Roma

Roma represent the most marginalized and vulnerable minority in Europe, with an approximate population of 10-12 million dispersed all over the continent. Besides, Roma do not constitute one single community, but rather a heterogeneous group composed of different identities, languages, religions, nationalities, ethnic groups, etc., which have nonetheless been historically one of the most discriminated minorities in Eastern and Western Europe. It is in this context that developing inclusion policies both at the national and EU levels has proven to be a challenging task, as the bundle below describes.  

Both JEMIE article by Fox and the different publications by Zora Popova provide important background to the Roma communities. In this vein, Popova (2019) reminds us that, before 2004, only a few national and EU initiatives were dedicated to advance Roma inclusion, a situation that changed in 2007, when the European Council included on its agenda a series of efforts at the EU level to foster social inclusion of Roma. The enterprise crystallized after 2010, along with the Framework for Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020, which was designed to improve the living conditions of Roma in EU countries. This document sets forth four working fields which encapsulate the gap between Roma and the rest of the population, namely education, employment, healthcare, and housing. These sections revolve around recurrent issues faced by Roma, as well-documented by the study ‘Roms on Integration I’, which identifies a series of recommendations for Romani integration in Macedonia. The report provides with a detailed analysis on the level of discrimination that Roma suffer in critical components of society, including human rights.  

Yet despite identifying the problem and developing efforts, Popova (2019) highlights that there is ground for pessimism inasmuch as Roma still occupy “the periphery of mainstream” EU Member States and European society. Minorities are especially vulnerable to crisis situations, as is evidenced by the Great Recession in 2008, which affected not only local communities but also migrant workers and their families residing in different EU countries. Annabel Tremlett and Aidan McGarry point at the role of the EU Member States, who, in their view, have been hitherto unwilling or unable to address the socio-economic and political disadvantage of Roma. This situation contrasts with the fact that Roma Integration Strategies place the responsibility for Roma Integration precisely in the hands of EU Member States. On the face of it, Tremlett and McGarry advocate for a multidisciplinary research approach, not limited only to the academic level, which would form a relevant pillar to better understand the historically disadvantaged and heterogenous communities of Roma minorities.  

 

List of related Publications: 

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