Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-02-Speech-3-026-000"
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"en.20110202.13.3-026-000"2
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"Mr President, a few days ago we commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day in the European Parliament together with Holocaust survivors. On behalf of the Commission, I highly appreciate the fact that today we are commemorating the Roma genocide victims as well.
After visits to Oswiecim, Yad Vashem or the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, you are always shocked by the inhumanity of the Holocaust perpetrators. Those of you who visited the Children’s Pavilion in Jerusalem would agree with me that you leave the pavilion shaken and you cannot believe that such events were possible in Europe and only 60 or 70 years ago.
Therefore we have to speak about this. We have to teach our children about this sad story because, as we know, history has a tendency to repeat itself. So we must make absolutely sure that this horror will be remembered and never repeated. Let us all fight together the ghosts of the past.
History has taught us a bitter lesson in what racial hatred and intolerance can do. The European Union is therefore built on fundamental rights and values, which include the protection of minorities, the principle of free movement and the prohibition of discrimination, and all these apply in full to Roma.
It is unacceptable that, in the 21st century, Roma people still have to face discrimination on the basis of their ethnic origin. Too many Roma are still victims of racism, discrimination and social exclusion. Too many Roma children are still on the streets instead of going to school. Too many Roma are still denied fair chances in the labour market and too many Roma women are still victims of violence and exploitation.
The inclusion of Roma is a priority for the EU and it requires the commitment and joint efforts of national and local authorities, civil society and EU institutions. For its part, the Commission is deeply committed to improving the situation of Roma people and, in particular, their social and economic integration.
We have been working continually to these ends: this is a longstanding and long-term commitment for us. However, we have to acknowledge that responsibility for Roma integration lies primarily with the Member States and that is why, in the communication we adopted last year, we provided them with a concrete list of actions for making their Roma integration policies more effective. This was the first-ever policy document dedicated specifically to Roma.
However, our assessment shows that further serious work needs to be done in the Member States to improve the effectiveness of their policies for Roma integration. That is why, in April, in close cooperation with the Hungarian Presidency, the Commission will adopt a European framework for national Roma integration strategies, which will make proposals for tackling Roma exclusion.
To conclude, at this solemn moment let me emphasise again, on behalf of the Commission, the importance of protecting fundamental rights in Europe and ensuring the harmonious integration of all into society. It is very important to make sure that history definitely never will repeat itself."@en1
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