The Alliance against Antigypsyism has recently published a new policy paper titledDeveloping measures to combat antigypsyism after 2020: Guidance for European and national stakeholders”.

The paper aims to inspire European and national stakeholders to contribute to combating the exclusion of Roma. Together with a complementary publication of the alliance, the paper could be used as a guide for the EU Member States and Candidate Countries to update their current national strategies or create new strategies that can respond to antigypsyism. Moreover, the papers try to enter the narratives and practices of the new European Parliament and the European Commission. There has been tremendous work done by civil society and EU institutions in the last years and it is now the time for Roma rights advocates to make sure that the new parliamentarians and the new Commission follow-up and continue to create policies and legislations that reflect realities of Roma people in Europe.

The paper is the result of the work led by the European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network, Central Council for German Sinti and Roma and European Network against Racism, with inputs of more than 25 other Roma and pro-Roma organisations and individual experts. The authors invite pro-Roma activists to adapt these recommendations and measures to their context and to use the ideas to advocate on national and local levels.

Eurodiaconia welcomes this policy paper and has also urged the EU to recognise the problem of discrimination as one of the key obstacles to Roma inclusion that needs to be addressed through concrete targets. In September, we held our Roma Network Meeting hosted by our member EHO in Novi Sad, Serbia. The participants agreed that the social inclusion and participation of Roma people across Europe cannot be isolated from exploring practical ways to tackle the manifold aspects of antigypsyism. Based on the findings of the Network Meeting, Eurodiaconia will continue to advocate for measures improving the situation of Roma across Europe in 2020, with a particular focus on marginalised groups such as Roma migrants.

 

To learn more about the ideas put forward by the Alliance against Antigypsyism, please read the policy paper.

To know more about our Roma Network Meeting, please have a look at the meeting report.