ERPC Coalition applauds EU leaders’ endorsement of Roma Framework
24 June 2011
Brussels, 24 June 2011: As Europe’s Romani population prepares for the possibility of another summer of targeted expulsions and evictions, the European Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC) has welcomed today’s endorsement by EU heads of government of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies.
The Framework commits all 27 member states to developing targeted policies which systematically tackle the socio-economic exclusion of and discrimination against Roma people throughout the EU.
“Today’s commitment by the presidents and prime ministers of all 27 EU countries to rapidly achieving tangible improvements for Romani communities is an outstanding accomplishment for Europe’s Roma population,” said Nele Meyer, ERPC’s coordinator. “The Commission and every country must be robust in preventing expulsions and other acts of racism and discrimination which violate EU law and, by the end of 2020, provide hard evidence that the existing socio-economic gaps between Roma and non-Roma people have been substantially diminished.”
The ERPC will monitor how well the European Commission and member states convert the Framework’s human rights commitments into tangible and ambitious strategies and assess their implementation, with an initial deadline of the end of this year for developing national strategies.
The ERPC is an informal gathering of non-governmental organisations operating at EU level on issues of human rights, anti-discrimination, anti-racism, social inclusion, and Roma and Travellers’ rights. Its members are Amnesty International, the European Roma Rights Centre, the European Roma Information Office, the Open Society Institute, European Network Against Racism, Minority Rights Group International, the European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network, Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, the Roma Education Fund, and Fundación Secretariado Gitano.
From May 2011 to November 2011, the rotating chairmanship of the ERPC is held by Amnesty International in close cooperation with Fundación Secretariado Gitano and the European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network. Contact: coordinator@romapolicy.eu
Sinan Gökçen
ERRC Media and Communications Officer
sinan.gokcen@errc.org
+36.30.500.1324
