23.04.2014Third European Roma Summit: a breeze or a cyclone is the wind of change?
„A wind of change is blowing. Roma integration is on the radar screen of politicians.”, said the Vice President of the European Commission Viviane Reding to the participants in the Third European Roma Summit that took place on April 4th, in Brussels. “This is the first EU Roma Summit which gives me reason for hope”, she added.
This forum gathered unprecedented number of high level politicians: the President of the European Commission (EC) Jose Manuel Barroso, five EU Commissioners, presidents, ministers and state secretaries from the EU member states, MEPs and national MPs, the founder of the network of foundations “Open Society” George Soros and representatives of leading Roma organizations. Although it was the Third European Roma Summit (after the first one in 2008 and the second in 2010), the forum was the first after the Arab spring and the following waves of refugees and migrants towards Europe as well as after the crisis in Ukraine and the deteriorated relationship with Russia. This is why the event was expected to answer important questions such as: will the EC continue to place the Roma integration issue in the agenda of the EU, whether the EC will increase or decrease the pressure on the national governments, whether there will be a shift in the distribution of roles and responsibilities… And after all, will there be European policy for Roma integration which will actually change the situation of the biggest European minority?
Indeed, the forum from April 4th gave answers of the above questions. The messages of the EC were stated: in the speeches of President Barroso, the Vice President Reding and the other Commissioners, in the published a day earlier Report on the implementation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies and through other ways as well. Part of those messages were in the typical for the Commission “Brussels” language – diplomatic and positive, whereupon both what is said and what is not said must be interpreted and the comparison with the messages from the previous Summits is a must in order to understand the answers of the given questions. Bellow I tried to bring up the answers – with the clarification that part of them are narrated words of main participants in the forum (i.e. they are undisputable, regardless whether the reader will agree with them), and another part is an interpretation as a result of hermeneutic attempt of the author (in this regard they could be disputed).
I think the main messages from the Third European Roma Summit could be reduced down to four:
First, the EC categorically will continue to bring up the Roma integration issue – both to the member states and on the agenda of the EU as a whole. Furthermore, the pressure in this direction (hidden behind the diplomatic words “decisiveness” and “engagement”) will be increasing. This became clear both from the high political participation in the Third Summit and from the key speeches of representatives of the Commission. All of them pointed as one of the main achievements in the past years the fact that Roma integration topic made its way “so high in the political agenda” (Barroso), also “the radar screen of politicians” (Reding). The Vice President of the EC illustrated the change as she compared the Second EU Roma Summit in 2010 (as she referred to it as “A Ministerial meeting on Roma – without Ministers” which completely corresponded with the vague political participation back then) with the Third one (in which there were so many European and national politicians that there was no time left for discussions). Speaking ahead of the logical question “what happens after May?”, President Barroso expressed his certainty “I am confident that now this policy is well established, it will be followed by the next Commission and the next European Parliament”. Such certainty from the otherwise restrained Brussels politicians is a guarantee for continuity and it is expected to be understood by the member states.
Second, the EU Roma policy is already undisputable fact. That probably was the most important message of the Third Roma Summit. In this case it is not a matter of politically correct phrases, but whether the Roma integration policies are determined only on a national level or the EU institutions also have an engagement: to support but also to control the activities of the national governments. Here we have to remind that for years the topic of European Roma Policy was a cause for dispute between the EC on one hand and the EP and Roma organizations on the other hand. The later insisted – also through two resolutions of the EP – for a coherent and comprehensive European policy for Roma integration which to be implemented in all member states including with the active engagement of the EU institutions. For years the EC diplomatically avoided that idea. Not accidentally, the concept “European Roma policy” was not part of any document from the First and Second Roma Summit. To the question “Will the (First EU Roma) Summit launch a new European Roma policy?”, one of the accompanying documents (МEMO/08/559) gave a silent negative answer. The Commission accepted the status quo that “The inclusion of Roma is a joint responsibility of the Member States and the European Union”, adding that the spheres of intervention of the EC are limited – mostly in ensuring legislative and regulatorybasis for the integration process, deemed not as new legislation, but as a guarantee for implementation of the existing EU legislation against racism. Everything else – concrete actions for improving the access to education, employment, healthcare and housing conditions are responsibility of the national governments, and the role of the Commission is to support them with exchange of good practices between the member states and through resources from the EU funds. That was the scheme for distribution of responsibilities, repeated during many forums and reflected in all documents of the EC until recently. The leading refrain was that in European level are created the necessary mechanisms and it is needed the member states to implement and use them (if we use the words of the Commission Staff Working Document on Community Instruments and Policies for Roma Inclusion, published by the EC in July 2008, “there is a powerful framework of legislative, financial and policy coordination tools available … but that there is still an implementation gap in the Member States”).
