BODVALENKE DECLARATION: 5 APRIL 2013 AND ON....

[Stoimen]

At the occasion of the International Roma Day, Commissioner László Andor of the European Commission visited the Fresco Village of Bódvalenke on Friday, 5 April 2013. The attention from the (inter)national press was overwhelming. Present on the spot were local and Roma regional leaders and representatives of major NGOs with Roma integration programmes, based in 8 diferent EU countries. Also Hungarian Minister Zoltán Balog took the floor.

Just a couple of days after the event in Bódvalenke, a press release, supported by four Commissioners (Lászlo Andor, vice-president Viviane Reding, Androulla Vassiliou, Johannes Hahn) was sent out. It seems a happy coincidence that so many recommendations occur in the NGOs' Bódvalenke Declaration as well as in the press release.

"our door is open," writes Gabriella Kovacs, Assistant Policy Officer in the Cabinet of Commissioner Andor, also present in Bódvalenke.

Please, see the texts below and let's use the momentum!

Commissioner Lászlo Andor speeching in Bódvalenke.

It was a cold day, but at least the rain stopped falling. After the speeches and performances warm homemade gulash was served in the houses of the villagers!

BÓDVALENKE DECLARATION

 

We, representatives of Roma NGOs and NGOs with Roma concerns, who gathered in Bódvalenke to celebrate the International Romani Day on 5 April 2013,

• deeply concerned by the rise of anti-Roma sentiments and extreme right populism directed against the Roma all over Europe;
• frustrated that, to date, the Decade of Roma Inclusion has not brought about the desired results: the Roma continue to suffer discrimination and still score the lowest on all major parameters: education, health condition, employment, income, housing;
• gravely concerned that some Member States regularly violate the anti-discrimination and equal rights legislation of the European Union as widely documented by Amnesty International and others;
• disappointed that the use of the EU Structural Funds by the Member States has not improved the lives of the European Roma communities; in fact, in some Member States like Hungary, the living conditions of the Roma deteriorated radically over the past few years;
• noting that the structure of EU funding has, instead of helping, throttled many Roma NGOs all over Europe;
• observing that Member States have failed to draw down available EU funds that could have been used to improve the lives of Roma communities;
• noting that decision making processes about the Roma have failed to go beyond tokenism in terms of involving Roma expertise;
• anxious that the successful implementation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies could be thwarted by the fact that this implementation is up to Member States;
• believing that the European Union should be an area of justice, freedom and security – FOR ALL

 

calls upon the Commission, as Guardian of the Treaties,

 

• to initiate infringement procedures against Member States also when they violate anti-discrimination and equal rights legislation;
• to examine the possibilities of making Member States accountable for the implementation of their National Roma Integration Strategies;
• to set up a Roma Integration Fund or European Roma Fund

°         managed directly by the Commission,

°         assisted by a board of Roma experts with proven experience in fieldwork,

°         the fund should have at least two strands with long-term support for:

a)  Roma NGOs and pro-Roma NGOs, networks and local groups playing a key role in the field of human rights, empowerment, education, art and culture

b)  (local and regional) development projects with an integrated approach in the field of job creation, social business  and other key-areas initiated by Roma and pro-Roma NGOs

°      with full transparency to prevent corruption.

 

 

One of the many kitchens in Bódvalenke, where guests could enjoy homemade gulash to recover from the cold and get ready for the afternoon programme. Also the Commissioner, his policy officer, the Minister, the State-Secretary and the Archbisshop of the Hungarian Reformed Church sat at the table!

Press release by Commissioners, 8 April 2013:

International Roma Day: Commission calls for decisive action to further Roma integration

Reference: MEMO/13/306 Event Date: 08/04/2013

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European Commission

MEMO

Brussels, 8 April 2013

International Roma Day: Commission calls for decisive action to further Roma integration

To mark International Roma Day, the European Commission has underlined the need for further efforts by the Member States to improve the situation for Roma communities in Europe. Despite efforts in the Member States towards Roma integration, much more progress has yet to be made at national level to fight discrimination and improve access for Roma to employment, education, housing and healthcare in particular.

