Participation – Page 2

Make Roma youth voices heard in EU politics

Make Roma Youth Voices heard in EU politics

The launch of the New EU Roma Framework for equality, inclusion and participation 2020-2030 is an important moment for Roma people across the continent. It is a moment that promises support and commitment from the European Institutions, especially as a key priority of the new plan is to recognize and fight antigypsyism as the main cause of exclusion in the fields of education, employment, housing and health.

For young Roma activists, this represents a trigger for initiatives in order to get their voices heard. Their experiences and stories explain in the best way possible whatantigypsyism is and how it can affect our day to day life.

For this reason, Phiren Amenca International Network and TernYpe Roma Youth Network have brought together 20 youth activists from across Europe to discuss ideas and to coordinate initiatives to advocate for Roma youth empowerment and participation in the New Framework.

They gathered in Mannheim, Germany hosted by the Documentation and Cultural Centre for German Sinti and Roma, in the last week of September 2020 and for 5 days they worked closely together to discuss their demands, led by creative and and visionary ideas.

The main purpose of the seminar was to collect all of their messages and to promote them in a short video and in an online campaign.

The work they have done can be accessed on the Ternype and Phiren Amenca Facebook pages, and the video will be presented during the High-Level Digital Conference launching the new EU Roma Strategic Framework for equality, inclusion and participation on 12 October.

Call for revised Council Recommendation on Roma

In the context of the adoption of the new EU Strategic Framework on Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation by the European Commission, ERGO Network has sent a letter to the European Council, the German EU Presidency and the European Commission to call for the adoption of a revised Council Recommendation on Roma under the German Presidency and to share ERGO Network’s recommendations for essential elements and thematic targets of a strong Post 2020 Framework.

Dear President of the European Council, Mr Charles Michel,

Dear Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany, Mr Horst Seehofer,

Dear Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Mr Hubertus Heil,

Dear Commissioner for Equality, Ms Helena Dalli,

26 August 2020

In the context of the adoption of the new EU Strategic Framework on Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation by the European Commission, ERGO Network would like to welcome the initiative of the European Commission to accelerate and revise the Council Recommendation on Roma and call on the German Presidency to adopt it without delay during the German Presidency chairmanship of the EPSCO Council.

While we have been supporting, as you know, a binding EU Strategic Framework for Roma equality, inclusion and participation, we are aware of the lack of political feasibility of such an initiative at this present times. We reiterate therefore the important role of the German Presidency, and the European Commission in ensuring that the future EU Roma Framework and national Roma strategies include common minimum standards and targets combating structural and systemic antigypsyism and discrimination and ensure equality of rights and access to goods and services, in line with EU law and policies and international human rights commitments endorsed by all EU Member States. We consider that in line with its priorities on overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus crisis for the long-term as well as economic and social recovery, should actively promote the boosting of the Roma inclusion process, across all the EU Member States, by initiating the discussions in the Council working groups, leading to the adoption of a Council Recommendation on Roma.

With view to the upcoming European Commission Communication on the EU Roma Framework and the Council Recommendation, we take the opportunity to share with you our contribution for the two policy processes.

We count on your commitment and tenacity to keep these items high on your agenda and your negotiations with Member States.

I remain at your disposal, should you have further inquiries.

Gabriela Hrabanova,

Director, ERGO Network

Download the letter.

Download the Annex: Essential elements and thematic targets 2020 EU Roma Framework

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 European Roma Coalition

Post-2020 European Roma Coalition

In order to ensure a strong commitment and tangible results by European institutions to the post-2020 EU policy on Roma, a number of Roma and pro-Roma civil society organisations have come together and established a Post-2020 European Roma Coalition (working title). The aim of the Coalition is to achieve substantive equality, participation and social justice of Roma in all spheres of life by combating antigypsyism, strengthening Roma and pro-Roma civil society and by fostering principles of good governance into the Roma policies at the EU and national levels, political will and institutional accountability.

The Coalition started being operational on 17 February 2020, on the occasion of the European Commission`s publication of the Roadmap-setting out the EU post 2020 Roma equality and inclusion policy.

The Post-2020 European Roma Coalition welcomes the commitment of the European Commission to develop a reinforced post-2020 European Strategic Framework and calls for an ambitious and binding “Post-2020 European Strategic Framework for Roma equality, social and economic justice, and combating antigypsyism” aiming at achieving substantive equality and full participation of Roma as equal citizens across Europe to be created.

