On 10 September 2026, ERGO Network met with European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu to discuss key EU policy and funding frameworks for Roma equality, inclusion, and participation.
The ERGO Network delegation included national members Daniel Grebeldinger (Nevo Parudimos, Romania) and Lynsey Kavanagh (Pavee Point, Ireland), as well as staff members Gabriela Hrabaňová (Director), Isabela Mihalache (Senior Policy Coordinator) and Amana Ferro (Senior Policy Adviser).
EVP Mînzatu was accompanied by members of her cabinet Eva Schultz, responsible for the Union of Equality, Sonia Vila Nuñez, responsible for the European Pillar of Social Rights, the Child Guarantee, and the Anti-Poverty Strategy, and Cătălin Gheran, responsible for the Multiannual Financial Framework and ESF+.
The exchange focused on the state of play of the implementation of the EU Roma Strategic Framework, particularly in light of its imminent mid-term review. We presented evidence from its grassroots members highlighting persistent antigypsyism as the decisive structural barrier to Roma inclusion, and stressed the need to move from policy commitments to enforceable implementation in the second half of the Framework.
The upcoming mid-term review should be a pivotal moment to correct course. While the Framework has created a strong policy architecture, a significant gap remains between commitments and lived realities. Antigypsyism must become explicit, measurable, and enforceable, with concrete indicators, resources, and accountability mechanisms, and with stronger links to the EU Anti-Racism Strategy and the wider Union of Equality.
The discussion also addressed the importance of equality data for effective monitoring and accountability. Drawing on the Irish experience, we stressed that disaggregated equality data, collected in a voluntary, rights-based, and participatory manner, is essential to demonstrate whether targets are being met and whether policies are improving the situation of Roma and Travellers in practice.
We further emphasised that Roma inclusion cannot remain confined to the EU Roma Strategic Framework alone, but must also be reflected across the European Semester, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU Anti-Poverty Strategy, the Child Guarantee, the Affordable Housing Plan, the Quality Jobs agenda, and the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The fight against intersectional discrimination, and particularly racism and antigypsyism, needs to equally be mainstreamed in these frameworks.
EU funding and the next EU budget were a central part of the exchange. We highlighted the need to ensure that Roma equality and antigypsyism are visible in the technical implementation framework of future funds, including indicators, evaluation criteria, enabling conditions, and guidance to Member States. The delegation also called for stronger social inclusion safeguards, dedicated support for the Child Guarantee, and a meaningful Partnership Principle that gives Roma civil society a real role in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of EU-funded programmes.
Executive Vice-President Mînzatu welcomed the exchange and reiterated her openness to continued cooperation with ERGO Network. She stressed the importance of empowering Roma communities, strengthening the capacity of civil society and local actors, and ensuring that EU funds leave sustainable capacity on the ground. She also acknowledged the current political realities surrounding the negotiations on the future EU budget, while underlining that Roma inclusion remains important within the broader work on equality and social rights.
Throughout the discussion, ERGO Network emphasised that Roma civil society is not only a stakeholder, but a strategic partner in delivery. We reiterated our readiness to support the European Commission and Member States with evidence, grassroots expertise, community-led monitoring, and concrete proposals to ensure that EU social policies and funding frameworks deliver equality, wellbeing, and fundamental rights for Europe’s Roma.
ERGO Network will continue to engage with the European Commission in the coming months, including in the context of the EU Roma Strategic Framework mid-term review, the European Semester, and the negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
For more information about this meeting, please contact Senior Policy Adviser Amana Ferro – a.ferro@ergonetwork.org
