(Fixes typo in Michaela in paragraph 1)
By Charlotte Van Campenhout
AMSTERDAM, March 21 (Reuters) - Structural racism remains deeply embedded across Europe and institutions need to confront its colonial legacy, the European Union's anti-racism coordinator Michaela Moua said on Saturday.
Moua said data from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights showed that nearly half of people of African descent in the bloc said they had experienced discrimination, while many face barriers to work, despite holding university degrees.
Dismantling entrenched inequalities was essential for democracy, she told a symposium on racism in Amsterdam.
"Racism is not a relic of the past. It's a living structure. It's very tangible for many of us. We feel and we sense the urgency, especially in these political times," Moua said, adding that better equality data was crucial, as EU member states still diverge widely in collecting information on race and ethnicity.
Moua said the bloc's new anti-racism strategy aims to tighten enforcement of existing laws, strengthen national action plans and tackle racism in public administration.
The strategy, which was adopted in January, has drawn criticism from NGOs. The European Network Against Racism said it failed to offer a genuine commitment to reparatory justice or redress for the ongoing consequences of Europe's history.
(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Alexander Smith)
