International Roma Day was marked earlier this month, with Portugal standing out as the only country in the European Union without a national strategy for ensuring that this community is ‘included’ much more than it has been in the past.
The story featured on the Residents’ social media page showed how negative public opinion remains with regard to the Roma – with one commentator freely admitting that he ‘dislikes the Roma people intensely’. Thus some kind of strategy is clearly desperately needed – and today sees the news that the government is finalising its next National Strategy for the Integration of ‘Comunidades Ciganas’ (literally, gypsy communities), so that it can enter the phase of public consultation “very soon”.
According to Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, AIMA – the agency for asylum, integration and migrations – has been tasked with drawing up the strategy.
This could be the moment for a sharp intake of breath: AIMA has recently been exposed for its crushing ineptitudes. How could anything good come of its efforts towards an already marginalised community?
The answer to that question appears to be that AIMA’s responsibilities will be fleeting: the agency will be “transferring its responsibilities and powers regarding Roma communities to the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality” ‘soon’, explain reports.
According to the office of Minister Balseiro Lopes: “The 24th Government has committed to developing a new strategic framework, aligned with the European Union’s Strategic Framework for the Equality, Inclusion and Participation of Roma 2020–2030, moving away from a focus solely on ‘integration’ to emphasising equality, inclusion and participation, promoting a participatory methodological approach, in collaboration with experts and civil society, and including associations from the Roma community.”.
The statement notes that the transfer of responsibilities and powers regarding Roma communities from AIMA to the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) is underway, that working meetings have been held between the two bodies “to operationalise this transition”, and that it is expected to be “completed shortly”.
Portugal has been without a strategy for Roma communities for three years. This led the PS Socialist Party to question Minister Balseiro Lopes on the situation last week – and appears to have resulted in today’s ‘positive news’.
Source: LUSA
