Roma – Societal empowerment and integration

Key points

The European Economic and Social Committee:

• thoroughly welcomes and appreciates all the efforts made hitherto by the European Union to reduce the segregation of the Roma and promote their social integration;
• points out that these combined efforts have not helped in any decisive way to remedy the discrimination experienced by many Roma, nor to improve their quality of life;
• emphasises that it will only be possible to improve this difficult situation by means of an integrated, coordinated and coherent Europe-wide strategy;
• welcomes the proposals set out in the European Commission's communication on a European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020, but feels that this long-awaited strategy could have been more ambitious, more specific and better structured;
• suggests the following three pillars for a realistic, feasible policy to the Member States:

- a race- and ethnicity-neutral inclusive policy

- a policy to support empowerment of those who regard themselves as members of any Roma community

- general policies and publicity to combat racism;

• emphasises the need to involve local civil society representatives, scientific specialists, the social partners and representatives of the Roma communities in policy consultation, formulation and implementation.