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Proposals for Political Parties ahead of the European Elections 2019 [editar]

Fundación Secretariado Gitano

03/05/2019
FSG

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From the Fundación Secretariado Gitano we want to contribute to the European electoral process in which millions of citizens can participate on May 26. As an entity, we want to present our recommendations to politicians and policy-makers that we must choose at the polls during this electoral process and encourage the participation of Roma people in order to comes and share their ideas and proposals as main protagonists in this process of political participation.

The elections to be held on May 26 are a key to shape the political and social context of the coming years in Europe. We are in a current European panorama of growing racist and xenophobic discourses in many Member States, so it is necessary to maintain clear and direct positions to counter these approaches and make political proposals to guarantee the foundational values ​​of the EU is of utmost importance to build a European Union for all people. In addition, we cannot ignore the current and persistent situation of social inequalities and poverty that the Roma community suffers in most European States, which has a direct impact on access and equal enjoyment of Fundamental Rights such as education, housing or health.

In the current political context of growing racist and xenophobic discourses, a solid and straightforward determination to counterbalance such approaches and make political proposals to guarantee the EU-founding values is of extreme importance to make an EU for all.

The Fundación Secretariado Gitano hereby calls on EU political parties to:

  1. Support the renewal of the existing EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies (2011-2020) for the coming years as a requisite to tackle existing inequalities and discrimination of Roma across the EU, urging the European Commission (EC) to call on Member States to comply with the political commitments acquired within that framework and to set the conditions to improve the limited impact achieved so far at national level in the education, employment, housing and health situation. Urging also the European Commission to strengthen its supervision and monitoring role and to articulate an effective transnational cooperation mechanism as an instrument to advance in achieving real progress.
  2. Acquire a solid public compromise against discrimination, hate speech and crimes in the EU by following up on the effective application of existing EU legal instruments (Directive on Equal Treatment 2000/43), by taking political and legal actions, including the opening of infringement procedures in cases of violation of people´s rights and by demanding the EC to call on Member States to reinforce Equality Bodies and their independence.
  3. Assume and lead the aim of reducing the inequality gap and the fight against poverty and social exclusion, particularly of the most vulnerable social groups (disabled, Roma, migrants…) demanding the European Commission, in the new framework of the European Pillar of Social Right to promote Member States´ provision of quality, adapted and accessible public services (education, employment, health, social protection…) to guarantee equal opportunities, taking into consideration the different starting points of specific groups, such as Roma.
  4. Assure a better alignment between EU social policy priorities and the programming of ESI Funds as a way to guarantee social, economic and territorial cohesion and to compensate inequalities among and within Members States. Long term, solid and structural investments need to be assured in order to achieve positive impacts in people´s lives.
  5. Promoting a human rights-based approach in all EU policies and instruments with a particular focus on children, and specifically of Roma children across the EU, who are in a particularly excluded and vulnerable situation. The future Child Guarantee should take into consideration the particular situation of Roma children, one of the most disadvantaged groups across the EU.

 

From Fundación Secretariado Gitano, as in previous election cases, we want to contribute with our ideas and proposals to the political actors at national and European level. The most recent case has been our proposals in the last General Elections of April 28 2019 in Spain, in which we share with the main political parties a decalogue of proposals aimed at improving the situation of social vulnerability and exclusion that the Roma community suffer in Spain. These proposals were well received by all the political representatives at national, autonomous and local levels.

In the following link you can access the FSG Proposals Booklet for the Spanish General Elections https://gitanos.org/upload/54/52/FOLLETO_ELECCIONES_ESTATAL_FSG.pdf

In the following link you can consult our special dossier dedicated to the elections (only available in Spanish) where you will find all the information regarding our positioning and electoral proposals for national, regional and local elections in Spain, as well as the European Elections of 2019. https://www.gitanos.org/actualidad/dossieres/127354.html.es

 

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