The status of the Roma community in Croatia has significantly improved, MP Veljko Kajtazi, who represented this ethnic minority in the 10th Sabor, said on Sunday while visiting a Roma residential district in the city of Kutina, southeast of Zagreb.

“For the first time we do not just observe but we celebrate International Romani Day in all the counties of Croatia. We have the good reason because the status of the Roma has improved significantly thanks to the government,” said Kajtazi.

International Romani Day is marked on April 8 to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people.

As regards the efforts of the Croatian government, Kajtazi pointed out the importance of the implementation of the Operational Programme (OP) for minorities, particularly for ethnic Roma.

“I am extremely satisfied since this government is the only government in the European Union to earmark grants for activities in all the 70 Roma settlements in the Republic of Croatia,” said Kajtazi.

In the City of Kutina, for instance, the local cultural centre in the Roma settlement has been reconstructed, households have been provided with access to electricity.

Only such kind of cooperation can contribute to the status of the Roma, said Kajtazi praising the local authorities for efforts to integrate Roma into the society.

Mayor Zlatko Babić said that the city is going to build a school and kindergarten in that settlement.

The City of Kutina has applied the pertaining project “Step by Step to Sustainable Inclusion – Upgrade of the Roma settlement to be fully infrastructurally equipped, resilient sustainable” to the New European Bauhaus scheme, and has been selected for financial support.

“After in-depth evaluation and final decision of our Selection Committee, 20 projects presenting a great potential to exemplify New European Bauhaus values have been selected,” said the Committee on its website.

The idea of Kutina’s project is the renovation and upgrade of the Roma settlement in the city, whose ultimate goal is to get a fully infrastructurally equipped and functional, resilient and above all sustainable part of the city with a well-integrated, satisfied and happy community.