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GOVERNMENT OF ROMANIA

NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE ROMA

14 Viitorului St. Tel: 40 – 21 – 211.30.37

Bucharest 2 Fax: 40 – 21 – 211.05.95

PROGRESS REPORT

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE

GOVERNMENT STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING

THE CONDITION OF THE ROMA

APRIL 2003 - JUNE 2005

-- Bucharest, September 2005 --

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Table of contents:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:.................................................................................................................................................................. 2

THE ROMANIAN GOVERNMENT’S POLICY OF IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF THE ROMA............................. 3

EVALUATING THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES STATED IN THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR

IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF THE ROMA ...................................................................................................................... 7

INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES ............................................................................................................................................................ 7

EU FUNDS FOR THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF THE ROMA........................................................... 13

IMMEDIATE GOVERNMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY: CENTRAL AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES ...................................................................... 16

1. Local Public Administration and Community Development .............................................................................................. 16

2. Housing .............................................................................................................................................................................. 17

3. Social Security.................................................................................................................................................................... 18

4. Health ................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

5. Economic Issues ................................................................................................................................................................. 20

6. Justice and Public Order.................................................................................................................................................... 22

7. Child Protection ................................................................................................................................................................. 23

8. Education ........................................................................................................................................................................... 24

10. The Activity of County Offices for the Roma .................................................................................................................. 26

THE NON-GOVERNMENTAL DIMENSION: PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN THE AUTHORITIES AND NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NGOS27

FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF THE ROMA

........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 30

RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................. 31

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The Romanian Government’s policy of improving the condition of the

Roma

The Romanian Constitutions of 1991 and 20031 enshrined the principle of the

equality of all citizens before the law; several laws and regulations in force2 also

specify the concrete ways of enforcing this constitutional provision. Romania has also

signed and ratified the main international documents concerning the defence of human

rights and minority rights, including the Framework Convention for the Protection of

National Minorities, the UN Convention on the elimination of all forms of racial

discrimination, the European Convention on human rights (and all subsequent

protocols), as well as the UN Covenant on civil and political rights3.

It is the Romanian Government’s enduring belief that the Roma issue is a

political priority whose achievement requires coherent measures for promoting social,

civic, economic and political inclusion, as well as active measures for the prevention of

and fight against discrimination4. Therefore, the government has repeatedly

emphasised the need for a genuine and direct involvement of all Romanian citizens,

Roma ethnics included, in the democratic developments of Romania; naturally, this

requires free, non-discriminatory access to the entire range of social services, to

employment in accordance with individual skills and professional training, and to a

decent standard of living. Furthermore, in order to enhance Roma involvement in

nation-wide decision-making processes, one objective was to facilitate the organisation

and mobilisation of the Roma (as well as of other national minorities living in

1 The 2003 Romanian Constitution is strictly a republication of the 1991 Romanian Constitution with updated names and

changes in article numbers and headings, revised under Law 429/2003, approved through the National Referendum of 18-

19 October 2003. The Referendum was validated by Decision 3 issued of the Constitutional Court, issued on 22 October

2003. See articles 4, 16, 20 etc. concerning the equality of all Romanian citizens. 2 See the Penal Code, Law 68/1992, Law 48/2002 and many other instruments. 3 Article 20 para. (2) of the Constitution: “If there is any discrepancy between domestic legislation and the international

conventions and treaties on human rights to which Romania is part, international regulations shall prevail, except for the

case in which the Constitution or other domestic legislation contains more favourable provisions”. 4 For a comprehensive account of this field, see Legislatie in domeniul nediscriminarii (Anti-Discrimination Legislation),

National Council for Fighting Discrimination, ALL Beck Publishing House, Bucharest 2003 (488 pages). Governmental

Decision HG 430/2001 is included in the volume.

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Romania) with a view to establishing non-governmental structures allowing for their

direct involvement in political processes and structures5 via affirmative action.

In essence, the Romanian Government’s political commitment in this regard

could be summarised as follows: it is an imperative necessity that a significant

(therefore, perceptible – possibly quantifiable) improvement should take place in the

condition of Roma in Romania, in a reasonably short period of time. The government

programme of the party formerly in office (PSD, the Social Democrat Party) included a

special chapter dedicated to public policies meant to improve the condition of the

Roma. As far as the political coalition currently in office is concerned, its Government

Programme6 for 2005 – 2008 deals with Roma issues in chapter 25 (on national

minorities in general); the improvement of Roma condition is also dealt with in chapter

7 (on social policy) of the same programme.

The National Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma was prepared

over a period of several years by a partnership made up of central and local authorities,

on the one hand, and civil society, represented mainly by Roma non-governmental

organisations, on the other hand; European experts on the protection of human rights

and of national minorities also had a direct contribution to the drafting of the Strategy.

The contribution of international experts ensured the consistency of the Strategy

5 According to article 4 of Law 68 / 15 July 1992 on the election of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate: “(1) Legally

established civic organisations belonging to national minorities which failed to obtain an MP or senator mandate in

elections are entitled, according to art. 59 para. (2) of the Constitution, to a joint MP mandate, if the organisation obtained

at least 5% of the national average number of valid votes required for the election of an MP. (2) For electoral purposes,

the organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities are the legal equivalent of political parties. (3) The

organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities who participated in elections on the joint list shall fall under the

scope of para. (1); in this case, if no candidate from the joint list was elected, one MP mandate shall be granted to all the

organisations proposing the list, in compliance with the provisions of para. (1). (4) The provisions of para. (3) are not

applicable to organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities which run in the elections on a joint list together

with another party or political group or both on joint lists, according to para. (3), and exclusively on its own lists. (5) The

MP mandate granted according to para. (1) or (3) shall be counted apart from the total number of MPs resulting from

representation quotas.” The provisions of art. 4 of Law 68/1992 are unique in Europe as far as affirmative actions for

national minorities are concerned. According to these provisions, after the elections of November 2000 the Chamber of

Deputies included 18 representatives of non-governmental organisations of Romanian citizens belonging to national

minorities, including an MP from the Romanian Social Democratic Roma Party. There are other MPs with various ethnic

backgrounds, Roma included, but they were elected after running for political parties proper, belonging to the entire

parliamentary range (e.g., Madalin Voicu, Radu F. Alexandru, Hildegard Puwak, Iuliu Furo, Theodor Magyar, Hermann

Fabini etc.). In the general elections of November 2004, persons belonging to various national minorities ran for

Parliament on lists belonging to various political parties (e.g.: Varujan Vosganian, President of the Armenian Union, ran

for the National Liberal Party; Nati Meir, who has double citizenship, Romanian and Israeli, ran for the « Greater

Romania » Party and is currently independent etc. 6 See www.gov.ro.

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provisions with the provisions of EU legislation. The Strategy is designed to cover a

10-year period (2001 – 2010) and includes a Master Plan of Measures (MPM) covering

a 4-year period (April 2001 – December 2004).

The Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma (Governmental Decision

HG 430/2001) represents the Romanian Government’s political commitment to a

complex series of public policies with a high social impact, addressing not only Roma

ethnics, but also the majority (as well as other national minorities); the Strategy has a

series of clearly defined objectives, such as preventing and fighting discrimination,

ensuring equal opportunities to reach a decent standard of living, enhancing Roma

involvement in the economic, social, cultural, educational and political life of

Romanian society as a whole, and preserving Roma cultural identity.

The Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma covers 10 major areas:

public administration, social security, health, economy, justice and public order, child

protection, education, culture, communication and civic involvement. All of these

constitute priority areas for social intervention for the next 10 years; the detailed plan

of measures for 2001-2004 deals with the strategic “emergency areas” for public

policies targeting the Roma in Romania. The Strategy also identifies specific tasks and

responsible factors within an institutional apparatus meant to ensure the central and

local implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the objectives laid down in the

Strategy and the Plan of Measures. Since December 2004, the Strategy has no longer

had a Master Plan of Measures7; this raises a major difficulty in assessing the way in

which the Strategy was (or was not) implemented between January and June 2005. This

major difficulty is precisely the lack of a Master Plan of Measures which should have

been approved by the Joint Committee in due time.

In the summer of 2003 the National Statistics Institute started publishing the

results of the March 2002 census; some of the data collected during the census

continued to be published in 2004, and their processing is to continue for the next

7 The elaboration and approval of the Master Plan of Measures is the task of the JCommittee; no meeting of the

JCommittee took place between June 2004 and April 2005; the annex to HG 430/2001 covered the period between April

2001 and December 2004.

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years. The Roma population of Romania amounts to 2.5% of the overall population,

which is an increase by 0.7 percentage points compared to the 1992 census. In March

2002, a number of 535 140 Romanian citizens identified themselves as Roma ethnics

(“Roma / Gypsy”, according to the census forms), which represents a significant

increase (more than 125 000 persons) compared to the previous census (in 1992, only

409700 persons had identified themselves as “Roma / Gypsy”). Apart from the official

data mentioned above, there are also some estimates in this respect, the most reliable of

which are made by international organisations and institutions (e.g., Minority Rights

Group – 1.8-2.5 million, or the Council of Europe GT-ROMS 2003 – 1.2-2.2 million);

according to these estimates, the percentage of Roma is somewhere between 5.5% and

11.5% of the population of Romania. Some international organisations, such as the

Budapest-based European Roma Rights Center, design their regional strategy not

according to such estimates, however realistic or reliable they might be, but according

to the official data obtained by national censuses. Certain Roma NGOs which are

active in Romania estimate that generally the number of Roma ethnics is much higher,

exceeding even international estimates; thus, some Roma leaders and/or activists speak

of 3, 4, or even 5 million Roma in Romania, without backing their assertions with any

statistic or sociologic arguments. A possible debate on the accuracy of the data

collected in the 2002 census is beyond the scope of this report, but it is important to

mention that the official data are based on the respondents’ self-identification, not on

hetero-identification.

It is highly likely that in the very near future the Joint Committee will have to

carry out an analysis of the official data of the 2002 census and compare them to the

1991 census, since some of these data reveal some very important trends and realities

characteristic of the Roma minority of Romania8. An account of these realities and

their dynamics can contribute to making the Strategy more adequate to Romanian

reality at the beginning of the 21st century. The census data will have to be

8 See in particular tables 40, 47 (ethnic affiliation), 42 (ethnic affiliation and gender, regional breakdown), 43 (ethnicity,

gender and age), 44 (ethnicity and mother tongue, regional breakdown), 51 (ethnicity and religion), 54 (ethnicity and

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corroborated with other official data (e.g., the number of votes given to Roma

organisations in the local and general elections of 2004 etc.).

The Office for Roma Issues and then the National Agency for the Roma

organised and co-ordinated in the autumn of 2004 and the spring of 2005, respectively,

field research throughout the country in order to determine as clearly as possible (a) the

number of Roma living in each locality and region, and (b) the specific issues arising in

each local community that has a significant number of Roma members. The data

gathered in this research, which was carried out with the financial support of the World

Bank and the logistic support of the University of Bucharest, are to be made public in

the near future.

Evaluating the achievement of the objectives stated in the National

Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma

Institutional structures

At present, all the structures envisaged by HG 430/2001 are established and more

or less completely operational; however, there are barriers at every level – obstacles,

difficulties, dysfunctions, formalism, bureaucracy etc. – which sometimes pose

considerable difficulty in the implementation of the Strategy. This is why the reduction

and elimination of such barriers constitute an operational priority for the next period.

The Joint Committee for the Implementation and Monitoring of the Strategy

(henceforth the JCommittee) met only twice in 2003 (in October and December),

which could not fail to have a negative effect on the real dynamics of the

implementation; the chair was changed in the same year (MP Mădălin Voicu, honorific

president of the Roma Social Democrat Party and advisor on Roma issues to the Prime

Minister, was replaced in December 2003 by Mr. Cristian Jura, Secretary of State, head

of the Department for Inter-ethnic Relations and co-ordinator of the Office for Roma

Issues). Since his appointment, the new chair summoned the JCommittee several times

educational level), 59 (ethnicity and illiteracy) and probably the most important, table 67 (ethnicity in every Romanian

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for plenary or sectoral sessions; new regulations concerning the organisation and

operation of the JCommittee were approved. Throughout the reporting period, one of

the main barriers preventing the proper operation of the JCommittee (and sometimes

preventing the JCommittee from operating at all) was the fact that the committee

members failed to take part directly in the few meetings summoned by the chair of the

JCommittee. According to HG 430/2001, the JCommittee is made up of secretaries of

state of the ministries (and other central administration units) in charge of enforcing the

Strategy; whenever secretaries of state delegated somebody else to represent them on

the JCommittee, there were different substitutes every time, which could not contribute

to any satisfactory progress in the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy for

Improving the Condition of the Roma.

In 2004 there were five meetings of the JCommittee, both plenary and sectoral,

particularly in the first part of the year; in 2005 the JCommittee met twice.

A very sensitive issue related to the JCommittee was the attendance of Roma

leaders and activists. According to HG 430/2001, the JCommittee includes among its

members an unspecified number of “Roma leaders”. At first (that is, between 1999 and

2001, before the Strategy was adopted), there were various successive umbrella-

organisations of Roma associations, which worked together with the representatives of

central and local administration to elaborate sectoral strategies for the Roma and to

draft the Strategy (i.e., HG 430/2001). However, there used to be quite a widespread

perception among Roma organisations, according to which the work of the Office for

Roma Issues was completely subordinated to the aims of the Social Democrat Roma

Party; this accusation was even mentioned in the European Commission’s Regular

Report on Romania’s Progress towards Accession made public on November 5, 20039:

“The Government’s reliance on the Roma Party to implement and monitor the Strategy

is a matter of concern, as it has led to the effective exclusion of other Roma

organisations” (p. 34). The report made public at the end of 2002 by the Open Society

locality). Table 67 alone spans 52 A3 pages. 9 See www.gov.ro for the official translation into Romanian of this significant document, which has been fully

acknowledged and assumed by the Romanian Government.

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Institute – EU Accession Monitoring Program (OSI-EUMAP) also mentions the

sensitive issue of the relation between the Government and Roma organisations10.