In a joint statement, Vice-President Viviane Reding (EU-Justice Commissioner), László Andor (Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion), Johannes Hahn (Commissioner for Regional Policy) and Androulla Vassiliou (Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth) said:

"Improving the situation for Roma people is one of the biggest challenges we face in Europe. Making a real difference to their daily lives requires long term commitments, adequate resources, and concerted action at local, regional, national and European level.

"The EU has laid down a strong framework for action and Member States have drawn up national strategies for Roma inclusion. This is a good first step. The key is now to make sure these policies are implemented on the ground.

"Because Roma inclusion makes sense: research by the World Bank suggests full Roma integration could be worth around half a billion euros a year to the economies of some countries by improving productivity, cutting welfare bills and boosting tax receipts. Roma integration thus must not be seen as a cost, but as a social investment, and will be key in achieving the targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

"Roma integration cannot be left to Sunday speeches that are not followed up come Monday morning. What we need is a genuine political commitment from the Member States to implement national strategies. The drafting of national strategies was certainly a good start but we still need more to make changes happen.

"We will adopt our 2013 report on progress in implementing the national strategies before the summer and will evaluate to what extent our recommendations have been followed up by Member States.

"In addition, the negotiations on EU Funds for the period 2014-2020 will be decisive. It is crucial to ensure that National Roma Contact Points, Roma NGOs and experts are involved in the planning as early as possible. International Roma Day is an opportunity to reflect on our achievements but also to mobilise efforts to continue the crucial work towards Roma equality."

Since 2010 the European Commission has continually been keeping Roma integration high on the political agenda: thanks to the EU Framework for national Roma integration strategies (IP/11/400) all Member States now have national integration strategies which the Commission evaluates every year (see IP/12/499). The next progress report will be presented before the summer. At the same time, the Commission will propose also a Recommendation on Roma inclusion to be adopted by the Council. Finally, the Commission has proposed better targeting of EU funds to support Roma integration in the next financial programming period 2014-2020.

Background

Roma integration is in the interest of Member States, especially of those with a large Roma minority. Roma represent a significant and growing proportion of the school age population and the future workforce. In countries like Bulgaria and Romania, one in every four to five new labour market entrants are Roma. Efficient labour activation policies and enabling individualised and accessible support services for Roma job seekers are crucial to let Roma people live up to their potential and actively and equally participate in society.

In a report adopted on 23 May 2012, the European Commission called on EU Member States to implement their national strategies to improve the economic and social integration of Europe's 10 to 12 million Roma.  Member States developed these plans in response to the Commission's EU Framework for national Roma integration strategies adopted on 5 April 2011 (see IP/11/400, MEMO/11/216) which was endorsed by EU leaders soon afterwards (IP/11/789).

In its assessment of the national Roma integration strategies, one of the primary findings was that Member States, for financial or administration reasons, are not making good use of these funds. Only 12 countries have clearly identified allocated funding and presented specific amounts for Roma inclusion policy measures in their strategy papers (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden).

EU Structural Funds - European Social Fund (ESF), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) - have been mobilised to boost national efforts and are an important financial lever in ensuring the translation of national Roma integration strategies into real socio-economic inclusion of Roma communities, alongside national budgets. But although, the three funds total €50 billion per year, not enough benefits disadvantaged Roma communities. The Commission therefore urges the national Roma contact points to be closely involved in the planning of the use of EU Funds.

For the new funding period 2014-2020, the Commission has proposed a specific investment priority to be devoted to the integration of marginalised communities, such as Roma and ensuring requirement that an appropriate Roma inclusion strategy is in place, where EU funds are spent for this purpose. It has proposed to use at least 20% of ESF resources for social inclusion, which would be a huge improvement in countries with a large Roma population.

Eszter Pásztor is guiding the guests on a walk through Bódvalenke

In the centre of the village a band was playing great music; also the Bódvalenke Women's Choir and other artists performed

The attention from the (inter)national press was good, in spite of the low temperature

Coats and good company helped!

