Is Europe really ‘united in diversity’?

While the European Union rightly condemns racism, critics claim it is failing to tackle discrimination and hate speech directed towards its large Romani population.

What is the European Union doing to address racism directed towards Romani communities, and race-related exclusion within its borders? Are its members states being held to account for violations of Romani rights? How successful have its integration strategies and frameworks been across Europe? How will the treatment of Romani peoples impact on Western Balkan EU accession ambitions?

This event will explore the EU’s strengths and weaknesses in devising, implementing and policing rights frameworks for the Romani peoples across its member states. The panel will discuss what the EU is doing, where it has been successful and where improvements need to be made, as well as answering audience questions.

This event is being co-hosted by Racism and International Politics Series, the Central and South-East Europe Programme, and IDEAS Europe. These projects are hosted by LSE IDEAS.

Romeo Franz joined the European Parliament as a member in 2018 and was re-elected in 2019, being the first Sinto from Germany elected in the European Parliament. Mr. Franz is the first vice chair of the Culture and Education Committee and substitute member of the Committees on Employment and Social Affairs and LIBE Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Since 2014, he has been Managing Director of the Hildegard Lagrenne Foundation and has been involved in civil rights work on the topic of “People with Romani backgrounds (Sinti and Roma)” for more than 20 years.

Angéla Kóczé is an Assistant Professor, Chair of Romani Studies, and Academic Director of the Roma Graduate Preparation Program at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. In 2013–2017, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC, USA. In 2013, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, honoured Kóczé with the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award for her interdisciplinary research approach, which combines community engagement and policymaking with in-depth participatory research on the situation of the Roma.

Jennifer Jackson-Preece is an Associate Professor in Nationalism, with a joint appointment in both the European Institute and the Department of International Relations, LSE.

Event hashtag: #LSERomani

LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. We connect academic knowledge of diplomacy and strategy with the people who use it.