A draft report prepared by an independent evaluator contracted by the EU

Delegation to Romania was made public in May 2005; the same criticisms against the

implementation mechanisms of the Strategy were present in essence in the draft

report.11 The final version of the report was issued at the end of August 2005.

In order to enhance the effectiveness of inter-ministerial activity and to improve

the co-ordination of inter-sectoral governmental policies, HG 430/2001 proposed a new

approach to these issues, based on the existence of a ministerial board in charge of each

major area. Consequently, 11 standing inter-ministerial boards were established, whose

activity focused on finding solutions to problems pertaining to major areas of inter-

ministry co-operation. According to Governmental Decision H.G. 750 of 14 July 2005

on the establishment of standing inter-ministerial boards, the Joint Committee for the

implementation and monitoring of the organisation and proper achievement of the

Master Plan of Measures of the Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma is

part of the Interministerial Board for Social Affairs, Health, and Consumer

Protection.

According to HG 430/2001, the Office for Roma Issues (ORI) was the technical

(or executive) secretariat of the JCommittee. In July 2003 the ORI was transferred from

10 See OSI-EUMAP, Monitoring the EU Accession Process Minority Protection, volume I, An Assessment of Selected

Policies in Candidate States, Budapest, 2002, 634 pages. The report on Minority Protection in Romania. An Assessment of

the Strategy of the Government of Romania for Improving the Condition of Roma, written by Florin Moisa, executive

president of the Cluj-based Resource Center for Roma Communities (RCRC), can be found on pages 475-526. Below are

some excerpts from this report concerning the involvement of Roma civil society in the enforcement and monitoring of

the Strategy: “Roma involvement in both the development and implementation of the Government Strategy has been

extensive, but has become politicised and even counter-productive in some cases. Since the Strategy’s adoption, NGO

representatives have registered their dissatisfaction over delays in implementation, especially regarding anti-

discrimination provisions. NGOs have also expressed concerns about the objectivity of the Joint Committee, and the

allegedly political criteria used to select personnel for Roma-related projects. Many complaints have related to the

appointment of Roma experts within the local governments. Some representatives of Roma NGOs have stated that the

Government has a different vision regarding the implementation of the Strategy than their own, and have called for more

effective collaboration with civil society in its implementation” – p. 491. “… the Government’s main partner, the Roma

Social Democrat Party (RSDP), has been unable to mobilise existing Roma resources at the local level. In an effort to

improve the effectiveness of Strategy implementation, the RSDP formed a new body, <Cartel RO 430> to liase with the

Government. However, the body has produced few visible results, and some Roma activists have remarked that it exists

only on paper” – p. 492. 11 European Commission Delegation in Romania (by Focus Consultancy Ltd.), Assessment of the Roma Strategy

Implementation Mechanism. Draft Evaluation Report, Bucharest, 25 V 2005, 40 pages.

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the (former) Ministry of Public Information (MPI) to the General Secretariat of the

Government (GSG). Before July 2003, the official name of the governmental

department in charge of Roma issues was the National Office for the Roma; between

1997 and 2000, NOR was part of the (no longer extant) Department for the Protection

of National Minorities (DPNM, operating within GSG); in January 2001 the NOR

became part of the (no longer extant) MPI, and in July 2003 it was transferred back to

the GSG, under the name of the Office for Roma Issues. In February 2004, the ORI

became a sub-department of the Department for Inter-ethnic Relations, subordinated to

the minister for the co-ordination of the GSG12. In November 2003, Mr. Gheorghe

Ivan, executive president of the Social Democrat Roma Party, Subsecretary of State

and since January 2001 head of the NOR/ORI, was replaced by Mr. Ilie Dincă, then

secretary general of the Social Democrat Roma Party. Also in November 2003 a

secretary of state was appointed in charge of the DIR, for the first time since the

establishment of the DIR in January 2001; Mr. Cristian Jura, formerly head of the

National Council for Combating Discrimination, became the head of the DIR and co-

ordinator of the activities of the ORI. There were two relatively distinct operational

entities working within the ORI: (a) the actual secretariat of the Subsecretary of State,

(b) the Phare Project Implementation Unit (PIU).

In October 2004, before the general elections, the Government passed an

emergency ordinance establishing a new body, the National Agency for the Roma

(NAR), headed by a president whose hierarchical status is that of a secretary of state.

The National Agency for the Roma is a specialised body of the central public

administration; it is a legal person subordinated to the Government and it took over the

powers and tasks of the Office for Roma Issues, including those of the Phare Project

Implementation Unit working on Phare programme RO/2002/000-586.01.02 - "Support

for the National Strategy for Improving Roma Condition” (according to HG

1703/2004, passed as Law 7/2005). Since November 2004, following a decision of the

12 During the government reorganisation of September 2003, Mr. Serban Mihailescu was replaced by Mr. Eugen Bejinariu

as Minister for the Co-ordination of the GSG. After the general elections of the autumn of 2004, Mr. Mihai Alexandru

Voicu (PNL) was appointed Delegated Minister for the coordination of the GSG.

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Prime Minister, the president of NAR was Mr. Ilie Dincă, vice-president of the

National Democrat Roma Party; on July 15, 2005, Ms. Mariea Ionescu, formerly head

of the Phare Project Implementation Unit within the Agency, was appointed president

of the NAR by prime-ministerial decision. The PIU was taken over by the GSG in July

2005.

All these successive transfers, reorganisations, and changes at top level (Ministry

of Public Information / General Secretariat of the Government / Department for Inter-

ethnic Relations / National Office for the Roma / Office for Roma Issues / National

Agency for the Roma etc.) would be of no relevance for this report if it weren’t for the

fact that all of them, in part and collectively, influenced to a greater or a lesser extent

the proper development of NOR/OIR/NAR activities in its capacity as a governmental

body specialised on Roma issues and technical secretariat to the JCommittee. The

Office for Roma Issues was one of the few governmental structures not characterised

by both an administrative and a political leadership; the Office only had political

leadership, ensured by a Subsecretary of State (subsequently a Secretary of State)

appointed on exclusively political criteria, but not considered a public dignitary. The

(Sub)Secretary of State co-ordinated the activity of office workers having executive

functions only.

In October-November 2004, when the National Agency for the Roma was

established, an organisation scheme was annexed to HG 1703/2004 but could not be

put into practice (i.e., no hiring of new staff, no competition for top management

positions such as secretary general, director general, heads of various services etc.),

since the budget earmarked for NAR (as tertiary authority for expenditure (credit

accountant)) was insufficient, at least before the budget readjustment operated at the

end of June 2005 by an emergency government ordinance.

The Ministerial Committees for the Roma (MCR) were subordinated to the

JCommittee and were in charge of the organisation, co-ordination and scheduling of

the activities included in the Master Plan of Measures of the Strategy, according to the

area of responsibility of each ministry or national agency. MCRs were established

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through orders issued by the minister / head of the national agency in question; each

MCR included among its members experts from specialised directorates, experts

delegated by Roma organisations, independent experts etc., working in order to

prepare, implement and monitor the sectoral plans of the Strategy. The activity of

certain ministerial committees was considered by some independent evaluators as

being purely formal; other ministries (such as the Ministry of Education and Research

and the Ministry of Health) did not organise any formal meetings of their respective

ministerial committee, but were nevertheless the most active ministries working for the

implementation of Strategy provisions.

