site.btaEuropean Court of Auditors Finds Lack of Will to Combat Roma Discrimination in Bulgaria

European Court of Auditors Finds Lack of Will to Combat Roma Discrimination in Bulgaria
 
Brussels/Luxembourg, June 28 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The European Court of Auditors (ECA) says in a report that an audit carried out in Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary and Romania has found that the four countries have contributed to Roma integration over the last decade. In the case of Bulgaria, however, the report refers to a lack of political will and a need to improve anti-discrimination measures. But it notes that, of the four selected countries, only Bulgaria and Hungary have set any targets concerning the fight against Roma discrimination.

The report, released on Tuesday, looks at the use of the EU budget for Roma integration since 2007.

According to the ECA, another shortcoming of Bulgaria is that no specific monitoring and accountability procedures were provided for in the national Roma integration strategy. The lack of focus in terms of determining the target group and insufficient attention to cultural factors negatively affected the implementation of a health project for the Roma in Bulgaria. In that project, which involved health screenings, the invitations to the beneficiaries were sent by letter, although illiteracy is comparatively high among the Roma. The report recommends the use of intermediate bodies instead.

The ECA puts the number of Roma people in Bulgaria at 750,000, accounting for 9.9 per cent of the total population. The Roma are the largest ethnic minority in the EU, at an estimated 6.2 million, the report says. The EU budget until 2020 has 1.5 billion euro for the integration of marginalized groups such as the Roma.