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Putting discrimination in context
Parliament will firmly defend equality, cohesion and re-
spect for fundamental rights and will continue support-
ing the development of a European framework of inclu-
sion and equal treatment policies for the Roma minority.
The Roma community has traditionally had scant polit-
ical representation in the European institutions. Juan de
Dios Ramírez Heredia was the first Roma member of
the European Parliament and, more recently, two Roma
women from Hungary were elected as MEPs: Viktória
Mohácsi from 2004-2009 and Lívia Járóka, an MEP for
two legislative periods, 2004-2009 and 2009-2014.
This latter representative has left an important legacy in
terms of political clout and defence of the rights of the
Roma community in European institutions. Lívia Járóka
was the driving force behind, among other initiatives,
the European Framework for the National Roma Integra-
tion Strategies and has been a staunch defender of the
rights of Roma women at the European Parliament.
We congratulate the two Roma persons elected to the
new European Parliament in May of 2014: Soraya Post, a
human rights activist, will represent the Swedish
Femi-
nist Initiative
party and Damian Draghici, who up to now
was a senator in Romania’s Parliament and advisor to
the Romanian Prime Minister on Roma issues, was elect-
ed as a member of Romania’s
Social Democratic
party.
Soraya Post was active from the outset, petitioning
for the creation of a specific intergroup on the Roma
community in the European Parliament. She managed to
mobilise many political groups and get support from
different sectors although in the end the intergroup was
not formed. However, an intergroup on anti-racism and
diversity was formed and will be the ideal forum within
the Parliament to promote and endorse actions to com-
bat discrimination.
Lastly, this new European Parliament was responsible
for ratifying the new Commissioners and the President
of the European Commission. The former Barroso Com-
mission was instrumental in putting the Roma issue on
the European agenda at the highest level and pressured
Member States to submit national strategies designed
to improve the integration of the Roma people. But it
was clearly the Vice-president and Commissioner re-
sponsible for Justice and Citizenship, Viviane Reding,
who spearheaded the fight against anti-Roma speech
and violation of the rights of the Roma community. She
forcefully stood up to France during the mass expul-
sions of Roma families but in the end did not receive the
support she needed to censure the French government.
Reding is one of the few political leaders who has taken
a firm stance in defence of the Roma population.
The current President of the European Commission,
Jean Claude Juncker, has designed a Commission with a
low social profile but in which Fundamental Rights seem
to be in a privileged position through the defence of
the Charter of Fundamental Rights under the leadership
of the first Vice-president of the Commission, Frans
Timmermans.
What we expect of our European political leaders, i.e.
this new Commission and the recently elected Euro-
pean Parliament, is commitment to the inclusion of the
Roma population and firm defence of the rights of all
European citizens, including the Roma community. As
organisations representing the civil society, it is our
duty to insist that our public representatives raise their
voices and condemn all discriminatory speech or con-
duct which violates the rights of Roma or any other
European citizen.