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ere funded in 2016, with only 63 employees at the end of 2016. ► Recommendations: The Advisory Committee calls on the authorities to continue to support and cooperate with the National Anti-Discrimination Council in order to enable it to perform its role effectively. At the same time, the Advisory Committee urges the authorities to provide the National Anti-Discrimination Council with adequate finan- cial and human resources in order to be able to carry out its tasks effectively and inde- pendently. ► In Article 6 of the Framework Convention, Tolerance and Intercultural Dialogue, the Advisory Committee welcomes the efforts made by the N.C.C.D. to promote interethnic understanding in society. The efforts of authorities to promote minority culture, educa- tion and the special measures taken to facilitate the representation of national minorities in parliament are widely recognized and appreciated. ► Despite these efforts, there is a visible perception of the persistence of xenophobia and intolerance especially directed against the Roma and antagonism towards the Hungar- ian minority. The Advisory Committee notes with deep concern that, despite the strong stance of the N.C.C.D. , judgments and authorities’ statements, measures to combat rac- ist incidents supported by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) have not diminished the number of xenophobic and racist public arena. Activity Report 2017 69  ► Some N.C.C.D. decisions have been widely discussed in the media and in the society, contributing to a better understanding of the issues of discrimination and their harmful effects on society as a whole. The Advisory Committee notes, in particular, the decisions taken in 2016, which imposed fines: - Radio Zu commentators for racist “jokes” during the football match between Romania and Congo, which “created a hostile, degrading and humiliating atmosphere for the African people” - a newspaper for the publication of humiliating and discriminatory ads on the Roma - to a hospital in Cluj-Napoca for not communicating to the parent the minor child’s diagnosis in a language they know - Also, in 2016, the High Court of Cassation and Justice (HCCJ) maintained the N.C.C.D.’s decision to impose a fine on President Traian Basescu for a degrading declaration that damages the image of the Roma. ► The Advisory Committee welcomes the fact that both the N.C.C.D. and the courts have taken action to combat internet hate speech. In February 2012, the N.C.C.D. took action and fined a Facebook user for “nationalist propaganda, to the detriment of human dignity and creating a degrading, humiliating and offensive atmosphere.” This decision was subsequently maintained by the County Court of Târgu Mureş in January 2013. ► Moreover, it is welcomed that in 2013 amendments were introduced to Ordinance no. 137/2000, with a view to harmonizing the anti-discrimination national legislation with the provisions of the Council Directive 2000/43 / EC by transferring the burden of proof and limiting the scope of exceptions that should not be considered as discrimination. Finally, it is mentioned that Law no. 217/2015 amended and supplemented Government Emergency Ordinance no. 31/2002 on the banning of fascist, racist or xenophobic or- ganizations and symbols and the worship of persons guilty of crimes against peace and humanity, called the “anti-legionary law”. 3. European Commission Country Report on Romania 6 Published on March 7, 2018, the Country Report on Romania states that our country has made limited progress in implementing the 2017 recommendations that have been ad- dressed to it. ► There has been no progress in how to set the minimum wage and equalize the retire- ment age for men and women. ► Limited progress has been made in improving access to quality general education. The national target for reducing the number of people at risk of slimming or social exclusion has already been reached. However, as far as the intensity of R & D and early school leav- ing is concerned, the objectives are not yet met. 6 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/2018-european-semester-country-reports_en 70  ► Following the adoption of the Strategy on Reducing Early School Abandonment in 2015 and following the progress made in the coming year, efforts to continue to imple- mentation were modest in 2017. This is reflected in high rates of early school leaving, inequalities in quality education, including for Roma, and in the large discrepancies in school results, all of which highlight the persistence of obstacles. ► Despite recent improvements, labour force participation rates are well below EU aver- ages. These are, in particular, women, the elderly, the Roma, the young and the disabled. ► There are a number of specific difficulties related to equal opportunities. Inequality of chances persists in education, health, access to employment and services and is preva- lent especially in rural areas. This is also due to the precariousness of the social dialogue. ► The Roma face many disadvantages. Compared to the rest of the population, they face a very high inequality of chances and rates of poverty with a low employment rate, with a low level of training, with a low level of health insurance coverage and poor living con- ditions. There is segregation in neighbourhoods, forced evictions and discrimination at work. Although the specific bodies dealing with the Roma situation demonstrate greater involvement, their impact depends on the work of the other institutions. Measures tar- geting Roma inclusion are mainly supported by projects with external funding. Much of this is just at the beginning. ► People with disabilities and children face a higher risk of poverty. Many people with disabilities leave school early and few end up in tertiary education, which lowers their chances of employment. 