Activities of Peter POLLÁK related to 2020/2011(INI)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on the report on the implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies: Combating negative attitudes towards people with Romani background in Europe
Amendments (31)
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas 43 % of Roma are in some form of paid employment1 ; whereas 50% of Roma between the age of 6 and 24 do not attend school and 63 % of young Roma (aged 16-24) are not in education, employment or training (NEET)2 ; whereas the increasing share of Roma NEETs was an area where the situation had deteriorated in 2016 compared to 20113 ; _________________ 1European Commission, 2019 Report on National Roma Integration Strategies: Key Conclusions, p. 3. 2Report on the implementation of national Roma integration strategies – 2019, COM(2019)0406, p. 4. 3 Roma inclusion measures reported under the EU framework for NRIS, SWD(2019) 320 final, PART 1/2, p. 18.
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas Roma are struggling to find stable employment as they do not fit job requirements because of their often limited chances of developing their skills and competences;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Roma are born into an extreme generational poverty, one third of Roma households do not have tap water, just over half have an indoor flush toilet or shower, and 78 % of Roma live in overcrowded housing4 ; _________________ 4European Commission, 2019 Report on National Roma Integration Strategies: Key Conclusions, p. 6.
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11
Citation 11
— having regard to the relevant reports and recommendations of civil society organisations representing people with Romani backgroundRoma, non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and research institutions,
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Calls on the more attention paid to those Member States that have a sizable Roma population and history of rather ineffective measures. The Commission should monitor and better support these Member States and their policies and measures;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that the most critical points to address in the area of Roma employment are effective transition from education to the open labour market, tackling negative stereotypes that are often the biggest obstacles to find employment, tackling discrimination by employers, matching labour demand with labour supply, and the growing rates of Roma youth not in education;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas a Directive for the Equality and Inclusion of People with Romani Backgroundthe EU initiative on Roma Equality and Inclusion, developed on the basis of more realistic quantitative and qualitative data, a legislative act with a binding character on the European Union and its Member Statend country-specific indicators, is needed and must be proposed by the Commission;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Underlines the need for an urgent and thorough commitment by the relevant state authorities to the desegregation of Roma pupils in schools and to securing the same quality and inclusive mainstream learning as the non-Roma pupils, as Roma children are often educated in segregated environments, while the misdiagnosis of Roma children as having special educational needs is still a common discriminatory practice;
Amendment 92 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Recommends strongly to continue training and employment of Roma as youth mentors and mediators to support transitions in education and to the labour market; highlights the need to target Roma (youth and women) more explicitly with active labour market policies, including the Youth Guarantee and to systematically monitor and fight discrimination with regard to labour market access and at the work place;
Amendment 94 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas adequate funding must be allocated for the implementation of post- 2020 National Inclusion Strategies for People with Romani BackgroundRoma from the local, regional and national budgets of the Member States; whereas the EU and the Member States must ensure that the funds allocated are properly spent and not misused;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the equal participation of local and regional stakeholders (NGOs, activists, experts, community members, etc.) must be significantly involved in the development, implementation and monitoring of public policies towards people with Romani backgroundRoma, in the post-2020 context;
Amendment 106 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Is of the opinion that vocational education and training is still insufficiently recognised as a priority and a solution that offers a means of mobilising and providing opportunities for Roma young people and guaranteeing their economic independence; calls on the Member States to encourage stronger engagement of businesses, particularly at local level, and consider supporting the development of social enterprises to create sustainable workplaces for Roma;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission to facilitate an exchange of best practices between Member States and to monitor the progress;
Amendment 114 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Notes that ageing Europe faces shortages of skilled labour and young Roma population thus should not be perceived as a burden but as an opportunity and potential future workforce;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Calls on the Member States to make the greatest effort in order to sensitise public opinion concerning Roma inclusion;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas under COVID-19 lockdowns, the situation of marginalised communities of people of Romani backgroundRoma in overcrowded compounds and settlements is very difficult; whereas people of Romani backgroundRoma do not have access to adequate healthcare, drinking water, sanitation and food, and are particularly at risk; whereas the Member States must deliver emergency support and medical care in order to limit the spread of the virus; whereas racism, exclusion and discrimination against people of Romani backgroundRoma should be urgently addressed by the Union and its Member States;
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls the fact that the Racial Equality Directive6 provides protection and guarantees for equal treatment with regard to access to and supply of goods and services, including housing, which is primarily within the remit of national and regional governments; highlights that poor access to housing and public utilities has a negative impact on education, employment and health outcomes and adversely affects social inclusion overall; _________________ 6 Article 3(1)(h) of Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22.
