SOC/263 Draft Referral. 1. Intro 1.1 OK

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1 SOC/263 Draft Referral 1. Intro 1.1 OK 1.2 In responding to the above invitation, the EESC wishes to focus the present opinion on the issue of Roma integration as a specific challenge for the Union today. In doing so, it acts in accordance with the Conclusions of the European Council, on 14 December, which acknowledge the very specific situation faced by the Roma across the Union and invite Member States and the Union to use all means to improve their inclusion and the Commission to examine existing policies and instruments and report to the Council on progress achieved before the end of June In this context, the recommendations and proposals formulated are intended as a contribution to the preparatory process as well as to the follow-up of a Conference on Roma inclusion, organised by the Commission during the second half of The EESC intends to play fully its role of bridge towards organized civil society, persuaded that it is instrumental in any effort of integration based on an intercultural, mutually respectful and holistic approach, the European approach. 1.4 The more general question of integration of minorities, particularly from the point of view of the labour market, has been the subject of a report by the High Level Group and will be addressed in a Communication by the Commission during the second half of The report of the HLG devotes a substantial chapter on the specificity of the situation of Roma and notes, in its concluding remarks: "In spite of many programs and initiatives targeted at Roma, change has been slow and results worse than anticipated, mainly due to structural problems. It needs to be underlined that, although equality mainstreaming should be a strategic goal in the EU and the Member States, specific and targeted action for Roma inclusion is needed." 1.5 The present opinion will therefore concentrate on two main themes. Understanding the reality of the situation of Roma today in the EU and neighbouring/acceding countries, on the one hand, as a prerequisite to any proposal. And proposing a coordinated, long-term approach to developing a coherent EU policy in favour of Roma integration which will take full account of work done by the EU, International and Intergovernmental organizations and organized civil society, both Roma and non-roma. 1.6 It is important to note that use of the term Roma is to be understood in the sense defined by the Roma themselves and adopted by the EU institutions. The term Roma includes persons describing themselves as Roma, Sinti, Gypsies, Gitanos, Manouches, Travellers and others. Use of the term corresponds to the desire of the Roma themselves to indicate a common identity independently of the great diversity within the various Romani groups, due to the historical circumstances in which the Roma evolved in Europe. EN

2 What is the specificity of the social and economic situation of Roma today in Europe? 2.1 It is not the aim of the present referral to attempt a definition of the term minority, whether ethnic, religious, linguistic or other. It is important nevertheless to remind some established facts about the historical relationship between Roma and European societies, both at institutional level and social practice, and the specific nature of their marginalization in every country they settled in, or attempted to. In this connection, it is important to underline that knowledge of its history is essential both for the minority and for the majority. Mutual knowledge breeds understanding and mutual respect, without which there can be no successful integration. Indeed, the history of a minority has a commensurate impact on its social identity and on the potential for conflict it creates. This is even truer when such a history of discrimination underlies and nourishes the largely persisting exclusion of the Roma in the EU. 2.2 Recent historical, linguistic and genetic research seems to confirm a common point of origin and language, in north-west India, around the middle of the 11 th century. The Roma are present in Europe for more than seven centuries and in this sense, Roma should be considered as an autochthonous European minority. By the end of the fifteenth century, different branches had spread to practically every country of the continent. From that point on, historical record shows a repeated and generalized pattern of institutionalized persecution, discrimination and exclusion. There is no country failing the rule. This includes banishment decrees, pogroms, organised hunting, forced labour and slavery in its worst form. Slavery was not officially abolished, in Moldavia and Valachia, until the second half of the nineteenth century. Forced sterilization of women went on until a few years ago. This pattern of persecution culminates in the Holocaust Porrajmos or Samudaripen - with the extermination of more than half a million Roma. It is worth mentioning that, far from the stereotypes and false accusations that have accompanied this pattern of persecution, there is no record of collective violent action of Roma against established order that would have justified some kind of organised reprisal. This is not the least of the parallels between institutionalized antisemitism and anti-gypsyism in European history, notwithstanding the clear differences between the histories of Jews and Roma. 2.3 During this time the Roma have become an integral part of European culture and many Roma have contributed and continue to contribute mainly in the performing arts, where their influence can hardly be denied. (to develop) 2.4 Despite the controversial issue of the lack of reliable statistics, which will have to be addressed, the fact is that Roma marginalisation is a persistent phenomenon in the EU today. It is estimated that some 60% of Roma live in conditions of extreme poverty and exclusion. Patterns and levels of exclusion are similar in every country of the Union, with variations due to historical and socio-political factors. In this connection, it can be argued that nomadism, as a survival strategy, has been the result rather than the cause of exclusion of Roma, whose vast

