Introduction
Roma history is a crucial element in understanding the underlying causes of their integration and, perhaps even more importantly, why such a process is necessary. The status of Roma, from the very first date of their appearance in the European area, is that of a marginalised, sensitive person and, in some cases, of an undesirable person.
Over the years, Roma have found a way to locate themselves in different countries. Of course, they would still travel, some more than others, but often only within one country or with the passage of time, perhaps only in a county or province. This tendency has led to defining Roma people according to certain categories, starting from their basic occupations: musicians, animal caretakers or people who shape clay. Musicians became Spanish Roma, just as in Russian choirs and Hungarian folklore. Those who modelled clay or other materials went to England and France. Animal keepers moved through Germany, Italy and Austria.
The process of “Europeanisation” is an oft-used term that sometimes captures competing and sometimes staggered processes that refer specifically to institutional isomorphism and policy convergence. It is also suggestive of moving, away from a purely intergovernmental organisation, towards a European policy, or at least, a more integrated European political regime. Krasner suggests that regimes are “sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures around which actors’ expectations converge in a particular area of international relations.”[1]
The institutions of the European Union have contributed to the development and construction of a pan-European Roma identity. This new identity is primarily a political one, since, linguistically and culturally, the Roma are still largely a heterogeneous group. Europeanisation has helped develop a general human rights regime and a “solution-oriented” discourse on human rights. This, in turn, has presented minority groups, especially Roma, with a number of previously unknown political opportunities, both at the level of the European Union and at the level of other states in the European area.
As a result of Europeanisation, ethnic and minority groups become more aware of and connected to their national identity, or at least the semblance of one. In this context, the Roma community’s expectations and assumptions, as well as their available avenues for addressing issues, are structured in a manner that fosters consistency and collaboration among previously fragmented communities.
First steps towards recognising Roma as a European minority
The first reference to Roma as an ethnic minority belonging to Europe was given by the Council of Europe in the late 1960s when it referred to “populations of nomadic origins” or “Gypsies and travelling groups”[2].
Through Recommendation on the situation of Roma and other Travellers in Europe, as well as numerous questions to the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly drew attention to the situation of Roma communities
In 1973, the Group on Minority Rights (GDM) published a report on the Roma, a minority group known as “Gypsies” in Western Europe. Continuing their longstanding interest in the Roma community, GDM commissioned a fully updated report on Roma/Gypsies: a European Minority from two renowned experts, following the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe and significant changes in the situation of Roma communities across Europe.
The report is perceived as a dynamic strategy to enhance the activities of the Group on Minority Rights, especially in contexts where GDM has initiated practical training efforts with Roma communities to promote emancipation, alongside multicultural educational projects intended to raise awareness and educate “majority” communities.
The Permanent Conference of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe (CPALRC) adopted Resolution 125 in 1981, which centred on the theme “On the role and responsibility of local and regional authorities in relation to the cultural and social challenges of nomadic populations.” This resolution thoroughly examined the conditions of Roma communities and proposed a series of recommendations aimed at addressing their needs.
In response to the educational aspects outlined in this resolution, the Council for Cultural Cooperation (CDCC) resolved in 1983 to convene an international seminar, which was the first of its kind and intended to lay the groundwork for subsequent events. Furthermore, the Council of Europe has been instrumental in providing both the initial drive and sustained support for numerous publications, primarily pertaining to education.
The scope of consideration encompassed more than just educational dimensions. In 1983, the Committee of Ministers ratified Recommendation R(83)1, focusing on the circumstances of stateless persons and nomads lacking a defined nationality. In 1986, the ad hoc Committee of Experts on Movement and Identity Documents completed a report that investigated the legal matters associated with the mobility of travellers.
