News

Representatives of four of the leading organizations and coalitions working for Roma integration (Amalipe, Intelect, National Network of Health mediators, Roma-Lom Foundation) had a meeting with Prime-Minister Boyko Borisov and Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev on July 17, 2017 at the Council of Ministers. The meeting was initiated as a response to the Open letter submitted by the four organizations/ coalitions against the non-effective policy-consultative framework for Roma integration. More than 15 000 signatures have been collected from the grass root communities in support of the letter. The meeting focused on the present situation after a series of ethnic conflicts in the country, ideas for fostering tolerant and non-conflict supportive public environment, as well as directions for long-term solving of the educational, health, labor and living conditions problems in the Roma neighbourhoods.

The participants in the meeting agreed on the following concrete short- and mid-term measures:

·         Establishing a sub-committee under the Monitoring committee of the Partnership agreement, which will consult all operation contributing for Roma integration financed by the European Commission and/or state budget;

·         Including topics and events related with Roma in the agenda of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU;

·         Organizing a political forum dedicated to the interethnic relations forming a tolerant public environment

The participants in the meeting united around the vision that there is no alternative to the peaceful interethnic relations and Roma integration is an investment for the development of all Bulgarian citizens and society in general.