The fact that this scheme can not push the member states to undertake concrete real actions for Roma integration and is not effective as a whole, became completely clear in the hot summer of 2010 when France repatriated thousands of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma, violating basic EU Directives. The Roma integration turned out to be a challenge for the whole European Union, not only for several member states.
The political answer of the EU institutions to this challenge led to a step-by-step change in the above described scheme which was summarized by the Chairman of the EC Barroso in his welcoming speech to the Third Summit: “We introduced what I will call EU – Roma policy”. In his speech Barrosodescribed the three main pillars of the European Roma policy:
- political: The EU Framework for NRIS, supplemented by mechanism for annual reporting by the member states how they implement their strategies (the First report for evaluation of the achievements of the member states since 2011 up to date, supplemented with concrete recommendations was announced during the Summit. Analysis of the report and the Bulgarian part of it the reader can find here: http://www.amalipe.com/index.php?nav=news&id=1927&lang=2
Another important element of the political pillar are the Roma related country specific recommendations issued within the so-called “European semester”. In 2013 The Commission included also recommendations, related to Roma towards the countries with highest number of Roma population (including Bulgaria);
- Legislative: The Council’s recommendations from 9.12.2013 which are the first EU legislation – although a “soft” one – for Roma integration;
- Financial: President Barroso stressed on that pillar underlining that for the EC is especially important to guarantee the absorption of more EU funds for Roma integration. This is why in the new programming period the EC asked from all member states to use minimum 20% of the European social fund (ESF) for social inclusion (which applies to Roma as well), etc. In the Regulation of the ESF a special investment priority was proposed – “Socio-economic integration of marginalized communities such as Roma” and the existence of National Roma integration strategy (NRIS) is required from all member states of the EU as an ex-ante conditionality, in order the country to use any type of EU funds. In the report for evaluation of the implementation of the EU Framework for NRIS is even hinted (with half a sentence) the possibility for establishment of special financial mechanism for support of integration projects, governed directly from Brussels.
Third, the inclusion of the local authorities and reaching out to the grass-root level is important new (relatively new) element of the EU Roma policy. The name itself of the Third Summit was “Going local on Roma inclusion” and number of representatives of the local authorities participated, good practices were pointed out (including Kavarna municipality and its mayor Tsonko Tsonev who was one of the speakers in the forum), etc. The local authorities and local Roma NGOs must have “the means to translate our policy commitments into measures at the local level”, stated Mr. Barroso, adding “that is where the policies meet reality: at local level”. This element is not brand new: for years the EC supports and popularizes successful examples for integration policy on local level. New is only the political weight that is given to the local factor at present. It is hard to tell whether this is a result of the constant attention of the EU institutions towards the local and regional authorities or it is rather an attempt through their inclusion to compensate part of the obvious weaknesses of the national governments in the implementation of a large-scale and coherent integration policy. In any case, the third message from the Summit was that the national governments will have to coordinate their activities with the EC as well as with the local factors (municipal authorities and NGOs).
Fourth, the EU Roma policy is by no means complete or constant value; yet it will be updated with new elements in the process. During the Summit both representatives of the EC and EP on one hand and other key participants in the forum on the other hand pointed possible new elements.
For example Mr. George Soros proposed four ideas for more effective EU Roma policy:
- the models for educational integration, established by the Roma education fund to be widened with EU funding;
- serious resources to be invested in employment for educated Roma;
- to direct more attention to preserving and updating of the Roma cultural identity, especially among the young Roma people. In this regard, establishment of European Roma Institute is good to be supported, added Soros. The idea of such institute was also raised by the Council of Europe.
