Voorzitter van Comité van de Regio's steunt de Commissie in haar zero tolerance beleid tegen Roma discriminatie (en)

The fight against prejudice and hostile attitudes towards the Roma is at the heart of a draft Committee of the Regions i (CoR) opinion proposing practical measures to improve the integration of the Roma population. Supporting the Commission's position on this matter, the EU i's Assembly of Regional and Local Representatives calls on Member States, regions and local authorities to apply with vigour the fundamental rights enshrined in the European treaties and to combat all forms of discrimination directed against the Roma people. This also requires better awareness on the part of national, regional and local administrations in order to avoid action which is inappropriate or illegal. The proposals will be discussed in Brussels on 29 September in the presence of Lívia Járóka, the European Parliament i rapporteur on the Roma issue and herself a member of the Roma minority. The CoR president, Mercedes Bresso has stated that "the Roma community continue to be frequent victims of discrimination and social exclusion in European as well as other countries, which is a breach of the fundamental values of the European Union and human rights. Clearly, there is a need to raise national, regional and local administrations' awareness of their responsibility to respect the fundamental rights of every European citizen." In his draft opinion, the CoR rapporteur Alvaro Ancisi (EPP/IT) points out that "the EU and the Member States bear a shared responsibility towards the Roma people and that there is a need to put the values underpinning the EU into practice, so as to combat discrimination and expressions of xenophobia and encourage the inclusion of the EU's largest ethnic minority group." The integration of the Roma people, who are estimated to number some 10 to 12 million, is the responsibility of the Member States and the EU institutions. However, the CoR is concerned about the effectiveness of current policies, which suffer from lack of awareness about the Roma population among local authorities. The diagnosis of the situation by the rapporteur, a member of Ravenna municipal council, is severe: "While the instruments and policies adopted at EU level to encourage the inclusion of the Roma people are appropriate, implementation at national, regional and local levels is lacking owing both to the absence of strong partnerships and coordination mechanisms and to a local-level failure to implement instruments that could alter the practical living conditions of the Roma." He goes on to add that: "these shortcomings and the difficulties faced by local authorities cannot be ascribed simply to prejudice and stereotyping on the part of local administrations and communities but also, more generally, are the responsibility of the national governments that define the legislative backdrop, and result from the not always clear-cut distribution of competences between the various tiers of government when it comes to the fight against social exclusion and from insufficient cooperation between central and local government." To remedy the situation, the CoR rapporteur proposes solutions at three levels: "At European level, I hope to see the establishment of a strategy for the implementation of common policies in the various Member States, and access to European funds for projects undertaken by local authorities." At national level "I believe that there is an urgent need for Member States to adopt legislation to render European anti-discrimination and pro-rights legislation effective and applicable." At local and regional level the rapporteur "believes there is a need for territorially integrated regional policies and cooperation arrangements with the countries of origin of Roma migrants." For more details see the interview with the rapporteur Alvaro Ancisi on the CoR website and the draft opinion, which will be discussed on 29 September. For more information, please contact: Athénais Cazalis de Fondouce +32 0)2 282 24 47 +32 (0)2 282 20 85