A new EU Framework for Roma Integration policies is in the making – now is the time to avoid past mistakes!
The current EU Framework for Roma Integration policies runs out this year. The EC is committed to renewing it for another decade. The current one however has triggered a massive increase in Roma-related institutional activity, but little tangible improvement for Roma people’s real lives. For a new Framework to bring about real change, a thorough evaluation of the current one is necessary. And a profound re-thinking of some of its conceptual bases is unavoidable. Tinkering at the margins will not do.
Find here The Progressive Post’s latest special Dossier: a collection of articles that analyse the current framework and that suggest ways for improvement.
By defining Roma as a distinct transnational ethnic minority and policy object, the EU’s Roma policy feeds into the ethno-nationalist idea in some EU Member States that they alien to the state’s nation, Martin Kovats, Special Advisor on Roma issues to the EC, argues in his article on Roma Integration: civic equality or ethnic empowerment?The EU thus participates in driving a wedge driven between Roma citizens and their national states, turning them into an ‘orphan people‘, taken care of only by a ‘stepmother country‘: the EU. A new EU framework needs to focus on securing consider economic and social rights for citizens rather than an ambiguous and externally applied ethnicity.
But Who are the Roma?, Elena Marushiakova and Vesselin Popov from the University of St Andrews ask. And were an easy straightforward answer is expected, it turns out that Europe’s Roma minority is hardly definable. Decades of publications by the Council of Europe and the European Union mainly show one thing: conceptual dithering, further complicated by the various national terminologies and – last but certainly not least – by many groups’ own diverging conceptions of their ethnicity. The impossibility of a consistent definition however hints at a European Roma policy that is doomed to failure.
Roma activist and Visiting Professor at the Central European University Iulius Rostas however hammers home one main message: EU Roma Framework: listening first!For too long the European institutions have spoken aboutRoma, but not really withthem. And if they did, it was with a small selected sample of highly educated English-speakers among them. But only listening actively to Roma people of all venues of live could give a chance to make it better this time. The very existence of the only EU policy that is explicitly based on ethnicity entails an obligation to involve Roma people in the processes – but for that to happen, a large-scale bottom-up process is required. In organising that, the EU has a real chance to bring about change.
The EU's direct involvement with policy specifically directed towards Roma was a response to change political conditions arising from eastward enlargement.
Roma Integration: civic equality or ethnic empowerment?
By imagining Roma as a distinct and coherent transnational ethnic minority and policy object, the EU at risk of becoming the stepmother country of an orphan people.
XThis website uses cookies. Some cookies are necessary for the proper functioning of the website and cannot be refused if you wish to visit the website.
Other cookies are used for Advertisement and Analytics (Sharing on social networks, video playing, analysis and statistics, personalized advertising ...) You can refuse them if you want to. REJECTACCEPTCookie settings
Manage consent
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement
1 year
Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
csrftoken
past
This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
JSESSIONID
session
The JSESSIONID cookie is used by New Relic to store a session identifier so that New Relic can monitor session counts for an application.
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cf_bm
30 minutes
This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
S
1 hour
Used by Yahoo to provide ads, content or analytics.
sp_landing
1 day
The sp_landing is set by Spotify to implement audio content from Spotify on the website and also registers information on user interaction related to the audio content.
sp_t
1 year
The sp_t cookie is set by Spotify to implement audio content from Spotify on the website and also registers information on user interaction related to the audio content.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
CONSENT
2 years
YouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
iutk
session
This cookie is used by Issuu analytic system to gather information regarding visitor activity on Issuu products.
s_vi
2 years
An Adobe Analytics cookie that uses a unique visitor ID time/date stamp to identify a unique vistor to the website.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie
Duration
Description
NID
6 months
NID cookie, set by Google, is used for advertising purposes; to limit the number of times the user sees an ad, to mute unwanted ads, and to measure the effectiveness of ads.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
5 months 27 days
A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSC
session
YSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devices
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-id
never
YouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextId
never
This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requests
never
This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.