Interview with Livia Jaroka, 2004, www.seetv-exchanges.com

Friday 10 September 2004 at 21:30 CET on Europe by Satellite

29 year-old Livia Jaroka from Hungary is the first ever Roma Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Ms Jaroka was elected last June as the first and only MEP of Roma origin for the centre-right Hungarian party Fidesz.
She considers herself as a `real representative` of the estimated nine million European Roma, the majority of which live in the central, eastern and south eastern European countries. Roma, or gypsies, often face poverty, discrimination, unemployment, bad housing and poor access to health care.

Livia Jaroka speaks about the conditions of the Roma in Eastern Europe, in the Balkans and in Western Europe. She urges the European Commission to start a concerted effort to improve living conditions for her people.

Livia Jaroka was interviewed on September 7 in her Brussels office at the European Parliament by Svetlana Milevska for SEETV

00:15 Stockshots European Parliament

00:41 Cutaways Livia Jaroka in the EP

01:19 On her expectations during her parliamentary mandate

02:04 She explains why Roma communities were better off during communism

03:57 On the situation of Roma in Europe, and the lack of policies and real concern for Roma people in all EU countries

06:40 On the fact that the situation of the Roma is the worst in the countries where their number is the highest (Romania and Balkan states)

07:49 On the very bad situation of Roma in Greece

09:33 On the situation of Roma in Macedonia (very bad situation, but at the same time the strongest work and organisations to improve their living conditions)

11:36 On the Roma in Bulgaria, Romania and those in exile (more than 1 million)

13:16 On the fact that the EU does not work on the Roma problems and her desire to push the EC to adopt an action plan to help national governments improve living conditions of the Roma community

16:12 Stockshots -- Roma community in Hungary

18:32 Stockshots -- Roma community in Slovakia