Promoting the usa of ESI Funds for Roma inclusion

some OPs under ESF TO 8 ‘Promoting employment and supporting labour mobility’

and TO 10 ‘Investing in education, skills and lifelong learning’) or an action/type of

intervention.

Explicit but not exclusive mention:

general lines of intervention focusing explicitly on

Roma/Roma communities but as part of a larger group (e.g. disadvantaged groups)

or geographical area (e.g. disadvantaged areas). In this category a distinction should

be made between those OPs that merely mention Roma/Roma communities as one

of the many target groups/geographical areas of the OP and those that pay particular

attention to them by having a limited number of target groups/areas, one of them

Roma/Roma communities.

‘Explicit but not exclusive’ Roma targeting, while including other groups in similar

socio-economic circumstances, has proven to be one of the best ways of tackling

the socio-economic integration of Roma. It guarantees that Roma are the focus of

the programmes and allows carrying out adapted and flexible measures, including

tools tailored to their needs, which usually lead to greater engagement and active

participation on the part of the beneficiaries. Moreover, it is easier to gather

information, including ethnic data collection, to measure results.

No explicit mention:

Roma/Roma communities considered as part of a larger group/

geographical area. In some of these cases it is assumed that, although there is no

explicit mention, if Roma are considered one of the vulnerable groups prioritised in the

Partnership Agreement, Managing Authorities, Intermediate Bodies and implementing

authorities will be encouraged to ensure that Roma are among the beneficiaries.

Finally, we observe the

territorial approach

, which can be applied in any of the previous

three cases. This approach aims at covering the needs of geographical areas, sometimes

micro-territories, in many cases at greatest risk of poverty and, as a consequence, tackle

the needs of groups at risk of exclusion and discrimination living in these areas, as is the

case of the Roma.

This approach is commonly used within ERDF OPs, although there are also examples

under ESF OPs or OPs combining both funds. Some examples of this approach are as

follows: