Fundación Secretariado Gitano

Report of the European Court of Auditors on initiatives and EU financial support for integration of the Roma [editar]

• Acción Institucional

• Operational Program Fight against Discrimination managed by the FSG is one of seven programs analyzed.
• The added value of this report, based on audits is that the European institutions evaluate not only the management of European resources but also its links with policies.
• The PO Fight Against Discrimination was conducted as planned, meeting its objectives in terms of outputs, outcomes, budget, schedule and scope.
• From the FSG highly we value this exercise in transparency, good management and pursuit of impact of European policies and resources.

Throughout 2015, the European Court of Auditors carried out audits to assess whether policy initiatives of the European Union and the financial assistance provided through the ERDF and the European Social Fund had effectively contributed to the integration of the Roma community. Spain was one of the four selected countries (plus Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania), the high number of Roma, as well as the allocation of funding. In Spain the programs analyzed were the Operational Programme (OP) Fight Against Discrimination, managed by the FSG and the regional PO Andalusia, both in the period 2007-2013.

The Court based its audit criteria on the experience of EURoma network, which published in 2013 a guide with recommendations to ensure the success of initiatives including the Roma population, which has served as the basis for the development of this audit (Making Use of Structural and Investment Funds for Roma Inclusion. A Guide for Local Authorities) 

Overall, the Court found that the Commission has made considerable progress in the implementation of EU initiatives to promote the integration of the Roma community and that in 2012, all Member States had developed a National Roma Integration Strategy. Despite the progress, the Court identified in these national strategies several shortcomings:

1. Some Member States do not indicate the level of funding necessary and available resources for implementation of the National Strategy;
2. It has not paid sufficient attention to the fight against discrimination and anti-Gypsyism;
3. It not always has been taken into account the need for active participation of civil society organizations, including representatives of the Roma community, in drawing up national strategies;
4. Finally, the Court has detected imbalances between skills and resources allocated to the National Contact Points for integration of the Roma population, created to coordinate the development and implementation of national strategies.

With regard to the programming of European funds, the Court believes that improvements are seen in the current programming period 2014-2020 compared to the previous 2007-2013: for example, the integration of the Roma population is expressly mentioned in Regulation on the Structural Funds and European Investment (Funds EIE) and has introduced a specific funding priority. However, the Court considers that further efforts by both the Commission and Member States are required to ensure that these changes result in projects that contribute most to the integration of Roma people on the ground.

The Court calls on the Commission to ensure that:

1. The objectives of national strategies are reflected in the framework of European funds;
2. The distribution of funds between Member States from 2020 takes into account indicators of social inclusion, as the proportion of marginalized groups, such as Roma;
3. The Commission, finally, make full use at meetings of the monitoring committee of the PO data contained in the reports that Member States are obliged to submit since 2016 under the Council recommendation on effective measures to Roma integration, as well as the conclusions drawn from this information. The purpose is to correct the weaknesses identified in the reports by the EIE funds or funds of the Member States (eg reallocating funds to areas where deficiencies have been detected).

The references to Spain in the report go in two directions: regarding its national strategy and regarding the use of the financial assistance from the EU.

As for the Spanish strategy, the Court appreciates the consultation with the organizations of civil society, including the fight against discrimination, although no definition of objectives and indicators in this area, and criticizes the lack of information on the financial allocation. The report questions the role of the National Contact Point regarding its coordinating role and about the imbalance between responsibilities and resources allocated.

As regards the use of EU financial aid, the Court mentions the case of Spain to value the inclusion of specific Investment Priority 9.2. in the 2014-2020 programming period through the Operational Programme Social Inclusion and Social Economy (POISES) and 9.3 (Fight against all forms of discrimination and promoting equal opportunities). It also recognizes the value of the so-called Spanish model of Roma inclusion, by which European resources contribute not only with specific measures for the integration of the Roma community, but through support to general measures of social inclusion, education and employment.

Regarding the PO Fight Against Discrimination, the Report notes that it was conducted as planned, meeting its objectives in terms of outputs, outcomes, budget, schedule and scope. The Court values the use of an integrated approach, the gender dimension, identifies as good practice the fact that Roma people are target group of the program and is carried out by applying the explicit but not exclusive focus (one of the Ten PBC). The report assesses the implementation of the education program “Promociona”. The experience and results of employment program “Acceder”, as well as cooperation with other intermediary agencies working with groups in similar conditions.

In 2015 over several days, the Court's auditors met with the management and technical team FSG, reviewed documentation, checked the monitoring and evaluation of our program, visited our projects and interviewed participants themselves in two locations selected by the Court itself (Madrid and Granada).

From the FSG, we highly value this exercise of transparency, good management and pursuit of impact of the European policies and resources. We are confident that both the Commission and the Member States will put in place measures to comply with the Recommendations established by the Court in this report.

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