County Offices for the Roma (CORs) are subordinated to the Ministry of

Administration and Internal Affairs (MAIA) and operate within each of the 42

Prefectures of Romania. The main tasks and responsibilities of the CORs are the

following:

• Evaluating the condition of the Roma population in their area of

responsibility (i.e., their county).

• Identifying solutions for the needs of Roma members of various local

communities.

• Mobilising the Roma (leaders, activists, NGOs etc.) in order to

accomplish the objectives of the Strategy for Improving Roma Condition.

• Ensuring permanent liaison with the representatives of local public

administration.

• Flagging the main problems that can be solved through the involvement of

local public authorities.

• Facilitating partnerships between the Roma and the local authorities, with

a view to designing and implementing projects and programs aimed at the Roma.

• Collaboration with the decentralised institutions of central public

administration in fields such as education, health, respect for law and public order, non-

discriminatory access to employment and social services etc.

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• Mediating possible tensions and conflicts within the community or

between communities, including inter- and/or intra-ethnic conflicts.

• Active involvement in the proper organisation and operation of the Joint

Working Groups established in each county.

• Drawing up and submitting regular reports to the Ministry of

Administration and Internal Affairs and the JCommittee.

Local experts (councillors) for the Roma work within town halls and mayor’s

offices. Local experts (councillors) are responsible for the local development (in

communes, towns etc.) of actions aimed at improving the condition of the Roma; the

local councillors are subordinated both the CORs and to the mayor’s office. According

to the Strategy, local experts are the main interface mediating between local authorities

and the Roma in various local communities. According to the Master Plan of Measures

of the Strategy (HG 430/2001), local experts or councillors are appointed in those

mayor’s offices where Roma organisations require their appointment, and their main

task is to draft the local action plan for the Roma in their local community. The

Ministry of Administration and Internal Affairs mentions that local experts on Roma

issues were hired in those localities where Roma organisations required their

appointment. The main problem faced by the local Roma expert as an institution was

the reluctance of certain mayors to accept new employees for these positions or to

assign the tasks of the local Roma expert to existing town hall employees; however,

according to NAR records, there are no known cases in which a mayor or a local

council denied, either officially or unofficially, any requests made by a Roma

organisation for the appointment of a local Roma expert.

EU Funds for the National Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma

The Romanian Government paid special attention to earmarking funds from the

state budget for the National Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma. In

2003, under Law 632/2002 on the state budget, an amount of 56 651 200 000 ROL was

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allocated and managed as a governmental program called “Partnership for Roma

Support 2003”. The program consisted of projects developed and promoted by public

authorities in order to improve the condition of the Roma. About 80% of the amount

foreseen for the 2003 state budget was distributed to projects in the following fields:

housing rehabilitation for 4327 beneficiaries (24% of the total amount); small

infrastructure (connection to public utilities, rehabilitation of roads) for 5222

beneficiaries (33% of the total amount); the purchase of arable land, land tilling, and

other income-generating activities (workshops and training courses on dressmaking,

carpentry, brick-making, public sanitation services) for 701 beneficiaries (18% of the

total amount); campaign for changing the image of the Roma and fulfilling priority 9 of

Romania’s Accession Partnership (5%).

Law 507/2003 on the state budget for 2004 was passed in November 2003;

Annex 3 to the aforementioned law stated that an amount of 64 billion ROL would be

earmarked for implementing the National Strategy for Improving Roma Condition.

Governmental Decision HG 1514/2004 on approving the Memorandum of

Understanding on the cofinancing and management of the Program of “Implementation

and Monitoring of the Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma – 2004” was

adopted on 11 October 2004. This program, which was an initiative of the Office for

Roma Issues within the Department for Inter-ethnic Relations (now the National

Agency for the Roma), implemented in partnership with the United Nations’

Development Program, continues the Romanian Government’s work towards

improving the condition of the Roma minority. The program aims to improve Roma

condition by providing grants for the development of specific activities in the field of

housing, small infrastructure, income-generating activities, the purchase of agricultural

land. A number of 220 projects were submitted by local authorities in partnership with

Roma NGOs or Roma initiative groups. Pursuant to the evaluation, 17 projects

received financing as follows: 4 income-generating projects, 9 small infrastructure

projects, 3 projects for the rehabilitation of schools located in Roma communities, one

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project for the establishment of a medical centre and of a kindergarten. The projects

were completed in April 2005.

Throughout this period the Project Implementation Unit within the Office for

Roma Issues implemented the Phare programme 2002/000-586.01.02, “Support for the

National Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma”, amounting to 6 MEuro.

The program had two components: a 1.2 MEuro component for strengthening the

institutional capacity of the implementation structure of the Strategy, as well as

strengthening the capacity of the other partners involved in working for the

achievement of the objectives stated in H.G 430/2001; a 4.8 MEuro investment

component aiming to establish active partnerships between the representatives of Roma

communities and state institutions, which are a requirement for the joint elaboration

and implementation of measures in the field of housing and small infrastructure,

vocational training and income-generating activities, access to healthcare. The

Romanian Government contributed 1.6 MEuro as cofinancing (the equivalent of 56 651

200 000 ROL, the amount provided for the called “Partnership for Roma Support”

programme implemented in 2003).

Against the background of attracting funds for the financial support of the

Strategy for Improving Roma Condition, the National Agency for the Roma, through

the Phare Program Implementation Unit, has participated since June 2003 in the Phare

Multiannual Programming Exercises 2004-2006. In November 2004 the NAR PIU and

the PIU of the Ministry of Education and Research completed the Sectoral Fiche for the

2004-2006 Multiannual Phare Programme on minorities. The programme includes

specific measures in the following fields of the National Strategy for Improving the

Condition of the Roma: administration and community development, housing, health,

economic, education, communication and civic involvement.

The 2004-2006 multiannual Phare programme is to be implemented since the

end of 2005 and its completion is due by the end of 2009. The sectoral fiche includes a

total allocation of 43.93 MEuro (out of which 8.93 MEuro represents cofinancing by

the Romanian Government).

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Under Law 198 of 23 June 2005 (published in the Official Gazette of Romania,

part I, issue no. 550/28 June 2005), art. 12, the General Secretariat of the Government

took over the powers, tasks, positions and funds pertaining to the activity of the Project

Implementation Unit in charge of PHARE programme RO/2002/000-586.01.02

“Support for the National Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma”, which

had so far been organised within the Office for Roma Issues / National Agency for the

Roma.

Immediate governmental responsibility: central and local authorities

1. Local Public Administration and Community Development

The Government restructuring of the summer of 2003 brought about the

establishment of the new Ministry of Administration and Internal Affairs (MAIA),

resulting from the conflation of two former ministries, the Ministry of Public

Administration and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

After the MIA’s long history of being severely criticised for the attitude of its

workers (police officers, gendarmes etc.) towards certain Roma ethnics, MAIA is

currently developing several projects and programmes aiming to constantly improve

the relation between the various structures of this ministry, on the one hand, and the

Roma, on the other hand. MAIA supported a new approach based on the concept of

‘aligning’ the Roma minority to the mainstream. The sectoral strategy of the ministry

includes a set of principles based on respect for human rights and liberties,

nondiscrimination, transparency, and coherent and unitary regulations for career

development. Concerning partnerships with the main institutions responsible for the

implementation of the Strategy, MAIA mentions that they are still operational and that

civil society representatives have been co-opted within joint working groups.

