Travellers' Rights - A European Perspective

local authorities and made some efforts to fight discrimination.

There is some good ‘best practice’ across Europe.

Spain for example has trained 150 police officers to deal with ethnic discrimination. Romania has earmarked 15,000 places for Roma children in schools, universities and vocational training.

But this is not enough. Commitments and strategies are only as good as the action that follows.

The Recommendation put forward by the Commission one month ago is the first EU legal instrument for Traveller and Roma inclusion.

It focuses on four areas where EU leaders have signed up to common goals for Traveller and Roma integration under the EU framework: access to education, employment, healthcare and housing.

The Recommendation asks Member States to earmark specific funding for Traveller and Roma inclusion.

And it offers specific guidance on how Member States can use positive action in each of these four areas to protect Traveller and Roma women and children, address poverty and fight discrimination. In this regard, I should also point out that the European Parliament’s Women’s Rights Committee is currently 4