Category: European Pillar of Social Rights

ERGO Network Annual Policy Conference 2023

IMPLEMENTING THE EU ROMA STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK. ROMA ACCESS TO QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

This past 28 November 2023, ERGO Network organised its annual Policy Conference in Brussels, dedicated to exploring how to improve Roma access to adequate, affordable, quality, and inclusive housing, as well as to taking stock of the implementation of the EU and National Roma Frameworks, with a particular focus on housing and environmental justice.

The conference featured keynote interventions from Annelisa Cotone, coordinator for Roma inclusion in the cabinet of European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli, Hon. Peter Pollák MEP (Slovakia, EPP), as well as Paul Divakar Namala, from the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent.  

Many Roma still live in informal settlements and segregated neighbourhoods, in inadequate dwellings and disastrous living conditions, with severe environmental consequences. Unable to meet ever-rising housing costs or to prove legal ownership of their home, they endure forced evictions, homelessness, and antigypsyism from local authorities, landlords, and neighbours. Ensuring access to housing and adequate services is an objective of the EU Roma Strategic Framework, while it is also extensively covered by the European Pillar of Social Rights (Social Pillar), the compass for Europe’s recovery, and supported by Goals 6, 7, 11, 13 and 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

The event launched ERGO Network’s research report on “Roma access to quality and affordable housing”, based on six national case studies carried out in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain. Additional benchmarking evidence was provided by ERGO Network members in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Türkiye. The main findings and recommendations aim to kick-start a dialogue with key decision-makers and stakeholders and aim to identify positive solutions to support better housing inclusion for Roma and inform the delivery of the EU Roma Strategic Framework and the Social Pillar, as well as other relevant policy initiatives.

The Key Messages of the report are:

  1. Roma living conditions are significantly worse than those of the majority, while most Roma experience de facto homelessness.
  2. Most Roma live in segregated communities and/or informal settlements, many exposed to environmental hazards.
  3. High costs of housing and overcomplex administrative procedures further reduce Roma access to housing.
  4. The Roma continue to face antigypsyism and forced evictions.
  5. Social housing holds great potential for Roma housing but is currently under-utilised.
  6. Roma communities and their civil society organisations must be involved to co-create sustainable ways forward.

With the adoption of the EU Roma Strategic Framework up to 2030, governments were asked to develop national Roma strategic frameworks both in EU Member States and Western Balkan countries. In addition, civil society in EU Member States received funding from the European Commission to monitor these national strategic frameworks’ elaboration and adoption process. To ensure an effective implementation of the national frameworks, robust and continued monitoring of the entire policy process should be ensured.

The second part of the event assessed the state of play of the National Roma Frameworks in the EU and Enlargement countries and their alignment with the EU Roma Strategic Framework on Equality, Inclusion, and Participation. It linked Council Recommendation, with a keen focus on the areas of housing and environmental justice, also looking at follow-up steps to ensure that implementation does not overlook these important aspects.

The conference was very well attended with over 75 on-site and online participants, and it brought together ERGO Network national members from the grassroots level in many European countries, other national practitioners, European civil society organisations, policy-makers from the EU and national levels, and other stakeholders.

If you attended this event or watched the recording, don’t forget to let us know what you think about it by filling out this brief Evaluation Form (project reference: 101104354; event title: ERGO Network Annual Policy Conference).

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Visuals provided by Ale Listens and Draws

For more information about this event, please don’t hesitate to contact us: info@ergonetwork.org

Research report on Roma access to quality and affordable housing

ERGO Network launches its research report on Roma access to quality and affordable housing

The European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network held its annual Policy Conference on 28 November, entitled “Implementing the EU Roma Strategic Framework. Roma access to quality and affordable housing.” Many Roma still live in informal settlements and segregated neighbourhoods, in inadequate dwellings and disastrous living conditions, with severe environmental consequences. Unable to meet ever-rising housing costs or to prove legal ownership of their home, they endure forced evictions, homelessness, and antigypsyism from local authorities, landlords, and neighbours.

The EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion, and Participation 2020 – 2030 includes as one of its four sectoral objectives “Increase effective equal access to adequate desegregated housing and essential services”, while the Council Recommendation on Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation features a comprehensive section on “Access to adequate desegregated housing and essential services”, calling on Member States to “ensure equal treatment of Roma people in access to adequate desegregated housing and essential services.” Ensuring access to housing and adequate services and providing support to the homeless are also extensively covered by the European Pillar of Social Rights (Social Pillar), the compass for Europe’s recovery, while it is also supported by Goals 6, 7, 11, 13 and 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

During 2023, ERGO Network conducted in-depth national case studies in six countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain), looking at the realities of Roma housing and living conditions, as well as at the key barriers the Roma face when trying to access quality and affordable housing in these countries. Additional benchmarking evidence was provided by our members in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Türkiye. The main findings and recommendations were brought together in an EU synthesis report, launched in the framework of the above-mentioned event.

Key messages of the report:

  1. Roma living conditions are significantly worse than those of the majority, while most Roma experience de facto homelessness.

Urgent and significant investment is needed to improve the structural condition of the dwellings that most Roma inhabit, including their connection to utilities, in order to render them compliant with the United Nations definition of adequate housing.

  1. Most Roma live in segregated communities and / or informal settlements, many exposed to environmental hazards.

Countries need to develop comprehensive desegregation plans with clear targets and indicators, which should also tackle the legalisation of irregular housing situations and the environmental consequences stemming from the use of unsuitable locations.