17

2. Housing

MAIA has prepared several fiches describing the housing facilities and utilities

in local communities with a significant Roma population. The data pooled in these

fiches were received from mayor’s offices and prefectures and were taken into account

in drafting the National Housing and Environment Rehabilitation Plan elaborated by

MAIA in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Tourism

(MTCT). The programme is to be developed over the next 10 years and it includes a 4-

year emergency measure plan for the rehabilitation of houses and areas inhabited by a

significant number of Roma.

MTCT has also prepared another programme of governmental and/or

partnership funding for state-owned and/or private companies and NGOs that develop

projects for the improvement of utilities (power, drinkable water, sewage, gas supply,

public sanitation etc.) in communities with a large number of Roma members. Below is

a brief description of the measures taken by MCTC and its achievements in compliance

with the provisions of the Master Plan of Measures related to its area of responsibility:

the governmental program for water supply in rural areas, approved under

Governmental Decision HG 577/1997 (42 villages took delivery of water supply

systems during the reporting period); the governmental program for water supply and

social housing in rural areas approved under Governmental Decision HG 687/1997 and

HG 1036/2004; the programme for rehabilitating (cobbling) village roads, approved

under Governmental Decision HG 577/1997 and HG 226/ 2003; the programme of

social housing (new buildings and rehabilitation) according to the Housing Act

114/1996 with subsequent amendments and to Governmental Decision HG 687/1997,

with 1880 housing units delivered during the reporting period; the rent-based youth

housing programme (10017 housing units delivered during the reporting period).

MAIA also states that about 95 620 Roma families who do not own agricultural

land have been identified in rural areas.

18

3. Social Security

At the central level, the main responsibility related to this important chapter of the

Strategy is incumbent upon the Ministry of Labour, Social Solidarity and Family

(MLSSF), whose task it is to enforce the legislation on preventing and fighting social

marginalisation, on unemployment benefit and the state support system, on enhancing

employment, on the guaranteed minimum income, on the national welfare system, on

supporting lone parent families, on foster child allowance and child allowance, on

emergency relief contributions etc. Romanian legislation provides for a comprehensive

framework for the partnership between the central level, the local level and civil society

within the national welfare system. Since 2002, each County Welfare Directorate has

appointed / employed a person whose task is to collaborate with town halls and

prefectures in order to identify the main problems faced by the Roma at the local level.

Via MLSSF and its Directorates for Labour and Social Solidarity in each county and in

Bucharest, Romanian citizens of Roma ethnic affiliation can benefit from legal state

support such as: the child allowance, the supplementary allowance for families with

children, the maintenance allowance for fostered children, social support (according to

the law on the guaranteed minimum income), heating allowance, the allowance for newly

born babies, emergency relief, financial support (under the legal provisions regulating the

National Solidarity Fund), subsidies for associations and foundations that establish and

manage welfare units and facilities etc.

In compliance with the Strategy, MAIA territorial structures have been issuing

identity papers and election cards for Romanian citizens of Roma ethnic affiliation. At

the end of March 2005 the situation was as follows:

Having civil status /identity papers

• estimated number of persons with no identity papers

before the action 375 6375

• registered since the outset of the action 9197 78370

• status regulated since the outset of the action 9049 80092

• registered persons, status uncertain 523 4653

19

4. Health

The new institution of the health mediator is the outcome of a durable

partnership concluded since 1997 between institutions of the central and local

administration, on the one hand, and Roma civil society, on the other hand13. As of

May 2005, 175 health mediators had been employed and more than 104 persons had

been trained to work as health mediators in the near future. Their training was provided

by the Roma Center for Social Intervention and Studies (Romani CRISS) in

partnership with County Public Health Directorates. Training for health mediators is

also provided through Phare projects in course of development in 2005.

The health mediator’s task is to liaise between the Roma in local communities

and the healthcare system; particular attention is paid to the registration of

disadvantaged persons, Roma included, with a GP.

Several partnership and collaboration agreements have been signed between the

Ministry of Health and County Directorates for Public Health, on the one hand, and

Roma organisations (e.g., Social Democrat Roma Party, Romani CRISS etc.) on the

other hand.

The measures specified in the Strategy for Improving the Condition of the Roma

are implemented via National Health Programs; out of all these measures, it is only the

objective of employing health mediators in Roma communities that has a separate

budget line. An amount of 5.2 billion ROL was allocated in 2003 for the employment

expenses of health mediators. An amount of 14.5 billion ROL was allocated in 2004 for

the same objective.

The Ministry of Health maintains that it is difficult to calculate the forecast for

the other measures listed in the Strategy, because the efficiency indicators of National

Health Programs are not broken down according to ethnic criteria.

13 According to the Ministry of Health, as a result of the work of health mediators, more than 25 000 persons were

registered with GPs in 2003. MH estimates that so far more than 100 000 Roma citizens have had normal access to health

care due to the work of health mediators. See the Joint Report of Roma Associations in Romania. Roma in the context of

European policies : Action Plan for improving the condition of Roma / Sinti in the OSCE area, prepared by Romani

CRISS, Social Democrat Roma Party and OSCE/ODIHR, Bucharest, 12-13 February 2004, p. 4, www.romanicriss.org.

20

A Co-operation Agreement for implementing the health mediator system in

Roma communities 2005 – 2008 was signed between the Ministry of Health and

Romani CRISS on 18.05.2005 and countersigned by Nicolae Gheorghe, Advisor on

Roma and Sinti (OSCE/ODIHR Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues). The purpose

of the Agreement is “to fulfil the provisions of the 2005 – 2008 government programme

concerning the provision of equal opportunities to all citizens and the effective

implementation of the OSCE Action Plan for improving the condition of the Roma”.

5. Economic Issues

The National Agency for Employment (NAE) within the Ministry of Labour,

Social Solidarity and Family organised job fairs for Roma ethnics in 2003, 2004 and

2005. The job fair organised on 23 April 2004 had 9845 attendants; the outcome of the

job fair was the following:

• 11304 jobs were available for the Roma and 268 jobs were available for

persons at risk of social marginalisation, according to Law 116/2002.

• The job fair was attended by 9845 Roma persons, out of which 4180 were

selected for future employment. 2257 Roma persons were employed on the spot

following various tests taken during the job fair.

In 2005, the job fair for Roma ethnics was organised on 13 May and attended by

8239 persons.

• Total number of jobs available: 8779, out of which 7857 jobs for Roma

ethnics and 68 jobs for beneficiaries of Law 116/2002.

• Total number of persons selected for future employment: 2715, out of

which 2243 were Roma.

• Total number of positions filled: 1266, out of which 1129 were taken by

Roma ethnics.

Since 2001, NAE has implemented projects and programmes targeting

disadvantaged persons on the labour market; one such group is that of Roma ethnics

(other groups being youth, women, the unemployed, the elderly etc.). In March 2004,

21

NAE concluded collaboration agreements with Roma experts working within

Prefectures and co-opted Roma NGOs as partners. The agreements were renewed at the

beginning of 2005 and the actions stipulated therein are to be monitored on a monthly

basis.

