ERGO Network position paper on Roma poverty in Europe A contribution to the EU’s Anti-Poverty Strategy and beyond
Today, 17 October, on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, ERGO Network is proud to launch its new position paper, “Ending Roma Poverty in the EU”.
=> Read the full position paper here
The paper is ERGO Network’s contribution to the debate around the EU’s upcoming – and first-ever – Anti-Poverty Strategy, and calls for Roma poverty to be recognised and addressed as a structural injustice rooted in systemic racism, antigypsyism, and economic inequality.
Despite some progress, poverty among Roma across Europe remains alarmingly high: three out of four Roma are at risk of poverty, and 77% of Roma children grow up in households below the poverty threshold. These figures point to the urgent need for targeted, rights-based measures that go beyond economic indicators to tackle the root causes of exclusion.
The position paper sets out concrete recommendations for the EU and Member States to make the Anti-Poverty Strategy truly transformative. It calls for:
- embedding the EU Roma poverty-reduction target (cutting Roma poverty by at least 50% by 2030) in all anti-poverty efforts;
- integrating antigypsyism prevention and anti-racism measures as core pillars;
- ensuring equal access to social protection, housing, education, healthcare, and decent work; and
- guaranteeing the meaningful participation of Roma communities in the design, implementation, and monitoring of anti-poverty policies.
ERGO Network stresses that poverty is not an individual failure, but a political choice, and that ending Roma poverty is essential to achieving a fair, inclusive, and equal Europe for all.
For more information on ERGO Network’s work on Roma poverty, please contact Amana Ferro, Senior Policy Adviser, at a.ferro@ergonetwork.org