This year’s EU Roma Week, hosted by the European Parliament in cooperation with the European Commission and European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), will be held from the 18th to the 21st of March 2019. There will be a series of events around the issue of Roma inclusion, many of them open to the general public.

Among other events, the European Commission Directorate-General Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations will present the third EU Award for Roma Integration for the Western Balkans and Turkey, which is granted in recognition of “Roma women grassroots activists, the unknown heroes”. In addition, MEP Bodil Valero will present the results and recommendations of a study that covers the migration process from a Member State to the Western Balkans at the event “Supporting the effective reintegration of Roma returnees in the Western Balkans”.

Eurodiaconia and its members are strongly involved in supporting the inclusion of Roma across the EU, including through advocacy for their access to social rights and equal opportunities. The EU Roma Week is a key moment of the year and unique opportunity to have the issue high on the European Agenda.

To know more about these events have a look here for the Roma Award and here for the event on Roma Returnees.