of the European Roma in the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy, ERGO Network welcomes that “people with a minority racial or ethnic background” are indicated as having been disproportionately hit by the coronavirus crisis (page 9). We further salute commitments to “address long-standing challenges that affect the fairness in society … and rising inequalities” (page 3), and to “support those who have been hit hardest by the crisis, such as … vulnerable groups” (page 4).

This year’s Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy is driven by an overriding impetus to fight the immediate consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and build a green and digital Europe. To our great disappointment, all 7 flagship initiatives proposed only deal with green and digital priorities, with virtually no social or equality objective. While references to disadvantaged groups are included and very welcome, the document clearly shows a prioritisation of green and digital transitions and macroeconomic sustainability, with fairness and social aspects being comparably less stressed in the recovery effort. The Roma are not specifically taken into account, and there is a lack of coordination and complete disconnect between Europe’s growth and recovery strategies and the EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion, and Participation. While it is indicated that the Resilience and Recovery Plans should be consistent with other national initiatives, such as the Energy and Climate Plans and the Partnership Agreements and Programmes, sadly nothing is said about coherence with the National Roma Integration Strategies.

Encouragingly, the Guidance to Member States contains two references inviting them to consult civil society organisations in the drafting and implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plans, as well as to describe their consultation and contribution, and to include a summary of the stakeholders’ involvement (in the Template). Conversely, the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy only vaguely mentions “social partners and other relevant stakeholders”. More efforts are needed to ensure real ownership of these processes at both EU and national level.

ERGO Network will continue to push for bringing Roma rights and inclusion much more in focus in the processes of the European Semester and the disbursement of Recovery and Resilience funds, and for better alignment with the priorities of the Sustainable Development Goals and the European Pillar of Social Rights.

For more information about ERGO Network’s work on EU social inclusion and employment policy (European Semester, Europe 2020, European Pillar of Social Rights, Sustainable Development Goals etc), please contact Senior Policy Adviser Amana Ferro.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Roma

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Roma and how to be prepared for the next crisis

Presentation during the High-level Conference launching the EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation until 2030 by Adriatik Hasantari, Roma Active Albania, Vice-chair ERGO Network (12 October 2020)

During August and September 2020, ERGO Network and its members conducted a survey on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Roma in seven EU Member States, and together with Roma Active Albania in six enlargement countries. Preliminary findings show that during the first wave of Covid-19, entire Roma and Traveller communities in all selected countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey) were deeply affected in all areas of life, including regarding basic needs, housing and accommodation, education, health care, employment, poverty, and freedom from discrimination and antigypsyism. Roma women were disproportionately affected, particularly pregnant women, mothers with young children and the elderly.

Our study confirms that in the early stages of the pandemic, many governments implemented unequal and unfair lockdowns of Roma communities in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, despite not having any confirmed cases in these communities. Across all surveyed countries, Roma were faced with starvation after losing their income and the possibility to leave their houses to buy food. Our respondents reported that in general authorities did not provide them with masks, disinfectants and food while in lockdown or confinement.

In Hungary, children did not any longer receive previously offered free school meals, and had difficulties to learn at distance in the absence of school materials, digital equipment, electricity, or internet access. Because of overcrowding and inadequate housing conditions, many Roma families living in settlements were crammed in one single room with no means to follow preventive and sanitary measures. Our study confirmed that many Roma throughout the EU, Western Balkans and Turkey lost their jobs because of the lockdown, especially those working abroad who had to return home and did not benefit from state aid. Roma felt discriminated by the lack of action from state officials and service providers in the areas of education, healthcare, employment and state aid.

What lessons can be drawn to be better prepared for future crises?

The data collected by ERGO Network and other NGOs so far confirms without a doubt that the pandemic affected Roma and Travellers disproportionally, particularly those living in socially excluded and marginalised settings both within the EU and Enlargement countries. COVID-19 is an additional challenge to the daily exclusion and discrimination that they had already faced on a daily basis previous to the pandemic.

The pandemic revealed gaps in the approach of local authorities and governments to deal with vulnerable groups and with Roma. Exceptional cases may exist in some countries when it comes to humanitarian aid provided as one off measures. It was, however, mostly NGOs who stepped in to provide support on a regular basis.

If we learnt something from the first wave of Covid-19, it is that we simply cannot afford to be unprepared and to allow EU Member States and Enlargement countries to enter into a new crisis unscrutinised and without any concrete plans, measures and funding in place. Now more than even we need to think preventively and not reactively to what is in front of us. The EU and its Presidency have to put aside an investment package dedicated to vulnerable groups to support poor families, small and medium sized enterprises, and solo workers. The Directive for universal minimum income must be prioritised and accelerated.

