VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSL #0109/01 0711038
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111038Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1583

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000109 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PGOV LO
SUBJECT: GOS ROLLS OUT ROMA STRATEGY 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  The Government of Slovakia has new 
EU-provided funding and increased staff in the office of 
Deputy Prime Minister Dusan Caplovic (Smer) to dramatically 
upgrade programs that address the needs of the Roma 
community.  Roma activists and other observers are very 
skeptical, however, that Roma-oriented programs will be 
implemented effectively in practice.  Key ministries -- 
especially those run by the Slovak National Party (SNS) -- 
have indicated that they will ignore the Roma policy 
suggestions of the DPM's staff and/or object to the way that 
EU funds are approved through the DPM's office.  Given the 
weak and generally passive position of the divided Roma 
community and its lack of strong allies, the government will 
have to be convinced to use its political capital on a 
not-so-popular issue in order for its plan to translate into 
concrete results.  Embassy Bratislava will continue to press 
the issue with the government and to seek opportunities 
through which we can further the goal of Roma integration. 
End Summary. 
 
The Action Plan 
--------------- 
¶2. (SBU) On January 11, the DPM's Plenipotentiary for Roma 
Affairs, Anina Botosova, announced the government's updated 
National Minority Strategy (NMS).  A wide-ranging strategy 
document, the NMS incorporated many of the Roma advocacy 
community's policy suggestions on a wide range of education, 
employment, housing, social integration and other policy. 
Key points include: making kindergarten a part of the formal 
education, requiring 12 years of schooling obligatory, 
providing teacher's assistants to all schools with a high 
Roma population; upgrading adult education; establishing 
incentives to employers for training the long-term 
unemployed; defining housing rights; and, establishing 
better-equipped community centers.  In a recent meeting with 
Ambassador Obsitnik, Roma policy analyst Stefan Sarkozy 
called the NMS "the best plan the government has ever made 
for addressing the needs of the Roma community...on paper." 
 
EU Funds: Changing the Dynamic 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Normally the plenipotentiary's NMS would be minor 
news, since the office does not have discretionary authority 
over federal funds or the ability to draft legislation. In 
this case, however, the NMS was released at a time when the 
plenipotentiary's office has gained leverage to influence how 
2007-2013 eurofunds are targeted toward Roma program 
initiatives.  Under an agreement with the EU originally 
negotiated in 2006 by former Plenipotentiary Klara 
Orgovanova, Slovakia is required to target a minimum of 8 
billion SK (260 million Euro) out of its 400 billion SK (13 
billion Euro) in 2007-2013 Eurofunds toward inter-ministerial 
projects proposed by municipalities to address the needs of 
the Roma community.  The Plenipotentiary's office, run by a 
Roma woman (Botosova) and with largely Roma staff, will have 
the authority to reject proposals that do not meet the 
objectives outlined by the NMS.  To encourage positive 
Roma-oriented projects from municipalities, the EU gave the 
plenipotentiary's office funds to hire 35 new staff members, 
many of whom will work in the eastern and central provinces. 
Most of the new staff has been hired in the past six months. 
The first calls for proposals were issued in January. 
 
Resistance in the (SNS) Ministries 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) It is still questionable how much power over EU 
funds the plenipotentiary really has.  The DPM and 
plenipotentiary have authority to cut inappropriate pork 
barrel projects proposed in the name of the Roma community, 
but they do not have a means of specifically targeting funds 
toward the NMS's most important education, housing, and 
employment objectives.  Moreover, Roma policy has the 
potential to become a pawn in the battle between the DPM's 
Smer party and junior partner SNS over control of all 
Eurofunds.  On February 6, Caplovic introduced a proposal 
that would remove overall coordination of eurofunds from the 
Ministry of Construction and Regional Development -- run by 
Marian Janusek of SNS -- to Prime Minister Fico's office. 
Janusek responded by saying that none of the three SNS-run 
ministries (Housing and Regional Development, Environment, 
and Education) would comply with the new arrangement 
proposed.  All three of these ministries are key distributors 
of EU funds targeted toward the Roma community. (Among the 
ministries with significant policy initiatives affecting the 
Roma community, only Labor ad Social Affairs is run by Smer.) 
 
