INTEGRATION : ROMA, 'VICTIMS OF POORLY SPENT EU FUNDS'.

Following France's controversial repression of Roma of Romanian and Bulgarian origin, a European Commission expert group (or task force') has formally announced something that is already widely known - EU Structural Funds are not being correctly spent to the benefit of Roma, the EU's largest minority.

"Preliminary results indicate that member states are not using EU funds properly for the effective social and economic integration of Roma," the expert group said in a report published on 21 December 2010, adding that the problems lie primarily in "a lack of know-how" and of the "administrative absorption capacity for Community funds". While such problems have been pointed out previously on several occasions, they are particularly prevalent in the new' member states, Romania and Bulgaria in particular, which have the EU's largest Roma population.

The report also identifies difficulties concerning national co-financing, which is necessary for the countries' Cohesion Funds projects, as well as the "absence of collaboration" between civil society and Roma communities.

SUCCESSES

Such integration policies are primarily national. The group has also identified successful experiences, particularly in Spain. The best scenario, the group states, is when national governments and regional and local authorities coordinate their actions, as is the case in Spain, which set up national coordination mechanisms', and in Hungary, which has adopted a pro-Roma strategy. Budapest also wants to launch a strategy during...