The 2020 “EU Strategic Framework for Roma must be accompanied by a strong EU Council Recommendation demanding Member States to put a specific focus on humanitarian aid and a 10-year plan to fight structural racism and inequality at the centre of their policies and strategies, delivering basic services and infrastructure in Roma communities, viable solutions in the areas of education, employment, health, social protection and poverty, putting an end to forced evictions, segregation in education and housing, homelessness, hate speech, racist crime and police brutality – in order to guarantee a level playing field in the access to basic rights and services. It is clear that if we are to overcome this upcoming crisis, governments have to set higher targets and increase the scope of interventions beyond what it is in the new EU Framework, for all the countries.

The Fundamental Rights Agency has reported many times that Roma are the only European population living in absolutely inhumane conditions, in appalling and total housing deprivation. This resonates 10 times more during the Covid-19 pandemic. There should be no pretense that all governments must put their efforts into putting an end to segregation in housing, into providing running water, electricity and garbage collection. Governments must invest in safe and green housing, including social housing for all those living in shacks, shanty towns, unsafe and inhumane conditions.

All supposedly good intentions by the EU did so far not translate into specific funding for vulnerable groups under major post 2020 EU funding and programmes. This is a failure for the human rights agenda, as the coming decade could be the most challenging for all livelihood throughout Europe and across the world. Competing interests and challenges will yet again leave those vulnerable overlooked and at the margins. This needs to change. The EU needs to change its approach towards governments and lead Europe towards substantive equality where no Roma is left behind. All EU funding, with no exception, should by default target vulnerable groups and Roma, in line with the EU’s own principles and standards.

Anti-Roma rhetoric increased significantly during the pandemic, even blaming Roma for spreading the coronavirus. NGOs tried to warn policy-makers about the dangers of antigypsyism going unrecognised and unpunished. Instead of taking these warnings seriously, many governments curtail human rights of minorities during this crisis. The EU proved to be weak and powerless with its tools and enforcement mechanisms against discrimination and racial violence.

Going forward, the EU has to set a better example for governments and their duties to uphold the rule of law and human rights and be quicker and firmer in sanctioning racist governments.

Case studies: Experiences of Roma individuals and communities during the pandemic.

Input to the European Commission consultation on the Roadmap for a Council Recommendation for a Child Guarantee

Input to the European Commission consultation on the Roadmap for a Council Recommendation for a Child Guarantee

While the Roadmap identifies several groups of “children in need”, Roma children are not one of them. This is unacceptable, where the Fundamental Rights Agency found that every third Roma child (30%) lives in households where someone went to bed hungry at least once in the previous month, and only about half (53%) of young Roma children are enrolled in early childhood education and care programmes. Unless they are explicitly mentioned as target group and specific measures put in place to deal with very specific needs, experience shows that Roma children will once again be left behind.

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Civil Society calls upon Member States to step up implementation of new EU Framework

European Coalition of Roma and pro-Roma Civil Society calls upon Member States to step up the implementation of new EU Roma Strategic Framework

Brussels, 12 October 2020 – CSOs call on the European Commission to ensure that commitments made under the new EU Strategic Framework on Roma are held at the highest standards, and demand Member States to adopt an EU Council Recommendation supporting national Roma strategies to bring real justice and equality and ensure meaningful Roma participation at all levels and walks of life.

The EU Roma and pro-Roma Coalition welcomes the Communication for a new EU Strategic Framework for Roma equality, inclusion and participation at a time when real human rights commitments are crucial for the 12+ million Roma in Europe. We believe that the strategic framework announced last week is a step in the right direction. It can, however, only mean something if Member States, Enlargement and Neighbourhood countries put the fight against antigypsyism at the core when implementing national Roma strategies for Roma equality, inclusion and participation.

“As ERGO Network, we welcome the commitment of the European Commission to embed the EU strategic framework in a human rights and equality framework and include Roma participation, the fight against antigypsyism and poverty among the horizontal priorities. Now national governments need to step up. They have to ensure the highest commitments under EU Council recommendations to fight antigypsyism, make school segregation illegal, sanction hate speech, hate crimes and police ill-treatment, prevent forced evictions, invest in infrastructure, clean and safe housing, employment, healthcare and empowerment at the grassroots level”, says director Jamen Gabriela Hrabanova.

“It is crucial that the new EU action plan against racism reinforces the EU Roma framework so that we can effectively address antigypsyism and structural racism experienced by Roma communities in Europe”, said Michael Privot, Director of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR). “National governments should prioritise adopting concrete commitments and measures against racism, for example by prohibiting racial profiling, collecting equality data disaggregated by race and ethnic origin, and increasing racial diversity in institutions.”

“The fight against antigypsyism is the decisive prerequisite for this new Framework in order to achieve an equal participation of Sinti and Roma. We expect that going forward more of our political representatives in Europe act as true human rights promoters and stand up against antigypsyism and any other form of racism”, says Romani Rose, chair of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma.