The European Parliament, in March 1984, approved a resolution focused on the educational needs of children with parents experiencing homelessness. Furthermore, a separate resolution was adopted regarding the status of Roma/Gypsies, which recommended that the governments of Member States harmonize their strategies and called upon the Commission to create Community-funded programs aimed at improving the living conditions of the Roma, all while honouring their cultural identity.[3]
The role of the European institutions in the Europeanisation of Roma
The identification of the Roma as a ‘truly European’ minority, coupled with the establishment of initiatives to assess and ameliorate their conditions, represents a development that is largely associated with the post-socialist era. During the early 1990s, both the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe began endorsing the publication of detailed reports that examined the plight of the Roma.[4]
The two organizations also established dedicated units to address issues concerning the Roma community. In 1994, the OSCE set up a contact point for Roma and Sinti matters—Sinti being the official term for the Roma minority in Germany—within its Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Furthermore, in 1998, the OSCE created the position of adviser on Roma and Sinti issues to enhance its focus in this area.[5]
The Council of Europe took significant steps in 1994 by designating a coordinator for Roma-related matters and, in 1995, created a panel of experts dedicated to Roma, Gypsies, and Travellers. This panel was later referred to as the MS-S-Rom (Committee of Experts on Roma and Travellers) and played a pivotal role in launching the European Roma and Traveller Forum in 2004.
In the 1990s, the emergence of various international organizations for the protection of human rights, and later the emergence of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and from 1997-98, perhaps, the European Union, fundamentally changed the language used by governments, public administration and regional media in Central European Roma policy. Various European institutions triggered real change, as the majority political elites wishing to become members depended heavily on the degree to which others considered them “democratic” and were therefore willing to adopt a major change of style.
Historically, the European Union has treated minority-related concerns as the prerogative of individual Member States. Over time, however, a range of principles aimed at addressing minority issues has emerged, which, while not legally binding, serve as a form of “common European standard.” These principles are encapsulated in significant documents such as the European Convention on Human Rights, the 1990 Copenhagen Document, the 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Article 13 of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights from 2000.
The activities leading to the drafting of the first Council of Europe and OSCE documents attempted the “transnational” option of an external symbolic homeland in the mid-1990s. These first specialized European Roma programs used the language of human rights as a kind of international moral standard and gradually arrived at a transnational community approach, which could be called “post-national citizenship.” This special status of Roma seems to have been strengthened by Council of Europe Decision No. 1203, which refers to Roma as “a true European minority”.[6]
The European Union, and notably the Commission, has been pivotal in advancing Europeanisation and cultivating a ‘European’ ethos or agenda throughout the Union. This initiative is, indeed, one of their core responsibilities. However, other European organizations outside the EU, such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have also played a significant role in the development of a pan-European rights framework. In terms of Roma rights and integration, the OSCE has contributed to the creation of several comprehensive integration strategies and “action plans.” Many of their recommendations are founded on a distinct interpretation of Roma as a European minority, rather than a national minority, emphasizing their shared history and cultural identity.
Council of Europe Recommendations on Roma in Europe provide:
- One of the objectives of the Council of Europe is to promote the emergence of a genuine European cultural identity. Europe is home to many different cultures and all, including the many minority cultures, enrich and contribute to Europe’s cultural diversity.
- A special place among minorities is reserved for Roma. Living scattered throughout Europe, having no country to call their own, they are a true European minority, but one that does not fit into the definitions of national or linguistic minorities.
- As a non-territorial minority, Roma contribute greatly to Europe’s cultural diversity. In different parts of Europe, they contribute in different ways, whether through language and music or through their crafts and crafts
Key moments in the affirmation of Roma as a European minority
A critical assessment of the educational services provided to Roma/Gypsy children in the Community has been undertaken by the Commission in partnership with the Roma Research Centre at René Descartes University in Paris. The European Commission facilitated a series of expert meetings focused on Roma/Gypsy matters to steer and coordinate the research, which ultimately led to the discussion of the recommendations. The resulting document, “School Provision for Gypsy and Traveller Children,” was published in late 1986. Further investigations were conducted to include the new Member States of Portugal and Spain, culminating in a resolution adopted by the Council and Education Ministers on 22 May 1989, which addressed the educational provisions for Roma/Gypsy children.
The early 1990s marked a significant transformation in the narratives and actions of European institutions, as the Roma began to be recognized as collaborators in programs focused on advancing their socio-economic status.
