ERGO Network reaction to Agora.EU recital 15
ERGO Network and its member organisations across EU Member States call on the Presidents of the European Council, European Commission and European Parliament to recognise antigypsyism and ensure effective Roma partnership and funding in the AgoraEU Programme (2028–2034) and the next Multiannual Financial Framework
Our concern is specific and fundamental: the current text neither explicitly recognises antigypsyism nor provides the necessary conditions for Roma communities to participate as equal partners in the Programme.
We therefore call on the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission to include explicit reference to antigypsyism in Recital 15 under specific forms of racism, alongside antisemitism and other recognised manifestations of racism, and to revise Recital 15 to ensure conceptual clarity and consistency, including by adopting the following formulation:
[…] The Programme should support actions to prevent and combat all forms of xenophobia and racism, including antisemitism, antigypsyism, anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism and anti-Muslim hatred, as well as lesbophobia, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, interphobia, intolerance and discrimination based on gender identity, intolerance towards persons belonging to minorities including Roma, and hate speech. This should include education and training initiatives promoting EU values. The Programme should also contribute to enabling the Union to fulfil its commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Finally, the Programme should ensure structured and continuous dialogue with civil society organisations.
Antigypsyism is not a generic form of discrimination. It is a historically rooted, structural and institutional form of racism, formally recognised by the European Commission in the EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion and Participation for 2020-2030 and the Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-2030, as well as by the Council of the European Union, including through its COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on Roma equality, inclusion and participation. It is further acknowledged by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, and the Council of Europe, including through ECRI General Policy Recommendation N°13 revised on combating antigypsyism and discrimination against Roma. It shapes exclusion across all areas covered by AgoraEU: culture, media, civic participation, and democratic life.
These conditions are not isolated, but structural, and directly linked to antigypsyism. They also translate into limited access to cultural production, underrepresentation in media, and barriers to civic and democratic participation.
Despite this recognition at the policy level, the current draft Regulation fails to explicitly name antigypsyism in its provisions on equality and non-discrimination, including in Recital 15 of the AgoraEU.
This omission is not neutral. The current formulation raises concerns in terms of conceptual clarity and consistency. While referring broadly to “all forms of racism”, the text explicitly names certain manifestations, such as antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, without acknowledging other recognised forms of racism, including antigypsyism, anti-Black racism or anti-Asian racism. At the same time, Roma are referenced only under “intolerance towards persons belonging to minorities”, which risks downgrading the nature of discrimination they face and is inconsistent with established EU policy recognising antigypsyism as a specific form of racism.
This conceptual ambiguity is not merely terminological. It has direct implications for the Programme’s implementation. In the absence of clear recognition of antigypsyism, funding priorities and calls for proposals are unlikely to explicitly address the specific forms of racism affecting Roma communities. This affects the design of calls, the visibility of Roma-related actions, the evaluation of proposals, and the measurement of impact, resulting in continued underrepresentation of Roma organisations among beneficiaries and limiting the Programme’s effectiveness in tackling structural racism.
In the context of a seven-year EU funding framework, omission translates into exclusion. By not explicitly recognising antigypsyism, the Regulation creates the conditions for systematic underfunding and exclusion of Roma communities, affecting over 6 million people in the European Union and 10–12 million across Europe. It allows EU-funded programmes on culture, media and democracy to be designed and implemented without Roma participation, without Roma beneficiaries, and without measurable impact on Roma communities.
The consequences extend beyond AgoraEU. Under the future MFF, programmes such as ESF+, ERDF, Cohesion Policy funds, Erasmus+, Creative Europe and CERV will shape investment across education, housing, employment, culture, media and democratic participation. Where antigypsyism is not explicitly recognised, these programmes can be programmed and implemented without Roma-specific objectives, safeguards or indicators.
In practice, this means:
- ESF+ measures on education may address “inclusion” without tackling the segregation of Roma children;
- ERDF investments may improve infrastructure while leaving spatial and educational segregation untouched;
- cultural and media programmes may promote diversity without Roma creators or measures against anti-Roma racism;
- democracy and participation programmes may strengthen civil society while excluding Roma grassroots organisations from partnership.
Across an entire seven-year funding cycle, this results in millions of Roma being structurally left out of programmes designed to strengthen democracy and inclusion.
This is not a hypothetical risk. Evidence from the current funding period shows that EU funds are often underused for Roma equality, while Roma civil society faces structural barriers, including administrative complexity, co-financing requirements, limited access to information, and persistent institutional discrimination.
The impact is particularly visible in education. Despite policy commitments, segregation of Roma children persists and, in some cases, has worsened, as reflected in infringement procedures and monitoring at EU level. A future MFF that funds education without explicitly requiring desegregation risks financing inclusion in name while allowing segregation in practice.
Without explicit recognition of antigypsyism and targeted funding conditions, the consequences are clear:
- structural discrimination against Roma communities will remain insufficiently addressed;
- Roma organisations will continue to be excluded from meaningful participation and partnership;
- EU funding risks reproducing existing inequalities rather than reducing them;
- the credibility of the Union’s commitment to equality and fundamental rights will be undermined.
Conversely, explicit recognition of antigypsyism, combined with accessible and targeted funding mechanisms, would enable the Programme to deliver on its objectives. This includes small-grant schemes, reduced co-financing requirements, and multiannual operational support for Roma-led organisations, ensuring that Roma civil society can act as an equal partner in strengthening democratic resilience, cultural diversity, and pluralistic media.
Without such measures, the Programme risks falling short of its own ambitions.