“We welcome that the framework emphasizes the crucial role of civil society in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating public policies aimed at increasing equality, inclusion and participation, as well as the need for increasing transparency and accountability of these policies. Many important recommendations of the Roma Civil Monitor pilot project have been incorporated into the new framework, for example the supervisory role of national parliaments over governmental actions, engagement of Roma civil society in ESIF monitoring committees, the Roma Civil Monitor continuation and stronger target-setting, data collection and reporting. The actual effect of these recommendations will, however, depend on the Member States’ political will to take steps towards a more inclusive and equal society.” – Roma Civil Monitor pilot project.

“Any efforts aimed at social and economic integration of Roma will remain fruitless unless we address the deeply-rooted discrimination against the Roma. We appreciate that the Commission acknowledges the fight against antigypsyism as one of the new priority areas, however, reacting against discrimination when it happens is not enough. Preventive measures that foster a sense of belonging, contribution and value of Roma as members of our societies need to be central to the new EU Roma Framework. Culture needs to have a more pivotal role as a positive and preventive strategy that effectively alters negative perceptions and builds greater acceptance of the Roma among the majority. At the same time it reinforces a sense of dignity and pride among the Roma”.- European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture.

“We are happy that the Western Balkan countries have taken a step forward and already committed to play an important part in fighting discrimination against Roma throughout Enlargement and Neighborhood countries and dedicate national and EU resources to improve the situation of Roma throughout the accession process.” stated by Adriatik Hasantari, Director of Roma Active Albania.

“Phiren Amenca welcomes the European Commission’s efforts to include Roma youth and achieve equality for them in the areas of employment, education, training and participation. We remind Member States that it is not enough to involve young Roma: Roma youth’s place is at the forefront of these processes. At the end of the day, all these policies concern young Roma the most.” Marietta Herfort, Director of Phiren Amenca International Network.

“The European Public Health Alliance welcomes the European Commission commitment to improve Roma health by reducing the life expectancy gap between Roma and the general population. However, this ambitious objective requires strong efforts in many policy areas going beyond access to healthcare. Therefore, EPHA calls on Member States and Candidate countries to adopt and implement holistic and comprehensive policy measures addressing the social determinants of health within national strategies for Roma equality and inclusion and to set up national indicators and targets enabling progress monitoring of child, women and elderly’s health”. – European Public Health Alliance

“We applaud the Commission’s attempt to mainstream equality across policies, including on socio-economic inclusion, artificial intelligence, the European Green Deal, digital inclusion and the fight against hate speech. Such alignment must now be built into the budgetary instruments of the EU. A first step would be to link recovery funds with the European Semester country-specific recommendations on Roma. However, we and our Roma partners had hoped for more ambitious targets in the Framework. This is partly due to outdated datasets and evidence with low numbers of incidents. We are calling on the Commission to ensure updated data is being made available to improve the policy work of the EU institutions and civil society. We will keep on pushing for a legally binding EU Framework and call on the Council to follow the same positive path of the European Parliament by endorsing the concept of positive incentives. This is vital to foster a European Union that cares about and protects all its citizens,” says Heather Grabbe, Director of Open Society European Policy Institute.

“The new Framework recognizes the importance to invest into the empowerment and participation especially of Roma youth and Roma women. Voluntary and civic activism is an important contribution to combat stereotypes and antigypsyism in our societies. Therefore, the European Commission and Member States need to strengthen and fund the work of civil society, especially of Roma youth organizations.” Vivian Isberg, TernYpe International Roma Youth Network.

“We very much welcome the EC proposal to include novelties compared to the previous EU Framework, widening the number of sectorial and horizontal key objectives, on which Member States should focus their investments in the next 10 years. Considering that, from our experience, education and employment are essential to ensure equality and close the gap between Roma and the general population, we applaud the effort of including specific minimum objectives and targets in these areas. The allocation of specific EU funds for Roma is also a priority at Fundación Secretariado Gitano, so we hope that the proposed financial instruments will support the endeavours to guarantee the exercise of civil and social rights as a way to achieve full equality under the same conditions as the general population”. Isidro Rodríguez, General Director of FSG.

In times of social and public health uncertainty, it is important that Roma are not left behind and that this coming decade is being used by governments to amend some of the past injustices and daily racial discrimination against Roma. National politics must shift their narratives and measures on Roma in a positive and empowering way, reflective of democratic societies, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Failing to act now will have long term and profound consequences upon generations to come and on society as a whole.

Signatories

European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO Network)

European Network against Racism (ENAR)

European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC)

European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)

Central Council of German Sinti and Roma

Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI)

TernYpe International Roma Youth Network

Phiren Amenca International Network

Roma Civil Monitor project (RCM)

Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG)

Roma Active Albania (RAA)