Discrimination against, and persecution of, Roma in EU Member States and EU framework strategy, guidelines and actions
18.10.2011
Question for oral answer O-000274/2011
to the Council
Rule 115
Renate Weber, Sophia in 't Veld, Gianni Vattimo, Sonia Alfano, Baroness Sarah Ludford, Marielle De Sarnez, Jan Mulder, Cecilia Wikström, Alexander Alvaro, Nathalie Griesbeck, Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, Stanimir Ilchev, Louis Michel
on behalf of the ALDE Group
Notwithstanding the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies launched by the Commission and welcomed by the Council and the issuing by the European Commission of guidelines addressed to Member States for the formulation of the National Roma Integration Strategies (NRIS), discrimination against, and persecution of, Roma in the EU and its Member States is still taking place. In Hungary, a plan approved by the Hungarian Parliament last July requires anyone receiving a social allowance to work on construction sites, clean the streets or maintain parks and forests. In the event of refusal, the allowances would be stopped. People are paid EUR 200 a month under the programme, often working under degrading conditions, such as clearing wood in a forest for days in Gyöngyöspata - work a tractor could do in a few hours[1]. This measure has been harshly criticised as it affects Roma people disproportionately. Pogrom-like riots between right-wing extremists and newly-settled Roma in Northern Bohemia have been taking place for weeks in the Czech Republic[2], while the Czech Senate has affirmed that the Czech Republic should not participate in the European strategy on Roma. In Bulgaria, demonstrations and violent language and acts against Roma took place following the murder of two people, which were misused by extremist, populist and nationalist movements, leading the authorities to call for an end to the language of hatred. In the UK, travellers are set to be evicted from Dale Farm in Basildon, Essex on grounds of a breach of planning laws, a decision that has raised controversy and has been criticised by the UN anti-racism committee[3]. Evictions of Roma are still taking place, as happened recently in Rome (Italy), Paris (France), Baia Mare (Romania), which have led NGOs to urgently call on the authorities and the European Commission to act.
Can the Council explain why the guidelines do not include human rights and anti-discrimination measures, contrary to what the EP had requested in its report?
Can it illustrate what actions have been - and will be - taken to ensure that the abovementioned human rights violations and discriminatory laws and policies are stopped?
Can the Council illustrate how it will ensure that Member States respect human rights and anti-discrimination rules in relation to Roma?
Tabled: 18.10.2011
Forwarded: 19.10.2011
Deadline for reply: 9.11.2011
- [1] http://www.euractiv.com/socialeurope/hungary-puts-roma-work-news-507804
- [2] http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,786495,00.html
- [3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/irish-travelers-build-barricades-say-they-will-fight-eviction-in-eastern-england/2011/09/19/gIQAfeCbeK_story.html