Europe Europe's Roma, Bottom of the Heap

Project : Regional Office 15 Jun 2008 |

The Economist reports the poor conditions and miserable prospects of Europe’s biggest stateless minority, the Roma community. After the latest events in Naples r egarding pogroms and racist campaigns against them, Romas are considered as scapegoats and have been associated with pick pocketing, shoplifting and mugging affairs in Italy. Moreover, Berlusconi’s government wants the problem to go away from its borders. Among the problems facing the minority, the lack of education has always been recurrent, although the EU is trying to tackle discrimination against Romas and is investing a large amount of money to solve the problem, most of children drop out of school prematurely because of parental reluctance and poverty. Despite concentrating efforts on the Roma issue, the European’s policies have had little effect on the lives of the Roma themselves. According to an official in Brussels: “We don’t lack the laws and we don’t lack the money. The problem is political will.” In addition, the Open Society Institute says in its report that “we need coherent policies rather than sporadic measures”. [NG]