Roma equality, inclusion and participation

SUMMARY OF:

Commission communication — A Union of equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation

Recommendation on Roma equality, inclusion and participation

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION AND RECOMMENDATION?

The communication sets out a new European Union (EU) Roma strategic framework aimed at increasing the speed and progress of Roma integration by promoting effective equality, socioeconomic inclusion and the meaningful participation of Roma.
The recommendation enhances EU Member States’ commitment to effectively fight discrimination against Roma people and to promote their inclusion in the areas of education, employment, health and housing.
The recommendation complements the communication by setting out a list of specific measures to be taken by Member States in order to achieve the EU objectives. It offers guidance on the capacity-building of and partnerships between stakeholders (including national Roma contact points, equality bodies, civil society and the regional and local actors) and on ensuring a better use of EU and national funds. It also offers guidance regarding effective national monitoring and reporting and the evaluation of national Roma strategic frameworks.

KEY POINTS

The EU Roma strategic framework is the first direct contribution to the implementation of the EU action plan against racism 2020-2025.

Strategic framework

The framework replaces the EU framework for national Roma integration strategies up to 2020. The new framework sets out 7 key areas of focus — 3 horizontal and 4 sectoral — for the period leading up to 2030:

equality
inclusion
participation
education
employment
health
housing.

In each of these areas, the European Commission proposes new targets for Member States and suggestions on how to achieve them.

Targets

The Commission proposes a number of minimum targets for 2030. These include:

reducing the proportion of Roma who experience discrimination by at least half;
doubling the proportion of Roma who file a report when experiencing discrimination;
reducing the poverty gap between Roma and general population by at least half;
reducing the gap in participation in early childhood education by at least half;
reducing the proportion of Roma children who attend segregated primary schools by at least half in Member States with a significant Roma population;
reducing the employment gap and the gender employment gap by at least half;
reducing the gap in life expectancy by at least half;
reducing the gap in housing deprivation by at least one third;
ensuring that at least 95 % of Roma have access to tap water.

The 2020 monitoring framework published by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights sets out in detail the new objectives and indicators.

Guidance and measures to achieve targets

The communication includes guidance and measures to help Member States achieve these targets. These measures include:

developing support systems for Roma victims of discrimination;
supporting financial literacy;
awareness-raising campaigns in schools;
promoting the employment of Roma in public institutions;
improving access to quality medical check-ups, screening and family planning for Roma women.

Council recommendations

The Council’s recommendations renews and replaces the 2013 recommendation. It aims to provide Member States with more relevant and effective guidance on how to accelerate progress towards equality, inclusion and participation for the Roma over the next 10 years.
They highlight a number of issues, including:
- the importance of the equal participation of Roma in society and of their role in policymaking;
- making mainstream policies more sensitive to Roma equality and inclusion; and
- the importance of the gender perspective.
They include a number of measures to help achieve the 7 objectives set out in the strategic framework.
They urge Member States to adopt national Roma strategic frameworks within their broader social inclusion policies improving the situation of Roma, and to communicate them to the Commission, preferably by September 2021.
Member States are also encouraged to include and promote the rights of and equal opportunities for Roma in their national recovery and resilience plans.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

Roma equality, inclusion and participation in the EU (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council — A Union of equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation (COM(2020) 620 final, 7.10.2020)

Council Recommendation of 12 March 2021 on Roma equality, inclusion and participation (OJ C 93, 19.3.2021, pp. 1-14)