1st Roma Environmental Justice Conference

Leveraging the EU Roma Strategic Framework

Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babeş Bolyai University

Strada Fântânele 30, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

11-13 October 2023

Background

Despite being European citizens, Roma in the EU and Enlargement Countries often live in
poor, unsafe and segregated environments, impacted by many dimensions of antigypsyism.
They are regularly excluded from basic environmental services, such as the supply of
drinking water, adequate sanitation, and waste management. They are disproportionately
affected by environmental burdens, such as pollution and environmental degradation
stemming from waste dumps and landfills, contaminated sites, or dirty industries. The
consequences are devastating health impacts, ranging from infectious diseases to mental
health issues.

Europe’s largest waste-related ghetto is Pata-Rât in Cluj-Napoca, Romania’s fourth biggest

city. Around 1,500 people, mostly Roma, live in four different informal settlements around the
Pata-Rât landfill, situated few kilometres away from the city centre. Leaks from the landfill
pollute the soil and groundwater. The inhabitants often suffer from ear, eye, and skin
infections, asthma or bronchitis, high blood pressure, heart and stomach problems due to
oozing substances and noxious smoke when waste is burned. Job opportunities are limited
apart from those in the waste dump. Most of the children do not regularly attend school.

In 2014, the Cluj-Napoca County Court declared illegal the city authorities’ decision to
displace the families from Coastei Street, one of the settlements, and force them to live
under such conditions. It ruled that adequate housing in line with the minimum legal
standards needed to be provided, and that damages had to be paid to the families. In 2017,
the European Commission took Romania to the European Court of Justice for its failure to
close and rehabilitate 68 illegal landfills, including Pata-Rât, especially because Romania
had been allocated funding by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund to replace
the substandard waste dump with a new waste disposal system.

Aim and Objectives

The conference aims to be a starting point in addressing environmental racism against

Roma in EU Member States and Enlargement Countries as a priority policy concern under
the national Roma strategic frameworks and specific national policies and measures
regarding the environment, housing, health, employment, social protection, and education
policies.

More specifically, the conference aims to achieve the following objectives:

● Raise awareness about Roma and environmental racism in EU Member States and
Enlargement Countries, together with relevant stakeholders (policymakers,
academia, public authorities, civil society organisations etc.).
● Identify targeted policy measures to address environmental justice and antigypsyism
issues in Pata-Rât, Cluj-Napoca as well as more broader policy measures applying to
other European countries and situations.
● Facilitate networking and exchanges amongst civil society on Roma environmental
issues.

Agenda

Restricted to Partners

Wednesday, 11 October 2023

Arrival of participants. Accommodation: Grand Hotel Napoca, Octavian Goga, 1.

12:00 – 13:00 Lunch for invited guests

Address: Restaurant Hotel Premier, Str. Donath, No. 100, Cluj-Napoca

(https://hotelpremier.ro/en/)

13:30 – 14h30 Informal preparatory meeting with partners.

Address: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Strada Fântânele 30, Cluj-
Napoca. The room is on the 1st floor.

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 Agenda - Civil Society Workshop

Restricted to civil society and partners

Wednesday, 11 October 2023

Arrival of participants

Accommodation: Grand Hotel Napoca, Strada Octavian Goga 1, Cluj-Napoca

14:30 - 15:00 Registration

15:00 – 15:20 Getting to know each other – 20 minutes:

Moderation: Patrizia Heidegger, EEB

 Objectives and expected outcomes.

 Tour-de-table.

15:20 – 16:20 Introduction to Environmental Justice – 60 minutes:

Moderation: Patrizia Heidegger, EEB

 Intro to antigypsyism – Isabela Mihalache, ERGO Network

 Intro to Environmental Justice and Environmental Racism – Lorena Doghi and Diego
Marin, EEB
 The interconnections between health, racism, and the environment – Tomas de
Jong, EPHA

16:20 – 16:35 Coffee break

16:35 – 18:25 Adopting Cluj Basic Common Principles for Environmental

Justice

Moderation: Diego Marin, EEB for offline participation and Tomas De Jong for online session

 Pre-draft presentation – Objectives and purpose – Diego Marin, EEB

 Two separate working groups (online/onsite)
 Plenary discussion on the adoption of the final draft

18:25 – 19:00 Closing

19:00 – 21:00 Dinner

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 Agenda Conference

Thursday, 12 October 2023

08:30 - 09:00 Registration

09:00 – 09:30 Section 1: Opening of the Conference

Moderator: Mr. Diego Francesco Marin, Policy Officer for Raw Materials and Resource
Justice, European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

● Dr. Nicolae Ajtai, Dean, Babeş-Bolyai University

● Ms. Patrizia Heidegger, Director, European Environmental Bureau (EEB)
● Ms. Gabriela Hrabaňová, Director, ERGO Network - online
● Mr. Dragoş Pîslaru MEP, Romania / Renew Europe, Chair of the Committee on
Employment and Social Affairs

