European Union

   (EU)

   The EU, previously known as the European Community (EC) and based in Brussels, Belgium, has taken a number of initiatives in Gypsy matters. In May 1984, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the situation of Gypsies in the EC. It called on member states to eliminate existing discriminatory provisions that may exist in their legislation and to make it easier for nomads to attach themselves to a state in accordance with recommendation R(83)1 of the Council of Europe.

   Five years later, in May 1989, the council passed the School Provision for Gypsy and Traveler Children resolution. The program of action to be taken included experiments with distance learning and training and employing Gypsies and Travelers as teachers wherever possible. The EU has financed a number of projects in the spirit of these recommendations. Governments were to let the Union know the results of their measures so that a combined report could be presented to the council by 31 December 1993. The report was eventually published in 1996. This showed, as might have been expected, that some states had done more than others in implementing the recommendations.

   Recent action has been less directed at nomads in the west but rather with improving conditions for the Roma in the countries in central and eastern Europe that have joined or are joining the Union. The EU Commission has sponsored a number of initiatives, including Pakiv, a program to train local activists in eastern Europe.

   In April 2005 the Parliament passed a resolution "on the Situation of the Roma in the European Union." It again calls on member states to tackle racism and exclusion. In December of the same year, the European Parliament hosted an international conference entitled "Roma Diplomacy: A Challenge for European Institutions." It was part of a project to equip young Roma human rights activists with the skills necessary to represent their communities.