Before joining the European Union (EU), Montenegro must improve the position of the Roma population, primarily by resolving the issue of citizenship and personal documents, improving the quality of education, reducing discrimination against members of that community, as well as the number of unemployed and informally employed Roma.
This was assessed in a podcast by the MINA agency, which is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media from the Fund for Encouraging Media Pluralism and Diversity.
Interlocutors of the MINA agency assessed that the position of Roma in Montenegro has improved, but that, although the state is working through numerous programs to integrate Roma and improve the living conditions of this population, it must make more efforts.
The President of the Roma Council, Mensur Šaljaj, said that Roma in Montenegro are in a better position than in previous years, stating that a significantly larger number of children now attend primary and secondary education, that there are more highly educated people, and that some of them are employed as social inclusion associates in state institutions.
He emphasized that they are doing everything they can to introduce children from the Roma and Egyptian communities into the education system and that he hopes they will succeed in lowering the criteria for enrollment in secondary schools.
"That after completing high school, they can enroll in higher education, the department they want, that they have one or two places guaranteed at certain faculties and that we provide them with free studies," said Šaljaj, adding that they have great support in their work from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MESI) and the relevant minister, Anđela Jakšić Stojanović.
He said that they plan, with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, to introduce mediators into preschool education and upbringing and increase the number of children in kindergartens in Podgorica and other Montenegrin cities.
The Head of the Department for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Roma and Egyptians at the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Sokolj Beganaj, said that previously 16 percent of children from the Roma and Egyptian communities were included in preschool education, and now more than 60 percent.
"It doesn't end there, we want to include associates in preschool education and even provide them with transportation if possible, to take them to kindergarten and back," said Beganaj.
As he pointed out, once 55 percent of the Roma and Egyptian population were included in primary schools, while with the start of the implementation of the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians 2021-2025, that number reached more than 88 percent.
Beganaj pointed out that the number of children enrolled in secondary education had increased by 20 percent and added that all members of the Roma and Egyptian population who had completed secondary school had the opportunity to attend training as an associate in the social inclusion of Roma, in order to more easily find a job.
He said that their goal is not just to get high school graduates, but to encourage them to continue their education, that is, to enroll in colleges.
"Our goal is to create a new generation that will be ambassadors for the Roma and Egyptian population, who will represent the Roma population in the best possible way. Now we have taken serious steps and are succeeding in that," said Beganaj.
He said that on November 24, a Roma seminar was held in Montenegro, which is held every year in countries that want to become part of the EU, and during which some key recommendations were made on what needs to be done in the next two years to improve the position of the Roma population in Montenegro.
"When it comes to education, we must continue the pace we have started, but we must also work on the quality of education. Also, some members of the Roma and Egyptian population do not yet have their legal status resolved, so they do not have health insurance. We must resolve their documents in order to resolve their legal status," said Beganaj.
He said that officially 20 or 30 members of the Roma and Egyptian population do not have their legal status resolved, but that in reality that number is up to 400 because, as he explained, some from that community have not even entered the procedure for obtaining legal status and do not know what rights they have.
Šalaj explained that the Roma Council issues two certificates, in cooperation with the Ministries of Human and Minority Rights and Internal Affairs, which guarantee that persons live at a specific address and have sufficient means of subsistence, thereby gaining the right to regularize temporary or permanent residence, or obtain Montenegrin citizenship.
He pointed out that due to the Montenegrin language test, members of the Roma and Egyptian communities cannot regulate their legal status and obtain Montenegrin citizenship.
"Previously, we had a memorandum with the Institute of the Montenegrin Language that allowed every member of the Roma and Egyptian community to take the oral part, without the written part, but since 2021 that has changed. The written part is also mandatory, although they are aware that around 70-80 percent of the members of the Roma community are illiterate and cannot pass that test. This is one of the biggest problems why we cannot solve these remaining requirements," said Šaljaj.
Beganaj emphasized that, in order to improve the position of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro, discrimination against members of that community must be reduced.
As he stated, the Government has already adopted a program against anti-Gypsyism and any kind of discrimination against Roma, within which 30 or 40 thousand civil servants in Montenegro will be informed about the position of Roma, their culture, how they should be approached, and how they can help them integrate into society.
"We must teach our citizens how to respect others. Because if people were different, respected and appreciated each other, we would not need laws, action plans, strategies," said Beganaj.
He said that the attitude of the majority population towards Roma has changed recently, that there is no direct discrimination, but rather it is mostly hidden discrimination and segregation of members of the Roma community.
"To some extent, the Roma population has slowed down a bit in the sense that they should not separate or segregate themselves in one place, or only socialize with members of their own population, but rather they should be more open and expand their circle of friends, get involved in social activities and thus fully integrate," Beganaj believes.
He said that the Government has adopted the National Program for the Transformation of Informal Employment of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro, whose goal is the full inclusion of members of that community in the formal labor market.
