Eurodiaconia welcomes the Council adoption of a recommendation on Roma equality, inclusion and participation on March 12th. According to the recommendation, member states are invited to adopt national Roma strategic frameworks (NRSFs) and communicate them to the European Commission by September 2021. The promotion of rights and equal opportunities for Roma are also encouraged to be included in national Recovery and Resilience plans.
Eurodiaconia calls for comprehensive national Roma framework strategies that highlight the needs of particularly vulnerable Roma groups, including EU mobile Roma, women, and children. There is also a need to mainstream Roma inclusion in other policy frameworks and for member states to make full use of financial instruments, including in the Recovery and Resilience plans. Furthermore, inclusion of Roma and pro-Roma civil society organisations must be prioritised in the design and implementation of national Roma strategies.
Members who are active in the area of Roma inclusion are encouraged to use this opportunity to advocate on a national level for strong and effective national Roma strategic frameworks that are formulated with the active participation of Roma and pro-Roma organisations and that utilise funds provided by the Recovery and Resilience plans.
The national strategies should include all horizontal priorities of the framework (fighting and preventing antigypsyism and discrimination, reducing poverty and exclusion, and promoting participation through empowerment, cooperation, and trust). Additionally, Eurodiaconia’s recommendations for national governments can be found in our initial assessment of the framework.
For assistance in advocating on these points and information about your national Roma strategy, please visit the commission webpage and contact your National Roma Contact Point.