08/05/2020
On Europe Day this year, so complex due to the impact of COVID-19, we call on the European institutions to activate agile and effective mechanisms that respond to the negative impact that the crisis is having on the most disadvantaged people, such as the Roma
On Europe Day this year, so complex due to the impact of COVID-19, we call on the European institutions to activate agile and effective mechanisms that respond to the negative impact that the crisis is having on the most disadvantaged people, such as the Roma. And at the same time, to keep building the future European policy framework of National Strategies for Inclusion and Equality of the Roma population for the next ten years, which will be so necessary to tackle the aggravated inequality that the current crisis is generating in the European Roma population.
We welcome the steps taken by the European Commission with the European Initiative for Investment in Response to the Coronavirus and the mobilisation and flexibility of European resources to fight the health, social and economic impact of this crisis. Also, its emphasis on its application being to prevent, avoid and alleviate the negative impact that the current crisis is having on the most vulnerable groups, such as the Roma population. These measures, however, are still not being very operational on the ground in the different Member States.
Parallel to the emergency measures that must be ensured that they reach the people who need it most, the European institutions must continue to promote the articulation of policies that structurally address the existing inequality and discrimination that a large part of Roma people continue to suffer today in Europe.
In the last decade, the EU institutions have been key actors in driving the fight against inequality and discrimination suffered by many Roma people across Europe. They have put this issue on the European agenda and consequently on national agendas. Now, in this very critical situation we are living in, the EU must continue to lead the response to the aggravated inequality with a vision that combines the emergency, but also the medium and long-term structural measures that must be promoted to achieve equal rights for European Roma citizens.
Links
