13 Roma integration
| (35137)
11738/13
COM(13) 460
| Draft Council Recommendation on effective Roma integration measures in the Member States
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| Legal base | Articles 19(1) and 292 TFEU; unanimity; EP consent
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| Department | Communities and Local Government
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| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 19 November 2013
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| Previous Committee Report | HC 83-xiii (2013-14), chapter 8 (4 September 2013)
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| Discussion in Council | Expected to be adopted on 9 December 2013
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background and previous scrutiny
13.1 Roma —a generic term encompassing a variety
of groups of people sharing broadly similar cultural characteristics,
including Gypsies and Travellers — constitute the EU's largest
ethnic minority (estimated at 6 million). 80% of the Roma population
is sedentary and is disproportionately affected by unemployment,
poverty, bad housing and poor health standards. The treatment
of Roma has risen up the political agenda because of the accession
to the EU in 2004 and 2007 of Member States with a significant
Roma population.[31]
13.2 In 2011, Member States endorsed an EU Framework
for National Roma Integration Strategies which invited them to
develop their own strategies incorporating four common "Roma
integration goals" covering access to education, employment,
healthcare, and housing and other essential services.[32]
The Commission considered that a specific framework for Roma
was needed because EU equality legislation, while important, was
insufficient to combat the "prejudice, intolerance, discrimination
and social exclusion" which Roma encountered in their daily
lives. The Commission also recognised, however, that the size
of the Roma community as a proportion of the total population
in each Member State varied significantly, and that the scale
of the challenges which Member States faced, as well as their
starting points for tackling Roma exclusion, were likely to differ
in magnitude.
13.3 The purpose of the draft Council Recommendation
is to encourage ongoing political commitment to the four Roma
integration goals by providing practical guidance to enhance the
effectiveness of national Roma integration measures and strengthen
the implementation of national strategies. It would introduce
an annual reporting mechanism for Member States to inform the
yearly progress reports produced by the Commission and, where
appropriate, the development of Country Specific Recommendations
as part of the European Semester. The Commission considers that
further action at EU level is justified because the absence of
a coordinated approach has resulted in increasing discrepancies
in the laws and policies applied by Member States which could,
in turn, result in migration to Member States with more favourable
conditions. The draft Recommendation is not legally binding and
is intended to complement existing EU anti-discrimination legislation,
notably the Race Directive.[33]
Our Thirteenth Report of 4 September 2013 provides a more detailed
overview of the draft Recommendation and the Government's position.
13.4 Whilst accepting that it is appropriate for
the Commission to monitor progress towards better Roma integration,
the Government considers that the draft Recommendation is too
prescriptive and fails to reflect the differences in situation
of the Roma across the EU and the diversity of approaches taken
by Member States to promote integration. It told us that it would
seek to play an active and constructive role in negotiations and
to achieve "a flexible Council Recommendation that takes
account of the different situations in different Member States
and gives maximum discretion on how to approach this issue."[34]
13.5 We noted that more effective policies to promote
the social and economic integration of Roma communities could
help to defuse the political tensions that have arisen in recent
years as Roma have sought to exercise their free movement rights,
but agreed with the Government that a prescriptive, top-down approach
was not appropriate. We could see no reason why the Government
should not succeed in achieving its negotiating objectives, given
that unanimity within the Council would be required to
endorse the draft Recommendation, but asked to be kept informed
of the progress of negotiations.
The Minister's letter of 19 November 2013
13.6 The Minister for Communities (Stephen Williams)
tells us that the Government has succeeded in securing "numerous
changes" to the draft Council Recommendation and considers
that the revised text is "flexible, proportionate and realistic."
He invites us to clear the proposal from scrutiny so that the
Government is in a position to support its adoption at the Employment,
Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council on
9 December. He highlights the following changes:
· a clear recognition that the social and
economic situation of the Roma varies widely across the EU and
affirmation that Roma integration is primarily the responsibility
of Member States;
· the removal of prescriptive language in
the key policy areas of education, health, employment and housing,
as well as the inclusion of possible measures at national level
that remain optional for Member States;
· flexibility for Member States to determine
how to target EU funding according to national priorities;
· the removal of "top-down" targets
which are at odds with the UK's approach of providing mainstream
services through locally delivered, flexible provision; and
· more proportionate monitoring and reporting
arrangements which are broadly in line with current practice in
the UK.
13.7 The Minister concludes:
"The Government wants all EU Member States,
particularly those with large and disadvantaged Roma populations,
to take effective action to integrate their Roma citizens. We
believe that the latest text of the Roma Recommendation will assist
with this, while avoiding the prescriptive top-down approach that
was such a strong feature of the original Commission proposal.
I therefore hope that the Committee will be able to clear the
draft Council Recommendation from scrutiny in time for the EPSCO
meeting on 9 December."
Conclusion
13.8 We thank the Minister for his report on the
outcome of negotiations. We agree with his analysis of the changes
to the draft Council Recommendation and consider that the proposal
strikes an appropriate balance between practical guidance on Roma
integration measures and the need for a diversity of approaches
to reflect the different challenges Member States face, as well
as their different starting points for tackling Roma exclusion.
We are now content to clear the draft Recommendation from scrutiny.
31 Roma constitute more than 7% of the population of
Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Back
32
See: 8727/11 (32664); HC 428-xxvi (2010-12), chapter 7 (11 May
2011). Back
33
Council Directive 2000/43/EC; OJ L No. 180, 19.07.2000, pp. 22-26.
Back
34
See the Explanatory Memorandum of 24 July 2013 submitted by the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr Don Foster). Back
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