{"id":1800,"date":"2013-06-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/28-06-2013-european-rroma-policies\/"},"modified":"2022-08-04T11:43:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:43:10","slug":"28-06-2013-european-rroma-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/de\/28-06-2013-european-rroma-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"28.06.2013 European Rroma Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Swiss TV (2013), the Blick (2013) and the Neue \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLuzerner Zeitung (2013) all report on the plans of the European Commission, to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpush its Member States to better integrate\u00a0 Rroma. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding wants to bring \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe EU states to not only tap EU money but also use federal funds to promote \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegration. Access to the labour market, education, and housing should be \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\timproved. The result of previous integration efforts was quite sobering. The \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSwiss television contributes with its short article to the dissemination of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfalse stereotypes. The use of the word \u201ctraveller\u201d in the title, a word used afterwards \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsynonymously with Rroma, simply does not represent the \u00a0reality. Most Rroma are not travellers \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbut are sedentary: The so-called travelling lifestyle is the result of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpersecution and exclusion. The Rroma are not only the people who live in slums \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand cannot not read or write, as written by Ms. Katarina Linke from Dusseldorf \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tin her comments, but are also the well-trained, integrated and therefore \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinvisible Rroma. To accuse them of arrogance and lack of will to integrate \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tignores the fact that integration is a two way process that depends on \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstructures and personal powers to act. What is described in the comments as the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tidentity of the Rroma is an ethnicisation of poverty and has nothing to do with \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe origin of Rroma. Statements like \u201cI’ve \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tseen it myself in the hospital, with what arrogance Rroma made outrageous support, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\talthough they can not read and write, and the men want to have any regular job\u201d \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/em>oder \u201cWhat is the EU doing when the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoma give a damn about integration, education, labour market, etc.? Is far as I \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tknow, they just want to travel and do no want to settle anywhere,\u201d<\/em> are uncouth \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgeneralizations that are intellectually belong to the last century. That \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tordinary people\u2019s knowledge is so easily manipulated by politics and that they \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsee the Rroma culture as an explanation for all possible problems are deeply \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tupsetting.<\/p>\n

In the article of the Kurier (2013) also mentioned \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthat EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding is incensed about the blatant \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscrepancy between the spoken about integration measures and their effective \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\timplementation. This reluctance towards the implementation of integration \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpolicies has to do with the widespread views that Rroma will be a burden to the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWestern European welfare systems and that they are not willing to integrate. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThat these statements reduce the complexity of reality and are part of massive voting-campaign \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpolicies is often ignored (see Standke 2013). The statistics which assumes that \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfour-fifths of Roma living in the European Union live in poverty, that only \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tevery third of them works and that half of Roma children are not attending \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tkindergarten (Die Welt, 2013) may be true, but it is highly disturbing to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\treduce this problems of poverty to Rroma culture and to blame them for a lack \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof willingness to integrate. This notion of deliberate disintegration is \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdeliberately encouraged by populist politicians and finds shockingly enough echo \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinto the minds of many people.<\/p>\n

The 02elf Abendbaltt (2013) adds important information \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tin reporting on the comments of EU Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor, who \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsays that the networking of the parties involved in the implementation of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tintegration policies need to be strengthened. A policy from above, which \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnegates the needs at the local level or pays to too little attention to it is \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprone to practical ineffectiveness. Andor aptly stated: \u201cThe civil society and representatives of the Roma communities \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthemselves must be fully involved in the implementation and monitoring of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpolicies for Roma inclusion. They to be involved exactly as the national Roma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcontact points in the ongoing planning of the use of EU funds for the 2014-2020 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tperiod.\u201d <\/em>Specifically, there seems to be a big difference between the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tawarded integrations wishes and their effective implementation, as the EU \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMember States have not committed to real action.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n