“Are we invited to the dinner — or just to collect the leftovers?”
Reflecting on his personal journey, he shared that in the past he attended such events as a protester — and now stands there as a Labor Minister of Romani origin. Manole reminded participants that during two decades of peace and prosperity, the EU has procrastinated in implementing the measures promised under the European Roma Strategy. Today, with war in Ukraine and a deepening crisis across Europe, he expressed doubt about the possibility of real progress — especially as the Commission plans to cut cohesion funds and redirect more money toward defence and security policies.
I rarely hear anything meaningful from “the usual suspects” invited to such meetings; they often speak in clichés. But this young man is different, and he is not afraid to say the truth.
“Dinner is over” – yes, that’s right, dinner is over. Now someone has to clean the mess and pay the bill.
But this time, someone has to say NO, the Roma should not pay the price for the failed experiments.
