Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘An EU framework for national Roma integration strategies up to 2020’
Date: 2011-12-14
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: Roma, anti-discriminatory measure, gender equality, regional cooperation, social integration








C_2012054EN.01001301.xml










23.2.2012   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 54/13





Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘An EU framework for national Roma integration strategies up to 2020’
2012/C 54/03
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS:






—


stresses the need for national governments to fully involve regional and local authorities in national Roma integration policies, given that social and economic integration takes place primarily at local level; this also implies that national governments need to make the necessary funds available to local and regional authorities to carry out Roma integration policies;










—


calls on national governments to support the efforts made by regional and local authorities to integrate the Roma by putting in place coherent national policies and legislation in cooperation with their local and regional levels within a clear European framework, in which aims and means of the different level policies are coordinated;










—


emphasises that the disadvantages faced by the Roma population in terms of discrimination, poverty, inadequate education, labour market obstacles, segregated housing and restricted access to health and social services need to be tackled at all levels across Europe; would, however, point out that Roma is an umbrella term which includes other population groups (the Sinti, Gypsies, Travellers, Kalè, Camminanti, Ashkali, etc.) with similar cultural characteristics and a history of marginalisation and exclusion from European society, who cannot all be assimilated within a single socio-cultural identity;










—


believes that in order to achieve these objectives, it is strategically important to take account of the gender dimension and to combat the multiple forms of discrimination suffered by Roma women, both within and outside their own community. There is a need to promote women’s participation and for them to assume social responsibilities, providing them with opportunities for education, training and employment. These steps would have positive repercussions for families as a whole and on children’s health and education.










Rapporteur


Mr Alvaro ANCISI (IT/EPP), Member of Ravenna Municipal Council




Reference document


Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – An EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020
COM(2011) 173 final




I.   POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS






1.


welcomes the communication from the Commission on An EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 as an important step towards better coordination of Roma integration strategies across Europe;










2.


agrees with the EU Council Conclusions on the communication from the Commission of 19 May 2011, inviting the Commission to continue the work of the Roma Task Force, so as to mainstream Roma inclusion within EU policies and assess the role of EU funds in efforts to advance Roma inclusion in the EU as well as in the context of enlargement policy;










3.


takes note of and welcomes the European Parliament report on The EU strategy on Roma inclusion, adopted on 9 March 2011 (1), which called on the Commission to adopt priority areas for the strategy and to present a roadmap for introducing binding minimum standards at EU level for the priority areas of education, employment, housing and health care;










4.


reiterates its offer to work with the Commission, European bodies and Member States in order to promote policy coherence and consistency, as well as the development of common measurement standards, intended to counter all forms of segregation and discrimination with respect to the Roma and promote their inclusion (2);










5.


emphasises that the disadvantages faced by the Roma population in terms of discrimination, poverty, inadequate education, labour market obstacles, segregated housing and restricted access to health and social services need to be tackled at all levels across Europe; would, however, point out that Roma is an umbrella term which includes other population groups (the Sinti, Gypsies, Travellers, Kalè, Camminanti, Ashkali, etc.) with similar cultural characteristics and a history of marginalisation and exclusion from European society, who cannot all be assimilated within a single socio-cultural identity;










6.


stresses the need for national governments to fully involve regional and local authorities in national Roma integration policies, given that social and economic integration takes place primarily at local level; this also implies that national governments need to make the necessary funds available to local and regional authorities to carry out Roma integration policies;










7.


calls on national governments to support the efforts made by regional and local authorities to integrate the Roma by putting in place coherent national policies and legislation in cooperation with their local and regional levels within a clear European framework, in which aims and means of the different level policies are coordinated;










8.


welcomes the Commission’s recognition that an approach which is clearly targeted at the Roma and their very specific needs while being firmly anchored within the broader strategy to fight poverty and exclusion, is not only compatible with the principle of non-discrimination both at EU and national level but is, in fact, the only way to address this specific problem;










9.


welcomes the Commission’s emphasis on the need for policies that take account of specific territorial factors and identify disadvantaged micro-regions requiring specific measures;










10.


agrees with the Commission that, in order to tackle the social exclusion of the Roma and to improve their situation, it is not enough merely to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic or social origin or membership of a minority (as laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union and Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights) or to put in place social and economic measures;










11.