Hard to Change Policy 
--------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) SNS-run ministries are also proving non-responsive 
to the government's proposals on key issues affecting the 
Roma community in which policy change (rather than increased 
EU or federal funding) is required.  The Ministry of 
Education's draft education bill, issued in early January, 
elicited 22 major criticisms from Botosova, only one of which 
was addressed.  Key concerns included the bill's lack of 
proposals to address the high percentage of Roma in special 
education schools, to provide incentives to encourage 
Roma/low-income children to enter kindergarten, or to provide 
additional teachers, among other proposals.  In a January 23 
courtesy call meeting with Ambassador Obsitnik, Minister Jan 
Mikolaj strongly defended the system by which children are 
screened for entry into special schools, saying "Our special 
schools are the best in the world."  He did not appear open 
to or interested in change on these points.  Later this year, 
the Ministries of Environment and Housing and Regional 
Development are scheduled to produce major legislation on 
access to water and housing policy, respectively.  Botosova 
told Poloff that she and her supervisor, Caplovic, will have 
similar problems exerting any influence on these draft bills. 
 
Up to the Challenge? 
-------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) While resistance from SNS is a given, the Roma 
community faces the more serious long-term question of 
whether it has the will and the skill to press for serious 
policy changes or funding increases.  DPM Caplovic and 
Botosova have a cordial relationship (in contrast to the 
tense relationship between DPM and plenipotentiary in years 
past before Botosova was appointed in June 2007), but Roma 
activists express concern that both are too deferential to be 
effective advocates.  As one former colleague of Botosova 
from her days in the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs 
told Poloff, "she is very nice and she knows how the 
ministries work, which is great.  She is definitely qualified 
for the job...but she is incredibly disorganized, she gets 
nervous, and has a hard time finishing anything."  Several 
qualified upper-level analysts have already left the 
plenipotentiary's office in the last few months, expressing 
exasperation with a dysfunctional office. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Caplovic has not yet been willing to confront any of 
his coalition colleagues over policy proposals and has thus 
far been content to leave his programs on auto pilot. Some 
believe, however, that the current spat with SNS over 
eurofunds has the potential to motivate him to press more 
strongly for Roma-related programs.  As former 
plenipotentiary Orgovanova (no friend of Caplovic) told 
Poloff, "He doesn't like SNS and he doesn't want them 
challenging his authority or deciding how to spend money. 
This is the only way to get his attention."  In the end, 
Caplovic (or Fico) will have to take a stronger role, because 
no political party has lent support to the Roma community, 
and there are no Roma representatives in parliament or in 
high-ranking roles in the ministries. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment and Conclusion. Mindful of the challenges, 
Post continues to dedicate both human and financial resources 
in an effort to raise the profile of Roma issues and to make 
concrete contributions to the community.  The topic of Roma 
integration is addressed frequently by the Embassy with a 
range of Slovak interlocutors, including at the ministerial 
level. In addition, Post has recently awarded a grant to a 
Slovak NGO that is working at the grassroots level to prepare 
the youngest Roma to enter the Slovak school system.  We also 
are preparing a conference on long-term unemployment that 
will, among other things, highlight the successful efforts of 
companies such as Whirlpool to hire and train Roma workers. 
In a recent roundtable hosted by the Embassy for a group of 
dynamic young Roma activists, we caught a poignant glimpse of 
the great potential and the deep frustration that co-exist 
within the Roma community here.  The event served as both an 
inspiration and a reminder as to why sustained and creative 
engagement on this issue continues to make sense, even in a 
time of significantly reduced resources. 
OBSITNIK