Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-07-Speech-2-342"
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"en.20100907.28.2-342"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the values and principles of the European Union are clearly laid down in the treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which became binding with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.
The two institutions crucially agreed that these measures should always be applied as part of an integrated approach. This approach includes, in particular, actions in the fields of education, health, social affairs, employment and security, and desegregation measures.
Lastly, I would point out that, under the European Social Fund, it is also possible to fund actions against discrimination in general.
The EU must provide a safe environment where differences are respected and the most vulnerable protected. This is laid down in the Stockholm Programme, which the European Council adopted in December 2009. Measures to tackle discrimination and xenophobia must be vigorously pursued. The Roma community is expressly mentioned in the Stockholm Programme, under which the Member States must make a concerted effort to fully integrate vulnerable groups.
Like all EU citizens, Roma must enjoy freedom of movement and the right to protection, and must not suffer discrimination of any kind.
At a time when our societies are in the grip of economic crisis, let us take care not to make scapegoats of those among our fellow citizens who are excluded the most. To this end, it is important to have a clear and honest grasp of the causes, effects and cost of social exclusion. What can a population deprived of education, housing, healthcare and, even worse, employment, do? In order to facilitate the integration of the Roma, we must develop an integrated approach that is in line with European legislation and values and in which the interested parties are actively involved.
The situation of the Roma people features in the Trio Presidency’s working programme adopted by the Council in December 2009, and the Belgian Presidency has made a point of addressing the issue of Roma integration on several occasions.
Firstly, at the conference on child poverty, which took place on 2 September; at the Equality Summit, scheduled for 14-16 November, and, in particular, where that summit will address the issue of equality and diversity in employment; at the conference on homelessness, scheduled for 9-10 December; and at the meeting of the Integrated Platform for Roma Inclusion, to be held shortly, from 7-17 September. Lastly, as announced at the General Affairs Council on 26 July, the Council of the European Union will continue to monitor the issue of Roma inclusion.
Respect for the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the right of persons belonging to a minority, feature prominently in those texts. The Council therefore confirms its commitment to those values.
The Council has, on many occasions, expressed its support for measures to advance Roma inclusion. In fact, our Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, have also recognised the very specific situation of the Roma people in the Union and have called on the Member States and the EU to do everything in their power to advance their inclusion.
It is now 10 years since the Council adopted a comprehensive directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin in a number of areas, including the conditions governing access to employment; vocational training; social protection, including social security and healthcare; education; and the supply of goods and services, including housing. All ethnic groups, and therefore obviously the Roma, are protected by this directive. Lastly, the directive includes a positive action clause, which permits the Member States to maintain or adopt specific measures to prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to racial or ethnic origin.
Some of you attended the second European Roma Summit, which was held in Córdoba in April. The Council very much welcomed this important event, which brought the main stakeholders together. Following the summit, in June, the Council unanimously adopted some conclusions entitled ‘Advancing Roma Inclusion’.
The ministers unanimously acknowledged that a significant proportion of Roma experience situations of extreme poverty, discrimination and exclusion, which also entails low educational levels, inadequate housing conditions, lack of access to employment and precarious health. Roma women and girls face particular difficulties, including the risk of multiple discrimination. In many cases, the aforementioned conditions have been worsening markedly in the past years, and anti-Gypsyism and violent attacks against Roma are intensifying.
We must bear in mind the fact that, while the Member States have the primary responsibility for advancing the social and economic integration of Roma, cooperation at the EU level brings significant added value. Consequently, the Council invited the Commission and the Member States to advance the social and economic integration of Roma within the framework of the decisions and recommendations made by the EU institutions, by ensuring the more effective use of existing policies and instruments.
Responsibility in this area is shared: it is up to all those involved to advance the inclusion of Roma, in accordance with their respective competences, and the Council shall play its part in this. The Council also emphasised the importance of ensuring the active involvement of civil society, local authorities and the Roma themselves.
I should also like to point out the specific measures that have recently been taken by both the European Parliament and the Council to facilitate the social inclusion of less-advantaged citizens. We recently came to an agreement at first reading to amend the provisions governing the European Regional Development Fund. Under these provisions, it will now be possible to grant assistance for housing improvements within the most marginalised communities in Europe, which include many Roma."@en1
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