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the Commission must develop a proposal for a post-2020 directive for eEU initiative on Roma Equality and iInclusion of people with Romani background in Europe putting the fight against poverty and anti-gypsyism at the forefront; stresses that the new proposal must include clear and binding objectives, measures and targetobjectives, country- specific indicators and concrete measures for the Member States, a clear timeline and clear and binding progress requirements, as well as success indicators and adequate funding for its implementation; emphasises the need for a robust monitoring and oversight mechanism to ensure effective implementation and appropriate use of funds; notes that equal participation in all domains of public life, political participation, and the language, arts, culture, history and environment of people with Romani backgroundRoma should be explicitly mentioned in the proposal for post-2020 EU public policy for people with Romani backgroundRoma, as additional measures to the four main priority areas of education, employment, housing and healthcare;
Amendment 138 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Notes that to make the future EU Roma inclusion process successful and credible a fundamental change in approach is needed; emphasises that national efforts towards Roma inclusion should be accelerated in all EU Member States; stresses however that the emphasis should be placed on those with a sizable Roma population where an ineffective process of Roma inclusion poses macroeconomic challenges, deepens regional disparities and thus hampers EU social cohesion; underlines that the EU support to those countries should be measured up to the challenges, that greater attention should be devoted to the effectiveness of policies and measures in these countries, and that adequate funding should be closely linked with policies;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to develop a proposal for a post-2020 EU directive for the einitiative on Roma Equality and iInclusion of people with Romani background, giving priority to (i) achieving a positive impact; (ii) a rights-based approach, including a plan to eliminate social and economic inequalities; (iii) developing a vision for the future proposal, including specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time- bound objectives to protect and improve the inclusion of people with Romani backgroundRoma; and (iv) eliminating inequalities, especially for children from their earliest years;
Amendment 155 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Regrets the weak link between available funding tools and strategic plans and objectives related to the socio- economic development and inclusion of Roma; calls on the Member States to put in place efficient monitoring and oversight mechanisms to ensure that the funds allocated are properly spent and not misused;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to ensure the equal participation of Romani and pro- Romani civil society organisations, experts and community members, including those active at local and regional level, taking into account a gender perspective in both the policy debate and in decision-making;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to take into account the internal heterogeneity of the community in the priority domains of the post-2020 EU directive proposal, ensuring that nobody is left behind, and to use the designation ‘people with Romani background’ when referring to Romani groups in post-2020 EU policies and discussionsInitiative on Roma Equality and Inclusion, ensuring that nobody is left behind;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the link between EU mainstream financial and policy instruments, particularly the European Structural and Investment Funds, and inclusion priorities for people with Romani backgroundRoma, as part of the next multiannual financial framework;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to consider a new funding tool or sub- programme that should be linked to an existing EU educational and social funding programme, such as Erasmus Plus or the European Social Fund, for targeted and tailored support in quality education for pupils with Romani background between the ages of 3 and 18 who are contending with extreme poverty and do not have access to existing EU educational and social inclusion funding instruments;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States to develop post-2020 National Strategies for the Inclusion of People with Romani BackgroundRoma based on realistic quantitative and qualitative data with an adequate pre- defined budget, incorporated into the national, regional and local budgets and which reflects the scale of the social inclusion needs of people with Romani backgroundRoma;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Member States to officially recognise anti-gypsyism as a specific form of racism against people with Romani backgroundRoma, and to develop and implement specific and effective preventive and corrective measures against it on all levels where it occurs;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Member States to strengthen the participation of people with Romani backgroundRoma in policy-making, moving from a paternalistic to a non- paternalistic approach;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States to indicate what level of funding would be needed to carry out the proposed measures for inclusion of people with Romani backgroundRoma and to state the amount of money available for such measures from the national and from the EU budgets;