3 - 3 - majority (more than 95%) are today sedentary, although it continues to be widely used to explain Roma marginalisation as a choice, a mode of life. 2.5 In this context, it needs to be stressed that the 40% percent of the Roma who live well, even if they are not the most visible part of the Roma, are proof of their capacity to integrate the societies they live in without, for many of them, renouncing their Roma identity. 2.6 In order to illustrate the mechanisms of this self-feeding process of marginalisation and exclusion, it is necessary briefly to describe the obstacles to integration which the majority of Roma have to face across Europe. The most appropriate way to show that the simple fact of being a Rom continues to be the catalytic factor of a vicious circle of exclusion, is to give short fact sheets of what can legitimately be called a life cycle of discrimination in five major policy areas determining the degree of social inclusion: Health, Education, Employment, Housing and Civil Rights/Participation. 3. A life cycle of discrimination 3.1 Health Prenatal to birth: Substandard sanitary conditions, malnutrition, young age of mothers who have often health problems themselves and repeated pregnancies result in ratios of perinatal and infant mortality that are substantially higher than in mainstream society. Although research has identified a number of novel, or previously known but rare conditions, caused by private founder mutations, there has been no transposition in terms of preventive public health policy to benefit the Roma (as has been the case e.g. for Ashkenazy Jews, French Canadians etc.). The frequency of these disorders alone is sufficient to justify antenatal and newborn screening and early treatment, which are largely absent today. Childhood: (to be continued!) 3.2 Education Preschool: Little or no provision for Roma children. Evidence suggests that Roma children attending integrated preschools have incomparably higher chances to continue their education than those attending segregated institutions or stay within the wider family. Language problems often linked to bilingualism tend to begin at this age. Primary school: Two in five Roma children do not attend school at all (compared to 1 in 20 for the majority). 38% of those who do will not finish it (compared to 4% for the majority). Girls are even more disadvantaged as only one out of three finishes primary school (compared to 1 in 20).

4 - 4 - These numbers include attendance in segregated or "special" schools which continue to exist in spite of official condemnation. Secondary Education: For those that enter secondary education, they tend to drop out by the end of compulsory education (ages 12 to 16) and, all in all, no more than 8% of Roma youth finish secondary education (64% for majority). Higher Education: Less than 0, 5% of Roma youth enter higher education. Overt or covert discrimination and segregation, poor living conditions, low or no revenue, health problems, massive illiteracy and unemployment of the adult population are some of the factors widely identified to explain the persistence of such a situation. To these, it is important to add the issue of language. Romani, an Indo-European fully-fledged language with a number of variations across the different Romani communities in Europe (contrary to what is often stated) is understood by a large number of Roma and spoken as a mother tongue by many of them, except in countries where it was partly lost because it was forbidden to speak it, like Spain or the UK. Recognition of the importance of their language will have a commensurate impact on the process of Roma integration, both in terms of education and cultural identity. 3.3 Employment 3.4 Housing 3.5 Civil rights etc 3.6 This bleak picture should nevertheless not give the impression that nothing is being done. As shown below, there has been a considerable deployment of activity on the issue in recent years, both on the field and at institutional level. A number of Member States have taken measures in favour of Roma integration. Examples of good practice and successful pilot projects are numerous, alongside with a growing corpus of sociological, legal and policy oriented research. It is important to note that, for the first time, a substantial part of this literature is either produced by Roma themselves or is the result of consultations with Roma civil society and experts. It is time to screen and use this experience as the founding block in a concerted effort to break the cycle of discrimination, by elaborating a long term EU action plan. 4. Relevant actors and instruments 4.1 A brief survey of the activity of relevant actors and instruments is necessary in order to illustrate the level of commitment and the complexity of the situation.

