Romi

Discrimination and intolerance persist in the European Union (EU) despite the best efforts of Member States to root them out, FRA research shows. Verbal abuse, physical attacks and murders motivated by prejudice target EU society in all its diversity, from visible minorities to those with disabilities. This FRA report is designed to help the EU and its Member States to tackle these fundamental rights violations both by making them more visible and bringing perpetrators to account.

This EU-MIDIS Data in focus report 6 presents data on respondents’ experiences of victimisation across five crime types: theft of or from a vehicle; burglary or attempted burglary; theft of personal property not involving force or threat (personal theft); assault or threat; and serious harassment. The European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS) is the first EU-wide survey to ask 23,500 individuals with an ethnic and minority background about their experiences of discrimination and criminal victimisation in everyday life.

Drawing mainly on primary qualitative research conducted in Finland, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, this report provides a synthesis of information on positive initiatives with regard to the social inclusion of Roma EU citizens living in other EU Member States.

In order to enhance its work and develop a new strategy on addressing the situation of Roma and Travellers communities, the FRA has consulted in 2008 with a selected number of organisations actively involved in work on Roma and Travellers issues and are familiar with the work already undertaken by the Agency. The Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Decade of Roma Inclusion, the European Commission and the European level organisations representing Roma and Traveller interests and/or engaging on behalf of the Roma and Traveller communities have been included through questionnaire consultation and were invited to take part at the FRA Roma Consultative meeting on 9 July 2008. This FRA Report presents the results of this consultation process.

This report is the first EU-MIDIS ‘Data in Focus' report examining discrimination and victimisation experienced by the Roma. Of all the groups surveyed by the FRA, the Roma emerged as the group most vulnerable to discrimination and crime. The FRA has therefore analysed their situation in a ‘data in focus' report, the first in a series of reports on minority groups and issues covered by the survey.

This report provides information on the impact of the recent events in the Ponticelli district of Naples on Roma, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in May-June 2008. The report brings together the basic facts on these violent attacks as well as background information regarding the situation of Roma in Italy. It also describes efforts to address the situation by the Italian Authorities and the International Community, in particular the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and Civil society organisations.Available languages: English, French, German, Italian and Romanian (PDF format).

This report released by the Agency highlights the case of the Roma and their particular challenges in exercising these rights. Based on the evidence of its report, the FRA advises the EU and its Member States to adopt targeted policies promoting social cohesion to ensure that all citizens can exercise their right to freedom of movement effectively.

The Fundamental Rights Agency publishes its first report on multiple discrimination: EU-MIDIS Data in Focus 5: ‘Multiple Discrimination' which focuses on perceptions of multiple discrimination experiences by respondents of ethnic or immigrant origin, compared with the general population.

The report gives an overview of the EU-MIDIS survey, explaining why the survey was carried out and how it was carried out. It also presents some examples of the findings of the survey.