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Organizations from Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania, ambassadors and representatives of the European Commission have called on the Bulgarian government to include Roma integration on the agenda of the Bulgarian EU Council presidency. This took place at the Round Table "Roma Integration Ten Years After EU Accession: Education, Health, Cohesion Policy, Presidency of the Council of the EU", organized by Amalipe Center on 12 July in Sofia. It brought together more than 70 participants - representatives of the civil sector, the Bulgarian government, the diplomatic corps and the European Commission.

From January to June 2018, Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU. This is an exceptional opportunity for all Bulgarian citizens, including representatives of the Roma community, as well as for the process of Roma integration across the EU. Bulgaria has the chances of highlighting important topics for its future on the agenda of the Union, and Roma integration is one of them, emphasized at the opening of the forum the chairman of Amalipe Deyan Kolev. The first working version of the program of the Bulgarian Presidency does not explicitly include the Roma topic, but from today it goes for public discussion and this forum will propose topics and events to be included in the agenda of the Bulgarian presidency. Kolev recalled that much of the integration policies are being implemented through European solidarity, and that large groups of Eastern European Roma live in our Western European partners making a bridge between our countries. Europe must make efforts to develop this resource, and the Bulgarian and Romanian Presidencies should promote this topic. 

Ten years after Bulgaria's accession to the EU, Roma inclusion and Roma integration are not only a national issue, they are a European issue because the EU is based on integration, said HE Tom Van Oorshoit, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and co-chair of the Ambassadorial Group For Roma inclusion. Now is the time to include this topic on the agenda, it is important not only for Bulgaria but also for the EU. Roma inclusion must be resolved at all levels. I invite the Bulgarian government to include Roma integration on the agenda of the Bulgarian Presidency. Said his excellency. 

HE Tom Van Oorshot recalled that the Roma inclusion group was a tool for partner support for Bulgaria. It brings together 13 ambassadors - 11 Europeans, as well as the ambassadors of the United States and South Africa. He thanked Amalipe Center and the civilian sector for the engagement of the Group. 

Lavinia Banu, a representative of the European Commission's General Directorate Justice, stressed in her statement that the European Commission is assessing very seriously the Roma issue and is committed to resolving it. For 6 years now, we are evaluating how Member States implement their own strategies and how Bulgaria and 4 other countries implement the specific recommendations for the Roma included in the European Semester. Many Member States stay behind in implementing their national Roma strategies, said the speaker and re-confirmed the European Commission's commitment to assisting national governments. 

Closing the introductory panel Deyan Kolev stressed that key stakeholders are our international partners from the European Commission and the diplomatic corps, the civil organizations and, of course, the Bulgarian government. All three sides are in the hall, with senior government representatives taking part in each session rather than in the introductory panel, as there is currently no effective coordinating and consulting institution, and at the same time some sectoral ministries are examples of promising successes.

During the first panel were presented good examples of education and healthcare that Bulgaria can share with its European partners and open issues for which it should receive support. 

In segregated schools there is much more money, because the money follows the student, the teachers take higher salaries and the success rate of the students is twice lower than the success rate of the students in the mixed schools, revealed the "public" secret Stella Kostova, chairman of the Roma Academy For culture and education, by giving a number of concrete examples. She calls for "defrosting" desegregation policies. 

Katilian Kostadinov, Principal of secondary school "Ts. Tserkovski "- Nikola Kozlevo presented the school's experience in reducing pupils who dropped out and early marriages, ensuring full coverage in high school education, activating and empowering parents. He stressed that there are 4 teachers of Roma origin, full-time employed, who have graduated the secondary school in Nikola Kozlevo and acquired a pedadogical experience afterwards.

Teodora Krumova from Amalipe Center emphasized the problems with the education of children traveling with their families abroad. No one knows how many those children are, how many of them continue to study in the Western European countries, and when they return to Bulgaria - directors and parents face almost insurmountable barriers to their enrollment in school. Thus, the EU and Bulgaria are losing valuable human resources, Krumova stressed, and appealed to include this topic on the agenda of the Bulgarian presidency. 

Dr. Mimi Daneva from the Protocol and International Relations Directorate pointed out that their Directorate will coordinate the educational topics during the Bulgarian Presidency. We are open for your suggestions, said Dr. Daneva. 

Gancho Iliev from "World without Borders" Association presented the experience of the Health and Social Centers established by the Program for the Prevention of HIV / AIDS and Tuberculosis in the Roma Community. Organizations operating these centers reach up to tens of thousands of residents in the most marginalized neighborhoods. The problem is the ending funding of the program and unsecured sustainability. 

Prof. Ivaylo Turnev, a representative of the National Association of Health Mediators, presented two successful practices, which Bulgaria could be proud of - the health mediators and the program of support for doctors of Roma origin. Prof.Taranev did not hesitate to mention the existing problems as well: Only 1 health mediator is working in Stolipinovo, there is no health mediator in Pazardzhik ... Mediators are often overwhelmed with activities that are unnecessary for their duties, as a result of which they "burn" and quit. 