The European Parliament, which regularly questions the Commission about the action it takes, has a sustained interest in resolutions and active support in the field of education through the adoption of a budget line enabling the implementation of the 1989 resolution.
In the mid-1990s, Nicolae Gheorghe, an internationally recognized advocate for Roma rights, collaborated with Andrzej Mirga to present a policy document that proposed a transnational identity project. This project is intended to function as both a political strategy and a political aim:
“Why have we used the concept of ‘transnational’ from a wide range of concepts available to us to describe non-territorial or dispersed minorities? The idea is to indicate that we can evolve in a different way than the national minorities of nation-states [..] We can build an ethnic dynamic and a new image [..] by interacting with non-national or supra-national institutions.”[7]
At the conclusion of the OSCE Conference on the Human Dimension in Copenhagen in June 1990, the participating States ratified a crucial document. This document emphasizes the collective intention of these states to “promote respect for and enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, cultivate human interactions, and tackle related humanitarian challenges.” Chapter IV is exclusively focused on national minorities, with Article 40 addressing matters of racism. Importantly, the Roma/Gypsies are uniquely identified as the only minority mentioned by name in this section.
Following the Copenhagen meeting, an OSCE group of experts on national minorities held a meeting in Geneva in July 1991. In Chapter VI of the final report of this meeting, the participating States expressed concern about the spread of acts of violence based on racial, ethnic or religious grounds. In this context:
‘The participating States … reaffirm their recognition of the specific problems of Roma (Gypsies). They stand ready to take effective measures to achieve full equality of opportunity between people belonging to Roma communities habitually residing in their state and the rest of the resident population. They also encourage research and studies on Roma and the specific problems they face.[8]
Following a hearing in 1991, CALRE organised a meeting in Slovakia in 1992, bringing together local authorities, representatives of Roma communities and experts. This confirmed the results of the 1991 hearing. Its conclusions stressed both the need to update and reactivate the 1981 resolution and to present concrete working proposals. CALRE decided, on the basis of the combined conclusions of the hearing and the colloquium, to prepare a new text. Resolution, entitled ‘On Gypsies in Europe: the role and responsibility of local and regional authorities’, was adopted in March 1993.
Education issues were the first to involve sustained interest from the Commission services. It subsequently broadened the scope of its concern. A hearing was held in May 1991 with Roma experts and representatives, giving the Commission the opportunity to familiarise itself with the analyses and proposals of Roma associations. At the end of this hearing and after the distribution of the resulting report, the Commission undertook to study the relevant conditions for the development of Roma/Gypsy activities.
It urged regional and local authorities to adopt a holistic approach, where they should take the necessary measures to facilitate Roma integration in local communities, develop consultation and participation with Roma themselves, combat stereotypes and prejudices and take part in forming a network at municipal level.
In April 1993, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities was tasked with:
“Studying social, economic and humanitarian issues concerning the Roma population in several Member States and their relevance to the mandate of the High Commissioner and reporting on this matter to the Committee of Chief Civil Servants. During the discussion, it was also stated that these problems can also have an international dimension”.
In an OSCE seminar on minorities organised, in connection with the work of the subgroup on “dispersed minorities”, Roma questions were again highly discussed. In 1994, the OSCE, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, organized another seminar in Warsaw, this time focusing on the situation of Roma communities in particular. This seminar confirmed and strengthened the guidelines and working concepts developed over many years, and a significant readiness for inter-institutional cooperation was demonstrated in connection with the development of a partnership involving Roma organisations. Roma showed up again at the OSCE meeting in Budapest in autumn of that year, when the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) was mandated to develop a “contact point” for Roma/Gypsy issues.
Recommendation 1203 of 1993 of the Council of Europe stated that “living scattered throughout Europe, without having a specific country of their own, Gypsies are a true European minority […] contributing to Europe’s cultural diversity[9].
