Brussels: Romani MEPs Romeo Franz and Peter Pollák kick off Roma Week
Activists, experts, organizations and politicians focused on the persistent antigypsyism in Europe have gathered in Brussels for Roma Week. The annual week is always held just after International Romani Day (8 April) and ahead of Roma Resistance Day (16 May) at the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, and other EU institutions.
The European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network (ERGO) convenes Roma Week. The opening discussion panel, moderated by ERGO director Gabriela Hrabaňová, featured two Romani MEPs, Romeo Franz and Peter Pollák.
Roma Week is an annual event held in Brussels by civil society organizations, EU institutions and other intergovernmental and international organizations to mark International Romani Day. Its aim is to raise awareness about the situation of Roma, Sinti and Travellers in Europe.
The aim of Roma Week 2024 is to discuss how the Romani agenda fits into the discourse in Europe politically in terms of priorities in the wider sense, especially in the context of the upcoming European Parliament elections. This year’s week hopes to provide participating parties and representatives of Roma, Sinti and Travellers with a platform for discussion of the ongoing economic, human rights and political transformations facing Europe today and the ways to ensure Roma, Sinti and Travellers become a more important priority within the framework of the discourse and the main political priorities at EU level, as well as to ensure governments will demonstrate more accountability and political will on this issue, both in enlargement countries and the EU itself, in order to achieve the equality, inclusion and participation of Roma, Sinti and Travellers.
In addition, there will be discussions during Roma Week on several specific subjects, such as the threat posed by increased antigypsyism and structural discrimination, as well as support for Roma, Sinti and Traveller participation in monitoring national Roma strategies.
