The Cabinet was seriously committed to solving the problems of the Roma community in Bulgaria, Deputy Labour and Social Policy Minister Baki Hiuseinov said.

Hiuseinov took part in roundtable talks organised by non-governmental organisation Roma Union for Sports and Culture.

Roma integration was social, rather than political or ethnic problem, Hiuseinov said.

To get equal labour market opportunities, Roma people needed better education, he said. Apart from the low education levels, Roma suffered bad housing conditions and unemployment.

Svetoslav Ivanov, another forum participant said that more than 800 000 Roma people live in Bulgaria. Nearly 64 per cent of these people had to make their living with less than three leva per day, he said.

Almost 400 000 people of Roma origin live isolated in ghettoes, Ivanov said.