Tag Archives: Politics

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Memorandum on Integration

Published by:

Memorandum on Integration

Mutual cooperation in implementing public policies for Roma inclusion, mutual transfer of knowledge with an emphasis on good practices, positive responses and effective methods of their implementation are the subject of a memorandum concluded by the Office of the Government of the Slovak Republic and the Interest Association of Municipalities Spolužitie and Jekhetane Roma and Slovakia. Its details were announced at a press conference in the municipality of Bystrany on Tuesday by the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities Alexander Daško and the Chairman of the Association Slavomír Badžo.

Let’s see what this brings.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, Migrants, and Work

Published by:

Slovakia, Roma, Migrants, and Work

The Slovak Rural Party is preparing a proposal that will support the employment of long-term unemployed Roma. The Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Slovak Republic Rudolf Huliak informed about this on social networks. “Let’s give jobs to our Roma rather than foreign migrants,” Huliak declared.

Let’s see the details …

Albania News Eastern Europe

Albania: Integration

Published by:

Albania: Integration

The 6th Ministerial meeting on Roma integration within the Berlin Process as a commitment to fight discrimination and improve access to basic services was held in Tirana Albania.

The meeting endorsed the Poznań Declaration, a historic agreement that commits governments to take concrete measures to include Roma in four key areas: employment opportunities, access to education, housing conditions and anti-discrimination measures.

The Albanian Minister of Health and Social Services, Prof. Evis Sala, welcomed the meeting as an important step towards Roma inclusion. “In the last five years, as Albania has progressed towards the European family, there have been visible improvements in the situation of the Roma and Egyptian minorities in areas such as education, employment, housing, healthcare, social protection, civil registration and access to justice, based on best international standards and practices,” said Sala.

The EU Ambassador to Albania, Silvio Gonzato, stressed the fundamental importance of Roma inclusion.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia People’s Initiative

Published by:

Slovenia People’s Initiative

This morning, representatives of newly established people’s initiatives to solve the Roma problem (Sic), which operate under the auspices of the regional one, gathered at the Jordan homestead in Mihovica.

According to them. The “Roma problem” is getting worse and worse and the security and social conditions have become unbearable. They added that if the sate doesn’t protect them they will have to do it themselves.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and the “Roma Problem”

Published by:

Slovenia and the “Roma Problem”

State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior Helga Dobrin met with representatives of the Regional Civil Initiative of Southeast Slovenia. The main topic of the discussions was the Roma issue and ensuring security in local communities in southeast Slovenia.

She said that the police will ensure an increased patrol presence as long as necessary but that it is only is only a short-term measure, the long-term goal being Roma integration.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe

Europe, Bulgaria, and Roma

Published by:

Europe, Bulgaria, and Roma

The headline says it all: Praise of “Roma” in Brussels, and here: A mother gave birth to 6 children by different fathers, keeps them hungry!

First we hope that he 6 children did not happen in one go … and then, this kind of pandering to the worst negative stereotypes against Roma but also against Europe is really bad. Let’s just remind these people that without Europe, they would have a lot more to complain about.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovak Action Plan

Published by:

Slovak Action Plan

The SaS opposition party draws attention to the allegedly inefficient use of public funds within the government’s action plan to address the issue of excluded Roma communities. According to SaS MP Vladimír Ledecký, the document is expected to cost more than a billion euros, with 60 million of them going to planting trees around Roma settlements.

Germany News Western Europe

Germany, AfD, and Roma

Published by:

Germany, AfD, and Roma

In Gelsenkirchen, the SPD governed with an absolute majority for a long time. Now the shock is deep: In the local elections, the AfD fell just 0.5 percent short of victory. FOCUS-online reporter Ulf Lüdeke asked the local authorities why this was the case shortly before the mayoral runoff.

One of the statements of this article is that:

“The population has shrunk to around 270,000, 75,000 of whom do not have German passports. 11,000 are Roma and Sinti from Bulgaria and Romania. Thanks to EU labour freedom, criminal clans lure them legally to the Ruhr region, herd them into abandoned, dilapidated properties, and rip them off on social security contributions.”

Besides the fact that there are no Sinti in Bulgaria or Romania, this statement is utterly inacceptable.

Montenegro News Eastern Europe

Montenegro and Roma

Published by:

Montenegro and Roma

Another article about the lack of Romano representation in the parliament of Montenegro. The problem is somewhat more complex than the article states: Reserved seats for minorities are pretty much useless, and traditional parties shun Roma representatives.

This requires action from the Roma community which, in many countries has a close to 10% voting block, to act.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czech Elections

Published by:

Czech Elections

Roma conservative politician Josef Tokár is running in the South Bohemian Region for the SPOLU coalition in 21st place on the candidate list. In the pre-election special of the SODAcast podcast, he talked about his journey to the ODS, why he decided to enter politics, and also about the problems he considers key – from education to discrimination to migration and the Green Deal.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Attack, and Justice

Published by:

Slovenia, Attack, and Justice

The mayor of Ribnica, Slovenia and his partner, are suing Roma for a sum of 156’000 Euros following the attack they were victims in June. Three Roma are standing trial there (one, a minor, is being judged behind closed doors).

