By Shigeo Katsu Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Region Bucharest, November 17, 2005 
In February this year in Sofia, we came together in a remarkable gathering to launch the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015. That meeting marked an unprecedented political commitment by governments, with the close engagement of Roma, to move this agenda forward over a period of ten years. This commitment was then enshrined in the national action plans which each of the Decade countries has adopted, setting out concrete policies and measures to improve the living conditions of the Roma. Nine months later, although we have seen some movement in laying out plans and creating mechanisms, we must recognize that progress on implementing the commitments made in Sofia has been uneven. While some countries have made important strides, others have adopted a slower pace. We need to move beyond good intentions and what, on paper, look like impressive programs of action.
It is essential to speed things up if we are to achieve the goals we have set ourselves. This is especially important over the coming months if we are to seereal results in including Roma in the mainstream of European society.
The challenge ahead is to convert the Action Plans from “to-do” lists into concrete steps, integrated into Government budgets, so that resources stand behind the good intentions.
As events elsewhere in Europe demonstrate, it is high time to renew focus on the issue of social exclusion. The disorder in cities across France provides dramatic testimony to the consequences of exclusion among minority groups left for too long on the outer fringes of society. Writing in the Financial Times on Tuesday, a columnist suggested that Government policies offering decent education, housing and employment could play a central role in closing down the incubators of alienation in France. Implementing the Decade Allow me now to share with you my expectations for this meeting: I trust that we can quickly come to closure on the TORs and other bureaucratic matters and use our time to focus on the concrete next steps necessary to implement the policies proclaimed in the national Decade action plans. We look forward in particular to hearing from the country delegations about progress, challenges and opportunities in each of your countries. In taking stock, we should note that:
First, a major challenge remains to translate the policy statements on the Decade into operational policies, to set clearer prioritiesand to create adequate institutional conditions for implementation, including budget support.
Second, we need to make sure that municipal authorities are brought more fully into the endeavor. The Decade agenda cuts across different layers of Government. And in this complicated environment, local Government has an essential role to play in Roma inclusion because of their role in service provision.
Third, we need to see hard and fast progress on measures to boost opportunities for pre-schooling, facilitate access to social services, and remove discriminatory practices which limit Roma access to housing and jobs.
Fourth, we need to set shorter term targets and goals, and monitor progress towards meeting them. This will allow us to assess year by year how we are doing in terms of improved school enrollments and labor market participation. It will also enable us to see how Governments fare in allocating resources and coordinating their approach to Roma inclusion across national administrations.
Financing Needless to say, all this requiresadequate financing. And the primary source of financing is the national budgets. Yet, so far, in most Decade countries,Ministries of Finance have played a very limited role in the preparation of the Decade plans. The result is that few of the planned initiatives to support the Decade were incorporated into national budgets in 2005. And I hope we’ll see improvement in 2006 and beyond.
The World Bank will continue toengage the Ministries of Finance on this issue. Indeed, last September we held a special session with finance ministry officials during the Annual Meetings in Washington. All participants recognized that in preparing 2006 budgets, finance ministries should work with national Decade Coordinators and line ministries to review the Action Plans and agree on priority financing needs.
International support for the Decade In addition to these national efforts, we recognize that the implementation of the Decade agenda requires substantial international co-financing. The World Bank and our partners stand ready to assist the countries in their efforts to operationalize, prioritize and implement their action plans with technical assistance, analytical work and, in the case of the Bank, with lending.
Here in Romania, for example, we are working with the Government on the preparation of an innovative Social Inclusion Program to provide support to Roma communities as well as other disadvantaged groups. It also aims at providing support to early childhood development programs, as well as facilitating access to EU funding.
These EU Structural Funds and pre-accession funding represent a vital source of funding for the Decade. Some countries, like Spain in the past and Hungary and the Czech Republic today, have already tapped these funds for Roma inclusion programs. And the European Commission has clearly stated that it welcomes their use to further the goals of the Decade. European Commissioner Danuta Hübner, who joined our meeting with Ministries of Finance in Washington in September, pledged to throw the weight of the EU Commission behind the Decade agenda. We certainly hope that the Roma inclusion agenda features prominently in the programming of EU structural and regional funds for the next budget period of 2007-2013. The World Bank joins George Soros in supporting an adjustment in the rules governing the allocation of structural funds to extend coverage to the recurrent costs which are so important in implementing Roma Decade action plans.
