European Union

Many Roma in Europe are stateless and live outside social protection

Posted Mon, 07/13/2009 - 8:20pm

Source: Dosta!Source: Dosta!

There are Roma in a number of European countries who have no nationality. They face a double jeopardy - being stateless makes life even harder for those who are already stigmatized and facing a plethora of serious, discrimination-related problems. For those who happen to be migrants as well, their situation is even worse.

Many Roma lack personal identity documents which hinders their access to basic human rights, such as education and health services, and increases their susceptibility to continued statelessness. In fact, estimates indicate that thousands have no administrative existence at all. They often have never obtained a birth certificate and do not overcome administrative hurdles when trying to be recognised by the State. They live entirely outside of any form of basic social protection or inclusion.

Government Failing to Address Roma Issues

Posted Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:38pm

The Slovak Government is failing to deal with the Roma issue, representatives of the Milan Simecka Foundation, the Roma Public Policy Institute and In Minorita stated at a press conference on Tuesday.

The three groups pointed out that Slovakia is behind schedule in drawing European Union funds designated for the Roma, and the question of their education always remains at the level of priorities without any specific steps being taken.

"There's no visible sign that the Government has used EU funds to improve the situation of Roma. On the contrary, the situation is getting worse," said Laco Oravec from the Milan Simecka Foundation. He also criticised Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Dusan Caplovic for not communicating enough with public-sector representatives.

"His (Caplovic's) statements are racist and sexist," said Oravec in reaction to Caplovic's recent statement that the new Government Proxy for the Roma Communities should be male, and shouldn't have any links to any Roma interest groups.

Gypsies suffer widespread racism in European Union

Posted Thu, 04/23/2009 - 7:11pm

Racism and discrimination across the EU is far more widespread than previously thought, with Europe's estimated 12 million Roma, or Gypsy, population, being a special target, an EU agency warns.

In what is claimed to be the most comprehensive survey of victimisation suffered by Europe's minority and immigrant communities, the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency said "racially motivated crime is an everyday experience".

While all minorities reported disturbing levels of harassment, the Roma, scattered mainly across central Europe and the Balkans, and black people, were particularly singled out for abuse, the survey said.

Based on detailed questioning of almost 30,000 people in all 27 EU states, the survey found that 55% of immigrant or minority populations believed racism was rife in their countries, with more than one in three having suffered racist conduct, 12% being victims of racist crime and 4% being physically assaulted or threatened.

Two in three Polish Roma complain of discrimination

Posted Thu, 04/23/2009 - 7:07pm

The majority of Roma people feel unwelcome in Poland, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ (FRA) report shows.

The situation for Roma in some EU countries is even worse.

According to FRE research, racist crime and discrimination is an underestimated problem in the European Union. The agency has carried out the first ever EU-wide survey on immigrant and ethnic minority groups' experiences.

"The survey reveals how large the 'dark figure' of racist crime and discrimination really is in the EU. Official racism figures only show the tip of the iceberg,” warned FRA director Morten Kjaerum.

Fifty five percent of migrants and minorities surveyed by the FRA think that discrimination based on ethnic origin is widespread in their country, and 37% say that they have personally experienced discrimination in the past 12 months. However, 80% of these did not report the incident to the police.

The enemy within

Posted Wed, 03/25/2009 - 10:27pm

Despite European Union legislation on the subject, Europe's Roma remain the victim of discrimination and abuse, as much in the media as in society at large. In Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, not to mention Italy, it is the media that more often than not instigate the witch hunts.

In its first number of 2009, the weekly Academia Catavencu, one of the most respected publications in Romania, published the article "Gypsiness comes eating". In what can only be seen as a grotesque mockery of the Romani Holocaust, the article imagines a screenplay with some of the most famous Roma musicians in Romania in the roles of Hitler, Goering and Eva Braun, shamelessly adopting the popular stereotypes of unwashed, animal-like and thievery-prone Roma.