From a statistic point of view, NAE reported a 60-70% increase in the degree of

achievement reached through Roma-targeted programs in 2003 compared to 2001-

2002; this increase is mainly due to the regular organisation of the Roma Job Fair.

The Romanian MLSSF works in partnership with its Spanish counterpart, along

with Hungary and the Czech Republic, in a project for promoting active policies of

social inclusion for the Roma; this project was initially implemented in Spain and

specialists are now considering the possibility of replicating best practices in Central

and Eastern European countries, including Romania.

In compliance with Law 76/2002 on unemployment benefit and employment

incentives, NAE directs the measures meant to enhance employment particularly

towards persons belonging to disadvantaged groups. For the implementation of these

measures, particular attention is paid to the local collaboration of all the stakeholders,

so that their correlated actions should achieve maximal efficiency. As of 31 December

2003, 202 Roma ethnics had benefited from professional training courses and 91

trainees had been employed. 282 Roma ethnics were trained in 2004. For 2005, 1500

Roma ethnics had been scheduled for training and by 31 May 381 persons had been

included in training courses.

Below are the main achievements obtained through the National Action Plan for

Roma Employment in 2003, 2004 and 2005:

• As a consequence of the active measures taken by the NAE, 8781 Roma

ethnics, out of which 2396 women, had been employed as of 31 December 2003.

• For 2004, the National Employment Programme forecasts the employment

of 6406 Roma ethnics; 9062 persons had been employed by the end of 2004.

• For 2005, the forecast is 6845 Roma ethnics; 3252 persons had been

employed as of 31 May.

22

In April 2003 - June 2005, the Ministry of Economy and Trade secured and

guaranteed equal opportunities for Roma ethnics in its field of activity, with no

discrimination whatsoever, in order to enable them to reach a decent standard of living.

6. Justice and Public Order

MAIA structures specialised in law enforcement and public order serve the

interests of Romanian citizens by virtue of the principle of equal rights irrespective of

ethnicity and paying due attention to relations with the Roma minority and Roma

communities.

This chapter of the Strategy is focused on the development of awareness

programs informing Roma ethnics about cases of discrimination, legal education and

crime prevention programs, as well as on the employment of Roma in law

enforcement.

A recurrent characteristic is the existence of agreements concluded between

Roma communities and county police inspectorates.

MAIA elaborated the 4-year Partnership Programme for supporting the

recruitment and selection of young disadvantaged national minority members with a

view to employment in law enforcement. Consequently, representatives of County

Offices for the Roma are discussing with police inspectorates the selection of young

Roma who will later be referred to police educational facilities.

At the same time, actions were taken to:

- conclude collaboration agreements between police inspectorates and Roma

organisations with a view to reducing crime among the representatives of this ethnic

group;

- establish joint teams of negotiators prepared for intervention in situations of

conflict.

The Ministry of Justice informs that steps have been taken towards Romania’s

ratification of UN conventions on the status of stateless persons.

23

7. Child Protection

The National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption (NACPA) has a

specialised committee in charge of the activities targeted at Roma children. Funding for

all the projects and programmes targeted at all the children in difficulty was ensured by

county councils (and the local councils of Bucharest districts). Two new structures

were established on 1 January 2005 in order to co-ordinate child protection activities:

the National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights (NAPCR) and the

Romanian Adoption Office. NAPCR is the specialised central administration body in

charge of monitoring the protection and promotion of children’s rights. General

Directorates for Child Protection and Welfare (GDCPWs) were established in each

county and in Bucharest districts. All the GDCPWs emphasise the non-discrimination

of children, as their activity is based on the principle that the children’s interests shall

prevail, and on the principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunity. In 2004 the

General Directorates for Child Protection (now GDCPWs) collaborated with 53 Roma

and non-Roma organisations. Roma social workers, professional foster carers or

caretakers are employed by GDCPWs according to the needs of each directorate and in

compliance with the legal provisions regulating such employment. NAPCR is the

central specialised body within the MLSSF that can provide funding from the state

budget for programs of national interest (the so-called NPIs) targeting all children,

including Roma children, placed in foster care. NAPCR (formerly NACPA) has

recently implemented the following programs whose beneficiaries were, among others,

Roma children:

• “The social and professional integration of institutionalised youth /

children aged 18”: 2002 – 14.5 billion ROL; 2003 – 16 billion ROL; 2004 – 15.4

billion ROL.

• “Reintegration and support for underage returnees”: in 2004 – 15.4

billion ROL.

24

8. Education

The Ministry of Education and Research has traditionally been the “spearhead”

of affirmative action policies targeting the Roma in Romania. Irrespective of the

political party in office, this ministry has constantly pursued a sectorial policy for the

Roma aimed at all levels and types of education14.

During the reporting period, the ministry has continued its educational programs

for the Roma and initiated new measures:

• Maintaining the position of inspectors for Roma education within the structure of

county school inspectorates.

• Allocating separate places for Roma graduates of the 8th form in professional and

technical institutes of secondary education (for 2005 – 2006). In 2004 – 2005, 2500

Roma students had been admitted.

• The provision of distinct places in various faculties and colleges for young Roma

high-school graduates, exempted from the payment of tuition fees (the number of

places allocated for the academic year 2005 – 2006 was the same as last year – 398).

• In 2004-2005, the University of Bucharest, through its Open Distance Learning

Department, CREDIS, made available a number of 83 paid tuition places for the

training of Roma teachers of Romany (the programme had been initiated by the

Ministry of Education and Research in 2000, in partnership with the University of

Bucharest and CEDU 2000). Roma students at CREDIS also work as teachers of

Romany and/or Roma history and traditions at their local schools. The University of

Bucharest will continue this training programme in 2005 – 2006, both for Romany

teachers and for teachers of both Romany and Romanian, in the framework of a new

partnership concluded between CREDIS and the Faculty of Foreign Languages and

Literatures.

14 See the MER report on the Situation and operation of the Ministerial Committee and its results between 1 October 2003

and 1 May 2004, and its appendix on Stategic Directions of the Ministry of Education and Research in the field of

education for the Roma between 1998 and 2004.

25

• Romany language and literature, which could only be studied as a minor at the

University of Bucharest, can be taken as a major starting with the academic year 2005

– 2006 (the ministry allocated 10 places and the University of Bucharest allocated 5

places).

• In 2004-2005, county school inspectorates funded 402 chairs of Roma language

and history, staffed by the young Roma who teach these subject matters.

• The study of Romany as a mother tongue was continued and enhanced in 2004 –

2005. A number of 24010 Roma students opted for the additional Roma curriculum

(out of the almost 200 000 Roma students who identify themselves as Roma and attend

school, 19812 students chose to study Roma language and literature for 3-4 hours per

week, while 4198 students opted for Roma history and traditions).

• Review and design of Roma language curricula (grades 1 to 4) and Roma history

and traditions curricula (grades 6 to 8), by Roma authors. Elaboration and approval of

Roma language and literature curricula for grades 9 and 10.

• Second editions of two Romany course books were funded by the ministry for

the 2005 – 2006 school year.

