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Committee of Ministers
Comité des Ministres
Strasbourg, 16 November 1998 Restricted
CM(98)192
For consideration at the 652nd meeting
of the Ministers’ Deputies
(15 December 1998, B level, item 6.1)
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON MIGRATION
(CDMG)
Abridged report of the 39th meeting
Strasbourg, 14-16 October 1998
1. The European Committee on Migration (CDMG) held its 39th meeting from 14 to 16 October 1998 with Mr Tomasz Kuba Kozlowski in the Chair. The list of participants is set out in Appendix 1 and the agenda in Appendix 2.
2. The Committee was informed about the work of the Specialist Group on Integration and Community Relations (MG-S-INT) and in particular about the arrangements for the seminar on religion and integration (24-26 November 1998).
3. The Committee examined the first outline for the new community relations report and, having made a number of suggestions, agreed that it was a satisfactory basis for further drafting.
4. The Committee was informed about the national round tables on integration and community relations policies being held in 1998 in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia. The Committee further took note of the arrangements for a multilateral round table for countries of Central and Eastern Europe to be held in Warsaw on 8-9 December 1998.
5. The Committee agreed on the arrangements for the first meeting of experts on the role of employment services in the promotion of equal opportunities for migrants and disadvantaged ethnic groups.
6. The Committee held a first preliminary examination of the draft recommendation drawn up by the Select Committee of Experts on security of residence of long-term immigrants (MG-R-RES).
7. The Committee agreed that, subject to the adoption of the draft programme of activities for 1999, the work on the legal status of migrants would continue with a study of the rights accorded to legally admitted family members.
8. The Committee was informed about the results of the Seminar on Managing Migration in the Wider Europe (12-13 October 1998) by the rapporteur, Mr Jonas Widgren. The Committee was of the opinion that the Seminar had been an extremely useful opportunity for a free and off-the-record exchange of views. It went on to make arrangements for the continuation of its work on a comprehensive approach to the management of migration in Europe.
9. Mrs Josephine Verspaget reported on the meeting of the Specialist Group on Roma/Gypsies which had taken place in Prague from 28 September to 1 October 1998 at the invitation of the government of the Czech Republic. Having been informed about the large number of participants at the meeting and the great interest of the subjects discussed, the Committee congratulated the Specialist Group on its work. Following a request from the delegate of the Czech Republic, the Committee decided to propose to the Committee of Ministers to increase the size of the Group by one member.
10. The Committee adopted its opinion on the possible updating of Resolution (75)13 and decided to transmit it to the Committee of Ministers (see Appendix 3).
11. The Committee declassified the final versions of the documents prepared after the two meetings on consultative mechanisms between Roma/Gypsies and Governments, held in 1996 and 1997 (documents MG-S-ROM (97) 7 rev. and MG-S-ROM (98) 6 rev.).
12. Having been informed by the Secretariat that the draft intergovernmental programme of activities for 1999 provided for only one meeting of the CDMG, the committee stated that this would make it extremely difficult to carry out all its work; it was agreed to make every effort to make economies in the implementation of the 1999 programme such as to permit the convening of a second meeting in the Autumn.
13. On the basis of a Secretariat memorandum, the Committee held a first exchange of views on its role and strategy in the medium term. It was agreed that delegations would submit written responses to the questions raised in the memorandum and that the exchange of views would be continued at the next meeting.
14. The Committee devoted a half-day of its meeting to a Seminar entitled “Information Campaigns as a way of promoting good community relations: do they really change attitudes?”.
15. The Committee took note of the national reports on recent development in policies relating to migration and migrants, held a brief exchange of views on them and agreed to declassify them (CDMG (98) 18 prov. and Addenda).
16. The Committee expressed its intention of being an active partner in the new strategy for social cohesion and appointed Mr Kozlowski as its representative at the first meeting of the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS).
17. The Committee made the following elections:
Chair: Ms Nadia Marot (France)
Vice chair: Ms Heide-Marie Fenzl (Austria)
Members of the Bureau: Mr Andres Kollist (Estonia), Mr Mark Bang Kjeldgaard (Denmark), Ms Assia Mihaylova Tcholachka (Bulgaria).
Mrs Vaifra Palanca (Italy) and Mr G.L. van Rienen (Netherlands) remain in the Bureau for a further year.