considers that the need to combat prejudices, racism, discrimination (both direct and indirect, with special attention to multiple discrimination) and segregation must constantly be highlighted, as must the need for a change of attitude on the part of the general population;










12.


welcomes the Commission’s aim of promoting national Roma integration strategies by laying down achievable, measurable and comparable goals, timescales and instruments, providing opportunities for technical assistance to improve their management, monitoring and evaluation capacities, and programming EU funding to supplement and support national Member State allocations;










13.


supports the Commission’s efforts to map out practical instruments to achieve the objectives of the EU framework, such as the joint action with the Council of Europe to train some 1 000 Roma mediators over two years to boost the educational integration of Roma children and strengthen links with the Roma community;





The four priority objectives for Roma integration: access to education, employment, health care and housing







14.


considers that in many Member States regional and local authorities have specific powers in the four priority areas for action identified by the Commission as of strategic importance in countering the segregation and social and economic exclusion of the Roma population, and is convinced that social cohesion is forged at local level;










15.


with regard to the four priority objectives, considers that the Commission should urge the Member States to establish practical, measurable and comparable indicators with a view to setting up a robust monitoring system that can measure the progress made in integrating the Roma population and overcoming their disadvantages;










16.


agrees with the objectives concerning:
—   Access to education: to ensure that all Roma children, regardless of whether or not they are sedentary, complete their primary education and have access to a high standard of education without discrimination or segregation; to improve access to quality early childhood education and care which assures equal treatment and the compliance with the principle of equal opportunities, to reduce the number of early school leavers from secondary education and, in general, to promote illiteracy eradication among Roma population;
—   Access to employment: to cut the employment gap between the Roma and the rest of the population, guaranteeing full access in a non-discriminatory way to vocational training, the job market and self-employment, by encouraging the use of microcredit and mediation strategies offered by public employment services;
—   Access to health care: to provide normalised access to quality health care especially for women and children, as well as preventive care and guaranteed access to social services for the Roma at a similar level as for the rest of the population, actively involving the Roma in health programmes designed for them; and also to pursue the reduction of the gap between the Roma community and the European average in specific health indicators;
—   Access to housing and essential services: to promote non-discriminatory access to housing, including social housing, and to essential services such as water, electricity and gas, also addressing the particular needs of non-sedentary Roma;










17.


believes that in order to achieve these objectives, it is strategically important to take account of the gender dimension and to combat the multiple forms of discrimination suffered by Roma women, both within and outside their own community. There is a need to promote women’s participation and for them to assume social responsibilities, providing them with opportunities for education, training and employment. These steps would have positive repercussions for families as a whole and on children’s health and education;










18.


is convinced that the mobility of the Roma population within Europe may be due not only to the lack of economic and employment opportunities, but also to social exclusion and discrimination in terms of access to services. Consequently, European strategies and funds are needed to cope with this mobility and to foster cooperation between regions of origin and host regions;





Monitoring subsidiarity and proportionality







19.


evaluates compliance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, as set out under Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union, as follows:






—


the Commission’s communication complies with the principle of subsidiarity, since the transnational character of the European Roma community, and the shared aspects of social exclusion that this community faces in various parts of Europe, are such that the measures proposed can best be implemented at EU level;










—


the measures adopted do not introduce new legal instruments as, first, they fall within the scope of the open method of coordination, and second, many of them are based on existing legislative frameworks, in line with the principle of proportionality;














20.


takes note of the Report on the consultation of the Subsidiarity Monitoring Network, and appreciates its contribution:






—


viewing the subject of the Commission’s communication as among those that are sensitive from the subsidiarity point of view, the CoR’s Subsidiarity Monitoring Network launched a consultation with the network’s partners, which was concluded on 5 August 2011. In its conclusions, the report judges that the communication from the Commission is necessary as it brings added value, thereby complying with the subsidiarity principle;










—


it states that the Roma community must preserve its identity;










—


it also emphasises that national and regional policies have proven to be somewhat ineffective in tackling exclusion and poverty, while purely national initiatives lack coherence, and the framework created by them is thus perceived to be fragmented;










—


more specifically, the respondents’ contributions indicate that Roma integration is perceived as a transnational issue that should be tackled in a coordinated manner, and that their integration could affect several Member States at the same time;