09:30– 10:15 Political messages from EU and national policymakers

Moderator: Ms. Isabela Mihalache, Senior Advocacy Officer, ERGO Network

● Ms. Linda Greta Zsiga – Testimony from Pata-Rât

● Mr. Peter Pollák MEP, Slovakia / European People’s Party (video message)
● Ms. Claudia Kovacs – Ministry of Investment and European Funds -Romania
● Mr. Petrica Dulgheru – Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative

10:15 – 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 – 11:15 Section 2: Environmental Justice and Common Basic Principles

Moderator: Ms. Patrizia Heidegger, Director, European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

● Mr. Diego Francesco Marin, Policy Officer, European Environmental Bureau – What
is Environmental Justice? Case studies on environmental racism
● Ms. Isabela Mihalache, Senior Advocacy Officer, ERGO Network – Assessment of
the national Roma strategic frameworks from an environmental perspective
● Dr Karen Bell and Dr Nikola Venkor ‘Environmental Injustice in waste management
and the role of the “media-government complex” in Bulgaria’ – online.
● Speaker to be confirmed – Presenting the Common Basic Principles on
Environmental Justice for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation from the civil
society organisations’ workshop.

11:15 - 12:00 Parallel working groups (2 groups)

Group 1: What should the EU do to monitor the situation of Member States more
efficiently? What should the EU do to provide a better framework for environmental
justice?

Moderator: Andor Urmos

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  A – What are the steps to take?
 B – Who are the actors that should be engaged?

Group 2.: What should local and national governments do to improve environmental
justice (housing, access to services, etc.)?

Moderator: Isabela Mihalache

 A – What are the steps to take?

 B – Who are the actors that should be engaged?

12:00 – 13:30 Lunch break- Address: Restaurant Hotel Premier, Str. Donath, No.
100, Cluj-Napoca (https://hotelpremier.ro/en/)

13:45 - 14:00 Reports from the parallel working groups

14:00- 15:25 Section 3: Environmental racism and EU policies: EU Roma

Strategic Framework and the European Green Deal

Moderator: Mr. Diego Francesco Marin, Policy Officer for Raw Materials and Resource
Justice, European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

● Mr. Olimpiu Bela Lăcătuş-Iakab, Association for Inclusion, Transformation and Social
Innovation
● Ms. Enikő Vincze, Desire Foundation, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
● Dr. Jekatyerina Dunajeva, Assistant professor at Pázmány Péter Catholic University
● Mr. Andrey Ivanov, EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
● Mr. Dan Pavel Doghi, DG JUST, European Commission (online)
● Questions: 15 mins

15:25–16:30 What are the EU and Member States doing to ensure

environmental justice?

Moderator: Ms. Isabela Mihalache, Senior Advocacy Officer, ERGO Network

● Ms. Elena Iordanescu, Ministry of European Funds, Romania

● Mr. Simion Beldean – UBB Cluj Napoca – (Increasing the safety of water and food
consumption in Roma communities in Transylvania)
● Mr. Daniel Grebeldinger, ERGO Network / Nevo Parudimos, Romania
● Mr. Andor Ürmös, Bridge EU - Environmental justice in Hungary, Slovakia, and
Romania
● Mr. Georgios Tzakalos – Equirom, Greece

16:30–16:45 Coffee Break

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16:45–17:45 The role of municipalities - What are cities doing to ensure
environmental justice for Roma communities?

Moderator: Mr. Daniel Grebeldinger, member ERGO Network / Nevo Parudimos,

Romania

● Vasile Galbea – Researcher Pat Rat

● Mr. Virgil Bitu, UK/RO –The ignorance of policy makers towards Roma communities
and the inability of Roma population to access public services.
● Ms. Valentin Dimon, Gal Urban – President of GAL CLLD Campina and GAL
Slobozia
● Mr. Adriatik Hasantari – Roma Active Albania
● Mr. Asib Zekir – Redi – North Macedonia (online)

17:45 – 18:00 Section 4: Conclusions

Moderator: Ms. Lorena Doghi, European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

● Ms. Patrizia Heidegger, Director, European Environmental Bureau (EEB)

18:00 End of the conference

19:00 - 21:00 Dinner reception / cultural event - Casa de Cultura a Studentilor Cluj
Napoca https://ccscluj.ro/ , Piata Lucian Blaga, nr. 1-3, Cluj-Napoca, 400003.

Agenda Pata-Rât visit

On invitation only

Friday, 13 October 2023

Bus arrangement for participants from the Hotel to Pata-Rât.

Address: Grand Hotel Napoca, Strada Octavian Goga 1, Cluj-Napoca

09:30 – 12:00 Visit to Pata-Rât community

Meeting with community members. Concerns and recommendations

by community representatives and local NGOs

Discussion and conclusions

Location- Church from Pata-Rât