18. The Committee decided to hold its 40th meeting from 26 to 28 May 1999.
APPENDIX 1
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS/LISTE DES PARTICIPANTS
Chair/Président : Mr Tomasz Kuba KOZLOWSKI (Poland/Pologne)
Vice-Chair/Vice-président : Mrs Nadia MAROT (France)
ALBANIA/ALBANIE: Mr Genc KODI, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Republic of Albania, AL-TIRANA.
ANDORRA/ANDORRE: -
AUSTRIA/AUTRICHE: Mrs Heide-Marie FENZL, Head of Division, Ministry of the Interior,WIEN
BELGIUM/BELGIQUE:M. Michel VILLAN, Directeur, Division de l’action sociale et des immigrés, Ministère de la Région Wallonne, NAMUR.
BULGARIA/BULGARIE: Mrs Assia Mihaylova TCHOLACHKA, Chief Specialist, National Employment Service, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, SOFIA.
CROATIA/CROATIE: Mr Miljenko BUKOVAC, Assistant Minister, Sector for Inspection, Administrative Affairs and Foreign Nationals in the Ministry of the Interior, ZAGREB.
CYPRUS/CHYPRE: Makis PAPAMICHAEL, Ministry of the Interior, NICOSIA.
CZECH REPUBLIC/REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE: Mr Tomas HAISMAN, Director, Ministry of the Interior, Department for Refugees and for the Integration of foreigners, PRAGUE
DENMARK/DANEMARK: Mr Henning Lund SØRENSEN, Delegate, Ministry of the Interior, COPENHAGEN.
Mr Mark Bang KJELDGAARD, Head of Section, Ministry of the Interior, 4. Immigration Division , COPENHAGEN.
Mr Henrik KJAER, Head of Section, Ministry of the Interior, COPENHAGEN.
Mr Lars DAHL GULMANN, Head of Section, Danish Immigration Section, COPENHAGEN
ESTONIA/ESTONIE: Mr Andres KOLLIST, Director General, State Citizenship and Immigration Department, TALLINN.
FINLAND/FINLANDE: Mr Risto LAAKKONEN, Special adviser, Ministry of Labour, HELSINKI
Mr Kari ESKOLA, Senior adviser, Ministry of the Interior, HELSINKI.
FRANCE: Mme Nadia MAROT, Chef du Bureau des affaires internationales, Direction de la Population et des Migrations, Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité, PARIS
M. Denis FROMAGET, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, (Direction des Français à l'étranger), PARIS.
M. LEFEUVRE, Direction de la Population et des Migrations, Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité, PARIS.
GERMANY/ALLEMAGNE: Dr Frank HEMPEL, Ministère du Travail et des Afaires Sociales, BONN
GREECE/GRECE: Mrs Zoi KRAIA, Chef de la Section des Organismes Internationaux et de la Coopération Internationale du Secrétariat Général pour les Grecs à l'étranger, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ATHENS.
HUNGARY/HONGRIE: Mr Peter SARKÖZY, Chief of Section, Migration and Refugee Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BUDAPEST.
Mrs Zsizsanna VEGH, Head of Department of aliens and Refugee Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, BUDAPEST 1903, PO Box 314
IRELAND/IRLANDE: -
ITALY/ITALIE: Mrs Vaifra PALANCA, Expert, Département des Affaires Sociales, Présidence du Conseil des Ministres, ROME
Mrs Gabriella VENTI, Secretariat, Ministère du Travail et de la Prévoyance Sociale, Service des problèmes du travail, des immigrés et de la famille, ROME
LATVIA/LETTONIE: Mr Ints ZITARS, Head of the Department for Citizenship and Migration Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, RIGA
LIECHTENSTEIN: (apologised/excusé)
LITHUANIA/LITHUANIE: Mr Janas VIDICKAS, First Deputy Director, Migration Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs, VILNIUS
LUXEMBOURG:.(apologised/excusé)
MALTA/MALTE: -
MOLDOVA: Mr Valeran REVENCO, Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Security and Family, CHISINAU.
NETHERLANDS/PAYS-BAS: Mr G.L. VAN RIENEN, International coordinator, Ministry of Health, Welfare, Sport (VWS), RYSWYK.
Mr Gerard C. DE BOER, Senior Policy Adviser, Policy Department, Ministry of Justice, THE HAGUE.
NORWAY/NORVEGE: Mrs Tove SKOTVEDT, Adviser, Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Department of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, OSLO.
POLAND/POLOGNE: Mr Tomasz Kuba KOZLOWSKI, Institute of Public Affairs, WARSAW
Mr Maciej KUCZYNSKI, Vice-Director, Department for Migration and Refugee Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Administration, WARSAW.
