A note on Roma mental health and the statement by Géza Jeszenszky

The following note provides an overview of the debate centred on a 2005 course textbook which was written by Géza Jeszenszky for courses he taught at the Corvinus University of Budapest. In the text book a claim was made that many Roma are mentally ill on account of Roma culture sanctioning incestuous relations. The note refutes this claim and can find no scientific evidence to support such assertions

Combating Institutional Anti-Gypsyism: Responses and promising practices in the EU and selected Member States. CEPS Research Report No 2017/08, May 2017 Friday, 19 May 2017

The notion of ‘anti-Gypsyism’ aims to refocus public policies addressing Roma discrimination in order to place responsibility for combating structural, historically-embedded and systemic forms of racism, discrimination and exclusion towards Roma squarely on state institutions and actors. This report examines the ways in which policies and funding combat ‘anti-Gypsyism’ in the European Union and selected Member States and assesses the added value of the ‘anti-Gypsyism’ concept, with particular reference to its institutional forms. It explores ways in which these institutional forms could be combated by identifying some ‘promising practices or experiences’ found in five selected EU Member States (Germany, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK). These ‘promising practices’ include reactive and proactive measures organised around four main themes: i) national, regional and local institutional responses; ii) training and education activities; iii) access to justice and effective remedies; and iv) media, public attitudes and political discourse. The report further draws conclusions and provides a set of policy recommendations for EU and national policy-makers to effectively combat anti-Gypsyism. The authors highlight that discussions on antiGypsyism should focus not only on its definition, but on the actual outputs of current national and EU policies and a more robust application of EU rule of law and fundamental rights monitoring and reporting mechanisms. A key proposal put forward is to expand the scope of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies to become the EU Framework for National Roma Inclusion and Combating Anti-Gypsyism and to equip it with the necessary authority and means to tackle systematic and institutional manifestations of anti-Gypsyism

Scaling up Roma Inclusion Strategies Truth, reconciliation and justice for addressing antigypsyism. Study. Study requested by the LIBE committee. CEPS Special Report, February 2019

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, aims to promote a better understanding of the Roma minority and communities’ situation in the EU. The study explores concrete proposals to upscale the post-2020 Roma framework strategy via a Rule of Law, Democracy and Fundamental Rights (DRF) Periodic Review/Mechanism and a Truth and Reconciliation Process at the EU level. It proposes ways to strengthen the role of the European Parliament in ensuring democratic accountability and the right to truth and effective justice for past and current human rights violations

Civil Society Monitoring Report on the Implementation of the National Roma Integration Strategyon the Implementation of the National Roma Integration Strategy and Decade Action Plan in 2012 in: Romania

After a decade of attempts to deal with the problems faced by Roma, the Romanian government prepared a new policy document in the broader context of the European Commission (EC) Communication in April 2011, regarding the elaboration/adoption of National Roma Inclusion Strategies by member states. The new policy "The Strategy of the Government of Romania for the Inclusion of Romanian Citizens Belonging to the Roma Minority for the Period 2012-2020" (the National Roma Inclusion Strategy -- NRIS) replaces previous Roma policy documents adopted in 2001 and revised in 2006 (and which expired in 2011). Romania was among the first to sign the Decade of Roma Inclusion documents and also held its first Presidency, but in spite of these commitments, the Romanian government has never adopted a Decade Action Plan. In 2006, the Romanian government issued government decision no. 870/2006, which established the standard quality requirements for government strategies. In our analysis, the NRIS does not meet these requirements, generating significant difficulties for its implementation and monitoring.An action plan also needs to comply with certain standards of a policy document. A simple review of the NRIS action plan proves that it does not live up to these basic standards. Moreover, the NRIS falls short of the European Union's requirements, as outlined in the EC Communication (April 2011). The NRIS's elaboration was a rather superficial process. Very few suggestions and comments formulated by a large group of NGOs were considered and can be found in the final version of the NRIS adopted by the Government in December 2011. In 2009, the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of Social and Demographic Risks proposed a new approach to tackling Roma issues, reflected in "a genuine and constant political approach to the challenges of ensuring equal opportunity policies for the Roma minority". This recommendation is marginally reflected in the text of the current NRIS, and it remains a goal to be achieved considering the limited political capacity of the Roma community to act as a strong and reliable partner of public bodies

Introducing the New Journal Critical Romani Studies

The Introduction presents the origins of the new journal "Critical Romani Studies". It discusses why the editors founded a new journal. Finally, the paper presents the main features of the new journal

A Task for Sisyphus

Despite an increasing number of EU and government initiatives in their favor, the situation of Roma in Europe has only worsened. This book explores the many miscalculations, misconceptions, and blunders that have led to this failure. Looking at Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Romania, Rostas shows how policy makers in each country have mishandled already confused EU policy, from failing to define “Roma” to not having a way to evaluate their own progress. Rostas further argues that the alleged successes of these policies were actually the product of poor information and sometimes outright deception. Examining perennial topics among Roma like school segregation and political representation, the author shows how often the so-called success of Roma policies can be fallacious and simply pave the way for further problems. Rostas maintains that when the EU’s Framework for Roma program comes to an end in 2020, there must be a fundamental shift in policy for there to be any real improvement for Roma. Policy makers will have to address Roma issues not only in terms of poverty and social exclusion but also in terms of the particular nature of Romani ethnic identity. This shift requires reconceiving Roma as a “politically insular minority” and rearranging the power dynamics of local government to ensure that when the new era of Roma policy begins Roma themselves will have a voice in its formulation

A Task for Sisyphus

Despite an increasing number of EU and government initiatives in their favor, the situation of Roma in Europe has only worsened. This book explores the many miscalculations, misconceptions, and blunders that have led to this failure. Looking at Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Romania, Rostas shows how policy makers in each country have mishandled already confused EU policy, from failing to define “Roma” to not having a way to evaluate their own progress. Rostas further argues that the alleged successes of these policies were actually the product of poor information and sometimes outright deception. Examining perennial topics among Roma like school segregation and political representation, the author shows how often the so-called success of Roma policies can be fallacious and simply pave the way for further problems. Rostas maintains that when the EU’s Framework for Roma program comes to an end in 2020, there must be a fundamental shift in policy for there to be any real improvement for Roma. Policy makers will have to address Roma issues not only in terms of poverty and social exclusion but also in terms of the particular nature of Romani ethnic identity. This shift requires reconceiving Roma as a “politically insular minority” and rearranging the power dynamics of local government to ensure that when the new era of Roma policy begins Roma themselves will have a voice in its formulation.Published versio

A Task for Sisyphus

Despite the increasing number of policy measures and initiatives targeting the Roma in Europe, their position has continued to worsen, which requires answers from policymakers, activists and academics. The author sums up why Roma policies fail on European and national levels as follows: failure to define the target group; to provide good information and data; to establish a mechanism for effective participation of Roma; to allow adequate debate and consultation; to define the problems and to frame the issue; to coordinate between central and local level; to design policies without monitoring and evaluation; and finally failure of regulative framework. Each of the above is expounded in the book with a number of recommendations. These include conceiving the Roma as a “politically insular minority,” giving greater consideration to the specificities of Romani ethnic identity and setting up mechanisms that ensure that the voice of Roma is heard during the decision-making processes