In addition, the joint statement addresses several aspects of the Roadmap that should be fully considered when designing the future EU Strategic Framework, such as:

Ensuring the fundamental-rights, anti-racism, and empowerment approach;
Improving governance, policy mainstreaming, and effective implementation;
Increasing investment of the EU and Member states to Roma communities.

The Coalition is also calling for seven main priority areas to be established under the EU Framework, including: (a) fighting antigypsyism and discrimination; (b) effective empowerment and participation in art, history and media; (c) quality and inclusive education; (d) quality and sustainable employment; (e) quality healthcare and universal health insurance; (f) adequate and desegregated housing and (g) eradicating poverty and social exclusion.

Furthermore, the Coalition asked the European Commission to expand the list of cross-cutting priorities within the EU Framework, including, but are not limited to: Environmental injustice/racism; Gender mainstreaming and intersectional and multiple discrimination with a focus on key priority groups: children, young people, women, LGBTQI+ persons, persons with disabilities, and elderly people; Intra-EU mobility and migration; and Diversity of Roma (Sinti, Travellers, Manush, Kale, and other related groups).

All signatory organisations underlined that Roma and civil society organisations should be an integral part in the design, implementation, and monitoring of the Framework. In addition, the Roadmap should transform Roma participation into a binding common quality standard for the future European Strategic Framework and National Strategies.

The full text of the statement is available here.

The Coalition members which have contributed to the letter include: Alliance against Antigypsyism, Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, Center for Policy Studies of the Central European University, European Network Against Racism (ENAR), European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network, European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC), European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG), Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI), Phiren Amenca International Network, Roma Active Albania (RAA), Roma Education Fund (REF), Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (REDI), and ternYpe International Roma Youth Network.

ERGO Network feedback on Commission Roadmap

ERGO Network written feedback on the Roadmap published by DG Justice on 17 Feb 2020. An initiative setting out the EU post-2020 Roma equality and inclusion policy

ERGO strongly welcomes the Roadmap by the European Commission setting out the post-2020 EU Roma equality and inclusion policy, which builds on the previous EU Roma Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies (NRIS).

The major challenge of the previous EU Framework was its non-binding character, which gave the liberty to Member States to decide whether and how to design their NRIS. Therefore, in its written feedback, ERGO Network called for a comprehensive and binding EU Strategy for Roma inclusion and antigypsyism, which has concrete minimum standards and ambitious targets, including overall common indicators and measuring impact, as well as a joint monitoring process between Member States and the European Commission. The new Strategy should be fully integrated in the European Semester, and work in synergy with the successor of Europe 2020, the European Pillar of Social Rights, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

ERGO demanded for a post-2020 EU Roma Strategy and NRIS that put combating antigypsyism at their centre and ensure cross-cutting priorities within, such as antigypsyism, intersectional discrimination, poverty, material deprivation, housing evictions, discrimination, child protection, gender mainstreaming, LGBTQI+, environmental racism, diversity within Roma groups, Roma participation, Roma identity and cultural heritage.

Combating antigypsyism through the existing anti-discrimination legislation is not enough. The four key areas of NRIS should end any form of structural antigypsyism, including all forms of segregation, forced evictions, environmental injustice and other manifestations of prejudice, including in education, employment, health and housing and other relevant areas mentioned above. The next EU Roma Strategy must demand all Member States to formally recognise antigypsyism as a specific form of racism against Roma beyond the general ground already embedded in the EU and national legislation related to “race or ethnicity”.

ERGO Network calls for introducing EU and national measurable anti-discrimination indicators in the key areas of education, employment, housing and health, in addition to social inclusion programmes, including ambitious targets and concrete objectives, that must be monitored on an annual basis. Indicators should also be structural, showing legislative, policy and practical changes and their impact on institutions as a way to address structural and institutional racism and discrimination. In addition, indicators should meet the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, Social Pillar etc. The Strategy should also contain a clear methodology on how Member States can collect ethnic data on Roma, in line with Race Equality Directive and GDPR.

Finally, ERGO demanded that the Roadmap ensures Roma participation at all levels throughout the entire process, in line with Art 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

For more information, please contact Jamen Gabriela Hrabaňová, ERGO Network Director, at g.hrabanova@ergonetwork.org.