An EU framework for national Roma integration strategies

• Author: Korver, Ron
• Pages: 3-11

Framew ork for Nati onal Roma Inte gration Strategies u p to 2020

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2. An EU framework for natio nal Roma inte gration strategies

Since its es tablishment, the E U framework has been the subject of many ev aluations and critical

analyses. This sectio n first describes the context in which the fra mewor k cam e into being, its m ain

design and policy features and how it evolved over time. It then provides an overview of both the

res ults an d challeng es that have been abstracted from different available evaluations and about

which ther e seems to be consensus.

2.1. Background, d esign and objectives

The Roma are Europe's large st ethn ic mino rity. Out of an estim ated total of 10-12 million in Eu rope,

some 6 million live in the EU, and most of them ar e citizens of an EU country .9 The estimated share

of t he Rom a in EU countr ies in 2012 ranges fr om 10.3 % in Bulgaria , 9.1 % in Slovakia, 8.3 % in

Romania, 7 % in Hungary, 2.5 % in Greece, 2 % in Czechia and 1.6 % in Spain, to less than 1 % in mos t

of the ot her countr ies.

A sig nificant p art of t he Rom a in Euro pe live in very poor socio-economic conditions, whether in

rural or urban a reas. T he discrim ination , social exclus ion and segreg ation t hey f ac e a re mu tu ally

reinforcing. Their limited acces s to high -qua lity educa tion and difficu lty of integrating into the

labour market translate into lo w income levels and poor health, which in turn result in higher

morta lity rates and lower life expectancy, com pared with non-Ro ma populations.10

In 2016, so me 80 % of the Roma lived below their countr y's poverty threshold; every third Roma

lived in housing without tap water; every third Roma child lived in a househo ld where someone

went to bed hungry at least once in the previous month; and 50 % of the Roma age d 6-24 did not

attend school. Against this background, one can only conclude that the R oma face discrimination

and unequal access to public s ervice s.11

The EU h as long stres sed the need for bett er Roma integration. Already in the s econd half of the

1990s, the Commission called for national measures in accession countries with large Roma

populations to further the social integration of the Roma and, later, to transpose and put into effect

the R ace Eq uality Direct ive.12

In 2011, t he Com missio n called for the adoption of national Roma integration strategies (NRIS). To

ensure t hat effective policies are in place in the Member St ates, the Commission proposed that NRIS

were designed , or, where they alrea dy existed, were ad apted to meet EU Ro ma integration goals,

through targeted actions and adequa te funding (national, EU and other) to deliver them. It

proposed solutions to address the existing barriers to a m ore effective use of E U funds and laid the

foundations of a monitoring mechanism.

The EU framework for NRIS encouraged Member Stat es and enlar gement countries t o adopt a

comprehensive approach to Roma integration and socio-economic inclusio n, t o m ain st ream Roma

inclus ion, using policy, legal and funding instr uments, to adopt NR IS and to set up coor dination,

consultation, and monitoring mechanisms.

9 Europe an Comm issi on we bsit e: Who are the Roma?.

10 Roma Education in Europe, Practices, policies and politics, Maja Miskovic (editor), 2013.

11 Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey Roma – Sele cted fi ndings, EU Agency for Fundamenta l

Rights, 2016.

12 Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons

irrespective of racial or ethnic origin