Strategy sets targets for education and jobs

Roma strategy sets targets for education, housing, employment and health.

The European Commission will next week propose a strategy to promote the social integration of the 10-12 million Roma who live in the European Union. It includes targets for education, housing, employment and health, and envisages monitoring how  member states act in response. 

The strategy has been drafted by Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, and László Andor, the European commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion, and is scheduled for adoption by the college of commissioners on 5 April. Member states will take their first formal look at it when justice ministers meet on 12 April.

Policies to advance the integration of Roma are primarily under the authority of the member states, which are expected to develop their own strategies on the matter. But Roma integration is one of the priorities of Hungary, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers. EU leaders are expected to endorse the strategy at their summit in June.

The strategy will be the first EU policy document containing measurable targets for Roma inclusion. One target is to achieve a 100% primary-school completion rate for Roma children; the Commission estimates that the current average in Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia is 42%.

Funding concerns

The EU is providing €27.5 billion to the member states in 2007-13 for policies to improve social inclusion in general. But a Roma taskforce set up by the Commission last September found that the funds were under-used. “Funding isn’t the solution” to Roma exclusion, an official said. “You also need political will, which is lacking.” The taskforce was launched following a spat between the Commission and France, which deported thousands of Roma to Romania, sparking accusations that the Commission was not doing enough to hold member states accountable.

The strategy proposes that a network of member states’ officials should monitor national performance and report to the Commission by the end of this year. The Commission hopes that this peer-pressure approach will encourage national governments to take action.

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