The Assembly drew attention to the precarious situation of Roma communities and to the importance of implementing ordinances already adopted, and recommended that the Committee of Ministers take the initiative, if necessary, in the form of proposals addressed to national governments, regional and/or local authorities of the Member States, in the fields of education, personal information, culture, equal rights and daily life, as well as general measures such as cooperation and research with the European Community, consultation with international Roma representative organisations and appointment of mediators. This recommendation repeatedly stresses that, “as one of the few non-territorial minorities in Europe, Gypsies need special protection”.[10]
In June 2000, a general anti-discrimination programme was adopted under the name ‘EU Race and Employment Directives’. The deadline for implementing the Directives in the Member States was July 2004. However, according to the REIR (European Network against Racism), few Member States have complied.
Conclusions
The road to Europeanisation came with a lot of challenges and responsibilities for the Roma community and managed to raise serious questions regarding their role in the European context. After hundreds of years of persecution, going from state to state, the Roma people will be recognized as an European minority.
This is a very important factor that have changed to the core the way in which the European institutions have formed resolutions regarding the integration and afterwards, the inclusion of the Roma people. The new methods focus more on engaging with the Roma community and offering them the help and support they need, especially in low-income areas and families. The role of the European institutions will continue to shape future strategies that are presented by every, if not most, European countries that want to offer their support in helping the Roma community as a whole.
As for the process of Europeanisation, it is clear that in order to benefit from all the advantages, the Roma people need to adapt and overcome a series of challenges that can go against their traditional way of living. Improvements have been made through the years and it is clear that the image of the Roma community had developed in a positive manner, many people rising and speaking on behalf of the community, many being of Roma origin.
References
Martin Kováts, “Problems of Intellectual and Political Accountability in Respect of Emerging European Roma Policy”, Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (2001).
Nicolae Gheorghe, Andrzej Mirga, “The Roma in the Twenty-First Century: A Policy Paper”, Eurozine (2001).
Rachel Guglielmo, Timothy Waters, “Migrating Towards Minority Status: Shifting European Policy Towards Roma”, Journal of Common Market Studies 763 (2005).
Stephen Daniel Krasner, “Structural causes and regime consequences: regimes as intervening variables,” International Regimes 36 (1982).
Yasemin Soysal, “Changing Citizenship in Europe: Remarks on Postnational Membership and the Nation State” in David Cesarani, Mary Fulbrook (editors), Citizenship, Nationality and Migration in Europe, (Routledge, London, 1997).
OSCE, “Implementation of the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti Within the OSCE Area” (2008) https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/0/c/33500.pdf.
Consiliul Europei, “Recomandarea consiliului din 9 decembrie 2013 cu privire la măsurile de integrare efectivă a romilor în statele member” Jurnalul Oficial al Uniunii Europene (2013), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/RO/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013H1224(01)
https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=14599&lang=en
https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=15237&lang=en
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/c/14304.pdf
NOTE
[1] Stephen Daniel Krasner, “Structural causes and regime consequences: regimes as intervening variables,” International Regimes 36 (1982):185 – 205.
[2] https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=14599&lang=en
[3] Martin Kováts, “Problems of Intellectual and Political Accountability in Respect of Emerging European Roma Policy”, Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (2001): 3.
[4] Rachel Guglielmo, Timothy Waters, “Migrating Towards Minority Status: Shifting European Policy Towards Roma”, Journal of Common Market Studies 763 (2005).
[5] OSCE, ,,Implementation of the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti Within the OSCE Area” (2008) https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/0/c/33500.pdf .
[6] Yasemin Soysal, “Changing Citizenship in Europe: Remarks on Postnational Membership and the Nation State” in David Cesarani, Mary Fulbrook (editors), Citizenship, Nationality and Migration in Europe, (Routledge, London, 1997), 17–29.
[7] Nicolae Gheorghe, Andrzej Mirga, “The Roma in the Twenty-First Century: A Policy Paper”, Eurozine (2001): 25.
[8] https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/c/14304.pdf.
[9] Parliamentary Assembly, “Gypsies in Europe”, 2 February1993, https://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=15237&lang=en
[10] Consiliul Europei, “Recomandarea consiliului din 9 decembrie 2013 cu privire la măsurile de integrare efectivă a romilor în statele member” Jurnalul Oficial al Uniunii Europene (2013), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/RO/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013H1224(01)
