By IPS Correspondents
BUDAPEST, Jul 2 2003 (IPS)

A long-term programme has been launched this week to integrate the Roma minority into European Society.

Government leaders from central and east Europe, the European Commission and the World Bank launched a programme in Budapest for closer integration of Roma into European society through better education, healthcare, housing and job opportunities.

A two-day conference on ‘Roma in an expanding Europe: Challenges for the Future’ agreed to set up a Roma Education Fund and launch a series of other steps through the Decade of Roma Inclusion to run from 2005 to 2015.

The Decade of Roma Inclusion will seek to reduce poverty and improve health, employment and housing opportunities. The Roma Education Fund will draw on support from the World Bank, the European Commission and other institutions to promote education.

"The Roma community will not become a part of the European Union without the joint support of governments, intergovernmental institutions and civil organizations," Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy said at the conference.

Integration of the Roma would be one of the major tasks of the expanded European Union, and governments should start programmes under the new initiative as soon as possible, Medgyessy said.

Representatives of intergovernmental institutions, and government leaders from Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Sweden and Finland welcomed the initiative.

"We must forge a better understanding of the Roma among other members of society and work with Roma leaders to realize their aspirations," said World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn. "This is a community with great potential and we all have a responsibility to ensure that this cultured people has the opportunity to realize its contribution to European society." Anna Diamantopoulou, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affiars, said that EU member states have developed policies for the benefit of an estimated million Roma living in the EU, but that these policies are not always as successful as desired.

The seven to nine million Roma people live all over Europe in high poverty, according to a report published before the conference by the World Bank.

"Discrimination is very high and if the situation of a Roma person improves, he or she intends to assimilate and deny his or her origin," said George Soros, head of the Open Society Institute (OSI), and a sponsor of the conference.

Nobody is expecting instant improvement. "There is no doubt that the initiative will help the integration of the Roma people a great deal, but I’m sure the Roma question will remain on the political agenda for a while," Angéla Kóczé, head of the European Roma Information Office (ERIO) told IPS.

Kóczé said that ERIO, which was established only a few months ago in Brussels, will organize further discussions on improvement of Roma representation in policy-making bodies such as the European Parliament.

Presenting policy recommendations to the Hungarian government at the conference, Roma representative Gyula Vámosi said the government has impressive programmes for the Roma, but the implementation of those plans is problematic. "All Roma people in the European community share the same destiny," Vámosi said. "Their political awareness is zero and the only chance for them to have their voice heard now is through the advocacy of non-governmental organizations."

Vámosi and others on the panel of Roma advisors at the conference suggested creation of formal communication channels between NGOs and governments, more support for Roma community centres, and training for Roma to carry out development programmes.

Katalin Lévai, Hungary’s Minister for Equal Opportunities, said his government has started a domestic programme which aims to create a network of equal opportunities with outreach to small communities to build bridges between minority and mainstream societies. "The Roma issue is not necessarily and not only a monetary or financial issue," she said. "It is also an issue of attitude towards Roma, so if we wish to change the present situation, we have to think simultaneously in terms of money, policy, politics and attitude."

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