From left to the right: Henk, Ruus Dijksterhuis from ERGO, Valery Novoselsky from RVN and me, Els

Though... the beautiful frescoes deserve a bit of sun to show their full beauty!

[Stoimen]

MEETING WITH COMMISSIONERS REDING AND ANDOR IN BRUSSELS ON 15 MAY!

Reflection on the Bódvalenke Declaration

 

 

Tomorrow, 15 May, the Commissioners Viviane Reding and Lászlo Andor with confer on Roma with large NGOs in Brussels. Contrary to what many believed, the meeting is no follow-up to the event in Bódvalenke in Hungary on 5 April, nor to Commissioner Andor's visit to the Fresco Village that very day and the Bódvalenke Declaration that was presented to him. The misunderstanding about the link between the Bódvalenke event and the meeting is Brussels, 40 days later, resulted from various coincidences. On 8 April four Commissioners published a joint statement with a few striking similarities with the Bódvalenke Declaration, warmly supported by (pro) Roma NGOs from over 10 EU member states (hereafter called the Bódvalenke organizations). On 10 April Andor's policy officer sent a mail to all Bódvalenke organizations with the encouraging words: Our door is open. When one of these organizations, ERGO Network, received a written invitation to attend the meeting with the two Commissioners on 15 May, our activities started to prepare well for this meeting. Just currently we found out that only Amnesty International, Open Society Foundations, ERGO and all other partners in the European Roma Policy Coalition had been invited by DG Justice, that takes the lead in inviting whereas the Andor Cabinet will organize a press conference. Commissioner Andor's policy officer, Gabriella Kovacs, explained that this time the Commission wanted to consult with large EU oriented NGOs. None of the Bódvalenke grassroots organizations that supported the Declaration, had been invited. The deception was great, as the Bódvalenke Declaration urges a.o. the involvement of grassroots NGOs and Roma experts. The Commission, however, considered it problematic to invite just one, because in that case other Roma NGOs also wanted to participate. Therefore, ERGO was asked by the Commission to represent the Bódvalenke organizations on 15 May. By mutual agreement we all considered Eszter Pasztor, editor and initiator of the Bódvalenke Declaration, as the best person to attend the meeting. It is thanks to the unselfish attitude of Ruus Dijksterhuis, director executive of ERGO and to the financial support of the European Foundation Center that Eszter will attend the meeting, Eszter instead of Ruus, ERGO. She will go there and underline the Bódvalenke Declaration: the importance of grassroots initiatives, bottom-up approach, Roma involvement, transparency, infringement procedures and a special Roma fund.

 

What is the meeting about?

 

Media seem to like the content of the Declaration. Already in Bódvalenke Reuters, Al Jazeera, the Wall Street Journal and many others were present. The fact that the Bódvalenke Declaration now "travels" to Brussels, is welcomed, though it also seems to be the outcome of a misunderstanding…  "What is that 15 May meeting about?" I was asked by an influential journalist. I had no answer; I could only repeat what I had learned before: this time the Commission wanted to consult with large EU oriented NGOs. Empty words, but an interesting phrase… if one starts analyzing:

 

"This time": for far more than a decade the Commission confers on summits and platforms. This time is a continuation of last time, and therefore nothing new;

Consult: those who consult, want advices. That is a noble ambition if one plans implementing newly gained insights. To this very day the Commission only passes ideas, urging member states to implement them.

Large NGOs: All ERPC members have been invited. Among those are 3 that visited Bódvalenke on 5 April: Amnesty International, OSF and ERGO. They can be called large, but is ERIO large? And is the European Foundation Center with over 231 founding members, small? Is our World Artists Initiative "Khetanes" small, with close to 900 members and most important Roma scholars on board (Ian Hancock, Ronald Lee, Agnés Daroczi, Juan de Dios Ramírez Heredia, Rajko Duric, Hans Calderas, just to mention a few…) Both EFC and Khetanes were not invited.

