Category Archives: News Eastern Europe

Croatia News Eastern Europe

Croatia and Revisionism

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Croatia and Revisionism

From the massive concert by Thompson, a Croatian music legend known for his far-right sympathies, which drew 450,000 people to Zagreb in July, to the attacks by hooligans on Serbian cultural events in November, tensions have been escalating in recent months, notes Florian Bieber of the Austrian University of Graz.

“We are seeing both a rise in historical revisionism and an increase in threats against those who think differently,” explains the researcher. This process is accompanied by numerous attempts to rehabilitate the Ustaša, the pro-Nazi regime that ruled during World War II. “This isn’t new, but it has accelerated and intensified this year,” adds Mr. Bieber.

We reported also on the fact that a “debate” on the victims of Jasenovac was held in the premises of the Croatian Parliament, denying the fact that Jasenovac was an extermination camp.

Nevertheless, thousands of Croatian manifested against this revisionism and the extreme right.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

Prison?

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Prison?

Géza Buzás-Hábel, a Roma gay and human right defender, who organized the Pécs Pride 2025 in Hungary, faces criminal charges for planning a peaceful march for LGBTI+ rights. The Pride in Pécs took place on October 4th despite a ban issued under Hungary’s “anti-Pride” law. He faces up to a year in prison.

He teaches Romani language and culture and trains future teachers. He has been organizing Pécs Pride – the only pride march in Hungary outside Budapest – for a long time.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Model Settlements

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Model Settlements

The Prime Minister’s Office has sent a letter to municipalities with Roma settlements, inviting them to propose a location that would be suitable for setting up a model model of a Roma settlement. Two locations will be selected throughout the country. What are the selection criteria and who will pay for it?

A Roma settlement in which ownership relations, infrastructure and access to public services – especially education – will be clearly regulated. This is what a model Roma settlement looks like on paper. Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Luka Mesec says that this is the next step after the adoption of the Šutar Law: “After security is ensured, it is necessary to ensure the conditions so that the Roma community and the majority population can begin to coexist differently than they have done so far.”

As he says, we already have good examples in Slovenia – for example, the Pušča settlement in Murska Sobota, where Roma live in their own houses, are employed, and their children regularly attend classes. “In Roma communities, however, the situation is the opposite. They live in illegal constructions, they have no assets or property, and because they have no assets or property, they are absolved of any responsibility,” says Mesec.Model Settlements

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Roma Business Fair

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Roma Business Fair

A Roma business fair was held at the Grandior Hotel in Prague on November 27, presenting successful examples of business, a space for sharing experiences and new opportunities for cooperation. The event was created as an extension of an educational project focused on community development and entrepreneurship, implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Montenegro News Eastern Europe

Montenegro: Theatre

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Montenegro: Theatre

The Centre for the Affirmation of the Roma and Egyptian Population – CAREP begins the implementation of the project “To See Each Other Better – to Understand Each Other Deeper”, with the support of the Fund for the Protection and Exercise of Minority Rights. They will fund a Forum Theatre as a Bridge of Understanding between Youth and Communities and will include a two-day training for 10–12 young people, three forum theatre performances in three municipalities, a public forum “Roma language and culture – how much do we know about Roma”, as well as the production and distribution of information brochures for schools and institutions.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Musician and Weddings

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Musician and Weddings

Singer Nikola Ajdinović is among the most sought-after singers at Roma weddings, and now he shocked by admitting that his colleagues steal the tips they receive from guests at the celebrations where they sing. – There are usually a lot of us singers, but I have to say that I do most of the work. I sing almost the entire evening. That’s true, whether some people like it or not. It’s not hard for me, I love gigs and parties, but it’s not always easy – says the singer.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

“Model Settlement”

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“Model Settlement”

The Slovenian Prime Minister’s Office has appealed to municipalities with Roma settlements to cooperate in establishing the first model Roma settlement in Slovenia.

The initiative follows a meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Robert Golob and representatives of associations of municipalities, urban municipalities, communities of municipalities and development centres on November 21, 2025, at which the idea of ​​creating a pilot environment was presented, in which ownership would be clearly regulated, comprehensive infrastructure would be built and access to all key public services, especially education, would be ensured.

This can also turn into a “resettlement” exercise and will anyhow continue the segregation.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Brawl

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Slovenia: Brawl

A 49-year-old Rom who instigated a fight in a disco in Beltinci has ended up in custody. This was ordered by the investigating judge for the attack on a security guard. The police have filed criminal charges against two other suspects, but due to the procedure, the injured security guard also had to defend himself at the hearing.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

School against Cash

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School against Cash

In Slovenia there is a program that allows adults without a completed primary school to enroll in Primary School for Adults, while at the same time providing them with financial compensation – most often between 300 and 450 euros per month. It is part of the active employment policy run by the Employment Service. The purpose of the compensation is not to reward, but to ensure a minimum income so that an adult can complete their education. In addition, recipients also receive reimbursement for transportation and meal expenses, which gives the program additional appeal.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: Brawl

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Slovenia: Brawl

A group of Roma who came to a concert in Beltinci, Slovenia, by Serbian turbo folk singer Dejan Matić, first harassed visitors, then attacked and seriously injured a security guard.  These Roma apparently wanted to continue the fight in the Soboča hospital, where the security guard’s head was stitched up due to the injury, but further violence was prevented by the police.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Ukraine

More Kitsch

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More Kitsch

Yest another article with the very same pictures of rich Kalderaša interiors. Yes they exist, but have a look at the current White House to see that bad taste and golden fixtures are not an apanage of Roma. Kalderaša ae a small community, and this is not representative.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Roma Spirit

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Roma Spirit

The Roma spirit awards were presented on November 29th that will be broadcasted on December 10th on Slovak Television.

