EU to promote Roma integration

A Roma family arrives back home together with about 300 other Roma on planes departing from Paris and Lyon, in the latest wave of what French President Nicholas Sarkozy's government calls a voluntary repatriation scheme, Bucharest, August 26, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)


The European Commission set up on Tuesday a working team to assess the use of funding among its member states, with focus on Roma integration.

After thousands of demonstrators gathered in Europe, mainly in France, on Saturday to protest against Roma expulsion, the Commission has established a Roma Task Force to examine how EU countries achieve the Roma integration program.

The Commission also asked the Belgian EU presidency to hold a meeting of Justice and Social Affairs Ministers to identify a more targeted use of EU funds to promote Roma inclusion.

Other meetings will be organized to assess the progress achieved by EU countries on Roma integration. The Commission will also continue its monitoring mission regarding EU member states' decisions related to Roma population.

The Romani are an ethnic group living mostly in Europe, who trace their origins to medieval India. The Romani are widely dispersed with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe and Anatolia, followed by the Iberian Kale in Southwestern Europe and Southern France.

Source: Xinhua