In addition, at the request of the International Steering Committee, the World Bank has agreed to prepare a framework for a Decade Trust Fund which we will present to you later today. The DTF will be able to finance technical support and training in the context of refining and implementing the Decade Action Plans, and monitoring progress. I am pleased to announce that the Romanian Government as well as OSI are the first to sign the Trust Fund agreement to become the inaugural donors of the Decade Trust Fund. Our hope is that other Decade countries and donors will follow suit, and that the Trust Fund will become a key tool to provide flexible technical assistance support in the months ahead.
Continued World Bank assistance to the Decade You may well ask: What does the World Bank bring to the table? Setting up the framework for and offering to administer the DTF is just one example of our support.
The World Bank will continue to offer advisory services on the areas covered by the Decade – health, housing, education and employment -on Government requests. Here our interventions will draw on worldwide experience relevant to the specific requirements of the Decade.
We will also introducemore flexible approaches to lending which can serve as core implementation tools for the Decade – for example the Romania Social Inclusion Program and the Bulgaria Policy Development Loan which supported access to mainstream education for Roma.
We will also use our policy dialogue with the Decade countries to put the Roma inclusion issue onto the agenda. I have already mentioned our engagement with Ministries of Finance. In addition, we will continue to support the Decade through our ongoing and future lending, technical assistance and analytical programs, in the areas of health, education, social protection, housing/infrastructure and labor market issues.
I would also like to note the World Bank’s continued commitment to the Roma Education Fund which was created in December 2004 by a number of multilateral and bilateral donors, public and private. It is an innovative vehicle to finance programs aimed at improving the educational outcomes of the Roma and scaling up successful interventions across the Decade countries. A year ago, we successfully raised pledges of about US$ 42m with the aim of disbursing US$ 5-6m per year.
Fundraising will continue on an ongoing basis for the whole 10-year period. The Fund has already approved the first round of projects of US$ 3.8m. Since the REF donor conference in 2004, the World Bank has approved further grants of US$ 2m, bringing its total contribution to US$ 3m to date.
Both the Decade and REF are open to all interested countries in Europe, and we hope that more countries will join to take advantage of this rich experience and to make the process successful. What does it Take to Make the Decade a Success We welcome the tremendous efforts being made by the Romanian Presidency and commend the Hungarians for having done so much to push the initiative forward until now, as first chair of the Decade during its preparatory phases.
I would also like to thank George Soros who played an important part in making the Decade a reality from the outset. His presence here today signals his continued interest, commitment and support.
I am also pleased to convey to you the best wishes of Jim Wolfensohn, former President of the World Bank, who, together with Mr Soros, was a driving force behind international support for the Decade. He encourages and reminds us all of the commitments undertaken in Sofia. As an aside, as a farewell gift to Jim on his retirement, management and staff of the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank offered a gift in the form of a scholarship to a Roma student in his name that will also be administered through the Roma Education Fund.
I would also like to transmit to you the greetings of Mr Paul Wolfowitz, who became World Bank President in May and who takes a strong personal interest in social inclusion issues. He has reminded me of the importance for this meeting to lead to tangible progress towards implementation of the Decade objectives. It is actual results that count.
At this point, let me also acknowledge those who have bemoaned lack of progress or have voiced concerns that we have lost political momentum. Their views are important because their concerns tell us that everybody is impatient to see actual results.
Challenges to building support for the Decade abound. We know from the survey Mr Soros mentioned earlier, that we need to focus on integration and ensuring that benefits flow to all groups of the population. And above all, we need to deal with and overcome long-held prejudices on all sides. This means creating a real partnership between Roma and non-Roma, and I hope this will be facilitated by young Roma in all countries.
I want to call upon those concerned about the lack of progress to join us and help us to meet these challenges. The Decade is meant to be a tent big enough for all.
Let us make no mistake – we stand at an important juncture. The Decade process has started successfully and made its first steps, but more needs to be done to accelerate the pace over the next few months. We all have a part to play but in the final instance, it is up to the Governments in the Decade countries to take the lead in implementing this agenda. As recent events in France and elsewhere demonstrate, we have no time to waste in addressing this vital issue.
Thank You. |
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