Roma Inclusion in Romania: Policies, Institutions and Examples EU INCLUSIVE Data transfer and exchange of good practices regarding the inclusion of Roma population between Romania, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain Roma Inclusion in Romania: Policies, Institutions and Examples 139 Roma Inclusion in Romania: Policies, Institutions and Examples Simona Ilie - employment expert, CP III at the Research Institute for Quality of Life - Romanian Academy Rusu Mãrioara - administration expert, CP II at the Institute of Agricultural Economics - National Institute of Economic Research (INCE) Romanian Academy ªtefánia Toma - migration expert, CP III at the Romanian Institute for Research on National Minorities Iulian Stoian - social inclusion expert, program coordinator SOROS Foundation - Romania Arsu Alin - social services expert, specialized referent within General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection - 3rd District, Bucharest Daniela Giurca and Ovidiu Voicu have contributed with suggestions, comments and recommendations to all chapters. Dana Dumitrescu has contributed to the completion of editing process. 140 Roma Inclusion in Romania: Policies, Institutions and Examples Project ID data Project Title: EU INCLUSIVE – data transfer and exchange of good practices regarding the inclusion of Roma population between Romania, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain Project ID No: SOPHRD/98/6.4/S/63841 Priority Axis 6: Promoting Social Inclusion Key Area of Intervention 6.4: Transnational initiatives of inclusive labour market The Project is implemented from September 2010 to September 2012. Total value of the project is of LEI 9,337,116.25. Description of the project ,,EU INCLUSIVE – data transfer and exchange of good practices regarding the inclusion of Roma population between Romania, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain” is a joint cross-border project, implemented by Soros Foundation from Romania, in partnership with Open Society Institute-Sofia from Bulgaria, Fundación Secretariado Gitano from Spain and Fondazione Casa della Carità Angelo Abriani from Italy. The project objective is the development of cooperation practices in the field of Roma inclusion by cross-border transfer of data and exchange of local good practices in order to promote the inclusion of this vulnerable group on the European labour market, as well as to increase the capacity of organizations dealing with Roma integration in Romania, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria. The project is aimed at achieving a diagnosis of the situation of Roma inclusion on the labour market of these 4 European countries an at converting the sociological data, thus obtained, in order to drat public policies of national and cross-border application. We are trying to: • generate a comparative statistical database regarding Roma inclusion and employment in each of the 4 partner countries; • identify and promote successful practices discovered in the partner countries and to capitalize these practices in order to increase public policies relevance in the field of Roma inclusion; • analyse and use the recent European history of Roma inclusion policies, as well as to increase their presence on the labour market, in terms of Roma migrants; • develop a cross-border partnership, with long-term applicability, between organizations and countries with activities in the field of Roma inclusion. 141 Roma Inclusion in Romania: Policies, Institutions and Examples Partners Soros Foundation, Romania (www.soros.ro) – our mission is to promote models for the development of a society based on freedom, responsibility and respect for diversity. As of year 2003, we have carried out framework projects dedicated to social inclusion, like Roma Inclusion Decade, Programme for Integrated Community Development; plus various sociological surveys regarding Roma population from Romania, one such extremely important survey being Roma Inclusion Barometer, as well as community development projects, like My Roma Neighbour, the Near Centre or Rures. Rural space and social economy in Romania. Open Society Institute-Sofia, Bulgaria (www.osi.bg) – non-governmental, non- profit organization, established in 1990, with the following mission: to promote, develop and support the values, attitudes and practices of the open society in Bulgaria; to propose public debates and policies regarding the aspects essential to Bulgaria. Fundación Secretariado Gitano, Spain (www.gitanos.org) – social inter-cultural non-profit organization, which ensures services required for the development of Roma community allover Spain and at European level. It started its activity in 1960 and was established as foundation in 2001. The mission of Fundación Secretariado Gitano is represented by the overall evolution of Roma community, based on respect for and support of their cultural identity. FSG performs activities beyond the borders of Spain, in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Romania. Fondazione Casa della Carità Angelo Abriani, Italy (www.casadellacarita.org) – is a non-profit foundation with social and cultural objectives. It was established in 2002 with the mission to generate opportunities of integration for any person living under cultural and social marginalization conditions: homeless persons, migrants, and asylum seekers, Roma persons, supporting their access to rights, services, opportunities and resources. It aims to contribute in the creation of new models of sustainable social inclusion, transferable on local and national level. 142 Roma Inclusion in Romania: Policies, Institutions and Examples Summary During the communist regime, Roma population has been almost “invisible” for the public policies or programmatic documents. Together with the democratic changes occurred in the ‘90, Roma minority issue became a subject visible in the public debates, as well as on the national and European agenda, while the associative movement and the efforts of Roma identity reassertion were started again, after an absence of several decades1. The deterioration of the population’s social-economic status, seen in the last years, has led to a decrease in the living standard and, implicitly, to an increase in the number of persons and families, including Roma, facing the risk of social exclusion. The European Union and the Member States have a common responsibility in the field of Roma inclusion and, to this end, a wide array of tools and policies are available to them in their domains of responsibility. The European Union has developed the legal framework aimed at increasing the social integration of marginalized groups and at ensuring a higher protection against racism and racial discrimination. Within general strategies (Lisbon Strategy, Europe 2020 Strategy) or strategies designed specifically for this minority (Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005 - 2010, EU Platform for Roma Inclusion, EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020), EU developed also specific actions for promotion of Roma persons. As EU’s responsibilities in the field of Roma inclusion increased, more and more institutions undertook, inter alia, relevant attributions concerning Roma minority (the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice, the European Union Council, the Fundamental Rights Agency, the Council of Europe, Independent Networks of Experts, Directorate General for Social Cohesion – Roma and Travellers Department, etc.). In Romania, the promotion policies for Roma social inclusion are included in a series of national documents which incorporate European elements: National Plan for Fighting Poverty and Promoting Social Inclusion, National Plan for Development 2007 - 2013, National Strategic Reference Framework 2007 - 2013, Sectorial Operational Programme – Human Resources Development, Governing Program 2009 - 2012 and a specific strategic paper „Strategy for Improving the Condition of Roma in Romania 2001 - 2010". The latest was reviewed in 2006 and then, in 2011, another document was drafted. The new „Romanian Government Strategy for the inclusion of Romanian citizens belonging to Roma minorities 2011 - 2020" has the stated purpose of ensuring social-economic inclusion of Romanian citizens belonging to Roma minority, by implementing integration policies in the field of education, labour force employment, health, housing, culture and social infrastructure. 1 Subsequent to ,,the process of freeing the gypsies”, in 1856, their efforts towards identity reassertion in Romania manifested strongly between the two world wars but were cut-off suddenly during the Second World War and restarted after the 90s 143 Roma Inclusion in Romania: Policies, Institutions and Examples Although some progress was made during the last years in this area, in terms of legislation and institutions, the reality shows that the vicious cycle of poverty continues to keep Roma in situation of social exclusion, with utmost grave consequences – difficult access to health and education services, low level of participation on the labour market, improper housing, decrease of community solidarity, etc. These small accomplishments – far from desideratum – were inconsistent because of inefficient coordination between institutional structures at central, regional and local level, the institutional operation was difficult (due to the lack of infrastructure, human resources, frequent changes in the institutions’ statute, high rate of governmental discontinuity and lack of funds), and all these aspects have negatively affected the efficient implementation of all drafted strategies. Generally, the