español |
english |
Private area
Private area
European Network on Social Inclusion and Roma under the Structural Funds
Structural Funds: Investing in Roma
Private area
European Network on Social Inclusion and Roma under the Structural Funds
Structural Funds: Investing in Roma
The EURoma Network was established as a result of the working seminar 'Transnational Cooperation on Roma Community and Social Exclusion' held in Madrid in June 2007 and financed by the Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y políticas Públicas (FIIAP).
The members of the network subsequently created the three constitutive bodies of EURoma at its inaugural conference in Seville (January 2008): the Management Committee, Working Groups and Technical Secretariat.
EURoma was created in the context of the 2007-2013 European Social Fund (ESF) programming period, which increased the scope of transnational cooperation between public authorities and civil society actors, and in light of 1) the status of the Roma population as a truly European minority; 2) the enlargement of the EU through the incorporation of countries with the highest concentration of Roma populations; 3) the fact that the ESF was identified as the main financial instrument for the implementation, by Member States, of policies fostering social inclusion, cohesion and employment opportunities and; 4) the Spanish experience of effectively using the ESF for the inclusion of the Roma.
The Roma should be able to take advantage of the funds and actions targeting access to employment, which are implemented within the framework of the ESF. However, this is not the case, and the Roma are generally excluded from policies designed to combat social exclusion. In accordance with the General Regulations of the ESF regarding the sustainable integration of minorities in the labour market, and in order to improve the social inclusion of the Roma in terms of political initiatives, regulatory development and the allocation of resources, it was decided that a transnational network would be established to develop a common approach under the structural funds. A coordinated, integrated approach will serve to improve the effectiveness of social policies aimed at the Roma populations in the European Union.
EURoma began its biannual convenings at the EURoma's inaugural conference in Sevilla in January 2008. Since then, it has held meetings in Bucharest (May 2008), Mytelene (October 2008) and Budapest (May 2009). Its next meeting will take place in Stockholm (September 2009).