- To be established a fund for support of integration initiatives, governed by Brussels. George Soros argued this idea with the fact that the countries with the highest number of Roma population have the lowest level of EU funds absorption and the heaviest administrative procedures that obstacle any possible initiative for integration. This is why it is good the unused resources to be redirected to a centralized fund which would be governed by the EC.
The Chairman of the EC explicitly supported the idea of establishing European Roma institute. In her speech Commissioner Reding pointed as a next step in the development of the EU Roma policy, the establishment of “a funding facility specifically dedicated to Roma - a centralised EU fund that would be reserved for concrete projects benefiting Roma”. Until very recently such ideas seemed completely unrealistic. The fact that high level European politicians who first opposed any ideas for targeted (specifically at Roma) institutions on European level, now support them, is a sign that the EU Roma policy will be developing in introducing more specific targeted at Roma elements.
Any evaluation of the messages from the Third European Roma Summit currently would be premature. Especially, in the context of the upcoming elections for new EP and unclear new composition of the European Commission. Nevertheless, certainly the persistent decisiveness for affirmation of the EU Roma policy must be welcomed. Left alone on their own, the national governments – especially in the countries with numerous Roma population – will not undertake real large-scale actions for Roma integration. Due to many reasons revolving around the claim that Vice President Reding clearly stated – “with Roma integration politicians unfortunately do not win elections”. No matter how much European money would be provided, most politicians would prefer not to do anything for the Roma. (Of course they can take the money, but that’s another story…) Without serious European pressure the integration process on national level is doomed to be stalled at level 0. Also it is clear, that in the Union where free movement of persons is a fundamental principle, the integration of the largest European minority is not only national task for the member states. Especially, in the context of the fact that this minority lives in all member states.
Hardly anyone could argue the necessity of national policies for Roma integration and that they must be priority. The stronger and the more supported with suitable mechanisms is the EU Roma policy, the bigger is the chance for success on national and local level.
„A wind of change is blowing. Roma integration is on the radar screen of politicians.”, said the Vice President of the European Commission Viviane Reding to the participants in the Third European Roma Summit that took place on April 4th, in Brussels. “This is the first EU Roma Summit which gives me reason for hope”, she added.
This forum gathered unprecedented number of high level politicians: the President of the European Commission (EC) Jose Manuel Barroso, five EU Commissioners, presidents, ministers and state secretaries from the EU member states, MEPs and national MPs, the founder of the network of foundations “Open Society” George Soros and representatives of leading Roma organizations. Although it was the Third European Roma Summit (after the first one in 2008 and the second in 2010), the forum was the first after the Arab spring and the following waves of refugees and migrants towards Europe as well as after the crisis in Ukraine and the deteriorated relationship with Russia. This is why the event was expected to answer important questions such as: will the EC continue to place the Roma integration issue in the agenda of the EU, whether the EC will increase or decrease the pressure on the national governments, whether there will be a shift in the distribution of roles and responsibilities… And after all, will there be European policy for Roma integration which will actually change the situation of the biggest European minority?
Indeed, the forum from April 4th gave answers of the above questions. The messages of the EC were stated: in the speeches of President Barroso, the Vice President Reding and the other Commissioners, in the published a day earlier Report on the implementation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies and through other ways as well. Part of those messages were in the typical for the Commission “Brussels” language – diplomatic and positive, whereupon both what is said and what is not said must be interpreted and the comparison with the messages from the previous Summits is a must in order to understand the answers of the given questions. Bellow I tried to bring up the answers – with the clarification that part of them are narrated words of main participants in the forum (i.e. they are undisputable, regardless whether the reader will agree with them), and another part is an interpretation as a result of hermeneutic attempt of the author (in this regard they could be disputed).
