MEPs call for better funding to integrate and support Roma communities

The European Parliament has called on member states to end the poverty and discrimination faced by Roma people in the European Union.

MEPs have urged countries to earmark and distribute funds to help improve the lives of Roma settlements and integrate them into the bloc.

Roma people are the largest ethnic minority in Europe and, according to MEPs, face poverty and social exclusion in several member states.

Many Roma communities reportedly lack appropriate housing, electricity, clean drinking water, and waste treatment.

MEPs adopted a resolution on Wednesday that lays out recommendations aimed at “improving the precarious situation of Roma settlements”.

According to the text, member states should also address Roma communities’ lack of access to healthcare, employment, and justice.

A recent EU survey found that 63% of Roma are not in education, employment or training, compared to the EU average of 12%. Meanwhile, 80% of Roma people live below their country’s at-risk-of-poverty threshold.

The European Commission has also been urged to “gradually eradicate marginalised Roma settlements” across the EU by 2030.

The resolution was adopted with 486 votes in favour, 109 against and 38 abstentions.