"Which means that, as Montenegro's accession to the EU approaches, anyone working illegally will have to legalize their work in order to have income and pension, as well as occupational safety and all other rights guaranteed by the Labor Law," Beganaj explained.
According to him, this program will cost around 840 thousand EUR, and it will include 500 to 600 members of the Roma population, who will have the opportunity to intern.
Speaking about the status of the Romani language and initiatives to make Serbian and Bosnian official languages in Montenegro, Šaljaj said that "everything is possible for someone, but they cannot even recognize someone as a minority," recalling the promise that, once the census is completed, the Parliament will consider the initiative of the Roma Council to have the Roma recognized as a national minority in Montenegro.
He assessed that the introduction of the Serbian language as an official language would lead to the destabilization of the state and that the majority of MPs would not vote for the initiative, and that it might not even be considered.
When it comes to the Romani language, Šaljaj said that the Roma Council is in communication with the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and the University of Montenegro in order to organize master's degrees in Roma studies at the Faculty of Philology in the future, and to encourage people to enroll in that field and train themselves so that they can later become teachers in primary education.
"It remains for us, in cooperation with the Ministry, to create an action plan and strategy for the standardization of the Romani language, to find the right profile whether to use the Gurbet language or perhaps the official one. Ninety percent of the members of the Romani community speak the Gurbet language and I think we have to adapt to that," said Šalaj.
He said that people who lose their language also lose their identity and said that he would do everything to prevent the complete assimilation of the Romani language.
Speaking about the political participation of Roma, Šalaj said that in February last year they sent an initiative to the Committee for Comprehensive Electoral Reform to reduce the threshold for entering parliament from 0,70 to 0,35 percent for members of that people, under the affirmative action system, but that so far they have not received any response, except for an informal one - that the letter had arrived.
He added that he was pleased to hear that the Committee had resumed work and that he hoped that it would soon consider their initiative.
When asked whether the introduction of open lists would be a better chance for Roma to have their own representative in parliament, Šaljaj said that a guaranteed mandate is most suitable for the Roma community in Montenegro.
"For example, in Kosovo, with 200 votes, certain minority parties have one guaranteed mandate," said Šaljaj, pointing out that according to the latest census, Roma in Montenegro make up 0,9 percent, and that 0,7 percent have Montenegrin citizenship, including children who do not have the right to vote.
"The 0,35 percent threshold is somewhat high, but considering that this threshold was given to the Croat community, which, according to the last census, is almost as numerous as us, I believe that the discrimination that is open towards the Roma community must be corrected and we must obtain the rights that Croats also have in this country," said Šaljaj.
As he stated, the future representative of the Roma in the Parliament of Montenegro faces a challenging task; he will have to secure support in parliament for ideas that are best for their community, and that he will need time to implement and complete all of these initiatives.
When it comes to access to healthcare, Šaljaj said that Roma are the least discriminated against and that members of the Roma community can always turn to healthcare mediators for help, who will explain everything necessary to them in the Romani language.
Speaking about the housing conditions of Roma, Beganaj pointed out that Montenegro, with the help of European partners and donors, managed to close the Konik 1 and 2 camps, the largest in Europe, but that there are still people who have not resolved their housing issue.
He stated that the relevant departments in the Government, with the assistance of the Council of Europe, conducted a Feasibility Study on Social Housing for Roma and Egyptians in eight municipalities in Montenegro and estimated that the construction of new housing units to accommodate members of that community would require around EUR 24 million.
Beganaj said that they were unable to receive such a large donation from European funds, because it is necessary to fulfill certain conditions, and that they are now in negotiations with the World Bank.
"They (the World Bank) thought at the beginning that they would give us favorable loans for that, but we said that we did not want favorable loans, but a non-refundable loan, or assistance in order to build new stable units. They accepted that proposal and we expect a meeting with them," said Beganaj.
He said that the World Bank's proposal is to start with the construction of housing units in one or two municipalities, and continue further if the project is successful.
Beganaj added that, in terms of housing conditions, the worst situation is in Berane, especially after the floods, followed by Nikšić, Kotor, Budva, and Bijelo Polje.
He said that the European Commission is still not fully satisfied with the situation of the Roma and Egyptian populations and that the position of this community in Montenegro must continue to be improved.
"There is still a lot to be done, which is why we are always given new recommendations and guidelines, which we must adhere to if we want to have standards and rights like the EU. We must respond to all the demands that the EU is asking of us, but also so that the Roma population can fully enjoy all the rights they are entitled to by law," he said.
Beganaj, who is also the coordinator for monitoring the implementation of the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in Montenegro, said that the strategy is outstanding and that in the next quarter, a working group will be created to draft a new document, with the help and support of the Council of Europe.
"In the next strategy, we will also address all the problems faced by members of the Roma and Egyptian populations. We must resolve their issues by the time our country joins the EU," said Beganaj.
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