SP(2010)2953

B7-0222/2010

B7-0223/2010

B7-0224/2010

B7-0225/2010

RC-B7-0222/2010

Results of vote in Parliament

Following the debate which took place during the sitting of 9 March 2010 on oral questions O-0017/2010 and O-0028/2010 to the Council as well as O-0018/2010 and O-0029/2010 to the Commission, the European Parliament adopted by 572 votes to 28 with 23 abstentions, a resolution on the Second European Roma Summit which takes place in Córdoba on 8 April 2010.

The resolution had been tabled by the EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens/ALE and GUE/NGL groups and by the following EFD members: Niki TZAVELA (EL), Nikolaos SALAVRAKOS (EL), Jaroslav PAŠKA (SK).

It condemns the recent rise of anti-Gypsyism (Romaphobia) in several EU Member States, in the form of regular instances of hate speech and anti-Roma attacks. Noting that the 10-12 million European Roma continue to suffer serious systematic discrimination and, in many cases, severe poverty and social exclusion, Parliament considers that fighting discrimination against Roma, who constitute a pan-European community, requires a comprehensive approach at European level . It expresses deep concern that, in view of the urgency of the matter, the Commission has thus far not responded to its request of 31 January 2008 to prepare a European Strategy on the Roma and calls once again on the Commission to develop a comprehensive European Strategy for Roma Inclusion as the instrument for combating social exclusion and discrimination of Roma in Europe.

Members express concern at the discrimination suffered by Roma in education (particularly segregation), housing (particularly forced evictions and sub-standard living conditions, often in ghettos), employment (their particularly low employment rate) and equal access to healthcare systems, as well as the astoundingly low level of their political participation. It points out that equal opportunity provisions must be strictly complied with when the Operational Programmes are implemented, so that projects do not directly or indirectly consolidate the segregation and exclusion of Roma. Referring to its report of 10 February 2010 on the eligibility of housing interventions in favour of marginalised communities, which makes provision for housing interventions within the ERDF framework , Parliament calls for rapid implementation of the revised regulation so that the Member States can make active use of this opportunity. Furthermore, the Commission is asked to ensure that the recently adopted Microfinance Facility is accessible to the Roma in order to support their integration into the labour market. Members stress that anti-discrimination measures alone are insufficient as a means of facilitating the social inclusion of Roma, but that a concerted Community effort on a firm legal basis is needed to coordinate measures by institutional and societal stakeholders and to force the parties concerned to honour their own pledges. They accept the need for a clear legislative commitment and credible budgetary appropriations.

Parliament calls on Member States and the EU institutions to endorse the measures needed in order to create a suitable social and political environment for implementing Roma inclusion measures, for example by supporting public education campaigns to increase the tolerance of the non-Roma population towards Roma culture and integration, both in their country of citizenship and in their country of European residence. Referring to the Council conclusions on the Inclusion of the Roma adopted in Luxembourg in June 2009, which incorporate the Common Basic Principles on Roma Inclusion , Parliament invites the Commission and Member States to take account of them when implementing policies to combat discrimination, poverty and social exclusion. It calls on the Commission to designate one of its Commissioners as responsible for coordinating Roma policy .

The resolution encourages the Summit organiser and the EU to define a clear political follow-up to the Summit conclusions, in order to avoid any repeat of previous situations where neither political conclusions nor concrete proposals were adopted. The Summit should not be declarative in nature, but should focus on strategic policy commitments that demonstrate a political will to close the gap between Roma communities and majority populations

Parliament recommends that the Council adopt a common position on structural and pre-accession funding , reflecting the European political commitment to exploit the opportunities provided by these funds to promote Roma inclusion and to ensure that the Common Basic Principles on Roma Inclusion are taken into account in any revision of the relevant Operational Programmes, also looking ahead to the next programming period. It urges the Commission to evaluate the social impact to date of investments using pre-accession and structural funds targeting vulnerable groups, and to devise new strategies if this is considered necessary in this field.

It goes on to insist on the following points:

candidate countries must be involved in the European-level pursuit of Roma integration as soon as possible, since accession negotiations offer an unparalleled opportunity to trigger a substantial shift in governmental attitudes towards Roma; Member States must ensure that any measures that have a direct or indirect impact on EU citizens of Roma origin are consistent with the principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and with the Racial Equality Directive. Parliament expresses concern in relation to the forced repatriation of Roma to countries in the Western Balkans in this connection; any measures taken in respect of the precarious position of many Roma who have migrated within the EU must be consistent with European legislation and the Commission and Member States must establish whether there is a need for a coordinated European approach; the Commission should develop recommendations for Member States with a view to encouraging local authorities to make better use of structural funding opportunities to promote Roma inclusion, including objective monitoring of project implementation.

Lastly, Parliament stresses the need for long-term strategies to build up the professional and organisational capacity of Roma and to develop Roma human resources as a horizontal priority. The political independence and empowerment of Roma self-organisation in terms of financial, academic and human resources is vital in speeding up the social inclusion of Roma.

T7-0085/2010

O-0017/2010

O-0028/2010

O-0018/2010

O-0029/2010

Debate in Parliament

B7-0013/2010

B7-0014/2010

B7-0202/2010

B7-0203/2010