Roma council calls for establishment of new authority
Ljubljana, 28 March - The Roma Community Council has called on the government to dissolve a working group in charge of Roma-related issues and establish a new commission to deal with these matters. The prime minister's office does not believe this course of action would help resolve problems but they do expect the working group to step up its work if needed.
Ribnica
Meeting between the representatives of the Roma Community Council and Ribnica municipality in August 2024.
Photo: Bor Slana/STA
The proposed new commission would be led by Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Luka Mesec, reads the council's appeal, addressed to PM Robert Golob.
As the members of the working group, the council's representatives are critical of its work saying that the task force has not achieved the set expectations in efforts to meet the Roma community's key challenges.
They also expressed concern about the impactful role of certain mayors from southeastern Slovenia in the group, which they believe is creating the impression of imbalance in its decision-making.
The Roma council representatives are not treated the same as other members of the task force, with their proposals often being ignored, they said.
The Roma in Slovenia live mainly in the southeast and northeast of the country, but it is the former region that is mostly dealing with problems such as Roma children's low school attendance and crime involving Roma individuals.
The coalition is busy preparing measures and legislative changes to improve the situation, the council said, particularly lauding Mesec's work.
It is clear though that the prime minister's office is not in favour of the potential dissolution of the working group as it does not believe it would provide solutions to the problems.
However, the office does expect the task force to address a broader scope of issues or welcome additional members if needed. The working group's prevention measures have already yielded results in some municipalities, the office told the STA.
According to the office and Labour Ministry, a package of proposals on Roma integration was unveiled at the group's last meeting.
This is just the latest measure in a series of legislative changes aimed at improving the Roma situation, the ministry added.
The council's appeal comes after the Government Office for National Minorities proposed a set of legislative changes that would shake up the council's line-up.
Under the proposal, the council would consist of all elected representatives of the Roma community in local self-government councils in a bid to ensure political representation, the office said earlier this week.