PORTUGAL: M. Carolos Alberto PEREIRA CORREIA, Adjoint au Haut Commissaire pour l’immigration et les minorités ethniques, LISBON.
ROMANIA/ROUMANIE: Mr Tudor MARIN, Head of Office for Migration Issues and Refugees, Ministry of the Interior, General Directorate for Border Police, Migration Issues and Passports, BUCAREST.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION/FEDERATION DE RUSSIE: Mr Teimouraz RAMISHVILI, Head, Department of International Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MOSCOU.
SAN MARINO/SAINT-MARIN: M. Domenico CECCHETTI, Ministère du Travail et de la Cooperation de la Republique de Saint-Marin, Co-ordinateur du Départment des Secteurs productifs et du Travail.
SLOVAK REPUBLIC/REPUBLIQUE SLOVAQUE: Mr Vladimir BELO-CABAN, Director, Office for Migration, Ministry of the Interior, MU MVSR, BRATISLAVA.
Mrs Katarína ZVAROVÁ, Adviser, Migration Office, Ministry of Interior, BRATISLAVA.
SLOVENIA/SLOVENIE: Mr Uroš BUCAR, Inspector, Ministry of the Interior, Office for Foreigners, LJUBLJANA.
SPAIN/ESPAGNE: M. Manuel de MONTES MEANA, Chef de Section, Ministère du Travail et des Affaires Sociales, Division Générale de Règlementation des Migrations, MADRID.
Mme Isabel COLACIOS DE LA FUENTE, Responsible OCDE au Conseil du Travail et des Affaires Sociales, PARIS.
SWEDEN/SUEDE: Mr Göran LINDQVIST, Deputy Director, Ministry of the Interior, STOCKHOLM.
Mr Anders MARTINSSON, National Migration Board, Box 186, S-85123 SUNDSVALL.
SWITZERLAND/SUISSE: M. Michel FORNEROD, Chef de la Section, Affaires internationales et intégration, Office fédéral des étrangers, BERNE-WABERN.
"THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA"/"L'EX-RÉPUBLIQUE YOUGOSLAVE DE MACÉDOINE" :
Mr Blagoja STOJKOVSKI, Chief Inspector for Foreigners, Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Macedonia, SKOPJE
TURKEY/TURQUIE: Mr. Muzaffer EROKTEM, Deputy Director for Overseas Turkish Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ANKARA.
UKRAINE: Mr Igor POLIKHA, Deputy Director of European Department, Administration of the President of Ukraine, Foreign Policy Directorate, KYIV.
UNITED-KINGDOM/ROYAUME UNI: Mr Michael GILLESPIE, Head of Race Equality Unit Unit, Home Office, LONDON.
Mrs Julie CLOUDER, Race Equality Unit, Home Office, LONDON.
_________
Seminar on information campaigns as a way of promoting good community relations : do they really change attitudes / Séminaire sur les campagnes d’information comme moyen de promouvoir de bonnes relations intercommunautaires: changent-elles effectivement les attitudes? (15 October/octobre 1998)
Ms Maria HAKANSSON, Ministry of Justice, S-STOCKHOLM
Mme Sieglinde HUBSCH-BARTEN, Conseillère du Ministre, Rochusstrasse 1, Postfach 14 02 80, D-53107 BONN.
Mme Doris ANGST YILMAZ, Head of the Secretariat of the Swiss federal commission against racism, GS EDI, CH-3003 BERN.
_________
OTHER PARTICIPANTS/AUTRES PARTICIPANTS :
European Commission/Commission européenne: Mrs Sandra LUTCHMAN, Expert National détaché, Direction Générale, BRUXELLES.
Parliamentary Assembly/Assemblée Parlementaire: Mme Manuela AGUIAR, Member of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, LISBON
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe/Congrès des pouvoirs locaux et régionaux de l'Europe:
Ad hoc Committee of Experts on the legal aspects of territorial asylum, refugees and stateless persons/Comité ad hoc sur les aspects juridiques de l'asile, des réfugiés et des apatrides (CAHAR): M. Giovanni KOJANEC, Juriconsult, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DGEAS, ROME.
OBSERVERS/OBSERVATEURS :
Non-member States/Etats non membres :
AUSTRALIA/AUSTRALIE: Ms Robyn BICKET, Counsellor, Immigration Department, Australian Permanent Mission to United Nations, GENEVA.