The civic association Svet ticha won the award in the Non-profit organization category for its systematic support of deaf Roma who face double marginalization.

The Alma Elementary School from Zvolen was awarded in the Society and Employer category for its innovative inclusive education model, which is being created in cooperation with CEEV Živica.

Former football player and youth coach Eugen Bari, known as “Romário from Žitný ostrov”, was awarded as the personality of the year. He worked his way up from humble circumstances to the first league and today, according to the organizers of the survey, motivates young football players with his example.

The Municipality and City category was won by Spišské Podhradie for its long-term and systematic work in the area of ​​inclusion of marginalized communities. In the Media category, the award went to Róbert Hamburgbadžo, a journalist and presenter who brings the authentic voice of the young Roma generation to the public space.

In the Culture category, the winner was the Gypsy Jazz Festival, which, under the leadership of Miloš Suchomel, combines Roma musical tradition, world jazz, Balkan rhythms and Slovak folklore.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of a special award to ACEC founder and Roma Spirit author Ľubomíra Slušná Franz, to whom the organizers paid tribute for her long-standing vision, creativity and ability to connect people across communities.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Housing in Slovakia

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Housing in Slovakia

We take care of our Roma because they are decent people. They want to work and live at a high standard, says the mayor of Buzica in the Košice-okolie district, Jozef Mohňanský (SMK), about a project to improve the quality of housing for the Roma community.

Buzica is one of 13 municipalities that received a non-refundable financial contribution from the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities.

The money is to be used for the reconstruction and construction of rental apartments worth a total of more than 26 million euros. This will create or reconstruct housing capacities for 1,193 people.

Nice, but not sustainable … It means over 20’000 euros per relodged person, this in a region where the house prices are often lower than that.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Interview

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Interview

Education, community projects, consulting, activism, writing and support for Romani culture and identity. All of this belongs to the world of Janka Plešková, a native of Slovakia, a student at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University.

“As far as I can remember, I have always lived in two worlds, Romani and non-Romani. And I searched for myself for a very long time, I did not know where I belonged.”

Europe News Eastern Europe Romania

Tasja Award

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Tasja Award

The Tajsa Prize, which is awarded annually by the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC) to outstanding Roma cultural figures, was awarded in Bucharest. This year’s award went to visual artist Selma Selman. The ceremony took place in the representative building of the Romanian Athenaeum, attended by distinguished guests, including the first ever Roma Romanian government minister, Petre-Florin Manole.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Serbia, Journalists, and Roma

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Serbia, Journalists, and Roma

In light of recent developments in media, when it comes to insulting and belittling the Roma community, journalists and Roma activists in Serbia have initiated a meeting that would open a space for discussion with the most important institutions. The idea is to jointly review the current situation and find effective mechanisms for responding to the increasingly frequent cases of hate speech and discrimination.

News Eastern Europe Serbia

Roma Theatre

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Roma Theatre

The writer and journalist Luka Šteković, recently wrote “Theatre of the Valjevo Roma – The First Roma Theatre in the World”, published in the Great National Calendar for 2004 – Kolubara, edited by journalists Zoran Joksimović and Zdravko Ranković.

Luka Šteković’s text reveals the fascinating story of the Valjevo Roma Youth and its president, Čedomir Čedo Gračanin (1892–1956), a versatile talent who was a playwright, director and leading actor.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Roma “Money”

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Roma “Money”

Slovenian spends around 20 million euros per year on Roma integration. Ther are officially around 10’000 Roma in the country. But, the journalist and president of the Roma Academic Club Sandi Horvat recently said in an interview that very few so-called of Roma money actually reaches Roma.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

School and “Migrants”

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School and “Migrants”

Apparently, in the Maribor region of Slovenia, people are moving their children towards schools with less migrant children. The numbers are telling a more differentiated story: 9,400 students this school year, with 1,325 children from abroad. Most come from Bosnia and Herzegovina (488), followed by students from Kosovo (326), Ukraine (196) and Serbia (100). Individual students also come from more distant countries, such as Burundi, Bangladesh, Estonia and Sierra Leone.

What is clearly racist though is the next topic: Roma…  “We have a lot of immigrant and Roma students,” explains Damjan Pihler, the principal of the Franceta Prešerna Elementary School. The number of Roma students in Maribor schools is around four percent and has not changed significantly in recent years. “This year, our school is attended by 27 Roma students and 30 children from abroad who are enrolled in a Slovenian school for the first time. We had the same number of immigrant students last year – that is, 60 children in two years whose mother tongue is not Slovenian.”

So basically, Roma from Slovenia are migrants …

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