Roma Rights in the European Parliament

In Europe Roma people are one of the largest minority groups and now also the fastest growing. The European Parliament has a Roma member to speak on their behalf and fight for their rights.

Roma Rights in the European Parliament Female: In an expanding Europe, Roma are now one of the largest minority groups and the fastest growing. In Hungary, one of the European Unions newest members, Roma make up 6% of the population. The country has produced the first Roma member of the European parliament, 30-year-old Livia Jaroka. She’s one of the new generation of leaders. Livia Jaroka: Now there is a Roma person in the parliament, so there is of course a great push and also because it’s much easier now to locate all the energies of the different civil right organizations that are working on Roma. She's in Europe into this one building basically into my office. We have in a way, political -- Roma have a voice now in the parliament. So I rather see this period of Roma history as a time of opportunities. Female: In 2003, leaders from eight central and eastern European countries with support from international donors acknowledged they must recognized Romani people as equal citizens of their countries. They declared a decade of Roma inclusion. But translating promises into practical solutions for ordinary Roma, Roma who have never heard of the decade needs long term financial commitments. Veteran activist Nicolae Gheorghe says governments need to change their attitude and realize they are the ones responsible for improving conditions. Nicolae Gheorghe: The Roma, first of all, the citizens of the state in which they live, its obligation of the state to deal that and also the support coming from outside is rather to build capacity of the state institutions. Filiz Husmenova: There are a lot of programs. We cancel them with the magic wand. To find the solution we need the support of the Romani people. We must try to open up this community and we must work within the Roma society. If partners and organizations cooperate, the result would be better international level. Female: But the Roma’s problems aren't just national. Stanislaw Stankiewicz believes change has to happen not just inside countries but across borders. Stanislaw: Roma in the globalization process are at the forefront as a European nation because we know how to live within other cultures and among other nations. Why? Because we don’t have a problem with the religions and cultures will land this, but there is a problem. There is no acceptance of us as Roma as a nation. We don’t have a state. We are trans-national nation. We are something new in the globalization process. This noble concept should be accepted by politicians. Female: Roma make up nearly a tenth of the populations of Romania and Bulgaria and both countries hoped to join the European Union in 2007. But becoming a member state means they have to agree to EU regulations guarantying equal treatment for all their citizens in education, employment, housing and health. But how much clout does the EU really have? Vladimir: Most policies are still governed by nations, states, so they cannot be directed by the European Union. What we can do within the EU is coordinate them and present examples of good practice as well as use the anti-discriminatory policies and I will apply them very consistently whenever necessary. Livia Jaroka: The monitoring is something that cannot be done by the national government and they don’t really like unfortunately the Roma institutions or the Roma civil right organizations to take responsibility in monitoring. So as far as I see now is definitely the commission who would have to take on this role. Female: The Roma media play a unique part in this process representing their communities’ views, reflecting their culture and showing the benefits of being part of what they called the Gadjo or non-Roma society. In Bulgaria, TV Roma’s director, Petar Stevanof says the media are the eyes and ears of local Romani communities. Female: We are unemployed and we get 36 lira a month. How can we pay electricity, water? How can we feed and dress our kids so that they can go to school? I would like to ask these gentlemen in the government, how will they do that? Male: As you know, we will be entering Europe. Do you know about this? Are you ready to enter Europe? Female: No, we are not ready to enter Europe. In our settlement, we live in misery. The authority should understand this. This is the worst place in and member over here. Petar Stevanof: Integration is a very long process that has to be made on both sights, from one sight, the Romani community and from the other, the mainstream society. Both sights have to be prepared to work together. My opinion is that there is a barrier that divides both sights, Bulgarians and Roma living in Bulgaria. This means the majority and the minority. So there is this barrier and we have to build cultural bridges to cross it, so that people can understand each other better.