We took part in a new edition of Roma Week 2025 at the European Parliament [editar]

The 9th edition of Roma Week was held in Brussels from 7 to 10 April.

Roma Week is an annual event organised in Brussels by civil society organisations, European institutions and other international and intergovernmental organisations in the context of the International Roma Day. It aims to raise awareness of the situation of Roma, Sinti and Travellers in Europe. All stakeholders, including Roma representatives and European youth, attend the event.

As the EU enters a period of political leadership renewal without any MEPs of Roma origin, the event aims to refocus attention on Roma rights, advocating for their inclusion as a priority in mainstream EU policies and discourse. Roma Week serves as a platform to consolidate and amplify the voices of Roma communities, ensuring that their perspectives are an integral part of debates on equality, human rights and social justice across Europe.

Roma Week serves as a platform to consolidate and amplify the voices of Roma communities, ensuring that their perspectives are an integral part of debates on equality, human rights and social justice across Europe. Bringing together EU officials, MEPs and Roma rights advocates, the event will strategise on how to maintain visibility and cross-party support for Roma integration in an era marked by shifting priorities and the rise of far-right influences.

In this edition, as in all previous editions, Fundación Secretariado Gitano participated in several relevant events:

The official opening of the Roma Week took place on 7 April with an event attended by EU Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib; MEPs Krzysztof Śmiszek and Hristo Petrov; Minister for Equality of the Polish EU Presidency Katarzyna Kotula; Tea Jaliashvili First Deputy Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights; Mehmet Gürcan Daimagüler, Federal Commissioner for Anti-Gypsyism in Germany; María José Tarrero Martos, Counsellor for Employment, Migration and Social Security of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union (EPSCO Council) and finally Pablo Bustinduy, Minister for Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Spain through a video message in which he analysed the importance of Roma Week as a meeting and debate point to strengthen and improve the situation of the Roma population in Europe, and at the same time highlighted the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the documented presence of the Roma population in Spain and the designation of 2025 as the year of the Roma People in Spain.

On 8 April, International Roma Day, an event took place within the framework of the Roma Civil Monitor Project ‘Equality and EU Funds: Shaping the next Multiannual Framework’, where the experience and opinion of Roma civil society in the use of EU funds in countries such as Italy, Czech Republic, Romania and Spain was analysed. FSG had the opportunity to share with the audience what we believe are the opportunities and challenges ahead in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for Roma rights, inclusion and participation.

All the information on Roma Week can be found on the Roma Week website and programme following this link https://romaweek.eu/