This very mayor, prior to the attack, had been stating he’d cut water and other municipal services to the Roma settlement unless they “behaved”.

Germany News Western Europe

Germany, Politics, and TV

Published by:

Germany, Politics, and TV

Paul Ziemiak (40), member of the CDU Federal Executive Board and Secretary General of the NRW CDU, during a TV Talk Show hosted by Maybrit Illner addressed the criticism of many voters regarding the “massive” immigration of Sinti and Roma from Romania and Bulgaria in the debate on social abuse.

Apart from the fact that there are no Sinti in either Bulgaria and Romania, highlighting the ignorance of both the politician and the journalist, this immigration is not massive, and is not the main problem faced by social care in most western countries: Single mothers, elederly are often poor and consume a very large part of the money. But this doesn’t win votes …

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia: A Mayor’s view

Published by:

Slovenia: A Mayor’s view

Ivan Molan has been the mayor of the municipality of Brežice since 2005, when he first ran for mayor in the by-election and was successful.

On the Roma “Issue” he says: “The laws that we mayors proposed are described as discriminatory, even racist. But we only want things to finally be sorted out. Because what is happening now in this area, that is, the criminal acts committed by certain groups against the local population are practically legalized, is unacceptable, and the greatest damage has been done to the majority Roma population. It has come to the point that people are afraid of the Roma and no longer distinguish between those who respect the law and those who commit crimes on a daily basis. However, the ruling politicians, by defending criminal activity in the sense of violating human rights, are only worsening the situation.”

No comments …

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Roma Road Show

Published by:

Roma Road Show

Successful Roma projects were presented at the Roma Road Show conference in the Chamber of Deputies. Representatives of organizations showed that community involvement is the key to positive changes.

The Roma Road Show conference was initiated by the Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková and took place on Tuesday in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. The aim was to present inspiring community projects and open a debate with politicians and public administration representatives about their benefits. According to Fuková, improving the situation of Roma is a benefit for the whole society.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Southern Slovenia and Roma

Published by:

Southern Slovenia and Roma

At a meeting on “Roma issues”, the mayors of Southeastern Slovenia warned government representatives today that the security situation in the region is poor and must be resolved both through changes to laws and the actions of authorities. After the meeting, the ministry representatives expressed hope that the problems will be solved by changes to laws that they have already or will yet adopt.

What change of laws? Laws are for all, here we are speaking of laws aimed at a minority. And that is racism.

Greece News Western Europe

Greece, Crime, and Roma

Published by:

Greece, Crime, and Roma

“70%-75% of crime comes from the Roma,” he said in a recent interview (Action 24, July 24, 2025) the Minister of Citizen Protection Michalis Chrysochoidis. “I am not saying this for racist or prejudice reasons. Quite the opposite, I love their children and these people, but the profession they do must be changed: thefts, burglaries, frauds, electricity thefts, etc.,” he added.

In recent months, the Hellenic Police have been intensifying unannounced operations in camps throughout the country. Since the beginning of September, at least seven such operations have been carried out in Attica, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Karditsa and Larissa.

Roma don’t deny that criminality is present in their communities, but  say that causes are deeper: they are linked to the long-standing marginalization of the Roma in Greece, their frequent exclusion from access to housing and work, but also to the poor design of any policies that are implemented. “It is not a question of race or ethnicity, but the result of social and economic conditions that concern the whole of society,” emphasizes George Nikolaou.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Southern Slovenia and Roma

Published by:

Southern Slovenia and Roma

The meeting with mayors at the premises of the Novo Mesto municipality is being attended by the Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Luka Mesec, the Minister of Justice Andreja Katič and the State Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior Helga Dobrin, who is also the head of the working group for addressing Roma issues.

According to some media, Minister Luka Mesec, who is visiting southeastern Slovenia with a government team today, where “a chaotic situation with problematic Roma prevails”, did not visit dangerous Roma settlements.

The situation is bad, and Roma are being instrumentalised.

News Eastern Europe North Macedonia

The Šutka

Published by:

The Šutka

The president of the Democratic Forces of the Roma (FDR) and Minister without Portfolio, Shaban Saliu, announced his candidacy for mayor of the municipality of Shuto Orizara.

“I stand here before you filled with pride and gratitude. Shuto Orizara is the only municipality in the world governed by the Roma community, a place where every stone tells a story. Today, we are making a decision together for our future, for honest and responsible governance of our municipality,” Saliu said in his address to the residents of Shuto Orizara.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Plenipotentiary, and Transparency

Published by:

Slovakia, Plenipotentiary, and Transparency

The Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Government for Roma Communities will be obliged to submit a periodic report to the government on his activities for the previous calendar year. This follows from the change in the Plenipotentiary’s statute, which was approved by the government on Wednesday.

This is a worthwhile change …

rroma.org
en_GBEN
de_DEDE fr_FRFR en_GBEN