Although SEEL has a wide experience in work in "low income economies" it was only as a result of work (through ADF) with minority groups in Central Europe that the full extent and economic damage resulting from covert European government policies, based upon class and racial discrimination, became fully apparent.

As early as 1999, SEEL, in the form of ADF, is on record as having raised its concern about the segregation and denial of education to Romani children in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia with the European Commission. The European Commission took no action at that time nor since to this date (2007) and this abuse continues.

In the meantime we assisted in the organization of ECRE the European Committee on Romani Emancipation, as an independent NGO (see Participation). ECRE was the first NGO to undertake field work and describe in detail the level of contravention of European Law by European Member States in their report on the Special Schools in 2003. They also uncovered the fact that this human rights abuse was, and continues to be, a direct result of central governments providing an incentive (bribe) to local authorities to segregate Romani children from mainstream children and then deny them education. At that time, the size of the bribe in Hungary was around €1,750 per child per year. This involved some 150,000 children or an annual funding creating an incentive for discrimination of €260 million. During the pre-accession negotiations with the European Commission, Hungary alone, between 1989 and 2004 spent some €3 billion on this horrendous policy. ECRE continues to follow this issue but continues to receive no effective response from European Union institutions.

Conclusion

Advocacy work in the area of Human Rights in the European Union when it affects the poor and those with no political weight is, in practical terms, ignored. Whereas it should be possible to rely on governement and the European Union institutions to resolve such a horrendous issue it would seem, after 8 years experience on this specifc case, one is dependent on the entities and organizations of governance who are the very instigators of the human rights abuse being addressed. They therefore consider this to be a political question and do not act. Political parties do not want to be associated with proactive reform addressing this human rights abuse. This has extremely sinister undertones and reflects a state of practice in human rights which is in marked contrast to the image of the European Union as an entity which sets an example in the defence of human rights. European Law is openly broken but those with the authority to act do nothing since the individuals concerned do not care. Indeed ECRE's experience is a case study in prejudicial prevarication with all institutions failing to act including the European Commission, Governments, European Parliament Petitions Committee and the Ombudsman.

Economic impacts

These very same institutions however are very much concerned with encouraging economic development and offer several forms of funding from the European Budget to these member states. Currently, most of the governments concerned, including the new accessions states in East and Central Europe have failed to absorb the European funding. On top of this they are running their affairs, especially in the area of minorities, in a way which is damaging their economies. There is a serious issue of defective human resources planning with the consequent damage to the prospects of the mainstream populations as well as that of the European Union. The opportunity costs of this poor governance needs to be estimated. Therefore SEEL has used the economic data provided by ECRE to develop an econometric model to provide a time series of the quantitative economic impact of these policies of racial discrimination. This is based upon the measurement of the direct constraint of lack of education on individual earning capacity caused by the exclusion from certain types of economic activity. This has therefore created and sustained widespread poverty in the rural regions causing significant shortfalls the Gross National Product (GNP) as a direct outcome of under-performance.

Nearing completion... The CESS Report on Economic Impacts of Poverty should be released October 2007

CESS-Cigány Economy Simulation System

The econometric model is known as CESS-Cigány Economy Simulation System and it operates as a simulation system. Some of this system can be accessed online here.

Cost to the Economy of the European Union

Based upon the ECRE figures, projecting a conservative estimate of the loss to the GNPs of the economies of Central and Eastern European Member States of the European Union is an alarming €50 billion each year.

Preliminary CESS reports will become available in the third Quarter 2007 but it is already evident that the European Union, in attempting to stimulate European economic development issues through such initiatives as the Lisbon Agenda failed to address such a significant cause of economic under-performance. This is alarming because ADF advised the European Commission of these circumstances some 8 years ago and ECRE also contacted the European Institutions of several occassions to no avail. The European Union demonstrates a complacency and ability to condone a damaging failure in human resources planning policy in Central and Eastern Europe, a failure to invest in people so as to help them improve real economic growth and their general wellbeing. As things stand economic progress targets the mainstream in a discriminatory fashion. This contravenes European Law on in denying education, enforcing segregation and preventing minorities from participating effectively in the Single Market for labour.