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Executive summary
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large number of target groups, to prevent the risk that Roma become blurred among
the many other groups. To this end, it is crucial to count on strong and continuous
monitoring processes.
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It is also important to bear in mind that
there is still much scope to reach Roma/
Roma communities in the implementation phase
even if the adopted programming
documents do not feature specific measures or do not explicitly mention them
(e.g.
Roma can be mentioned as potential target groups of the calls for proposals or in the
priorities of the projects…).
Thematic objectives (TOs) and investment priorities (IPs)
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Luckily most countries have understood that
the fact that there is a dedicated investment
priority to address Roma inclusion within ESF
(IP 9.2.)
does not prevent
them
from
planning interventions under other ESF IPs and TOs as well as under other funds (ERDF).
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The most
common trend within the ESF
is to address Roma inclusion under
Thematic
Objective 9
(Promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination),
followed by
Thematic Objective 8
(Promoting sustainable and quality employment
and supporting labour mobility) and
Thematic Objective 10
(Investing in education,
training and vocational training for skills and life-long learning).
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As it could be expected,
the OPs addressing Roma inclusion under IP 9.2. are the ones
that include the most targeted actions,
including dedicated priority axes, thematic
objectives and/or actions/type of interventions.
But
it is worth noting that
a
number
of OPs that address Roma inclusion under IPs other than 9.2. also pay particular
attention to Roma, even with dedicated actions targeting Roma.
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With respect to the
ERDF, Roma inclusion is mainly addressed under Thematic
Objective 9
(Promoting social inclusion, combating poverty and any discrimination)
and Thematic Objective 10
(Investing in education, training and vocational training
for skills and lifelong learning by developing education and training infrastructure).
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The
most explicit and targeted approaches to Roma/Roma communities under
ERDF are found under IP 9.b.
(Providing support for physical, economic and social
regeneration of deprived communities in urban and rural areas). However, in ERDF
interventions it is more common to use ‘explicit but not exclusive approaches’ or even
not mentioning Roma explicitly (considering them as part of larger groups), a trend
that is to some extent related to the wide use of territorial approaches.