Answering the question if Prof. Tarnev had assessed the life expectancy of the Roma, he said that the last assessment was made in 2003, but his personal impressions are: "As a person entering the Roma neighborhood, I see how young people die from curable diseases. So neglected that one can only meet them in the textbooks of medicine. All these people are poor, and health-uninsured".

Dr. Angel Kunchev, of the Ministry of Health, shared his concern that there are 23 mobile cabinets with provided funds for only 14 days of work per year, and these cabinets are virtually unusable. That is why we think about providing them to municipalities and organizations that will use them for more days.

Health mediators, Roma doctors, NGOs working in the community have done a lot of work on tackling epidemics in the Roma community. Last year, 90% of the sick children were of Roma origin, but the number became smaller and the cases are concentrated in places without health mediators, "added the representative of the Ministry of Health. - Of 164 cases of measles - 140 are in Plovdiv, 10 are in Pazardzhik and 5-6 are in Montana.

The second panel was devoted to the future of Cohesion Policy - one of the main priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency - and the place of the Roma topic in it. A special emphasis was placed on inter-fund interventions combining "soft" and "hard" measures as well as simplification of cohesion policy. 

Stancho Stavrev, Deputy Mayor of Tundja Municipality, stated that "Municipalities should form their policies not according the access to resources but according to their needs. Municipal plans for Roma integration are the good basis for this. " Mr. Stavrev emphasized the need for integrated interventions that are secured for urbanized municipalities but not for rural ones. He also pointed out that since 2010, in the municipality of Tundja, kindergarten is free and it has a great effect. "

Deyan Kolev presented the experience of the integrated operation for social housing for vulnerable groups in the municipalities of Vidin, Devnya and Dupnitsa from the previous programming period. The design of the operation was good, but serious problems emerged as well. It became obvious, for example in Varna and Burgas that without good communication strategy even good projects could be stopped by anti-Roma stereotypes. He also outlined the main parameters of the new integrated operation "Socio-Economic Integration ..." 

Any socially vulnerable group, which is outside education and employment should be supported. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Zornitsa Rusinova. She pointed out that policies for early child development will be among the priorities of the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency. Rusinova stressed the important role of the non-governmental sector in absorbing the resource from the operational programs. "I will count on you as partners for our future work on the Funds, the policies of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and for the successful presidency of the European Union, which will highlight Bulgaria as one of the most successful examples and for the absorption of European funds, and for integrating different policies responsible for the integration of socially vulnerable groups, "said Deputy Minister Rusinova. 

Daniela Mihaylova of Equal Opportunities Association presented basic problems with the regulation of the Roma neighborhoods and the housing conditions of the Roma. She stressed that the National Program for the Improvement of Housing Conditions for Roma has established a problem-solving algorithm that is in line with the law and has worked in some municipalities. However, this program is not being implemented, many municipalities are unwilling to do so, and there is also a lack of political determination at central level. 

Malina Kroumova, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, presented the debates in the European Commission Working Group on Simplification of Cohesion Policy. The guideline for simplification meets political support at the highest European level. It is still too early to say how simplification will take place for the new programming period, but surely the Bulgarian EU Council presidency has the chance to raise these issues. 

During the closing panel the participants summarized their proposals on the agenda of the Bulgarian presidency of the Council of EU. Sasho Kovachev from LARGO Association presented some of the ideas that met consensual support:

1. During the Bulgarian Presidency a meeting of the European Roma Platform will take place: it is the highest forum at EU level with regard to the Roma. It is organized by the Council Presidency and DG Justice of the European Commission;

2. The meeting of the European Roma Platform to be held in Bulgaria: as the country with the highest percentage of Roma and as a country with very successful integration models, Bulgaria has something to show on the ground;

3. The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union to include as one of its subjects the education and health of Eastern European children living with their families in Western Europe: the EU should not lose this numerous human resources!

4. During the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU to organize a forum for the education and health of children from Eastern Europe who live with their families in Western Europe;

5. The topic of training in ethnically mixed schools should be one of the main topics that Bulgaria will promote;

6. The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU to include as one of its themes the future of cohesion policy and in particular: the support of cohesion policy for Roma integration, the integrated inter-funded interventions, the simplification of cohesion policy and its instruments;

7. Special attention should be paid to support for cohesion policy for Roma integration in the framework of the great forum on the future of Cohesion Policy 

Ivan Ivanov, Executive Director of the European Roma Information Office, Brussels, added to these suggestions the idea of the Bulgarian Presidency to raise the issue of the continuation of the EU Framework for National Roma Strategies after 2020. He also strongly supported the proposal to hold a European Roma Platform in Bulgaria.

Deputy Ambassador of Austria Thomas Schtolzl briefly presented a briefing for the Austrian Presidency, which will begin after the Bulgarian Presidency. He assured that although the Roma in Austria are few, the rights of every citizen are important and the Austrian Presidency would continue the Roma issues raised by Bulgaria.