The Swiss TV (2013), the Blick (2013) and the Neue Luzerner Zeitung (2013) all report on the plans of the European Commission, to push its Member States to better integrate  Rroma. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding wants to bring the EU states to not only tap EU money but also use federal funds to promote integration. Access to the labour market, education, and housing should be improved. The result of previous integration efforts was quite sobering. The Swiss television contributes with its short article to the dissemination of false stereotypes. The use of the word “traveller” in the title, a word used afterwards synonymously with Rroma, simply does not represent the  reality. Most Rroma are not travellers but are sedentary: The so-called travelling lifestyle is the result of persecution and exclusion. The Rroma are not only the people who live in slums and cannot not read or write, as written by Ms. Katarina Linke from Dusseldorf in her comments, but are also the well-trained, integrated and therefore invisible Rroma. To accuse them of arrogance and lack of will to integrate ignores the fact that integration is a two way process that depends on structures and personal powers to act. What is described in the comments as the identity of the Rroma is an ethnicisation of poverty and has nothing to do with the origin of Rroma. Statements like “I’ve seen it myself in the hospital, with what arrogance Rroma made outrageous support, although they can not read and write, and the men want to have any regular job” or “What is the EU doing when the Roma give a damn about integration, education, labour market, etc.? Is far as I know, they just want to travel and do no want to settle anywhere,” are uncouth generalizations that are intellectually belong to the last century. That ordinary people’s knowledge is so easily manipulated by politics and that they see the Rroma culture as an explanation for all possible problems are deeply upsetting.

In the article of the Kurier (2013) also mentioned that EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding is incensed about the blatant discrepancy between the spoken about integration measures and their effective implementation. This reluctance towards the implementation of integration policies has to do with the widespread views that Rroma will be a burden to the Western European welfare systems and that they are not willing to integrate. That these statements reduce the complexity of reality and are part of massive voting-campaign policies is often ignored (see Standke 2013). The statistics which assumes that four-fifths of Roma living in the European Union live in poverty, that only every third of them works and that half of Roma children are not attending kindergarten (Die Welt, 2013) may be true, but it is highly disturbing to reduce this problems of poverty to Rroma culture and to blame them for a lack of willingness to integrate. This notion of deliberate disintegration is deliberately encouraged by populist politicians and finds shockingly enough echo into the minds of many people.

The 02elf Abendbaltt (2013) adds important information in reporting on the comments of EU Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor, who says that the networking of the parties involved in the implementation of integration policies need to be strengthened. A policy from above, which negates the needs at the local level or pays to too little attention to it is prone to practical ineffectiveness. Andor aptly stated: “The civil society and representatives of the Roma communities themselves must be fully involved in the implementation and monitoring of policies for Roma inclusion. They to be involved exactly as the national Roma contact points in the ongoing planning of the use of EU funds for the 2014-2020 period.” Specifically, there seems to be a big difference between the awarded integrations wishes and their effective implementation, as the EU Member States have not committed to real action.

Sources:

• 02elf Abendblatt (2013) Roma: Kommission ruft Mitgliedstaaten zu stärkeren Bemühungen um Integration auf. In: 02elf Abendblatt vom 26.6.2013.
• Blick (2013) EU-Kommission: EU-Staaten müssen Roma besser integrieren. In: Blick online vom 26.6.2013.
• Die Welt (2013) EU: Länder in Mitteleuropa müssen Ausgrenzung von Roma beenden. In: Die Welt online vom 26.6.2013.
• Kurier (2013) Roma in der EU: 80 Prozent leben in Armut. In: Kurier online (Österreich) vom 26.6.2013.
• Neue Luzerner Zeitung (2013) Bessere Integration für Roma gefordert. In: Neue Luzerner Zeitung online vom 26.6.2013.
• Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (2013) EU will Roma besser integrieren. In: Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen vom 26.6.2013.
• Standke, Olaf (2013) Brüssel unzufrieden mit Roma-Integration. In: Neues Deutschland online vom 27.6.2013. 

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