Ethnic discrimination

Almost two out of three Europeans believes that discrimination on the basis of someone’s ethic origin is the most widespread in their country, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey on discrimination and inequality in Europe.

Some 77% of Europeans believe that being of Roma origin poses a real disadvantage in their society. In four member states a high proportion of citizens feel that multi-culturalism does not enrich their culture.

The survey, requested by the European Commission’s directorate general for employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, is based on interview responses conducted in 7 June-12 July 2006 by TNS Opinion and Social. It covers all member states, including Bulgaria and Romania which were at the time still accession countries. A random sample of around 1,000 people aged over 15 were interviewed in each country, with around 500 in Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus, the smallest states. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in people’s homes and in their own language.

Six legally prohibited forms of discrimination in the EU were examined: dscrimination on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, age, disability and sexual orientation. The most striking findings concern the levels of racial discrimination that people perceive across Europe. Although the average perception is that this form of discrimination is widespread, there is a rift between the perceptions of citizens in older and newer member states. In the old EU15, the view that ethnic discrimination is rife is most widely held in Sweden (85%), the Netherlands (83%), France (80%), Denmark (79%), Belgium (78%) and Italy (77%). But in Lithuania (23%) and Latvia (29%) fewer than three out of ten respondents share this view. In Bulgaria, 21% of people said that the problem of discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin was non-existent.

The survey finds that a large factor which influences this view is whether or not people have friends from other ethnic origins. Those who do are much more likely to feel that discrimination is widespread than are those who do not (71% v 56%). But when it comes to representation in society, all but Malta (32%), Cyprus (39%), Austria (46%) and Slovenia (48%) believe that people of different ethnic origins from the rest of the population enrich the national culture to a greater extent. The survey finds that multi-culturalism is most readily embraced in Sweden (86%) and Finland (81%).

Embracing multiculturalism extends to employment with an average of 70% of all interviewees in favour of employment support measures which depend on ethnic origin. But it does not extend to ethnic minority representation in a more political landscape. Only 44% of all participants in the poll are in favour of having members of parliament of differing ethnic origins representing them. These figures are lower in the new member states with only 27% of those interviewed agreeing that their country needs more members of parliament of different ethnic origin. In Malta and Cyprus, the two countries where the public is least receptive to the idea of a multicultural society, these figures are 19% and 17% respectively.

The findings of the survey underline that Europe has a long way to go in embracing a truly multicultural society. They appear to show that the European public is happy consuming other cultures but not yet ready to welcome people from ethnic origins different from their own into the public life of their countries.

Almost two out of three Europeans believes that discrimination on the basis of someone’s ethic origin is the most widespread in their country, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey on discrimination and inequality in Europe.