4. Amnesty International Report 2017/20187 The Amnesty International 2017/2018 report presents the human rights situation in Roma- nia in 2017. It is noted that in March, the Senate rejected a bill requesting the repeal of part of Law 48/2002, which established the National Council for Combating Discrimination. The bill was proposed by a former deputy who was fined by the body in 2016 for homophobic state- ments. Roma Discrimination The Roma were still discriminated against. In February, the European Commission said the risk of living in poverty was almost three times higher for the Roma than for the rest of the population. 7 https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/6700/2018/en/ Activity Report 2017 71 The right to education The new legislation aimed at preventing, combating and banning segregation in primary and secondary education came into force after its adoption in December 2016 by the Min- istry of National Education. Two ministerial orders have established a public policy against segregation in schools for a wide range of reasons, including ethnicity, disability and so- cio-economic status of the family, and a related action plan to be implemented by October. LGBTI rights The Senate’s decision on a national referendum on the possible restriction of the constitu- tional definition of “family” from “marriage between spouses” to “marriage between a man and a woman” has remained awaiting for the end of the year. The Family Coalition - a group of about 30 associations and foundations - has promoted this restriction since 2016. Discrimination of people with disabilities Living conditions in social care and psychiatric institutions for people with disabilities have remained extremely precarious. The monitoring mechanism provided by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Romania in 2011, was not fully operational at the end of the year. Violence against women In spite of increasing legal protection, violence against women has remained universal, in- cluding in Romania. In July, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women reco- mmended extending existing legislation to address all forms of gender-based violence, strengthening women’s access to justice and redress, collecting disaggregated data and im- proving access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. In May, the ECHR noted that, despite the existing legislation and a national strategy, the government did not commit enough to take appropriate measures to prevent and combat domestic violence. The ECHR also criticized the limited number of shelters for women vic- tims of domestic violence available throughout the country. 72  Representing Romania at an international level T he international representation of the National Council for Combating Discrimina- tion through participation at international meetings, debates and meetings in the field of non-discrimination continued, the continued to strengthen cooperation re- lations with similar bodies and authorities in bilateral, regional or international dialogues during 2017. The presence of representatives of the institution at international level at international meetings, debates and meetings contributed to the coverage of N.C.C.D. but also to increase its visibility, to improve relations with similar institutions in European countries, as well as to establish new collaborative ties. Among the events organized in 2017 at the international level, we present some of the following: During January 26-27, 2017, the first consultative meeting organized by CPEDAE Mol- dova with representatives of the N.C.C.D. on discrimination by association of unvaccinated children was held in Chisinau on the grounds of parents’ agreement. The meeting was attended by the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the Pres- ident of the institution, the Director of the Legal Department and the Cabinet Director, in accordance with the invitation issued by CEPEDAE. The representatives of CPEDAE have exposed their problems regarding the discrimination by association of unvaccinated children on the basis of the opinion of the parents and of the concrete cases they have faced in the last period, respectively the refusal of some educational units to receive the children with no evidence of vaccination. During the discussions, the representatives of the N.C.C.D. offered examples from Romania on this issue, but also how it was solved. At the same time, education and health legislation in the Republic of Moldova has been ana- lysed in the light of the possibility of such discrimination. In particular, the legal possibilities for resolving the case directly related to the applicable law in the Republic of Moldova were analysed. During February 14-15, 2017, the second consultative meeting organized by CPEDAE Moldova with the N.C.C.D. representatives on the issue of discrimination through associa- tion of unvaccinated children was held in Chisinau on the basis of parents’ opinion. The meeting was attended by the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the Pres- ident of the institution, the Director of the Legal Department and the Cabinet Director, in accordance with the invitation issued by CEPEDAE. Following the discussions in January, the N.C.C.D. representatives together with the CEPE- DAE representatives analysed the applicable EU legislation in such situations and the cases Activity Report 2017 75 existing at the CJEU and the ECHR. It also looked at the constituent elements analysed by the two European institutions in