BELARUS: Mr Vladimir I KREMYANKO, Second Secretary of the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Republic of Belarus, MINSK.
CANADA: Mme Ingrid HAUCK, Directrice, Ministère de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration, OTTAWA.
HOLY SEE/SAINT SIEGE: Père Antonio PEROTTI, LUXEMBOURG.
JAPAN/JAPON: (apologised-excusé)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/ETATS UNIS D’AMERIQUE: (apologised/excusé)
International intergovernmental organisations/organisations internationales gouvernementales :
International Labour Office (ILO)/Bureau International du Travail (BIT) : (apologised/excusé)
International Organisation for Migration (IOM)/Organisation internationale pour les migrations (OIM) : Ms Renate HELD, Regional Representative, IOM Subregional Office for Northern and Western Europe, BRUSSELS
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe/ Organisation pour la sécurité et la coopération en Europe (OSCE): (apologised/excusé)
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/Organisation pour la Coopération et le Développement Economique (OCDE): (apologised/excusé):
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees/Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies pour les Refugiés:
Ms Nicola ROGERS, Legal Assistant, Council of Europe Liaison Office, STRASBOURG.
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation/Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'Education, la Science et la Culture (UNESCO) :
Ms Serim TIMUR, Chief, Population and Migration Unit of the Sector of Social and Human Sciences, PARIS.
European Free Trade Association (EFTA)/Association européenne de libre-échange (AELE):
Budapest Group/Groupe de Budapest: Mr Tamas KISS, Senior Liaison Officer, Representative of the Chairman of the Budapest Group, ICMPD,WIEN.
International non-governmental organisations/organisations internationales non gouvernementales :
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)/Confédération européenne des Syndicats (CES):
Union of Industries of the European Community (UNICE)/Union des Industries de la Communauté Européenne (UNICE) : Mr Alexandre PLASSARD, Union Patronale Suisse, ZURICH.
Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME)/Commission des Eglises auprès des migrants en Europe (CEME) : (apologised/excusé).
International Catholic Migration Commission/Commission internationale catholique pour les migrations (ICMC) : Mr William CANNY, Secretary General, rue de Vermont 37-39, CP 96, CH-1211 GENEVE 22.
CONSULTANTS :
Mr Jonas WIDGREN, Director, International Centre for Migration Policy Devolopment (ICMPD), Möllwaldplatz 4, A – 1040 VIENNA
Ms Josephine VERSPAGET, Chair of the Specialist Group on Roma/Gypsies, BREDA, THE NETHERLANDS
Mr Jan NIESSEN, Migration Policy Group, BRUXELLES.
SECRETARIAT :
Mrs Gabriella BATTAINI-DRAGONI Deputy Director of Social and Economic Affairs/Directrice Adjointe des Affaires Sociales et Economiques.
Mr John MURRAY, Principal Administrative Officer, Population and Migration Division (Secretary to the CDMG)/Administrateur principal, Division de la Population et des Migrations (Secrétaire du CDMG)
Mr Simon NEWMAN, Principal Administrative Officer, Secretary to the Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography/Administrateur Principal, Secrétaire de la Commission des Migrations, des refugiés et de la démographie de l'Assemblée parlementaire.
Mme Eva KOPROLIN, Administrative Officer, Population and Migration Division(Co-Secretary to the CDMG)/Administratrice, Division de la Population et des Migrations (Co-Secrétaire du CDMG),
Mr Simon TONELLI, Administrative Officer, Directorate of Social and Economic Affairs/Administrateur, Division des Affaires Sociales et Economiques.
Ms Francoise KEMPF, Administrative Officer, Directorate of Social and Economic Affairs/Administratrice, Division des Affaires Sociales et Economiques
Mme Hilde LEDY, Principal Administrative Assistant, Population and Migration Division/ Assistante administrative principale, Division de la Population et des Migrations
Mr Michael NEURAUTER, Principal Administrative Assistant, Population and Migration Division, Assistant administratif principal, Division de la Population et des Migrations
Mme Brigitte THOMAS, Secretary/Secrétaire, Population and Migration Division/Division de la Population et des Migrations
Mrs Shellie CARPENTER, Secretary/Secrétaire, Population and Migration Division/ Division de la Population et des Migrations
Mlle Carole HIRSCHMILLER, Stagiaire, Population and Migration Division, Division de la Population et des Migrations
APPENDIX 2
AGENDA
I. ADOPTION OF THE DRAFT AGENDA
[CDMG (98) OJ 39 prov.; CDMG (98) 19 rev.]
II. STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARIAT [CDMG (98) 15 final; CDMG (98) 17]
III. ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF INTEGRATION AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS
a. Work of the Specialist Group on Integration and Community Relations (MG‑S‑INT)
b. Preparation of the new report on community relations
[MG-ED (98) 3; MG-ED (98) 4]
c. National round tables organised by the Migration Policy Group on behalf of the CDMG [CDMG (98) 23]
d. Multilateral round table organised by the Migration Policy Group
(Warsaw, 8-9 December 1998)
e. Role of employment services in the promotion of equal opportunities for migrants and disadvantaged ethnic groups
IV. LEGAL STATUS OF MIGRANTS
a. Examination of the results of the two meetings of the Select Committee of Experts on Security of Residence of Long-term Immigrants (MG-R-RES)
[MG-R-RES (98) 4; MG-R-RES (98) 5; CDMG (98) 24]
b. Selection of a topic for the continuation of the work on the legal status of migrants in 1999 [MG-R-RES (98) 5; CDMG (98) 24]
c. Plans for a multilateral round table in 1999 on the legal status of migrants
d. Consultative Committee of the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant workers (T-MG): plans for future work
V. MANAGING MIGRATION IN THE WIDER EUROPE
a. Results of the Seminar on managing migration in the wider Europe (Strasbourg, 12-13 October 1998) [MG-MAN (98) 1 final; MG-SEM-MAN (98) 1]
b. Selection of topics for the continuation of the work on managing migration in 1999
VI. ACTIVITIES ON ROMA/GYPSIES
a. Specialist Group on Roma/Gypsies (MG-S-ROM)
b. Project on Roma/Gypsies in Central and Eastern Europe
c. Adoption of an opinion on the possible updating of Resolution (75) 13 on the social situation of nomads in Europe [Resolution (75) 13; CDMG (98) 20]
d. Declassification of the reports of the meetings on consultative mechanisms between Roma/Gypsies and governments
[MG-S-ROM (97) 7 rev.; MG-S-ROM (98) 6]
VII. FUTURE ROLE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CDMG
a. Activities proposed for the 1999 programme
b. Medium-term strategy for the CDMG [CDMG (98) 21]
c. Possibilities for a Seventh Conference of European Ministers responsible for migration affairs
VIII. SEMINAR ON INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS AS A WAY OF PROMOTING GOOD COMMUNITY RELATIONS: do they really change attitudes?
[CDMG (98) 22]
(The morning of 15 October 1998)
IX. CHOICE OF A TOPIC FOR A HALF-DAY SEMINAR WITHIN THE SPRING 1999 MEETING OF THE CDMG
X. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN POLICIES RELATING TO MIGRATION AND MIGRANTS [CDMG (98) 18 prov. Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Addenda]
XI. ACTIVITIES OF OTHER COUNCIL OF EUROPE BODIES IN THE MIGRATION FIELD
a. New information document on migration activities [CDMG (98) 2]
b. European Committee on Social Cohesion (CDCS)
c. Traffic in women and Forced Prostitution
d. European Committee against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
[ECRI General Recommendations N° 1, N° 2 and N° 3]
e. Other activities of interest to the CDMG
XII. ACTIVITIES OF OTHER INTERNATIONAL BODIES IN THE MIGRATION FIELD
XIII. ELECTION OF THE CHAIR, VICE-CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE BUREAU
XIV. OTHER BUSINESS
XV. DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS
APPENDIX 3
OPINION ON THE POSSIBLE UPDATING OF RESOLUTION (75) 13
ON THE SOCIAL SITUATION OF NOMADS IN EUROPE
adopted by the European Committee on Migration (CDMG)
at its 39th meeting, 14-16 October 1998
Introduction
At the 245th meeting of the Deputies, on 22 May 1975, the Committee of Ministers adopted the above-mentioned Resolution, which contains recommendations to the governments of member States.
In its report "The situation of Gypsies (Roma and Sinti) in Europe", adopted on 5 May 1995, the CDMG stated:
“103. Where Gypsies still follow a nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life problems continue to arise in connection with the availability of suitable camp sites. In this connection, reference should be made to Committee of Ministers Resolution (75) 13 containing recommendations on the social situation of nomads in Europe, which states in section B of the Appendix, that "camping and residence of nomads on camping sites equipped so as to promote safety, hygiene and welfare should be facilitated and encouraged". One possibility would be to enquire into the implementation of this section of the Resolution and to investigate the practical problems which may have arisen in this connection in some countries. This is a matter which it might be appropriate to refer to the CDSP (Steering Committee on Social Policy).”
