'Europees kader voor integratie van Roma is prioriteit van Hongaars voorzitterschap' (en)

Minister of State for Social Inclusion of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, Zoltán Balogh, said, „One of the Hungarian Presidency’s priorities is for the European Council to accept the EU’s Framework Strategy on Roma Inclusion”, to the EP’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

The State Minister said, „Europe has a Roma population of 10-12 million. Their involvement in the EU’s circulatory system would be more than just a humanitarian act; it would also bring economic benefits,” He also referred to a World Bank research project which forecasted a 4-6 percent GDP growth in case the Roma employment rate reached the regional average.

Mr Balogh argued that member states’ national Roma strategies should be coordinated with the Europe 2020 development programme, by all member states making quantifiable commitments on Roma subsidies in their reform programmes. The State Minister said, „The Roma population’s subsidisation is not an ethnical requirement but a social one,”

Mr Balogh proposed data collection on an ethnic basis, if only for statistical purposes and anonymously, as the only way to measure whether if subsidies achieve the desired goal. In response to MEPs’ questions, Mr Balogh admitted that the problem cannot be solved by 2020, but at least an attempt should be made to prevent the situation from becoming worse. The State Minister pointed out that Roma problems should be solved in the countries where they arise.

Fighting poverty and social discrimination

A key priority of the Hungarian Presidency is to develop a European framework for member states’ Roma integration strategies. This was the subject of Balog’s speech before the EP's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

The Minister of State pointed out previous strategies in the field have been unsuccessful because they failed to coordinate the various policy fields. Zoltán Balog believes that the promotion of social integration is the responsibility of member states, but EU institutions should act jointly to solve the Roma issue and, in parallel, coordinate national strategies.

To demonstrate the magnitude of the problem, the Minister of State mentioned a Hungarian programme where Roma children attend primary school together with their parents and grandparents. This is necessary because a significant part of the Roma population becomes parent at a very early age, in their teens, therefore they abandon school early, often illiterately. At a later stage, their low educational level will stop them entering the labour market, and they cannot break out from poverty either. Mr Balog stressed that beside the Roma strategy, the Hungarian Presidency promotes the fight against poverty and social discrimination as well as child poverty, which is also incorporated in the Europe 2020 Strategy.