Representative justice in the European normative framework and tensions with the national political discourses

Abstract

Political discourses in Europe operate at the supranational, national and local level, with supranational institutions providing a normative framework for the policy making at lower governance level. However, the actual appeal of the legal, political and normative frameworks offered by supranational European institutions remains unclear. For example, while 'justice' is deemed constitutive of European values and ideals of democracy, and European institutions offer a clear vision of what 'justice' in pluralistic European societies should imply, relatively little is known about how this normative framework is reflected in national-level politics. The current article aims to close this gap by comparing political discourses on representative justice in six European countries with the European normative framework reconstructed on the basis of documents issued by the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Parliament (EP). The research question we address relates to how the European normative framework on representative justice for minority and vulnerable groups is present and strived for in national political discourses. Our analysis shows that the principles of representative justice set out at the supranational European level lose their appeal at the national level politics permeated with conflicting visions of what is just, for whom and on what moral grounds.

Using the Omaha System to Determine Health and Social Problems of Roma Population in Istanbul

“…In recent years, Roma is known to have more population density in metropolitan cities and believed to develop a local culture intertwined with their groups and to live an itinerant lifestyle. According to reports of national institutions under the title of “Roma Opening” in Turkey, Roma people are disadvantaged and vulnerable in many aspects, such as education, precautionary employment, and benefit from healthcare services 5 . Moreover, these populations are considered vulnerable because of social exclusion and financial strain, especially in the European countries 6,7 …”

“…These groups include women, youth, people with disabilities, and other disadvantaged groups, including the Roma population. Therefore, various programs and projects in the line with EU policies are being developed for the disadvantaged groups to ensure equal access to the same rights that other members of society hold and to eliminate discrimination, especially concerning discrimination surrounding health problems 5,9–11 . The last EU project in Turkey, called the “Technical Assistance for Promoting Social Inclusion in Densely Roman Populated Areas Project (SIROMA)” Act (EuropeAid/134662/IH/SER/TR), promoted “social inclusion in densely Roma populated areas” to increase the socioeconomic status, health literacy, and education system attendance rates and to ensure their economic, social, healthcare system, and cultural integration 12…”

“…Also, the project aimed to improve the functions of and coordination between all related institutions, policymakers, and other community sources in the fields of the labor market and social protection. Under this act, the Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Services, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education worked together as cobeneficiaries 5,13 …”

“…A general health assessment was made with more than 4000 Roma people within the scope of the SIROMA project 5 . Their access to healthcare and treatment services was found to be quite low compared with the whole population in Turkey.…”

“…In terms of healthcare services, refusal of medical treatment, substance abuse and having risky unhealthy behaviors, the financial burden raised by medication and treatment costs, and having jobs without social security causing the inability to access healthcare services were identified as the key problems for Roma people living in Turkey 5,14 . When Roma people need access to healthcare, they mostly benefit from primary healthcare services, receiving healthcare from family health/public health nurses 5,12,13 . Therefore, public health nurses must identify the health problems of Roma people with a valid and reliable diagnostic instrument to plan health programs, improve health, and prevent disease.…”