—


EU action in this field could bring a range of benefits, such as improving the coherence and effectiveness of Member States’ national strategies or introducing a comprehensive and integrated approach. EU action is also seen as capable of improving the sharing of information and contacts and of co-financing projects in the field of integration. EU action could be very effective in raising awareness of the need to improve the situation of Roma people;










—


the consultation also stresses that the Member States, together with regional and local authorities, should be able to develop appropriate strategies which take into account local circumstances and reflect the size and nature of the Roma population. It therefore underlines that the involvement of local and regional authorities in the design and planning of these measures is thus essential to their success;














21.


with regard to existing coordination instruments, including the open method of coordination, considers that the most effective means of providing the Member States with tools for more structured cooperation must be assessed, specifically in order to systematically incorporate Roma-related issues into European and national policies and to introduce mandatory minimum standards for promoting the social, economic and cultural integration of the Roma minority;










22.


also considers that there is an on-going need for stronger multilevel governance that brings the regional and local authorities into decision-making processes and does not view them purely as implementing bodies, but equips them with the tools and financial resources to tackle the challenges of Roma integration;





Final recommendations







23.


recommends that the Member States draw up their own national Roma integration strategies or review existing ones, in accordance with the Commission’s timetable, bringing regional and local authorities into the decision-making and implementation processes, and making full use of their best practices. It considers that without the close involvement of these authorities, it will not be possible to achieve the objectives of the EU Framework for Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020;










24.


recommends that the Member States and regional and local authorities devise, implement and monitor their own Roma integration strategies in close cooperation with Roma civil society. They should introduce channels to represent, consult with and involve Roma civil society in designing, adopting, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the policies and projects that concern it;










25.


recommends that the Member States, in close cooperation with regional and local authorities, establish effective monitoring systems, to assess the impact of Roma integration methods, so that these may be shared with all relevant authorities and interest groups;










26.


recommends to implement the decisions taken during the Summit of Mayors on Roma in Strasbourg on 22 September 2011 without delay;










27.


recommends that the Member States prepare strategies to address the issue of integrating the Roma population not only from the standpoint of a socially and economically disadvantaged group, but also from that of a national minority with rights under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ETS No 157), as recommended by the Council of Europe;










28.


asks the European Commission to secure the necessary financial and other resources for the implementation of the various action plans and initiatives;










29.


recommends that the Member States and regional and local authorities promote initiatives to highlight Roma culture and identity, as such initiatives are crucial to tackling stereotypes, xenophobia and racism, and to promoting social and economic integration without erring on the side of cultural assimilation;










30.


recommends that the Member States and regional and local authorities implement strategies aimed at countering anti-Roma prejudices, racism and discrimination, it being understood that socio-economic measures alone, in the absence of a real change of attitude on the part of the general population, are not enough to promote the integration of the Roma population;










31.


recommends that the Member States and regional and local authorities adopt practical and specific measures to overcome disadvantages and guarantee the Roma population equal access to education, health and social services, housing and essential services, in part by strengthening links with the Roma population through Roma cultural mediators;










32.


recommends that Member States and regional and local authorities should promote consistency between the implementation of the Roma integration strategy and EU strategies to reduce poverty and social exclusion and to prevent the marginalisation and exclusion of Roma children, starting from earliest infancy, by ensuring education services, assistance and care for the under-threes in order to guarantee their total integration and to protect their rights. Due to the intergenerational aspects of social and economic exclusion, reducing child poverty and segregation significantly reduces future exclusion and social, economic and employment discrimination;










33.


recommends that regional and local authorities should pool their best practices in the field of Roma integration, since they are aware that networks such as Eurocities, and international bodies and other governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in the four priority sectors identified, can help to implement the EU Framework for Roma integration by adopting a local point of view and involving cities from all the countries of Europe;










34.


recommends that the Member States heed the Commission’s call for them to use the programmed EU financing to support efforts in the field of Roma inclusion, including the Social Funds, the European Agricultural Fund and the European Progress Microfinance Facility, involving not only local and regional authorities and Roma civil society, but also the consultative participation of international organisations, religious organisations and NGOs in making use of EU technical assistance in order to enhance their project management, monitoring and evaluation capacities.





Brussels, 14 December 2011.


The President of the Committee of the Regions

Mercedes BRESSO




(1)  INI/2010/2276.

(2)  CoR opinion The social and economic integration of the Roma in Europe.