Memo: Roma Integration: First Findings of Roma Task Force and Report on Social Inclusion

In September 2010, the European Commission established an internal Task Force to assess Member States' use of EU funding with regard to the social and economic integration of Roma, Europe's largest ethnic minority. This Task Force has now reported its initial findings. It notes that while EU funds offer considerable potential for bolstering Roma inclusion, bottlenecks at national, regional and local levels are limiting their effective use by Member States. The Roma Task Force will continue its work in identifying concrete ways to enhance the funds’ uses. The results will be part of an EU framework for national Roma integration strategies in the Member States that will be presented by the Commission in spring 2011, for discussion in the European Parliament and the Council.

A new study – released by the Commission on 21 December 2010 – analyses national Roma inclusion measures in 18 EU countries and identifies a series of successful policy approaches. Integrated policies and projects addressing the multiple causes of social exclusion are the best ways to improve the situation of Roma in Europe, the study says.