An opinion by the editor and senior advisor of Magasin DIKKO Britt-Inger Hedström Lundqvist about the Roma representation crisis in the European Union. She is a journalist, blogger and lecturer from the town of Skellefteå, Sweden, belonging to the “Resande” (Travellers) community which speaks Resanderomani, a variant of Romani language spoken in Sweden. Britt-Inger Hedström Lundqvist is proud of her identity and culture. In recognition of her work as editor and publisher of the Magasin Dikko she was awarded in 2019 the prestigious Katarina Taikon Prize.
The fact that there is no representation of Roma within the EU is a democratic problem. For a democracy to function as well as possible, it is required that those who represent reflect the population. Ethnic minorities are often underrepresented in many countries, and today there is no representation of the Roma minority in any senior position within the EU. This even though the Roma are Europe’s largest ethnic minority with approximately 6 million people living in the EU. The fact that there is no representation of Roma within the EU signals that the EU is not positively disposed to ethnic diversity, which in turn can create bigger problems.
The principle of descriptive representation means that ethnic minorities should have representation in parliament that reflects their share of the population. Now the Roma disappeared completely from the EU Parliament after the elections in June. Today there is representation in Brussels by members of parliament from several other minorities, but not a single Roma.
The EU developed a Roma strategy in 2020 that extends until 2030. The overall strategy must work for the equality, inclusion and participation of Roma in the EU countries. EU should lead by example and include the Roma in its own parliament. It is important that the work for Roma inclusion is carried out from a long-term perspective and with continuity. This means that the representation of Roma in the EU Parliament is fundamental to being able to implement the decisions that have been made and to ensure that the Roma issue is not de-prioritised. The Roma representation would ensure that the efforts to strengthen the rights of Roma are taken seriously and lead to achieving the goals in the strategy, and make sure that the results are permanent.
To deal with the problem that there is no Roma representation, we need to start in our own home countries. It is an equally big democratic problem within the different EU countries. Political parties need to get better at taking care of the politically interested Roma, cooperating with the associations that exist, and not just use them as an alibi when it comes to the Roma issues. It is not only at EU level that the representation of Roma is lacking. The EU often reflects what it looks like in its own Member States and right now, in many states, they take greater account of and include racist parties than to the inclusion of the minorities who are discriminated against.
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