§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on securing the rights of Roma people residing in Eastern European countries; and how their rights will be affected by European Union enlargement. [83664]
§ Mr. MacShaneStates that wish to join the EU have to sign up to the Copenhagen Criteria. Only countries that meet the criteria, ensuring the basic human rights of all their citizens, can be invited to join. The EU reports 199W annually on the candidate countries' performance against the criteria and these reports are taken into account in the accession process.
The UK, other member states and the Commission have all put a high priority on Roma minority issues in their pre-Accession support for candidate states. And most countries have initiated separate national strategies for Roma.
New member states will have to implement the new EU anti-discriminatory directives on accession.