In June 1995, the Ministers’ Deputies gave effect to the suggestion made by the CDMG and requested the Steering Committee for Social Policy (CDPS):
“To consider the measures taken by member States to implement Resolution (75) 13……. and to make any appropriate recommendations with a view to a possible updating of the said Resolution”
Accordingly, the CDPS sent a detailed questionnaire to the authorities of member States asking them what steps had been taken to implement the various recommendations contained in the Resolution.
Eleven member States replied and an analysis of their answers, prepared by the Secretariat of the CDPS, is contained in document CDPS (97) 17 revised.
In its reply to the Committee of Ministers, the CDPS confined itself to transmitting the analysis of the questionnaire replies; it did not take up a position as to the advisability of updating the Resolution.
For this reason, the Ministers’ Deputies then addressed themselves to the CDMG, which was requested:
“To consider the measures taken by member States to implement Resolution (75) 13 ……… particularly on the basis of document CDPS (97) 17, and draw up an opinion on the need to update the said Resolution.”
Some preliminary observations on Resolution (75) 13
The Resolution was adopted before the expansion of the membership of the Council of Europe, and so relates to the situation in Western European countries, in some of which significant numbers of Roma/Gypsies maintain an itinerant or semi-itinerant way of life (or at least did so until recently and continue to identify with those who still do travel).
The content of the Resolution still seems quite relevant to the present-day situation of itinerant or semi-itinerant groups. Many of the problems highlighted in the recommendations are still far from being solved in the member States concerned; they continue, indeed, to be a subject of frequent controversy and ill-feeling which governments and local authorities find difficult to manage.
On the other hand, it has to be admitted that the text of the Resolution is very brief; it does not give detailed guidance as to how the recommendations might be applied in practice.
The one area which seems to be missing from the Resolution is that covering the economic aspects, i.e. how to regulate the economic activities of itinerants in such a way that they do not become very difficult to exercise legally.
The only really unsatisfactory aspect of the Resolution is its terminology. It is, indeed, obvious that if such a text were being drawn up today, the term “nomads” would not be employed.
A consideration of the appropriate terminology leads inevitably to a rather complicated discussion about the definition of the groups to which the Resolution should, or should not, apply.
The Resolution itself states that:
“For the purposes of this Resolution, the expression “nomads” means persons who for historical reasons are accustomed to following an itinerant way of life, as well as persons of nomadic origin who experience difficulties in integrating into society for sociological, economic or similar reasons”
In other words, the Resolution applies to persons with a tradition of “nomadism” or itinerancy. This would therefore include Roma and Gypsy groups as well as other traditional Travellers, but it clearly does not include other individuals and groups who have recently chosen to adopt a travelling lifestyle.
There is a further source of confusion in the use of the term “nomads”. In a few member States of Northern Europe, there are groups of nomadic pastoralists, i.e. rather clearly defined ethnic groups who have since time immemorial migrated with their flocks and herds. It seems to be generally agreed that the situation of such groups has very little in common with that of other travelling people and that they should not be brought within the scope of the Resolution. In other words, this is a further reason for regarding the use of the term “nomads” as inappropriate.
Conclusion
In the light of the above considerations, the CDMG has come to the following conclusions:
a. The recommendations contained in the Resolution are still valid; it is regretted, however, that economic activities are not covered;
b. The main problem with the Resolution is the use of the term “nomads” which is felt to be unsatisfactory; on the other hand, it might not be easy to get agreement on an alternative terminology;
c. It is suggested, therefore, that it would be best to leave the Resolution unchanged, while possibly adding a footnote about nomenclature;
d. Given, however, that the kinds of problems dealt with in the Resolution continue to raise serious difficulties in many member States, it could be of great practical value to all concerned (governments, local authorities, Travellers) to organise exchanges of experience on best practice in meeting the needs of itinerant groups, leading to the adoption of practical guidelines;
e. Any further action with respect to this matter should, of course, be carried out with full involvement of representatives of the groups concerned;
f. Together with the CDMG and the Specialist Group on Roma/Gypsies (MG-S-ROM), the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS) should also be invited to take part in any such work, as should the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe and the Network of Cities on Provision for Roma/Gypsies in Municipalities.