I think the main messages from the Third European Roma Summit could be reduced down to four:
First, the EC categorically will continue to bring up the Roma integration issue – both to the member states and on the agenda of the EU as a whole. Furthermore, the pressure in this direction (hidden behind the diplomatic words “decisiveness” and “engagement”) will be increasing. This became clear both from the high political participation in the Third Summit and from the key speeches of representatives of the Commission. All of them pointed as one of the main achievements in the past years the fact that Roma integration topic made its way “so high in the political agenda” (Barroso), also “the radar screen of politicians” (Reding). The Vice President of the EC illustrated the change as she compared the Second EU Roma Summit in 2010 (as she referred to it as “A Ministerial meeting on Roma – without Ministers” which completely corresponded with the vague political participation back then) with the Third one (in which there were so many European and national politicians that there was no time left for discussions). Speaking ahead of the logical question “what happens after May?”, President Barroso expressed his certainty “I am confident that now this policy is well established, it will be followed by the next Commission and the next European Parliament”. Such certainty from the otherwise restrained Brussels politicians is a guarantee for continuity and it is expected to be understood by the member states.
Second, the EU Roma policy is already undisputable fact. That probably was the most important message of the Third Roma Summit. In this case it is not a matter of politically correct phrases, but whether the Roma integration policies are determined only on a national level or the EU institutions also have an engagement: to support but also to control the activities of the national governments. Here we have to remind that for years the topic of European Roma Policy was a cause for dispute between the EC on one hand and the EP and Roma organizations on the other hand. The later insisted – also through two resolutions of the EP – for a coherent and comprehensive European policy for Roma integration which to be implemented in all member states including with the active engagement of the EU institutions. For years the EC diplomatically avoided that idea. Not accidentally, the concept “European Roma policy” was not part of any document from the First and Second Roma Summit. To the question “Will the (First EU Roma) Summit launch a new European Roma policy?”, one of the accompanying documents (МEMO/08/559) gave a silent negative answer. The Commission accepted the status quo that “The inclusion of Roma is a joint responsibility of the Member States and the European Union”, adding that the spheres of intervention of the EC are limited – mostly in ensuring legislative and regulatorybasis for the integration process, deemed not as new legislation, but as a guarantee for implementation of the existing EU legislation against racism. Everything else – concrete actions for improving the access to education, employment, healthcare and housing conditions are responsibility of the national governments, and the role of the Commission is to support them with exchange of good practices between the member states and through resources from the EU funds. That was the scheme for distribution of responsibilities, repeated during many forums and reflected in all documents of the EC until recently. The leading refrain was that in European level are created the necessary mechanisms and it is needed the member states to implement and use them (if we use the words of the Commission Staff Working Document on Community Instruments and Policies for Roma Inclusion, published by the EC in July 2008, “there is a powerful framework of legislative, financial and policy coordination tools available … but that there is still an implementation gap in the Member States”).
The fact that this scheme can not push the member states to undertake concrete real actions for Roma integration and is not effective as a whole, became completely clear in the hot summer of 2010 when France repatriated thousands of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma, violating basic EU Directives. The Roma integration turned out to be a challenge for the whole European Union, not only for several member states.
The political answer of the EU institutions to this challenge led to a step-by-step change in the above described scheme which was summarized by the Chairman of the EC Barroso in his welcoming speech to the Third Summit: “We introduced what I will call EU – Roma policy”. In his speech Barrosodescribed the three main pillars of the European Roma policy:
- political: The EU Framework for NRIS, supplemented by mechanism for annual reporting by the member states how they implement their strategies (the First report for evaluation of the achievements of the member states since 2011 up to date, supplemented with concrete recommendations was announced during the Summit. Analysis of the report and the Bulgarian part of it the reader can find here: http://www.amalipe.com/index.php?nav=news&id=1927&lang=2
Another important element of the political pillar are the Roma related country specific recommendations issued within the so-called “European semester”. In 2013 The Commission included also recommendations, related to Roma towards the countries with highest number of Roma population (including Bulgaria);
- Legislative: The Council’s recommendations from 9.12.2013 which are the first EU legislation – although a “soft” one – for Roma integration;
- Financial: President Barroso stressed on that pillar underlining that for the EC is especially important to guarantee the absorption of more EU funds for Roma integration. This is why in the new programming period the EC asked from all member states to use minimum 20% of the European social fund (ESF) for social inclusion (which applies to Roma as well), etc. In the Regulation of the ESF a special investment priority was proposed – “Socio-economic integration of marginalized communities such as Roma” and the existence of National Roma integration strategy (NRIS) is required from all member states of the EU as an ex-ante conditionality, in order the country to use any type of EU funds. In the report for evaluation of the implementation of the EU Framework for NRIS is even hinted (with half a sentence) the possibility for establishment of special financial mechanism for support of integration projects, governed directly from Brussels.
