Calling for more Roma equality, participation and inclusion in next EU Framework Strategy

The Committee exchanged views on a report on the implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies: Combating negative attitudes towards people with Romani background in Europe.

Helena Dallí, EU Equality Commissioner, the FRA Director, MEP Romeo Franz and Daniel Strauß, the Chairman of the Board for Romnokher, a German Roma NGO all commented on the report.

FRA identified four key areas that the EU Framework Strategy for Roma should cover. This included:

  • Housing and combatting segregation, including respecting Travellers’ lifestyles;
  • Improving understanding of Antigypsyism/ anti-Romani racism across EU Member States;
  • Improving rights awareness, encouraging reporting of discrimination and enhancing trust in public authorities;
  • And ensuring participation and empowerment of Roma and Travellers at all stages of the policy cycle. 


Exploring civil society space with the European Parliament’s rights monitoring group

He presented preliminary findings from the Fundamental Rights Platform civic space consultation and the second FRA bulletin on the fundamental rights impact of national COVID-19 measures.

He mentioned four key points for civil society:

1) Involving civil society in consultations effectively;

2) Protecting civil society organisations from threats and attacks;

3) Auditing the unintended effects of legislation on civic space and activities,

4) Using EU funding to also support core expenses and advocacy activities of civil society organisations rather than just specific projects.



Stop racist harassment and ethnic profiling in Europe

“No one should be targeted just because of the colour of their skin. No one should be afraid of a police stop, just because they are black. There is no space for racism and racial discrimination in the 21th century and we need to work together to eradicate racist practices once and for all in Europe,” says FRA director Michael O’Flaherty.

The findings of FRA’s 2018 report “Being Black in the EU” shed light on the widespread discrimination black people face in the EU. It showed that many black people in Europe experience racist harassment and violence, including at the hands of the police:

  • racial harassment – 30% of respondents say they have been racially harassed and 5% were attacked in the five years before the survey;
  • discriminatory profiling in police stops – 24% of respondents were stopped by the police in the five years before the survey. Among those, 41% felt the stop constituted racial profiling.
  • gender aspect – men are three times more likely to be stopped than women (22 % vs 7 %), and they are more likely to consider the most recent stop as racial profiling compared to women.
  • underreporting – only 14 % of the most recent incidents of racist harassment were reported to police or other services.
  • not reporting attacks by police – a majority (63 %) of victims of racist physical attack by a police officer did not report the incident to anybody, either because they felt it would not change anything or because they do not trust the police.

FRA renews its call on Member States to fight discriminatory ethnic profiling, better support victims of racism and properly prosecute perpetrators.

To support Member States in this, FRA published a Guide on how to avoid unlawful profiling to help raise awareness and support police officers in avoiding this practice.

FRA stands ready to further support EU Member States with its data and expertise.

Background information:

The “Being black in the EU” report drew on experiences of nearly 6,000 black people in 12 EU Member States. The experiences were collected as part of FRA’s second survey on experiences of minorities with discrimination. For country data, see our Data explorer.

For more information, please contact: media@europa.eu or +43 1 58030 653



Press release – MEPs debate human rights situation in the US after the death of George Floyd

You can watch the debate in full again here (05.06.2020).

Background

George Floyd was an African American man who died while being arrested by police officers on the street in the US city of Minneapolis on 25 May. His death, along with other such cases, has sparked both peaceful and violent demonstrations and protests against racism and police brutality all over the US, as well as around the globe, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.



Share your experience: How is COVID-19 affecting regions and cities?

A short survey of the OECD and the CoR

The COVID-19 crisis is having a devastating impact on our health, our economies, and our social environment. How is it affecting your region, your city, your village?

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) want to know more about the challenges that subnational government entities are facing. Your experience is essential to better understand and assess the impact of the crisis on regional and local communities across the EU and the OECD, especially in matters of governance, finance and recovery strategy.

By filling out this 10-minute survey, you will provide valuable support to the work of the CoR and the OECD and contribute to a better understanding of this unprecedented crisis and to building solutions for subnational governments. 

  • The survey is open until 30 June 2020
  • It should take approximately 10 minutes to complete
  • It is available in all official EU languages
  • All responses will be kept confidential
  • For more information, please contact audrey.parizel@cor.europa.eu at the CoR and/or isabelle.chatry@oecd.org at the OECD

There is also a joint English-speaking webinar on the impact of the COVID-19 on EU regions and cities taking place on 16 June.