• The ministry provided funding for three new course books on Roma language

and literature, for grades 1 to 3, and for a course book on Roma history and traditions

for grades 6 and 7.

• Romany-only teaching was extended (one more class since September 2004).

For the first time in the Romanian educational system, a Romany-only class was

established in Timis County.

• Starting with the 2004-2005 school year, a bilingual Romany-Romanian

curriculum is to be experimented in a Roma kindergarten in Calarasi County (an

initiative of S.A.T.R.A – Astra, funded by UNICEF and supported by a partnership

between MER and the County School Inspectorate of Calarasi).

MER’s Phare programme on access to education for disadvantaged groups,

focusing on the Roma, which started in September 2002 in 74 schools and

kindergartens with a majority of Roma continued in the initial 10 counties and included

26

12-15 new counties in June 2005, after the tendering and precontracting procedures.

Since December 2004, MER continued and enhanced at national level the activities

started through its Phare programme by developing a multiannual programme with the

same objectives.

Attracting Roma youth to a military career is an ongoing preoccupation of the

military; however, the number of Roma youth enrolled in the military educational

system is still very low.

9. Culture

The National Roma Culture Centre, whose general director is the Roma

musician Doru Tufis, was established in 2003 through a Governmental Decision. The

centre premises are being equipped at present.

The Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs developed, in partnership with

several Roma NGOs, a series of actions meant to preserve and assert the cultural and

artistic traditions of the Roma, such as: “Roma 2001-2004” TOGETHER FOR

EUROPE; the national symposium on “Enhancing partnerships between local

authorities and Roma associations for the implementation of HG 430/2001”; round

table discussions ”DOIE- Dialogue/Otherness/Identity/Equality”; training courses for

community mediators; the Roma travelling fair, “Amare phurengo barvalipen”. The

ministry has also supported other manifestations, such as the International Roma Day,

the Festival of Diversity, the National Minorities’ Fair etc.

10. The Activity of County Offices for the Roma

Steps are being taken in order to modify the ststus of COR experts so as to ensure

their greater professionalisation; for instance, employees working in County Offices

for the Roma will have to know how to prepare a community development project,

how to get access to future EU funds after Romania’s EU accession etc. COR

employees will also have to work with the regional representatives of the National

27

Agency for the Roma. Information about the activity of all the CORs can be found at

www.anr.org.ro, the website of the National Agency for the Roma.

The non-governmental dimension: partnerships between the authorities and

national and international NGOs

The Political agreement on the partnership between the Social Democrat Party

and the Social Democrat Roma Party, signed in Bucharest on 24 November 2003 by

the leaders of the respective parties, included certain provisions concerning HG

430/2001: “2.(1) The Social Democrat Party and the Social Democrat Roma Party

undertake to modify Governmental Decision 430/25.04.2001 on the Strategy for

Improving the Condition of the Roma so as to include new proposals for its

harmonisation and enforcement at the level of local and central administration. (2) The

Social Democrat Party will promote through the Government a draft law on the status

of the Roma in Romanian society, taking into account the experience gathered so far

and EU standards on this matter. The Social Democrat Party and the Social Democrat

Roma Party intend to monitor the new law so that its effective enforcement should

have a favourable impact on the daily life of Roma communities”.

In 2003 a draft law proposal was put forth by SDRP MP Nicolae Păun, chair of

the Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and Religious Affairs of the

Chamber of Deputies; the proposal provided, inter alia, for the abolishment of

Governmental Decision HG 430/200115, and was based on the initiator’s belief that his

proposal covered all the areas involved in the improvement of Roma condition.

However, the Government’s official position was to the contrary. During the 2001 –

2004 term of office, the same MP made several other legislation proposals and

Parliament addresses on the topic of Roma issues16; the actual, probable or presumed

15 See the Legislative proposal on the social reinsertion of Romanian citizens of Roma origin, no. 214 of 12 March 2003

(Parliamentary Bureau 238/128/11.03.2003), and the Government Point of View (no. 634/OPSG of 24.02.2004), signed by

PM Adrian Năstase, on the Chamber of Deputies website www.cdep.ro. 16 Fields such as: identity papers, incentives for Roma entrepreneurs, the legalisation of common law marriage, the

cabinet of the Secretary of State, passport regulations etc.; none of these proposals was adopted as law by the current

28

effect of such proposals is beyond the scope of this report. As far as the National

Strategy for the Improvement of Roma Condition is concerned, what matters is the fact

that these proposals were (1) commented on by the Government (and acknowledged by

PM Adrian Năstase), by the Legislative Council and specialised parliamentary

commissions, and (2) rejected (final decision).

A new Collaboration Agreement was signed on 24 November 2003 by SDRP

and SDP; one of the provisions of this agreement stated that HG 430/2001 would be

modified so as to ensure that new/future legislation would include other social fields

likely to lead to an improvement in the condition of the Roma. So far, neither NAR

employees nor other persons interested in recent developments related to the Strategy

know what these new areas are or what new kind of legislation is expected to deal with

Roma issues. It is not clear when the expected changes will take place or who will

submit them to the attention of the Government and/or Parliament.

According to the Strategy (HG 430/2001), central and local authorities cannot

take any measures for the improvement of Roma condition unless they have a genuine

partnership with the Roma themselves; this partnership involves collaboration at

different levels: both direct collaboration in local communities, and mediated

collaboration via representative Roma organisations. Since the approval of the Strategy

in 2001, the Government has had various partners in the implementation and

monitoring of the Strategy; changes in the identity of these partners meant a (natural)

divide within the Roma movement. To an uninformed observer, the Roma movement

in Romania might seem affected by severe and insurmountable divides; but to the wise

observer the diversity of Roma NGOs working in Romania corresponds to the diversity

of the Roma themselves. The same diversity is characteristic of Roma leaders

(traditionalist or modern-minded, more authoritarian or more democratic, rural or

urban, with or without connections abroad, with or without access to certain funds for

their projects etc.).

legislature (for materials on these legislative proposals and for the Government’s opinion on all the cases mentioned

above, see Annex no.… to this Report).

29

A recent report on the progress towards democracy made by South and Eastern

European countries mentions the difficult position of the Roma in Romania and their

alleged tendency to vote for the Social Democrat Party: “Also, Romania has the largest

population of Roma, between 1 million and 1.5 million, which represents another pool

of voters for the post-Communists. Descendants of slaves freed in the mid-nineteenth

century, the Roma have been victimised by the disappearance of traditional jobs and

the need for unskilled labour in the post-Communist period. With no land to gain from

restitution, Roma are the primary losers in the transition process and are heavily

dependent on state aid”17. A similar opinion was delivered by World Bank experts at

the 2003 European meeting on Roma issues (Budapest), where the Romanian

delegation was led by the then PM Adrian Năstase.

At the end of April 2004 a preliminary report was made public by OSI /

Resource Center for Roma Communities (RCRC); the report was signed by Florin

Moisa and entitled Preliminary Findings: Monitoring of the local implementation of the

Government Strategy for the Improvement of the Condition of Roma in Romania. The

11-page report is a joint project of (a) EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program

(EUMAP), Roma Participation Program (RPP) Open Society Institute (OSI) Budapest

and RCRC Cluj. The gist of the OSI/RCRC report is a critique against the “exclusive

collaboration” of the Government with the Social Democrat Roma Party concerning the

implementation of the Strategy; the report shares the position of the “group of 9” young

activists involved in the drafting of the Budapest position paper in June – July 200318.

