In a closing message for Roma Week 2025, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjørn Berge delivered a clear call: Roma must be fully included in political life across Europe.
In an interview with the Roma Foundation for Europe, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge shares a powerful message on World Roma Day, calling for Roma to be fully included in European political life. The conversation took place during Roma Week 2025 in Brussels.
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Roma Foundation for Europe
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The Law Is Not Justice: Zaharna Fabrika, the Roma and Bulgaria’s Selective Memory
— 8 May 2025
In Sofia, the state has resumed bulldozing homes. This time, in Zaharna Fabrika—one of the capital’s oldest Roma neighbourhoods. The justification is familiar: illegal construction. So are the families affected: poor, politically excluded, stateless in practice if not on paper. And the public reaction? Silence at best. Justification at worst.
Read moreIn Sofia, the state has resumed bulldozing homes. This time, in Zaharna Fabrika—one of the capital’s oldest Roma neighbourhoods. The justification is familiar: illegal construction. So are the families affected: poor, politically excluded, stateless in practice if not on paper. And the public reaction? Silence at best. Justification at worst.
Press
Illegal Roma Evictions in Bulgaria Expose Europe’s Systemic Failure
— 2 May 2025
As families in Sofia’s Zaharna Fabrika district face homelessness following illegal home demolitions, the Roma Foundation for Europe (RFE) has joined national and international voices in condemning what it calls “a systemic failure rooted in neglect, racism, and a lack of political will—at both national and European levels.”
Read moreAs families in Sofia’s Zaharna Fabrika district face homelessness following illegal home demolitions, the Roma Foundation for Europe (RFE) has joined national and international voices in condemning what it calls “a systemic failure rooted in neglect, racism, and a lack of political will—at both national and European levels.”
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