Is large or small an important criterion for quality? The meeting is about Europe's largest minority, 10 million citizens at least. The first responsible Commissioner origins from a member state with half a million people. Large and small are rather relative concepts and thus tricky guidelines.

EU oriented: all truly committed NGOs that combat poverty, violations of rights and instability and strive for justice, human dignity and prosperity, are EU oriented. Particularly those, working at grassroots levels. Unfortunately the distance between policy makers and people on the ground has become huge in Europe. If in relatively large NGOs a similar phenomenon occurs, we run the risk that the gap between those who meet and confer on one hand, and those who live and work on the ground on the other hand, becomes unbridgeable. Then we enter the phase of tokenism.

 

Europe's deepest crisis

 

We call our crises names, like we do with hurricanes. We have a financial, an economical, an ecological and an energy crisis. Our deepest crisis, however, is a moral one. In a real democracy citizens decide who has the best skills and knowledge to represent them. Once they are elected, representatives must maintain the contact with the voters, not by pleasing them but by respecting them, ready at any moment to explain, defend or amend decisions. One of the most crucial principles in a democracy is equality. Democracy is not the brutal victory of majorities over minorities, because of the fact that all citizens are equal. For this reason democracy is not a simple structure. Yet, if democracy fails, populism takes over, with its easy promises, fake solutions, bread and circuses and its army of scapegoats. And if populism succeeds, it harms democracy like mildew kills a tree.

 

The Bódvalenke Declaration is not just a mere paper with some precious tips. It is a wake-up call from the ground, reminding us of the equality principle. It is a protest against the apartheid, the waste of human resources, the arrogance of the ivory tower and a warning for the accommodating attitude towards populism and far right. It is highly EU oriented and therefore it deserves the support from all ERPC partners, Amnesty and OSF included, and the immediate attention from the European Commission. This is the European Year of Citizens. Each year, however, is a year of citizens, because the European Union owes its existence to them. The EU is managed in Brussels, but it is rooted in remoted villages such as Bódvalenke. Good luck, Eszter! We, large and smaller (pro) Roma organizations, we all back you!

 

Els de Groen

14 May 2013

 

 

 

 

[Stoimen]

On 15 May, Eszter Pasztor travelled to Brussels, thanks to ERGO that passed 1 of its two invitations to Eszter, and thanks to the European Foundation Center that covered her travelling cost.

Eszter held a good speech and promoted the involvement of Roma and pro Roma grassroots organisations. Her time to speech was short, reason for which she focused on the establishing of a Roma fund, directly managed by Brussels. She also distributed the Bódvalenke Declaration during the meeting with the two Commissioners.

[Stoimen]

What happened after the meeting on 15 May 2013 with the two Commissioners?

Commissioner Andor (Social Affairs) reveals that he is not in favour of a special Roma fund: other minorities like Turks and Kurds would ask for the same!

Also in Open Society Foudantion circles there is not much support. Asking for the fund is like begging. It will increase prejudice. By preference the social exclusion must we solved by politics.

Viviane Reding is also not in favour of a special Roma fund, because it is to late to introduce the idea in the decision making process.

In spite of the fact that both Commissioners have stated on 8 April that Roma NGOs and experts should be involved, they prefer in practice to work with large EU oriented NGOs like OSF and Amnesty International.

Perhaps they meant to say in the statement of 8 April that national en local authorities should involve Roma NGOs...

Brussels does not set an example!

On 4 June 2013, ERGO and a representative of the EFC (European Foundation Center), Ali Khan, have a meeting with Andors policy officer. They learned that the statement of 8 April by the Commissioners was inspired by the Bódvalenke Declaration. Unfortunately the statement does not seem to have practical consequences. That is why ERGO plans a soon meeting with interested Roma NGOs. See below:

 

PROPOSAL FOR A CIVIL SOCIETY MEETING  ‘ROMA AS RESPECTED STAKEHOLDERS’

Brussels, June 26^th 2013 from 14.00 till 18.00 (Mundo B/ERGO office)

 

Intro

Promoting Roma Participation in the policy process is one of the priorities of ERGO Network, the ERPC and many other (pro) Roma NGOs . The Council Conclusions[1] invited the European Commission (EC) “to promote the empowerment, active involvement and necessary participation of Roma themselves at all levels of policy development,” and made specific mention of the need to consolidate the capacity of Roma NGOs. The ERPC repeatedly called upon the Commission to take a lead to ensure that Roma civil society is empowered to participate in the policy process, and where necessary, to hold local and national authorities to account [see fi the ERPC statement Meeting VP Reding and Comm Andor May 15th].

