The present project is in response to the objective included in the European strategy to combat exclusion of acting on behalf of the most vulnerable groups.

This project promotes the creation of a trans-national partnership comprised of partners responsible for the drafting of the Action Plans of four Member States and partners from four NGOs with experience in the development of actions in the field of exclusion affecting the Roma and Traveller minorities in the same countries. It is envisaged that public and private partners from other Member States and Candidate Countries will join the project.

The main objective of this initiative is to give impetus to inclusion policies focusing on the Roma and Traveller minorities in the coming NAPincl rounds of negotiation (2003-2005). The foreseen activities for this first stage of the project are:

• Identification of the main fields of social exclusion affecting the Roma and Traveller communities in the four partner countries and the elaboration of a report on their situation.

• Analysis of the measures being carried out within the framework of the NAPincl (2001-2003) and the impact and results obtained for the Roma and Traveller minorities.

• A document on proposals and guidelines for use in approaching the measures focusing on Roma and Travellers in the next NAPincl (2003-2005) addressed to all E.U. Member States

• A seminar on Inclusion policies with the Roma and Traveller minorities involving key agents from the different sectors and countries for the exchange of experiences and the transfer of learning.

These activities will be implemented between November 2002 and August 2003.
More in-depth activities are foreseen for the second stage of the project.