On the occasion of the first European Summit on Romanies organised by the European Union (EU) which will be taking place in Brussels today, Erpc (Eu Roma Policy Coalition) is urging the European institutions "to develop a long-term strategy to respect and protect the fundamental rights of the Romanies". Erpc is asking the Summit to commit itself to joint standards and goals that may help achieve effective results, so as to pave the way to national action plans that should be developed with the proactive involvement of the Romany communities. In addition, Erpc asks the current presidency of the EU to subscribe to such political commitment at next December’s European Council. According to Erpc, the EU institutions and the member states should guarantee, during the Summit, that the fight against the discrimination of the Romanies be based on social inclusion policies, not on repression or security measures. Members of Erpc include Amnesty International, European Roma Rights Centre, European Roma Information Office, European Network Against Racism, Open Society Institute, Spolu International Foundation, Minority Rights Group International, European Roma Grassroots Organisation, Roma Education Fund and Fundación Secretariado Gitano.