"An Unacceptable Reality": The Situation of Roma in the European Union

Posted Wed, 11/12/2008 - 11:10pm

On Tuesday, September 16, 2008, more than 400 leaders from across Europe gathered in Brussels for the first-ever EU Roma Summit. Convened by the French Presidency of the EU and the European Commission, the summit ended with a call by EU President José Manuel Barroso to put the plight of the more than 10 million Roma on the EU’s agenda. George Soros, chairman of the Open Society Institute, gave the following keynote address.


The European Union is, in my opinion, today perhaps the world’s best example of an open society, guided by the principles of democracy, tolerance, and international cooperation. An open society, in my definition, is an imperfect society that holds itself open to improvement. In no other area is the need for improvement as great as it is in the treatment of the Roma minority.

Czech should open EU debate on Roma problems

Posted Fri, 10/10/2008 - 11:42pm

Romany problems should be one of the topics highlighted during the Czech Republic's EU presidency in the first half of 2009, Minister for Human Rights and Ethnic Minorities Dzamila Stehlikova (Greens, SZ) told reporters Thursday.

She added that these issues must be debated on the European level not only to exchange opinions, but mainly to secure that financial support for the improvement of the Romany minority's situation would continue after 2013.

Romanies are the largest minority living in Europe, their number is put at some 12 millions.

All countries deal with the same problems in connection with Romanies, Stehlikova indicated.

"You can find ghettoes..., unemployment, a low level of education, socially pathologic phenomena and crime everywhere," Stehlikova said.

Moreover, the situation in the post-communist countries is complicated by the fact that problems of the Romany minority were ignored during the previous regime and the subsequent transformation period.

The EU countries should also discuss changes in the European legislation over Romanies, Stehlikova noted.

She cited, for instance, restrictions concerning "social" firms running with public support that employ Romanies and other people who would had difficulties to find jobs elsewhere.

Stehlikova said the discussion on aid to Romanies should follow up the international conference on Romany issues held in Brussels in mid-September, with EC President Jose Barosso attending.

EU criticized at first European Roma summit

Posted Tue, 09/16/2008 - 5:53pm

The European Union called Tuesday for a continent-wide drive to improve the plight of millions of Gypsies, also called Roma, who face discrimination and poverty.

Roma representatives at the first "European Roma Summit," however, criticized the EU for failing to do enough. In particular, they were incensed by the EU executive body's failure to condemn Italy over new security measures that human rights groups denounce as discriminatory against Gypsies.

"It is very shameful such things can happen within the European Union," said Isabela Mihalache, senior project manager with the Open Society Institute. "It's also shameful that the European Commission could not send a clearer and stronger message to the Italian government."

Open Society Institute founder George Soros, who has long championed Roma rights, said he supported legal action against Italy over the measures, which include fingerprinting adults and children without valid ID papers.

"I am deeply troubled by the precedent set by Roma profiling in Italy," Soros told the conference. "I consider targeted fingerprinting of Roma a case of ethnic profiling which ought to be illegal."

Italy's government is conducting a census of tens of thousands of Gypsies, many of whom come from Romania or elsewhere in the Balkans. It says the moves will help authorities clamp down on crime and illegal immigrants and push Roma children to attend school.

The Resurgence of Fascism

Posted Sun, 08/24/2008 - 8:11pm

This summer, a rash of anti-Romani legislation and proposels have swept Europe, most notably in Italy and the Czech Republic. This wave began as a ripple, gaining momentum as neither the European Union or the governments of which it encompasses raised any alarm. However, the scapegoating espoused by neo-fascists will have farther reaching implications than merely the Roma community.

In April, Silvio Berlusconi was elected Prime Minister of Italy over his center-left rival Walter Veltroni. Playing to what the BBC called a “deep suspicion throughout the country of the Roma community”, Berlusconi focused on the Roma – and immigrants in general – pinning them as the root cause of many of Italy’s problems and vowing a security crack down. The crackdown came in the form of a scheme to fingerprint Italy’s entire Roma population, including children. This plan has received widespread condemnation in the human rights community, most notably from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

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