Third, the inclusion of the local authorities and reaching out to the grass-root level is important new (relatively new) element of the EU Roma policy. The name itself of the Third Summit was “Going local on Roma inclusion” and number of representatives of the local authorities participated, good practices were pointed out (including Kavarna municipality and its mayor Tsonko Tsonev who was one of the speakers in the forum), etc. The local authorities and local Roma NGOs must have “the means to translate our policy commitments into measures at the local level”, stated Mr. Barroso, adding “that is where the policies meet reality: at local level”. This element is not brand new: for years the EC supports and popularizes successful examples for integration policy on local level. New is only the political weight that is given to the local factor at present. It is hard to tell whether this is a result of the constant attention of the EU institutions towards the local and regional authorities or it is rather an attempt through their inclusion to compensate part of the obvious weaknesses of the national governments in the implementation of a large-scale and coherent integration policy. In any case, the third message from the Summit was that the national governments will have to coordinate their activities with the EC as well as with the local factors (municipal authorities and NGOs).
Fourth, the EU Roma policy is by no means complete or constant value; yet it will be updated with new elements in the process. During the Summit both representatives of the EC and EP on one hand and other key participants in the forum on the other hand pointed possible new elements.
For example Mr. George Soros proposed four ideas for more effective EU Roma policy:
- the models for educational integration, established by the Roma education fund to be widened with EU funding;
- serious resources to be invested in employment for educated Roma;
- to direct more attention to preserving and updating of the Roma cultural identity, especially among the young Roma people. In this regard, establishment of European Roma Institute is good to be supported, added Soros. The idea of such institute was also raised by the Council of Europe.
- To be established a fund for support of integration initiatives, governed by Brussels. George Soros argued this idea with the fact that the countries with the highest number of Roma population have the lowest level of EU funds absorption and the heaviest administrative procedures that obstacle any possible initiative for integration. This is why it is good the unused resources to be redirected to a centralized fund which would be governed by the EC.
The Chairman of the EC explicitly supported the idea of establishing European Roma institute. In her speech Commissioner Reding pointed as a next step in the development of the EU Roma policy, the establishment of “a funding facility specifically dedicated to Roma - a centralised EU fund that would be reserved for concrete projects benefiting Roma”. Until very recently such ideas seemed completely unrealistic. The fact that high level European politicians who first opposed any ideas for targeted (specifically at Roma) institutions on European level, now support them, is a sign that the EU Roma policy will be developing in introducing more specific targeted at Roma elements.
Any evaluation of the messages from the Third European Roma Summit currently would be premature. Especially, in the context of the upcoming elections for new EP and unclear new composition of the European Commission. Nevertheless, certainly the persistent decisiveness for affirmation of the EU Roma policy must be welcomed. Left alone on their own, the national governments – especially in the countries with numerous Roma population – will not undertake real large-scale actions for Roma integration. Due to many reasons revolving around the claim that Vice President Reding clearly stated – “with Roma integration politicians unfortunately do not win elections”. No matter how much European money would be provided, most politicians would prefer not to do anything for the Roma. (Of course they can take the money, but that’s another story…) Without serious European pressure the integration process on national level is doomed to be stalled at level 0. Also it is clear, that in the Union where free movement of persons is a fundamental principle, the integration of the largest European minority is not only national task for the member states. Especially, in the context of the fact that this minority lives in all member states.
Hardly anyone could argue the necessity of national policies for Roma integration and that they must be priority. The stronger and the more supported with suitable mechanisms is the EU Roma policy, the bigger is the chance for success on national and local level.
