Promoting the usa of ESI Funds for Roma inclusion

Executive summary

OPs adopted by Member States to implement the YEI at national level, assuming

that they will benefit from the measures simply because they are young and they are

unemployed. However, experience shows that, if specific measures are not adopted to

take into account the profiles and needs of the groups furthest from the labour market

such as Roma (with limited educational background to comply with the procedures

established and to access the training schemes and the labour market offers) and to

effectively reach them, the potential of this type of initiatives will be missed.

Whereas certain progress is acknowledged,

further efforts are needed to ensure that

the needs of the Roma population are considered in all ESI Funds and that full

advantage is taken of all the opportunities offered

to achieve a more effective use of

these funds such as the combination of funds.

Approaches used

Different ways to address Roma inclusion are observed

, mainly related to the reference

made to Roma/Roma communities within the Operational Programmes:

›

Explicit mention:

dedicated lines focusing specifically on Roma/Roma communities.

This approach is largely used in certain ESF investment priorities, notably under

ESF IP 9.2. (Socio-economic integration of marginalised communities such as the

Roma), but also under other ESF IPs and TOs and to a lesser extent under ERDF IP

9.b. (Providing support for physical, economic and social regeneration of deprived

communities in urban and rural areas).

›

Explicit but not exclusive mention:

general lines of intervention focusing explicitly on

Roma/Roma communities but as part of a larger group (e.g. disadvantaged group)

or geographical area (e.g. disadvantaged area). In this category a distinction should

be made between those OPs that merely mention Roma/Roma communities as

one of the many target groups/greographical areas of the OP and those that pay

particular attention to them by having a limited number of target groups/areas, one

of them Roma/Roma communities. ‘Explicit but not exclusive’ Roma targeting, if

implemented properly, has proven to be one of the best ways of tackling the socio-

economic inclusion of Roma.

›

No explicit mention to Roma/Roma communities

but considered as part of a larger

group /geographical area.

Finally, the

territorial approach

, which can be applied in any of the previous three

cases. This approach aims at covering specifically the needs of geographical areas,