Europese lidstaten herbevestigen speciale aandacht voor integratie Roma (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Directoraat-generaal Onderwijs, jeugd, sport en cultuur (EAC) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 19 april 2012.

Many of the estimated 10-12 million Roma in Europe face prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion in their daily lives. 8th April marked the International Roma Day as European institutions renewed their calls to the Member States to integrate Roma into communities and make good on their Europe 2020 strategy commitments - with no rooms for the persistent economic and social marginalisation of what constitutes Europe's largest minority.

The Roma population is young: 35.7% are under 15 compared to 15.7% of the EU population overall; the average age is 25 among Roma, compared with 40 across the EU. However, the vast majority of working-age Roma lack the education needed to find good jobs. It is therefore of crucial importance to invest in the education of Roma children. The Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies released by the European Commission in April 2011 should ensure that Member States adopt an effective approach to Roma integration and endorse goals in the four priority fields of education, employment, health and housing.

An extraordinary meeting of the European Platform for Roma Inclusion took place in Brussels on 22 March 2012 to examine the progress made. Member States are already under an obligation to give Roma (like other EU citizens) non-discriminatory access to education, employment, vocational training healthcare, social protection and housing through Directive 200/43/EC.

The Council of Europe also adopted recently the Roma Youth Action Plan to improve the participation of Roma youth in related European policies and to counter the effects of discrimination. The new Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks, included minority rights as one of the issues he will focus on during his mandate. The EU Programme Youth in Action with its strong social dimension contributes to achieving social cohesion in society at large by supporting the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities, among them Roma youth. Approximately 540 Youth in Action projects focusing on Roma inclusion were granted in 33 programme countries in the last five years.

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