‘Victimised’ Roma see new hope in EU membership

The Roma minority is particularly vulnerable to racist violence, including at the hands of police, says an annual report by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. It urges the EU’s political leaders to give greater priority to monitoring racial tensions within their borders.

World-famous dancer Joaquin Cortes was invited to the European Parliament, at the start of a collaborative effort between the institutions and Roma associations around Europe. Cortes said: “It’s a pleasure to be here. I hope this won’t just be a one-off meeting, and that we’ll take this further. I hope in the near future we’ll see Roma beginning to have a better living standard, that they’ll adapt better to society in general and that everyone will live together in harmony.” Romania’s Roma minority will become EU citizens this January, bringing a prospect for change. Unemployment figures are far higher for the estimated ten-to-twelve million Roma in all of Europe than for the rest of the population.

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