During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels (17-20 May 2021), MEPs debate on the Roma equality, inclusion and participation: opening statements by Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, Council of the European Union, and by Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery

Brussels

statement

debate

plenary session

situation of Roma people (T)

DALLI, Helena (MT, EC)

ZACARIAS, Ana Paula (PT)

Roma equality, inclusion and participation: opening statements by Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, and by Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, Thank you, Madam President. Dear commissioner, Dalli, honourable members. Thank you for this topic on the agenda. The social exclusion of Roma is an injustice that we in the European Union have failed to address with sufficient determination. It's already a decade since the first EU framework for national integration strategies was put in place. And sadly, the results so far are disappointing.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, The figures are striking. As many as 63 percent of Roma age between 20 and 64 have not an employment, education or training. The corresponding EU average is 12 percent. Allow me also to recall some of the facts cited in the resolution that this parliament adopted in September last year in countries where the largest population of Roma, about 80 percent, 80 percent of Roma live below the poverty line, 80 percent, one in three lives in households without tap water and only half have indoor flush toilet or a shower.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, Only one in two Roma children attend pre-school or kindergarten. And the mere fifth of Roma women and a quarter of Roma men have completed secondary education. These figures show that equality is not yet a reality in the EU and that life chances in our union are not the same. For all the situation of Europe's Roma is the legacy of long term inequality, lack of opportunities, prejudice, outright racism and discrimination uniquely disadvantage.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, The Roma community is trapped in intergenerational poverty, and it is time to break the cycle of disadvantage. Our credibility as a just and fair union is at stake. The social dimension is one of the three main priorities of the Portuguese presidency, and I firmly believe that social fairness belongs at the heart of everything the union does.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, Today, more than ever, as we recover from the covid pandemic and we grapple with enormous challenges, the shifts associated with green and digital transitions produce at a time of hardship and uncertainty. It is essential that all citizens can count with European social model and the values that underpin it. Solidarity, convergence and cohesion we all have suffered during the crisis.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, But for many Roma, its effects were compounded with pre-existent inequalities. As your resolution once again usefully reminds us on the broad principles and values that make our social model, there is broad consensus in Europe. We saw this clearly two weeks ago in Oporto for the Port of Social Summit.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, A landmark event, which the European Parliament also strongly supported and contributed to a vision of a just and inclusive recovery is now clearly enshrined in the port of social commitment and the port declaration, the essence of a common vision summed up in three headline targets on employment training and poverty reduction.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, This was unanimously endorsed, and these three targets are crucially relevant for Roma. As we all know, the first 10 year campaign design at EU level to improve the lives of Roma ended last year. The Commission tabled new initiatives, in the autumn. The Council wasted no time in responding. In March this year, the member states adopted a new Council recommendation that seeks to give fresh momentum to their policies.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, The three pillars of the recommendation are echoed in the title of today's debate. Equality, Inclusion and participation. Today to our efforts have focussed largely on education, employment, health care and housing. The new framework will seek to strengthen this approach by increasing the emphasis on three other core objectives.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, First, fighting and preventing anti gypsies and discrimination. Second, reducing poverty and exclusion so as to close the social economic gap. And said promoting active participation through empowerment and trust of these communities. The member states have undertaken to present their new strategic framework to the commission very soon, preferably by September this year.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, Meanwhile, the Fundamental Rights Agency have been tasked with carrying out regular surveys for every four years to ensure that we monitor progress objectively. It is true that member states have the key competence and the main responsibility for ensuring the well-being of their citizens, including minorities.

SOUNDBITE Ana Paula ZACARIAS, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, But the added value of cooperation, inspiration and mutual learning is real, and the Union supports its member states through relevant funds and programmes. So we need to use them well. To conclude, let's remember our ultimate priority, Europe's people. When we speak of Europe, we speak of social Europe that puts the wellbeing of its citizens first, especially the ones that are left behind and more vulnerable. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, Thank you, President, Minister, honourable members. Respect for human dignity and equality are fundamental values of the EU. However, many Roma across Europe continue to face antitrypsin, discrimination and exclusion their daily lives.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, Additionally, the Covid 19 pandemic has hit marginalised Roma communities particularly hard. Overcrowded households, and the lack of access to health care, clean water or a regular income are just some of the factors that have increased their vulnerability to negative health impacts. Additionally, the mid-term socio economic impact of the pandemic has put Roma communities at risk of sliding even further into poverty and social exclusion.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, We have taken these lessons on board when deciding designing the revised and strengthened EU Roma strategic framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation, which we adopted last October. With this framework, we have set out a comprehensive three pillar approach for the next 10 years.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, We will continue to work towards improving the inclusion of marginalised Roma communities with the long term aim of closing the Socio-Economic gap between Roma and non-Roma. At the same time, we are providing a stronger focus to promoting equality and stepping up the fight against racism, discrimination and expressions of antigypsyism.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, And we will strengthen our efforts to promote participation through empowerment, cooperation and trust. We want to create the right conditions, enabling all Roma to realise their full potential and engage in political, social, cultural and economic life. But the new EU Roma strategic framework, we are reaching out to all Roma regardless of their socio economic status.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, With this approach, we recognise that all Roma can experience discrimination, including those who do not suffer from economic deprivation. We are also giving a stronger focus to diversity amongst Roma because we want to ensure that national Roma strategic frameworks meet the specific needs of the different groups, including women, youth, children, EU mobile citizens, stateless persons, LGBTIQ, all the Roma and those living with disabilities.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, We also acknowledge that inclusion is a Two-Way process. This is why the new strategic framework targets not just Roma but society as a whole. In order to make the best possible use of existing tools, we promote the mainstreaming of Roma inclusion across all relevant policy areas and funding instruments.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, These range from policy initiatives such as the European education area, the child guarantee or the gender equality strategy, to funding instruments, including the ESF plus, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, or the Investment EU programme. At the same time, the new initiative also includes targeted measures in order to make sure that the Roma have an effective, equal access to rights and services.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, Most importantly, we want to ensure that we achieve genuine results over the next 10 years to be able to measure progress. We have defined seven objectives linked to the three pillars of equality, inclusion and participation. For each of these objectives, we have defined quantitative targets and indicators that will allow effective monitoring and make the progress in implementation, transparent and easily measurable for all actors.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, The Commission will, of course, also monitor the implementation very closely and report on progress every two years, based on surveys from the Fundamental Rights Agency, Member States implementation report and coordinated civil society reporting. I thank you very much for your attention and I am now looking forward to a constructive debate. Thank you.