Beyond Rhetoric: Roma Integration Roadmap for 2020. [antikvár]

IntroductionAs the most forthright and detailed expression of intent from the European Commission on the issue of Roma inclusion to date, the Open Society Foundations welcome the Communication "An EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020" issued on April 5, 20ll.1 The Council Conclusions issued on May 19 fully endorsed the Framework and mark the highest level of political recognition that concern over the plight of the Roma needs to move beyond the rhetoric to the substance of Roma integration.2The Commission's request that all member states develop and implement targeted strategies, and devote sufficient resources to promote integration in four priority areas of education, employment, health, and housing takes its cue from the Decade of Roma Inclusion, and may signal the point when Roma integration has moved from the margins to the mainstream of policy concerns within and beyond the European Union. The prospect of a robust monitoring mechanism with annual reporting by the EuropeanEuropean Commission (2011) An EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions. Brussels: European Commission, April 5, 2011. COM (2011) 173 final. Available online: http://www. eu2011 .hu/files/bveu / documents/An_EU_Framework_for_National_Roma_Integration_ Strategies_up_to_2020.pdf.Council of the European Union (2011) Council Conclusions on an EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020. 3,089th Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meeting, Brussels, May 19,2011. Available online: http://www.consilium.europa. eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/122100.pdf.5