In reality, on EU level, Roma actors are expecting to listen to those stakeholders that still need to commit themselves without being able to shape debate. We were told by the European Commission (EC) that “The fact that in [Roma] debates the majority of formal speakers are not Roma (i.e. those enlisted for panels, since the range of speakers from the floor are predominantly Roma) is certainly an advantage, and a major one” [letter DG JUST, Directorate Anti-Discrimination, bold as in original].  Also, the EC prefers to work with EU level organisations, but often mixes them up those working on Roma on the ground and those representing them.

 

On Member State (MS) level, the situation is not much better. In exceptional cases, governments involve Roma NGOs, but rare cases they invest in the capacity of Roma stakeholders to play a meaningful role. The particular expertise of grassroots (pro)Roma NGOs is not taken in consideration in the policy process, in fact many of these organisations struggle for survival to catch up with the needs and opportunities to bring the necessary change on the ground.

It’s clear that if we don’t succeed to pull our strengths together, we will not bring a fundamental change in the upcoming programming period (2014/2020)! Therefore, Roma Civil Society needs to make a forceful call to the EC and MS. 

We need to take advantage of European Code of Conduct for Partnership[2] drafted by the EC as guideline for MS how to cooperate with –among others- with Civil Society for the implementation of the Common Strategic Framework Funds. This Code of Conduct should be also applied to make sure Roma NGOs are participating in projects and policy implementation.

 

ERGO (favourably together with the ERPC and EFC) will organise a meeting to facilitate the cooperation between (pro)Roma NGOs on Roma participation There is a unique opportunity to bring different people -present in Brussels for various meetings- together on June 26^th,   The meeting will create an open space for these organisations to share and exchange views on opportunities and obstacles for Roma civil society to become respected stakeholders (on ground) in the process of shaping, implementing and monitoring policies targeting them. As a result of the meeting, we foresee to formulate a joint proposal towards the EC and MS with ‘Minimum Measures for Genuine Roma Participation in the EU and MS policy processes.

 

Draft programme

June 26^th 2013,  Fairtrade Room, Mundo B, Rue d’Edimbourg 26,  Brussels

14.00    Welcome and introduction round

14.15    Explanation of the focus of the meeting and the draft proposal [will be send ahead of the meeting]

14.45    Stocktaking of the main opportunities and obstacles for Roma Civil Society being recognised as stakeholder in the policy process

16.00 coffee break

15.15    Working Group 1 Assessment of the relevance of the EC Code of Conduct for Partnership launched & formulation of concrete proposals

            Working Group 2 Analysis of the different funding and other facilities needed to promote Roma Civil society participation & formulation of concrete proposals

17.00    Reviewing the draft common proposal for ‘Minimum Measures for genuine Roma Participation in the EU and MS policy process’

17.45    Next steps: common advocacy action plan          

Possible participants: ca. 25 persons

Participants OHCHR Meeting (estimated 8 persons from different countries)

Participants Amnesty International (4 Roma activists from different countries)

Participants ERGO’s Young Civic Journalists project (8 young Roma from different countries)

Possibly: Bodvalenke Initiative (2-3 members of the initiative)

Brussels based (pro) Roma organisations (incl. ERPC members)

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[1] Council conclusions on an EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 from  19 May 2011

[2] http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/working/strategic_framework/swd_2012_106_en.pdf

 

 

 

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[1] Council conclusions on an EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 from  19 May 2011

[2] http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/working/strategic_framework/swd_2012_106_en.pdf