FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS : SURVEY FINDS DISCRIMINATION RAMPANT ACROSS UNION.

Ethnic minority and immigrant groups in the European Union report "high levels of discriminatory treatment," says a survey carried out by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and published on 9 December. The results show that these groups also experience "criminal victimisation, including racially motivated crime". The survey found employment and education to be the most problematic areas for some groups. "This result is alarming as education and paid employment hold the key to integration and social inclusion, representing the prerequisite' for leading a dignified, free and confident life," the report says.

On average, nearly every fifth person from the Roma and Sub-Saharan African groups said they had been a victim of serious harassment at least once in the last 12 months. The highest incidence rate for serious harassment was found for Roma respondents in Greece, where 174 incidents were recorded for every 100 interviewees.

The agency asked respondents about discrimination they had experienced across nine different areas of everyday life: when looking for work, at work, when looking for a house or an apartment to rent or buy, by health care personnel, by social service personnel, by school personnel, at a cafe, restaurant, bar or club, when entering or in a shop, and when trying to open a bank account or get a loan from a bank.

Almost two-thirds of the Roma people in the Czech Republic face discrimination across all nine areas of everyday life (64%) and they face the "highest level" compared to other EU countries...