NGOs want results from first EU ‘Roma Summit’

Human rights groups have called on the European Commission to refrain from preaching empty words and come up with concrete strategies to tackle the problems faced by Europe’s Roma population during the first EU ‘Roma Summit’ in Brussels today (16 September).

The first ‘EU Roma Summit’ will bring together more than 400 representatives of EU institutions, national governments, parliaments and civil society, including Roma organisations under the patronage of Commission President José Manuel Barroso and the French EU Presidency. 

For the first time, the summit provides a framework for EU institutions, national governments and civil society organisations from around Europe to come together to discuss the current state of Roma communities in the Union and identify ways to improve it. 

But recent controversy over the treatment of Roma by the Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi is likely to cast a shadow over the summit. 

Commission too diplomatic with Italy? 

“It is extremely disappointing that the Commission report shies away from the recent controversy in Italy over the fingerprinting of Roma communities,” Natalia Alonso of Amnesty International told EURACTIV. She also criticised what she called “the secrecy surrounding the case”. 

“The Italian government was asked by Commissioner Barrot to send a report on what is happening in Italy. Then the report went to the Commission, which responded with a short press release saying that from the information they had received, everything was OK. But nobody has seen this document sent by Italy,” Alonso stressed. 

She also blamed the EU executive for “giving a very narrow response to a very small issue, and not saying what is happening in Italy in a wider sense, where we have harassment and mobs attacking the camps, which the government needs to investigate”. She described the plight of Roma in Italy as “an escalation of abuse”. 

Speaking on behalf of the EU Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC), Alonso was also critical of the Commission report, to be presented at the EU Roma Summit. ERPC is made up of Amnesty International, the European Roma Rights Centre, the European Roma Information Office, the European Network Against Racism, the Open Society Institute, Spolu International Foundation, Minority Rights Group International, the European Roma Grassroots Organisation, the Roma Education Fund and the Fundacion Secretariado Gitano. 

“The intention of the report was to map up the policies and best practices. We are critical, because in the report there is no strategy. We are calling for the EU to take the lead with standards and clear targets, in order to effectively promote the basic rights and inclusion of Roma in Europe,” Alonso said. 

The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) also issued a statement warning of intolerance towards Roma in Italy, adding that the situation in Italy was not an isolated example and there was intolerance of Roma in other countries. 

ENAR President Mohammed Aziz called on the summit not to end with “empty words”. 

Commission dismisses criticisms 

A Commission spokesperson dismissed ERPC’s criticism. She recalled that Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimír Špidla had himself issued a rather strong statement against the initial measures by Italy to fingerprint Roma immigrants. 

When Italy changed its initial plan and sent its decree to Brussels, the text said fingerprinting would be carried out for unidentifiable persons. Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jasques Barrot found nothing wrong with this and the case was considered closed. 

As for the alleged lack of strategy in the Commission report, the spokesperson explained that the EU executive’s task was only to review existing policies, with new strategies to be defined after the summit. 

No Roma kings in Brussels 

Commission sources also said no Roma kings had been invited to the summit. In several Eastern European countries, Roma communities are led by Roma “kings”, who are often in conflict with each other. 

“If we had invited one, then we would have had to invite all of them, that’s one of the reasons why there are no Roma kings at the summit,” a source said. 

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