In January 2001, Tarja Halonen, the President of Finland, put forth the idea of

establishing an advisory Roma forum (the European Roma Forum – ERF) working in

Strasbourg within the Council of Europe. In February 2004, in Bucharest, the

representatives of Roma organisations from Romania discussed various nominations

17 Freedom House, Nations in Transit 2004. Romania, p. 6, available at www.freedomhouse.org. The 2004 Freedom

House report on Romania was prepared by a group of experts from the Romanian Academic Society, led by Dr. Alina

Mungiu-Pippidi and supervised by US and EU specialists. 18 The “Group of 9” young Roma activists is made up of Costel Bercus, Dezideriu Gergely, Mariana Buceanu (Romani

CRISS), Delia Grigore, Lavinia Olmazu (Aven Amentza), Dan Pavel Doghi (CRCR, Cluj), Gruia Bumbu (Roma

Democratic Union, Alba Iulia), Cosmina Novacovici (Roma Women’s Association, Timisoara), and Gelu Duminica

30

for possible delegates to the ERF; consultations are still ongoing. It is expected (and

desirable) that in the near future the main Roma organisations would constitute an

“umbrella” structure enabling them to fully exercise their capacity for immediate

involvement in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy. It was

proposed that a Roma Secretariat should be established in order to ensure the

transmission of information to all the Roma structures concerning the progress of ERF

and the delegation of Roma representatives from Romania to the Strasbourg forum.

In early May 2004, three organisations (“Impreuna” (“Together”) Agency for

Community Development, Romani CRISS and RCRC) established the Roma Civic

Alliance, intended as a central structure providing expertise to local Roma NGOs.

According to its mission statement, the Roma Civic Alliance is an advisory expert

body which supports the fulfilment, implementation and monitoring of measures for

the improvement of Roma condition. The new umbrella-organisation intends to militate

for Roma rights, both nationally and internationally, without any political involvement;

as a civic organisation, the alliance will act as a partner to central and local authorities,

on the one hand, and to society on the whole, on the other hand, in order to better

mobilise all the human and material resources involved in the improvement of Roma

condition. The new umbrella organisation will have the following international

commitments: the Decade of Roma Inclusion, the Millennium Development Goals, the

Joint Inclusion Memorandum, the European Roma Forum, and the OSCE Action Plan

for Roma/Sinti.

Financial resources for the implementation of the National Strategy for

Improving the Condition of the Roma

The complexity of the Strategy is matched by a corresponding degree of

complexity of the funding mechanisms of various programs and projects; moreover,

due to the existence of various social programs targeting all Romanian citizens (e.g.,

(“Impreuna” Agency for Community Development). The material presented by the group at the Budapest international

conference is available at www.romanicriss.org..

31

the guaranteed minimum income, the daily meal provided by schools, the child

allowance, welfare etc.), significant funds are allocated to economically disadvantaged

Roma but are not registered as being specifically earmarked for Roma beneficiaries.

The funds for the implementation of the Strategy can come from the following

sources:

• Internal resources (the state budget, local budgets, NGO contributions,

private funds etc.). Internal resources are generally used to cover local needs, through

local and regional community development projects and programs. State budget funds

have been allocated to the SDRP19 in its capacity as representative of the Roma

minority in Parliament.

• External resources: (1) non-reimbursable grants (PHARE, Sapard, OSI

etc.) and (2) reimbursable (World Bank, EBRD etc.). External resources act mainly as

“trailblazers” used for the funding of pilot-projects which would later receive internal

funding. For the near future, external funds will increase and diversify to a significant

extent, as Romania progresses towards EU accession (expected to take place in 2007)

and as the programmes forecast for the Decade of Roma Inclusion are actually being

implemented. There will be joint funding for the Decade, with contributions from

national governments, the World Bank, Open Society Institute etc.).20

Recommendations

• Regulations for the organisation and operation of the National Agency for

the Roma should be elaborated and approved, so as to establish an administrative

structure which is distinct from the current political leadership structure (Secretary of

State, Subsecretaries of State). The primary aim of this recommendation is to exclude

19 The amounts allocated to the Social Democrat Roma Party from the state budget between 2001 and 2004 increased

annually (from 12.50 billion ROL in 2001 to 17.5 billion ROL in 2002, 24 billion ROL in 2003 and 35.85 billion ROL in

2004). In 2005 SDRP is to receive an amount of 35 billion ROL from the state budget. 20 For a review of these projects, see Viorel Anastasoaie and Daniela Tarnovschi (eds.), Proiecte pentru romii din

Romania (Projects for the Roma in Romania), 1990-2000, the Resource Center for Ethno-Cultural Diversity (CRDE),

Cluj, 2001, 324 pages. The volume includes a list of the main projects developed in Romania throughout the reporting

32

the political from Roma issues and more generally from the issue of national

minorities. The head of the Agency will have his/her own cabinet, according to the

legislation in force.

• All materials of public interest, including documents related to the activity

of the JCommittee, should be made public on the NAR website. This website should be

the main instrument for achieving transparency in the implementation and monitoring

of the Strategy for Improving Roma Condition and for publicising the availability of

external funds for projects and programmes (PHARE, World Bank etc.). The site

www.rroma.ro (adminstered by the National Office for the Roma) ceased to operate in

2002, when the first Phare programme for the Roma in Romania was completed; the

absence of the site has had a negative impact on the transparency of decision-making

and operation in the development of activities targeting the Roma.

• Enhancing the administrative and managerial capacity of the National

Agency for the Roma in its capacity as technical secretariat to the JCommittee, by

increasing the number of specialised employees (economists, lawyers, project

development and management experts, translators from/into English etc.);

strengthening of NAR capacity by providing training courses on conflict management,

professional communication, IT skills, English etc. both to temporary NAR employees

and to civil servants.

• A more appropriate use of European integration advisors currently

working within NAR. Instead of being asked to do clerical jobs, the integration

advisors will have to be given more definite tasks related to NAR national and

international activities, given the multiple implications of Roma issues in the context of

Romania’s accession process.

• Continuing and expanding partnerships with the civil society, particularly

with Roma NGOs working in Romania; co-opting Roma NGOs in the monitoring and

evaluation of programs and projects developed under the Master Plan of Measures of

period, as well as several sectoral analyses of the types of projects targeting the Roma (culture, health, education, social

services, social and economic development, fighting discrimination, religion, tourism etc.).

33

the Strategy. Compliance with the recommendations formulated in the European

Commission’s Report on Romania’s Progress towards Accession (2004) and the

independent evaluation report (May 2005).

• Maintaining and improving liaison between the JCommittee, NAR and

Romanian MPs, including the representatives of national minorities and the

Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Activating and improving liaison with

the Presidency.

• Enhancing the capacity of absorption of funds for the implementation of

projects and programs targeting the Roma; special attention will have to be paid to

improving the capacity of central and especially local public administration of

managing and controlling the funds made available both from the state budget and

from (non)reimbursable external sources.

Bucharest, 10 September 2005