Bulgaria has twice received substantial international attention - as host of the Decade launch in February 2005 and when it took over the Presidency from Romania in 2006. However, the Decade as a domestic policy instrument remains under-used across all line ministries. While a substantial number of measures adopted in recent years promote the Roma inclusion agenda, they often do not follow the systematic approach intended for the Decade. Bulgaria’s challenge in implementation is to use the Decade as a tool to develop integrated policies, and to effectively mainstream Roma inclusion in public policy, including by using European Structural Funds.
Bulgaria has detailed Decade Action Plans that are not effectively used by policymakers as a commitment and reporting tool for supporting Bulgaria’s social inclusion agenda. Relevant national strategic documents often make reference to the Decade, but not to the details of the action plan. The recent national education strategy does not make any reference to the Decade Action Plan at all.
Bulgaria also has not adopted priority action plans or short-term operational plans, with the exception of a comprehensive housing program that mentions the Decade commitment.
Bulgaria has a range of measures in place that can help improve educational outcomes for Roma, but they do not yet amount to a comprehensive and integrated policy. The Ministry of Education has established a Centre for Educational Integration, although with some delay, which resulted in the loss of budgetary resources for Roma education. While mainstream education programs could be used in the interest of Roma education, such opportunities sometimes go lost: For example, school buses provided through a nationwide Ministry of Education programme are not known to have been used to assist desegregation. Bulgaria has a compulsory year of preschool, but anecdotal evidence suggests that it often remains not implemented for Roma, and there are no specific government-financed measures that would promote access of Roma to preschool. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour has become active in promoting access to education by supporting training for Roma teaching assistants, adult literacy programs and free school breakfasts. The receipt of the child allowance benefit is tied to school attendance, and its monitoring and enforcement has recently been tightened. There is no government policy on desegregation, and any efforts in this direction remain externally financed and of a pilot nature. However, Bulgaria’s 2006 National Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion mentions education desegregation as a goal and sets concrete targets for 2008. As yet, there are also no government programs aimed at promoting access of Roma to higher education.
Over the past two years, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has implemented a series of employment programs involving Roma, though the programs were not necessarily conceived or tailored for Roma. Specific pilot programmes were funded by EU Phare, while the larger mainstream programs remain funded from the state budget. A notable exception to mainstream programs is a targeted literacy program for Roma that was introduced in 2006. But these activities have yet to solidify into a coherent policy tailored to the specific situation of the Roma community.
So far, Bulgaria’s approach to Roma health has consisted largely of sporadic measures, although important recent policy changes may have a positive impact on Roma health. Based on the results of a 2003 EU Phare-financed study, the Ministry of Health has developed 15 pilot programs aimed at providing training to health care professionals working with Roma, and aimed at setting up informal Roma mediators to facilitate communication between Roma communities and health care institutions. With the support of the Open Society Institute, 87 health mediators have been trained in recent years, although health mediators are not yet incorporated into the Bulgarian health system. It is expected that in 2007 at least 60 of the trained mediators will be permanently employed by local municipalities through a subsidy provided by the Ministry of Finance. Moreover, in 2005, the Ministry of Labour established a budget line to finance health expenditures for marginalised individuals without health insurance. Access to this financing is limited to uninsured people and subject to a strict means test. The Ministry of Health has also enacted a number of national programmes targeted to disadvantaged groups, including Roma, such as a program for HIV-infection prevention and AIDS control, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
The Bulgarian Government adopted a National Program for Roma in 2006, which is a result of a joint effort of experts from various ministries and agencies and civil society.
Covering the same time span as the Decade, the National Programme for Roma calls for investing in infrastructure developments in Roma neighborhoods, finding alternative locations for some settlements, building new low-income housing from the state budget, and changing the spatial development of segregated Roma areas. The programme envisages clear measures, indicators, and budget lines, as well as a solid financial commitment from the state budget. Forty per cent of the programme is to be funded by the state. However, there is as yet little evidence on implementation and actual budgeting.
In 2003, Bulgaria adopted a comprehensive anti-discrimination law based on EU directives in the field. The law offers extensive protections against discrimination on a wide array of grounds, and allows victims to use regular courts as well as an equality body, called the Anti-Discrimination Commission, to seek remedies.
The Anti-Discrimination Commission, set up in 2005, has yet to begin working as an effective equality body.
For full information on the Decade of Roma Inclusion and the DecadeWatch report, please go to www.romadecade.org
