30 Amendments of Jiří MAŠTÁLKA related to 2008/2137(INI)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, following the enlargements of 2004 and 2007 and in the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy, it is important to meet new challenges and whereas it is right that the European Parliament should therefore concentrate particularly on the situation in Eastern and Central European countriesRoma question in Europe,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas in these countries income disparities, which had been kept small during the period of Statereal socialism, have grown at an explosive rate; whereas, in the new Member States industrial sectors have collapsed, regions have seen their prospects of rapid development decline and as a result the Roma in particular have been forced to the margins of society through the rapid escalation of povertyof economic changes,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the strategic political offensive to promote equal opportunities for Roma has to contend with an extremely complex social threat, as Europe’s largest ethnic minority shares the disadvantages of other groupssituation, and whereas this struggle is only possible with the aid of complex objectives and a coordinated set of instruments extending to a range of sectoral policies and with the aid of financing for them,
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the conditions in which Roma communities live, their health status and their level of schooling contribute to determineing their social and labour-market situation and often serve as pretexts for their persistent unemployment and forincite racism, and whereas all this hampers improvements to the quality of life, thus preventing the exercise of the most fundamental human rights,
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas regional disparities and ghettoisation are increasing, and whereas some settlements are surrounded by a ring of settlements whose fate is similar, from which it is impossible to break out because of poor public transport connections, the lack of public administrative bodies and institutions, including educational and health provision, and, because of the departure of businesses, so that the more mobile young people are compelled to move elsewhere, further aggravatincreasing the exodus of human resources from these regions,
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas discrimination, increased segregation, the weakness of efforts to bring about integration, and the lack of motivation due to the hopelesscurrent situation may on the one hand increase prejudice against Roma to the point where serious conflicts occur, while on the other hand in reaction the Roma community may accept the dichotomy between the Roma and non- Roma worlds, so that - in the absence of tolerant and integrative social action - the division between them may become permanent,
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas, for numerous reasons, the special representation for the Roma's interests is not effective, while the success of Roma civil-society organisations in defending Roma interests depends on the politics of the given moment and while the legitimacy of the representation has often been called into question,
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas it is unquestionably important to acknowledge previous good practices, but whereas their validity is limited in time and area and whereas the reference to them may give rise to the illusion that 'everything is fine',
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the policies of the Union institutions and the Member States geared to improving access to employment can only be based on the recognition that the economic reforms in Eastern and Central Europe has made millions of former workers unemployed or kept them inactiveve created new conditions on the labour market;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the socioeconomical disadvantage suffered by Roma children in practice puts early development and quality education out of their reach throughout the region; notes that these disadvantages in turn determine their subsequent chances on the labour market;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that education systems are selective and that although Member States are spending substantial sums on overcoming segregation, innumerable seemingly ineluctable systems accelerate the rise of the elite from the middle class and accentuate disparities in opportunities for the poorer sections of the population who find themselves on a downward spiral, particularly the Roma;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that, although the proportion of Roma young people in secondary and higher education has increased, their level of qualifications still remains far below the European average; observes that, as a result of this, the Member States' economies often draw labour from third countries to make good labour shortages;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that the Member States have used substantial European Union and Member-State resources to help the long- term unemployed find work, but these have typically set in stone the existing situation; stresses that the number of long-term unemployed people and their marginalisation have grown since enlargement;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Endorses the view taken by the Commission that the greatest problem in bringing about reintegration into the labour market is that Roma adults are under- represented in the working population and in lifelong learning, butand over-represented among the long-term unemployed and those working on low-prestige occupations;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Draws it to the attention of the Member States that this social dichotomy compels many Roma job-seekers to transfer from the legal economy to the black market, and that a European effort is needed to bring that market into the legitimate spheretransfer these employees back to legal employment with work-related and social security rights;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Supports the proposal by the EU institutions that the number of Roma working in public services should be increased; points out, however, that in order to make this possible it is necessary not only for governments to pursue personnel and educational policies which promote it but also to increase public acceptance of the principle;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Considers that employment of Roman women should also be promoted by means of employment-friendly operation of social support systems; calls on Member States to make it possible for children from large Roma families who have not yet reached school age to have access toadopt measures which help to increase the number of Roma in children´s day care institutions even if their mother is at home with her other children; considers it desirable that labour market programmes should use this time to teach them knowledge to prepare them in the long term for work from which they can earn a living;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Points out that the policy of drawing primarily on immigrants to provide labour takes too restrictive a view; notes that it would be possible to create the largest pool of labour by activating older people, people with disabilities and poor, unskilled people, including most notably the Roma;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Points out that the policy of drawing primarily on immigrants to provide labour takessocial and employment policies should contribute too restrictive a view; notes that it would be possible to create the largest pool of labour by activatingthe individual potentials and needs of citizens, especially those of older people, people with disabilities and poor, unskilled people, including most notably the Roma;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Opposes the view that subsidies designed to help the long-term unemployed (including many Roma) to find work, whether paid to employers or employees, violate the principle of competitive neutrality, as reintegration of the Roma is a social policy objective for the pursuit of which it is necessary to create subsidised market positions, as is likewise the case for people with disabilities;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes that, among Europe's cultures, that of the Roma Roma culture is marked by a strong family tradition; observes that the image of Roma families in public opinion features an emphasis on traditional gender roles, large numbers of children, cohabitation by several generations, the tendency of relatives to live close together, and extensive cultivation of relationships, and that therefore, in European and Member- State programmes for Roma families, it is necessary to build on the strengths of this natural support network;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Endorses the opinion of the European Social and Economic Committee that Roma women have a low status in family hierarchy, are married early, often suffer domestic violence, and are often victims of prostitution and human trafficking;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)
Paragraph 20 b (new)
20b. Considers therefore that EU and Member-State programmes for the Roma should aim at individual emancipation from traditional hierarchies and the socioeconomic independence of members of Roma communities, especially women;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Points out that Roma women's tendency to leave school early not only damages their own opportunities on the labour market but also affects the health status and schooling of their children;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Considers that the transmission of poverty and social exclusion can only be prevented effectively at an early stage in life, that an appropriately supportive environment is needed for children’s development and that it is necessary to provide an institutional framework for early childhood services which meets regional and personal needs, guaranteeing equal access to quality services; notes, however, that, in disadvantaged areas where Roma live, early childhood services either are not available or, if they are, frequently suffer from inadequate infrastructure and therefore operate dysfunctionally; calls on the Commission, therefore, to provide particular support for programmes for the early integration of Roma children in all countries where European Union resources (Phare, IPA, Structural Funds) can be accessed;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes that Roma children are over- represented in special schools, that a large proportion of them are assigned to such schools without justification, often on account of poverty or discrimination; points out that attending special schools gives rise to difficulties in further study and in finding work and to greater inactivity, at the same time forming a burden on budgets;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Endorses the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee that the Roma community – due to the demographic characteristics of the group – has asymmetrical access to social benefits; against the background of the prejudices which exist in this connection, stresses that social benefits are intended to counterbalance the burdens or lacks arising from individual life situation, the commitment of looking after children and other socially useful commitments;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Considers that, as the Roma are Europe's largest minority, preserving their language and culture is a European value; dDoes not, however, endorse the idea of a stateless 'European nation', because this would discriminate against citizens of the Union for being members of an ethnic group, absolve Member States of responsibility and call into question the possibility of integration;