Don’t Leave Roma Out of EU Enlargement Talks

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Roma Face Brunt of Western Balkans Demographic Crisis

However, one fundamental failure looks set to be repeated: a blatant refusal to consider the situation facing the Roma minority in the Western Balkans and how Roma people themselves could benefit from a new approach to EU enlargement.

It would be the third time the EU and its member states have failed to learn this lesson. Throughout the Western Balkan accession process to date, Roma have been largely neglected. That was also the case when Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia joined the EU club in the 2000s.

Not only do the experts and politicians ignore the realities facing Roma people, they also fail to listen to experts from within the Roma community itself. They exclude them from policy planning and decision-making and instead confine their consultations to "experts on Roma issues".

Despite 20 years of EU pre-accession "assistance", both the fundamental rights and socio-economic status of Roma in the Western Balkans remain a disaster. That is also true for Roma in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

Whether states have had 10 or 15 years of EU membership or are still going through the accession process, Roma are not equal citizens and are still subjected to state-sponsored racism. Many Roma live in dire conditions, in housing that is overcrowded, substandard and slum-like. They have limited access to infrastructure.

Inclusion policies for Roma should be embedded in discussions on EU accession from the very beginning, if only to avoid mistakes of the past.

A first step would be to recognise the existence of antigypsyism — the specific form of racism towards Roma — and the urgent need to combat it. So far, this...