ZAGREB, Feb 2 (Hina) - The prime ministers of eight central and eastEuropean countries, including Ivo Sanader of Croatia, gathered inSofia on Wednesday to launch an initiative called "Decade of RomaIntegration", aimed at improving the
status of the Roma minority inthose countries in the next ten years,
ZAGREB, Feb 2 (Hina) - The prime ministers of eight central and east
European countries, including Ivo Sanader of Croatia, gathered in Sofia on
Wednesday to launch an initiative called "Decade of Roma Integration", aimed at
improving the status of the Roma minority in those countries in the next ten
years,About six million Roma live in Europe, most of them in central and
eastern Europe, namely in countries that have just become or will soon become
EU members.
"Every person deserves a chance for a better life," Bulgarian Prime
Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg said, opening the event.
The plan for the inclusion of the Roma (Gypsy) minority in society from
2005 to 2015 has been endorsed by Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia and Serbia-Montenegro. The initiative has
also been backed by the World Bank and the Open Society Fund of George Soros
and Roma associations.