Ongoing struggle for equality

Racist discrimination - ugly reality in the EU. Two generations of gypsy representatives take part in the fourth of five 'Crossed Portraits', a series marking 50 years of the EU

2007 is the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. A European Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) was created in Vienna at the beginning of the month, complementing the work of the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia founded in 1998. The gypsy community is the EU’s most important minority and they are struggling hard to put an end to prejudice.

January’s Eurobarometer, dedicated especially to the issue of discrimination in honour of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, says that two-thirds of Europeans see discrimination based on ethnic origin as the most wide-spread form in the Union. Also, although 65% of Europeans believe that the presence of different ethnic origins can enrich national culture, 64% believe that ethnic discrimination has increased in the last 5 years. The study also shows that most Europeans believe that gypsies are at a social disadvantage, although the percentages vary from country to country.

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