State Policies towards Roma (Gypsies) in Black Sea Region Elena MARUSHIAKOVA Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BULGARIA Vesselin POPOV Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BULGARIA Abstract In proposed paper we will present, compare and analyze the state policies towards Roma in the Black Sea region. In the Black Sea countries for centuries are living in different Roma communities (in this case Roma used as summarizing cover name). Over the past two decades the topic of Roma and their numerous problems is one of the most topical in Europe. In the process of joining the European Union one of the conditions which the Union poses to the countries applying for EU membership was solving the numerous problems of Roma population. These problems lead to tensions, which create ethnic, religious and social conflicts, undermine the security and stability. This is the main reason why in some countries an active state policy towards Roma is implemented (Bulgaria and Romania), other countries who have hopes for EU future are prepared relevant state documents, without starting of specific actions (Ukraine and Moldova), third (Turkey) are currently taking action in direction of developing of policy for Roma inclusion. In other countries of the Black and Caspian Sea region (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan), for which European integration is still a question of the future, the topic of Roma is not yet on the agenda, but if they continue on their way to the Europe, it will inevitably become increasingly relevant. In the Black Sea countries since centuries live different Roma communities. In our article the designation Roma is used in its political sense, as stated in official documents of the European Commission, and namely: “The Commission uses 'Roma' as an umbrella term that includes groups of people who share similar cultural characteristics and a history of segregation in European societies, such as the Roma (who mainly live in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans), Sinti, Travellers, Kalé, etc. The Commission is aware that the extension of the term 'Roma' to all these groups is contentious, and it 1 has no intention to 'assimilate' the members of these other groups to the Roma themselves in cultural terms.” In various countries of the Black Sea, the communities summarizing designated as 'Roma' are called by their surrounding population in different ways, e.g. 'Цигани', 'Цыгане', 'Ţigani', 'Τσιγγάνωι', 'Çingeneler', 'Boşa/Poşa', 'Qaraçılar', etc. Roma themselves are not a homogenous community, but heterogeneous entity comprising segmented communities with different hierarchically structured identities, who are not only speaking very different dialects of their language, but some parts of them have another, non-Romani mother tongues (e.g. Armenian, Arabic, Turkish, Tatar, Greek, Romanian, etc.). Generally speaking, in the Black Sea countries the Roma communities are divided into three main divisions, which are designated as 'Dom' - 'Lom' - 'Rom'. Representatives of the first subdivision (Dom) live in Turkey and Azerbaijan, of the second (Lom) in Turkey, Armenia and Georgia, and the third, the biggest and for Europe the most important division, with self-appelation Roma (i.e. the Roma themselves, or real Roma), is widely dispersed all around the world. In the countries of Black Sea region Roma live in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, th 6 Silk Road International Conference “Globalization and Security in Black and Caspian Seas Regions” Tbilisi - Batumi, GEORGIA May 27, 2011 – May 29, 2011 Page | 57