5 At EU level, the EP has always shown a supportive attitude towards the issue of Roma integration and the fight against discrimination, and it has to be added that this occurs across the political spectrum. A number of Resolutions on the issue have been adopted, the most recent of which was adopted on 31 January An own initiative report is under way (Employment and Social Affairs committee) and should be ready by June As far as the Council is concerned, the conclusions of the European Council have already been cited. The CoR has also produced some interesting work on the issue of integration of minorities, notably Roma. Its role will be crucial in any effort to promote Roma integration. As for the Commission, it can be said that the issue of Roma integration/inclusion is increasingly being taken into consideration in policy development and implementation. The creation of a Roma Interservice group a few years ago has permitted much better cross-service information and a certain degree of coordination between the various fields of activity. This trend has been enhanced by the work of the High Level Group, already cited. More particularly, concerning the Structural Funds and the Agricultural Fund, a number of countries make reference to the cross-cutting issue of Roma inclusion in the National Strategic Reference Frameworks (NSRF) as well as/ or direct references in the Operational Programmes (OP), while others make indirect references to Roma inclusion in their OP. There are references to Roma inclusion in a number of National Strategic Plans for Rural Development. There are also references to the Decade on Roma Inclusion from the relevant countries. In addition, in relation to candidate, pre-accession and neighbourhood countries, a number of programmes specifically target the Roma population. Furthermore, the Daphne III and Fundamental Rights and Citizenship programmes allow for measures specifically targeted at Roma, as do a number of projects under the Lifelong Learning and Youth programmes. Finally, the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) has to be mentioned both for its numerous reports specifically on the situation of Roma and for repeatedly highlighting that Roma are one of the most discriminated against groups in Europe. It is clear from the above that the issue of Roma inclusion is present, at various degrees of intensity, on the agendas of all the institutional actors at EU level At international or intergovernmental level, a number of important actors have been putting great emphasis on the importance of Roma inclusion.

6 - 6 - The United Nations and its Agencies (in particular UNICEF and UNESCO) have been involved for a number of years in promoting the inclusion of Roma. The Council of Europe and the OSCE have both contributed and continue to do so in a number of areas. Their actions target Roma specifically and it is worth noting that they both have administrative units dedicated to the Roma issue. Finally, the World Bank, with the Open Society Institute, launched the idea of a "Decade of Roma Inclusion" ( ). The initiative was endorsed at a Conference (Roma in an expanding Europe: Challenges for the Future, Budapest) in June 2003 with the active support of the Commission. The participating countries (Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro) have adopted action plans indicating how they intend to meet specific targets in the four priority areas of the Decade education, employment, health and housing. The Conference also established a Roma Education Fund. It is worth noting that during the last Steering Committee Meeting of the Decade (Budapest, 1-2 October), the nine Decade countries, "Roma civil society groups and international organisations concluded that, despite the efforts of European Union Institutions to address Roma social inclusion, it is necessary to develop and adopt a comprehensive EU Roma policy" At civil society level, finally, there are numerous actors that are either specifically Roma oriented or belong to the organised civil society at large and have a strong commitment to the issue of Roma inclusion. To mention but a few: European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), International Romani Union, European Roma Information Office (ERIO), Young Roma Network, Roma Rights Centre, ENAR, Save the Children, Network of European Foundations (NEFIC) and of course the constellation of Open Society Institute agencies specifically focusing on different aspects of Roma integration. Particular mention needs to be made of the ERTF, an organisation created under the auspices of the Council of Europe following an initiative by Mrs Halonen, Finnish President.. A comment is necessary as to this list of actors. By and large they are turned towards the new member states. But the fact is that almost a quarter of EU's Roma population lives in the 15 "old" member states and that the integration problems encountered are similar everywhere in the EU The list of available instruments would be incomplete without stressing the importance of the Race Equality Directive and related case law and the European Human Rights Court's landmark decisions on a number of cases concerning discrimination against Roma, the most recent one of which condemns school segregation.

