Promoting the usa of ESI Funds for Roma inclusion

3.2. Impact

EURoma has

boosted the idea that Structural Funds are a key financial and political

tool at the disposal of EU Member States to design and implement policies to promote

Roma inclusion.

It has prompted the

creation of a link,

which was inexistent until then,

between the

bodies that decide on the Roma policies (National Roma Contact Points) and the

bodies that allocate the financial resources (Managing Authorities).

It is the first and

only Network gathering these two different and crucial types of stakeholders.

The networking between these actors has

contributed to the alignment between

financial resources and policies.

It has

helped to integrate the Roma issue in the agenda of the European Structural

Funds

in a more efficient and coherent way with existing needs: currently the

Roma population is more present in the Operational Programmes, Roma are more

visible in the actions and there has been a convergence in terms of approaches and

methodologies to make a more efficient use of the funds.

In this sense, EURoma has contributed to the implementation of the 2007-2013

programming period and to the advances in the 2014-2020 period, including the

incorporation of an explicit investment priority on Roma.

EURoma has had a

trigger effect by identifying new issues before they were on

the agenda of relevant stakeholders,

raising awareness about their importance and

making proposals for their consideration (e.g. importance of involving the local level,

integrated approach, etc…). It has had the capacity to make the Commission’s

principles and ideas visible and promote them by showing how to translate them into

concrete actions (e.g. integrated approach, data collection...).

It has also

promoted a more effective use of Structural Funds for Roma inclusion

among EU institutions and Member States and issued practical recommendations

on possible ways to tackle Roma needs and address Roma socio-economic inclusion

aimed at informing the design of the new ESI Funds policy framework (Common

Regulations, Partnership Agreements and Operational Programmes).