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Europe2020 Strategy: paving the way to the integration of Roma [editar]

28/03/2011

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Europe2020 Strategy: paving the way to the integration of Roma

The last months have witnessed important developments regarding the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy, which paves the way towards the full development and integration of Roma population.

Important steps have been taken over the last months regarding the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy, adopted by the European Council in June 2010 and which replaces the previous Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs (2000-2010). The Strategy paves the way towards the full development and inclusion of Roma population by mentioning explicitly the Roma and setting priorities, targets and initiatives with a direct relevance for this community. Therefore, it is important to be familiar with the key elements of the Strategy and keep track of relevant developments in order to take full advantage of opportunities offered.

The Strategy puts forward three mutually reinforcing priorities: smart, sustainable and inclusive growth delivering high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion. It then proposes five common EU targets for 2020 that should be achieved combining national and European measures. Three out of the five targets are particularly relevant for the full integration of Roma community:

  • 75 % of the population aged 20-64 should be employed
  • The rates of school drop-out should be under 10% and at least 40% of 30-34 year-olds should complete third level education
  • At least 20 million less people should be in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion 

To ensure that the Strategy is tailored to the specific national situations, each Member State will translate the EU goals into national targets and trajectories. These targets, including policies and budgets, will be included in the National Reform Programmes that Member States present in April each year. The Commission will review these programmes annually and will make its recommendations on the actions to be undertaken in each country. They will then be approved in the European Council of June.

The European Commission has also presented the seven flagship initiatives included in the Strategy to catalyse progress under each priority theme. These initiatives are based on in the cooperation between the national and European level to achieve the proposed objectives. Three of these initiatives are directly related with the improvement of the situation of Roma, namely:  

  • "European Platform against Poverty". Released in December 2010, the European Platform sets out actions to reach the EU target of reducing poverty and social exclusion by at least 20 million by 2020. The Platform will therefore set a dynamic framework for action to ensure social and territorial cohesion such that the benefits of growth and jobs are widely shared and people experiencing poverty and social exclusion are enabled to live in dignity and take an active part in society. The Commission’s proposal mentions explicitly Roma as one of the ethnic minorities that are particularly exposed to the risk of poverty and are disproportionately affected by multiple deprivation. It also includes the inclusion of Roma population as a priority area.
  • "Youth on the Move". Published in 2010, the objective of this initiative is to give a fresh ímpetus to the education systems and to promote the mobility of students in order to help youth people to acquire the skills and competences needed to succeed in the labour market. 
  • “Agenda for new skills and jobs”. Released in November 2010, it aims to modernise labour markets and empower people by developing their of skills throughout the lifecycle with a view to increase labour participation and better match labour supply and demand, including through labour mobility.

EU-level instruments, notably the single market, financial levers and external policy tools, will be fully mobilised to tackle bottlenecks and deliver the Europe 2020 goals. As an immediate priority, particular attention should be paid to Cohesion Policy, the EU2020 Strategy and the National Reform Plans and notably the EU Framework for National Roma Strategies.

All details regarding the Europe 2020 Strategy are available here   

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