7 These are the instruments and institutional actors that have to be taken into consideration, although at varying degrees, when providing ideas on how to promote concerted efforts in order to obtain concrete results. Such results can only be obtained by long term policy planning and implementation, based on the experience acquired by the different actors mentioned. Such an action plan will have to address all the different aspects of Roma inclusion in a coherent way. It is clear that a comprehensive EU Roma policy means that the Commission should provide a framework and agree targets with the member states, following which the issue can only be dealt through the open method of coordination. The fact that most of the aspects relevant to Roma inclusion do not fall under Union competence points clearly to such an approach, which would permit through enhanced cooperation to "maximise the impact and effectiveness" of EU action in favour of Roma inclusion. 5.1 The aim therefore of the following section of the present referral is not to formulate either general or specific recommendations in the different policy areas. Rather than largely repeating existing recommendations the EESC is of the opinion that the considerable amount of work in terms of projects, identification of good practice and policy oriented literature, already accomplished by the European Commission and the European Parliament, by National Governments as well as by a considerable number of International Organisations and NGO's, needs to be transposed into a coherent long-term action plan through a coordinated consultation process. 5.2 Fully aware of the necessity to obtain clear political commitment of all parties involved, the EESC proposes that the process initiated by the European Council be based on some basic principles, guaranteeing feasible, sustainable and consensual policy proposals: Interinstitutional coordination, consultation of Roma in particular through organised civil society, cooperation with international and intergovernmental organisations, clear time-table. 5.3 In this context, the EESC suggests that the preparation of the conference organised by the Commission next September serves as a testing ground for refining the appropriate working methods necessary to establish the process leading to formulation of a coherent EU policy in favour of Roma inclusion. The conference can then lead to an interinstitutionally agreed mandate defining the methodology and setting the agenda and time table for future work. 5.4 Beyond the recognised urgency to take action in favour of Roma inclusion, the EESC is persuaded that promoting their integration will provide valuable insight into integration policies targeted at other minorities. The EESC calls therefore on EU Institutions actively to contribute to the process, each according to their respective competences as defined in the treaty, but also in their capacity to mobilize European citizens, both Roma and non-roma, and promote mutual understanding and respect as an essential element of the European Social Model, exemplified, inter alia, in the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

8 In particular, the EESC calls on the Commission to continue and reinforce interservice coordination and to ensure broad interinstitutional cooperation in the preparation of and the follow-up to the September Conference. In doing so, the Commission should provide a framework for future action, by means of a Communication to the EP and the Council. In addition, given the particular importance of education both in terms of socio-economic integration and of identity and active participation in society, a specific report should focus on the issue. This report should identify and address the systemic problems that underlie the failure to incorporate known and experimented good practice into mainstream educational systems. 5.6 The EESC also calls on the European Parliament to continue to promote Roma integration both by a structured follow-up of its Resolutions and by mobilizing European political parties to face up to the challenge and put the item high in their respective agendas, in particular during the campaign for the elections of The EESC calls on Council of Ministers and in particular the future presidencies of the Council for active participation and cooperation in this process. The EESC notes, in particular, that Spain, which will hold the presidency during the first half of 2010, has an outstanding record and extensive expertise in actions favouring Roma inclusion as well as solid experience of European cooperation in these matters, including the fact that it chairs the OSCE for Given the fact that it is only through concrete action at local and regional level, especially concerning the problems of housing and urban planning, that Roma integration will become a reality, the EESC invites the Committee of the Regions to examine the situation and suggest lines of action, particularly concerning the use of Structural Funds. 6. Finally the EESC wishes to confirm its commitment to the issue of integration of minorities and in particular the Roma. (To be completed).