—

having regard to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

—

having regard to the Commission communication of 5 April 2011 entitled ‘An EU Framework for Roma integration strategies up to 2020’ (COM(2011)0173) and to the subsequent implementation and evaluation reports,

—

having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,

—

having regard to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the recognition of Roma as a group needing special protection against discrimination,

—

having regard to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 2153 (2017) on ‘Promoting the inclusion of Roma and Travellers’,

—

having regard to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin (1),

—

having regard to the Council recommendation of 9 December 2013 on effective Roma integration measures in the Member States (2), and to the Council conclusions of 8 December 2016 on accelerating the process of Roma integration and of 13 October 2016 on the European Court of Auditors Special Report No 14/2016,

—

having regard to the Council Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA of 28 November 2008 on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law (3),

—

having regard to its resolution of 25 October 2017 on fundamental rights aspects in Roma integration in the EU: fighting anti-Gypsyism (4),

—

having regard to its resolution of 15 April 2015 on International Roma Day — anti-Gypsyism in Europe and EU recognition of the memorial day of the Roma genocide during World War II (5),

—

having regard to the Fundamental Rights Report 2016 by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), and to the FRA’s EU-MIDIS I and II surveys and various other surveys and reports on Roma,

—

having regard to the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Minority SafePack’, registered on 3 April 2017,

—

having regard to the relevant reports and recommendations of Roma civil society, NGOs and research institutions,

—

having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas anti-Gypsyism (6) is a specific form of racism, an ideology founded on racial superiority, a form of dehumanisation and institutional racism nurtured by historical discrimination, which is expressed, among others, by violence, hate speech, exploitation, stigmatisation and the most blatant kind of discrimination (7);

B.

whereas Roma (8) are still being deprived of their basic human rights in Europe;

C.

whereas the findings of the Commission Report on the evaluation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 (COM(2018)0785) underline that ‘the framework has been key for the development of EU and national instruments and structures aiming to promote Roma inclusion, but the ambition of putting an end to the exclusion of Roma has not been achieved’;

D.

whereas the evaluation carried out by the Commission shows that inclusion strategies must address the different goals simultaneously and in a comprehensive approach with a stronger focus on the fight against anti-Gypsyism; whereas a specific non-discrimination goal along with goals on inclusion of Roma should be added alongside the four Roma inclusion goals (education, housing, employment and health);

E.

whereas the progress achieved in the inclusion of Roma is limited overall; whereas improvements were observed in early school-leaving and early childhood education, but there was deterioration in school segregation; whereas there was an improvement in the self-perceived health status of Roma but they continue to have limited medical coverage; whereas in most Member States no improvement was observed in access to employment, and the share of young Roma not in employment, education or training even increased; whereas there are serious concerns relating to housing and only little progress has been made regarding poverty; whereas anti-Gypsyism and its manifestations, such as hate crime and hate speech — online and offline — continue to raise serious concerns; whereas EU action was considered to provide important added value to national Roma policies and their implementation through political, governance and financial areas;

F.

whereas the evaluation reports the shortcomings in the initial design of the framework and its limited effectiveness during implementation;

G.

whereas the evaluation sheds light on the fact that there is a need to ensure Roma empowerment and participation through dedicated measures; whereas that empowerment and capacity-building of Roma and NGOs are key;

H.

whereas the evaluation shows that the EU framework did not pay sufficient attention to targeting specific groups among Roma, that multiple and intersectional discrimination have to be addressed and that there is a need for a strong gender dimension and a child-centered approach in the strategies;

I.

whereas the current EU framework lacks clear objectives and measurable targets; whereas there are insufficient qualitative and quantitative monitoring procedures, while country-specific recommendations are not binding; whereas insufficient effort is being made to address the limited participation of Roma individuals and communities in the framework’s design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of measures, programmes and projects regarding Roma;

J.

whereas most mainstream programmes are not inclusive of Roma, and whereas targeted actions covered by the Structural Funds failed to make sustainable positive changes in the lives of the most disadvantaged Roma;

K.

whereas Member States have a clear responsibility to take corrective measures against practices that discriminate against Roma;

L.

whereas the issue of building trust between Roma and non-Roma is vital for improving the lives and life chances of Roma; whereas trust is essential for society as a whole;

1.

2.

3.

4.