solving such cases. The N.C.C.D. representatives provided concrete technical support in the analysis of the el- ements, as is the case in the cases before the Council, according to the petitions procedure. On March 21-22, 2017, a third consultative meeting organized by CPEDAE Moldova with representatives of the N.C.C.D. on the issue of discrimination through association of unvac- cinated children was held in Chisinau on the grounds of parents’ agreement. Given that the Moldovan legislation cannot directly apply EU Directives, the representatives of the two equality bodies have tried to identify solutions to improve both anti-discrimina- tion and other anti-discrimination legislation, so that situations of the genre of those dis- cussed will not happen again. Discussions were also held on what other national institutions should be involved in improv- ing the legislation and levers CEPEDAE has in relation to these institutions. On April 27, 2017, in Brussels, the first meeting of bodies designated to be the contact point in the implementation of the 2014/54 / EU Directive on measures to facilitate the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of the free movement of workers took place in Brussels. From the National Council for Combating Discrimination, as the designated contact per- sons, the Manager of the Legal Department and the Cabinet Manager participated. The meeting was organized at the European Commission headquarters, the Albert Borschette Conference Center, its main objective being to foster cooperation between bodies, to find solutions to how to link existing information and assistance services at Union level, for ex- ample SOLVIT, but also to identify the paths for close future cooperation. The meeting started with a short round of table in which each representative briefly present- ed the tasks of the national body he is part of and his role in implementing the Directive at national level. Subsequently, there were presentations of the Directive and the legislative framework it cre- ated, the SOLVIT system and ways of cooperating with it with regard to respecting workers’ rights in the context of free movement. Direct links have been established between national representatives from different coun- tries, and they will work together on concrete cases when necessary. It has been decided that such meetings shall take place every year at the European Commis- sion. During May 17-18, 2017, the fourth consultative meeting organized by CPEDAE Moldova with the N.C.C.D. representatives on the issue of discrimination through the association of 76 unvaccinated children took place in Chisinau on the grounds of parents’ agreement. The progress made by CEPEDAE on the dialogue and involvement of other national institu- tions responsible for respecting human rights in their area of work has been analysed. Also discussed were the best practices registered by the EQUINET Member States on improving anti-discrimination legislation, especially with regard to the issue of child vaccination and the choice of parents, a criterion that can lead to discrimination in access to education. On May 19, 2017, the 4th session of the Inter-Governmental Commission Moldova-Roma- nia for European Integration took place at the Chisinau Foreign Ministry. The meeting discussed the evolution of the sector projects agreed at the Commission’s third meeting (May 4, 2015, Bucharest) and established the cooperation directions for 2017, in order to support the European path of the Republic of Moldova, implicitly fulfilling the com- mitments derives from the Association Agreement signed with the EU and the provisions of the Comprehensive and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. Discussions took place in plenary (two sessions) and in sector working groups - legislative harmonization, internal affairs, justice, prosecutor’s office, magistrates ‘training, magis- trates’ cooperation, integrity, anti-discrimination, regional cooperation, agriculture, sani- tary veterinary and food safety. Regarding the area of non-discrimination, within the sector group were analysed the final results of the project “Strengthening the Capacity of the National System in the Republic of Moldova to Combat the Discrimination through the Participation of the Civil Society”, re- sults that were subsequently presented in the plenary session. For the next period, the parties have proposed to support the CPEDAE by the N.C.C.D. in order to apply to a twinning project, as well as to continue the collaboration between the two institutions on matters related to the problems and causes under examination. During May 4-5, Trier organized a seminar on “Applying European Union Anti-Discrimi- nation Legislation” organized by the European Law Academy (ERA), N.C.C.D. being repre- sented by the Legal Division. The seminar debated topics from the two European directives banning discrimination on grounds of race or ethnic origin in a number of areas, as well as disability, age, sexual orien- tation or religion / belief in work and occupation; the European legal framework on equal treatment for women and men: EU Charter and Treaties, EU Directives on equal treatment of women and men, international instruments; The Istanbul Convention and the legal im- plications of a possible EU accession. During the 13 and 15 June 2017, in Chisinau took place the fifth consultative meeting organized by CPEDAE Moldova with representatives of N.C.C.D. , as well as representatives of the civil society of Rep. Moldova, on the issue of discrimination by association of unvacci- nated children, based on the parent’s agreement. Activity Report 2017 77 Representatives of civil society have presented the problems they fa