Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-11-16-Speech-3-458-000"
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"I would like to start by expressing, on behalf of the Commission, our deepest concern over the difficult situation that Roma people in Europe still face today. This issue is of great concern, not only to Mrs Reding, but to the whole Commission, and I personally am a member of the task force that was set up especially for this purpose. You will hear that I have also taken some very positive steps towards alleviating the position of the Roma population.
I would like to stress that the EU Framework calls on all Member States to ensure first of all that Roma are treated like any other EU citizen, with equal access to all fundamental rights. It also calls for the social inclusion of the Roma on such crucial issues as education, employment, health and housing. The EU Framework expresses the idea that the social and economic aspects of integration are complementary to the existing EU legislation and policies in the areas of non-discrimination, fundamental rights and free movement of persons. The Commission will not forget this aspect when assessing the national Roma integration strategies and reporting to Parliament and Council.
In addition to these policy developments, the Commission has redoubled its efforts to make sure Member States correctly transpose and implement the existing legislation protecting the rights of the Roma people.
Firstly, the Commission is strictly monitoring the implementation and application of the Racial Equality Directive across all Member States.
Secondly, the Commission has taken all necessary measures within its power to ensure that all Member States respect the safeguards for citizens in the Free Movement Directive, but please let us not mix up evictions with expulsions. The various media reports concern both evictions and expulsions. As regards expulsions from the territory of a Member State, the Commission has no information about expulsions having taken place after the entry into force of the new French law, which is now considered to be in line with the Free Movement Directive. The evictions are subject to national law.
Thirdly, the Commission is closely monitoring the transposition and implementation of the Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia. This Decision obliges Member States to penalise the intentional public incitement to violence and hatred against groups or individuals by reference to their race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.
More generally, the Commission is following closely recent developments in the EU Member States and strongly condemns all forms of racism and xenophobia, as these phenomena violate the most basic values of the European Union. Public authorities must unequivocally distance themselves from, and actively fight against, racist and xenophobic behaviour.
Last but not least, I would like to stress that the involvement of civil society and the active participation of the Roma in the preparation, implementation and monitoring of policies are crucial to the success of Roma inclusion.
Earlier this year, I signed an agreement with the Council of Europe to train 1 000 Roma mediators. Up to now we have already trained 600 of them. These people will work with local communities across Europe, building trust and helping Roma families to enjoy their full economic and social rights.
When we assess the Member States’ national strategies, the Commission will pay special attention to how Roma civil society is involved in policy-making and implementation.
Finally, let me welcome the European Parliament’s support for the preparation of the National Roma Integration Strategies. I know that you hosted a conference on this theme last week, and I congratulate you for your work.
The Roma are Europe’s largest ethnic minority – and perhaps the least understood. They are certainly European citizens and they have exactly the same rights as we all have. Wherever they live, the Roma are often surrounded by an atmosphere of isolation, sometimes by outright hostility. This is a community that is regularly denied equal access to education, housing and employment.
I hope you will agree that the challenges facing our Roma citizens demand a joint effort from all EU institutions. While Member States carry the heaviest responsibility to guarantee the Roma people’s fundamental rights, the EU will both support their work and continue to ensure that European laws are fully respected.
We cannot accept this situation in Europe. We will not accept it. It goes against everything that Europe stands for – our values and our vision of a fair and inclusive society, free of discrimination, where every citizen can play a full part in social and economic life. We have to really help the Roma people take a full part in our life and in our communities.
At the same time, this year we have witnessed unprecedented progress in the development of a common EU approach in tackling the exclusion of the Roma from our societies. I am confident that this will lead to tangible improvements in the lives of the Roma people.
This progress is the result of the joint efforts of all the European institutions to improve the social and economic integration of Roma people in our society. The ‘EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies’ reflects a strong political commitment by all key players. For the first time, the Council in its conclusions calls on Member States to adopt an effective approach on Roma integration through national strategies or a set of policy measures.
The Commission has managed to keep Roma integration high on the political agenda, including in the current economic and financial context. Many of my colleagues have been involved and have ensured an inter-disciplinary approach to tackle this complex matter.
On 7 September 2010, the Commission set up a Roma Task Force in which several Commissioners (Reding, Andor, Malmström, Hahn and myself) worked hand in hand to assess how effectively Member States were using the available funds. The report of the Task Force, in December 2010, showed that there was no evidence of strong and proportionate measures in place in Member States to tackle the social and economic problems of a large part of the EU’s Roma population. The Commission concluded that this situation was neither acceptable nor sustainable.
This House – with support from the whole political spectrum – called for an EU Strategy and the Commission responded. We all agreed that there was a need for effective policy planning and implementation and there was a need for a strategic approach. For this reason, the Commission decided to set out an ‘EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies’.
This EU Framework was welcomed by all Member States, who recognised it as an important step towards a more socially cohesive Europe and expressed their commitment to its implementation at the highest political level of Heads of State and Governments. We have now reached the moment of truth about these commitments from Member States, who are expected to present their strategies by the end of this year."@en1
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