  1. High costs of housing and overcomplex administrative procedures further reduce Roma access to housing.

Roma housing and energy poverty must be addressed through improving access to income and better regulation of the housing and utilities market; bureaucratic procedures should be simplified, including decoupling access to services from ID papers and a fixed address.

  1. The Roma continue to face antigypsyism and forced evictions.

Anti-bias training must be compulsory for all housing actors, including local authorities, coupled with strong anti-discrimination legislation and mechanisms; evictions should be a last resort and must entail due notice and the provision of decent alternative housing.

  1. Social housing holds great potential for Roma housing, but is currently under-utilised.

The social housing stock needs to be expanded and improved, while its allocation should follow a rights-based, housing-first approach, reducing conditionality and unaffordability and ensuring that vulnerable groups such as the Roma are prioritised.

  1. Roma communities and their civil society organisations must be involved, in order to co-create sustainable ways forward.

Policymakers and all housing actors must cooperate closely with Roma stakeholders and their civil society representatives to ensure evidence-based solutions, support disaggregated data collection, foster common understanding, and bridge cultural gaps.

With this research, we aim to kick-start a debate with policymakers on improving the availability, accessibility, affordability, quality, and inclusiveness of housing for Europe’s Roma.

For more information about ERGO Network’s work on Roma access to quality and affordable housing, please contact Senior Policy Adviser Amana Ferro.

ERGO Network Annual Policy Conference 2022

IMPLEMENTING THE EU ROMA STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK. ROMA ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND LONG-TERM CARE

This past 23 November, ERGO Network organised its Annual Policy Conference, for the first time in person since 2019 but also fully streamed online for remote participants. This year’s event was dedicated to exploring how to improve Roma access to adequate, affordable, and inclusive healthcare and long-term care services, as well as to taking stock of the implementation of the EU and National Roma Frameworks.

A significant health inequality gap exists between the Roma and the majority population, across every area of physical and mental health and wellbeing, including rates of suicide, disability, life expectancy, and infant mortality. The Covid-19 pandemic laid bare and worsened a pre-existing dire situation. Ensuring access to healthcare and long-term care is a key topic under the European Pillar of Social Rights, the compass for Europe’s recovery, while it is also supported by Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. It is high time the European Union and national governments delivered.

First panel – Susanna Ulinski, Philippe Seidel, Marine Uldry, Kumar Vishwanathan, Tomas de Jong, Camille Butin

The first part of the event served to launch ERGO Network’s research report on “Roma access to healthcare and long-term care”, based on six national case studies carried out in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain. The main findings and recommendations fed into a dialogue with key decision-makers and stakeholders, aimed at identifying positive solutions to support better health inclusion for Roma and inform the delivery on the EU Roma Strategic Framework and the Social Pillar, as well as on initiatives such as the European Care Strategy.

The Key Messages of the report are:

  1. In all 6 countries, social determinants greatly influence a poor Roma state of health.
  2. High costs of healthcare and long-term care and gaps in health insurance coverage are significant deterrents for the Roma to seek care.
  3. Limited healthcare and long-term care infrastructure and staff shortages are prevalent in rural and remote Roma communities.
  4. Roma health mediators play a key positive role which deserves better support.
  5. The Roma continue to face widespread antigypsyism in healthcare and long-term care.
  6. Roma communities and their civil society organisations must be involved in a bid to build trust and improve take-up.

With the adoption of the EU Roma Strategic Framework up to 2030, governments were asked to develop national Roma strategic frameworks both in EU Member States and Western Balkan countries. In addition, civil society in EU Member States received funding from the European Commission to engage in monitoring the elaboration and adoption process of these national frameworks. In order to ensure their effective implementation, a robust and continued monitoring of the entire policy process should be ensured.

Second panel – Zuzana Havirova, Sia Sararu, Adriatik Hasantari, Abriel Schieffelers

The second part of the event assessed the state of play of the newly adopted national Roma strategic frameworks in both the EU and enlargement countries and their alignment with the EU Roma Strategic Framework on Equality, Inclusion, and Participation and linked Council Recommendation, as well as of the Roma involvement in the drafting process. In addition, it discussed the follow-up steps in the implementation of the national Roma stratetic frameworks at EU and national levels.

The event ended with concluding remarks from the Czech Presidency of the European Union on the importance of dedicating more policy attention to access to healthcare, particularly for vulnerable groups such as the Roma, which should be seen in conjunction with the overall delivery on the EU Roma Framework and its objectives on housing, employment, education, and poverty, while closely associating Roma communities and their representatives to these efforts.

The conference was very well attended with over 70 on site and online participants, and it brought together ERGO Network national members from the grassroots level in many European countries, as well as other national practitioners, European civil society organisations, policy-makers from the EU and national levels, and other stakeholders.

If you attended this event, or watched the recording, don’t forget to let us know what you thought about it by filling in this brief Evaluation Form (project reference: 101051359; event title: ERGO Network Annual Policy Conference). Thank you!

See more:

Graphic facilitation provided by Ale Listens and Draws.

For more information about this event, please don’t hesitate to contact us: info@ergonetwork.org

Research report: Roma access to healthcare and long-term care

ERGO Network launches its research report on Roma access to healthcare and long-term care

The European Roma Grassroots Organisations (ERGO) Network held its annual Policy Conference on 23 November, entitled “Implementing the EU Roma Strategic Framework. Roma access to healthcare and long-term care.” A significant health inequality gap exists between the Roma and the majority population, persisting across every area of physical and mental health and wellbeing, including rates of suicide, disability, life expectancy, and infant mortality. The Covid-19 pandemic laid bare and worsened the pre-existing dire situation of Roma health in Europe.

The EU Roma Strategic Framework for Equality, Inclusion, and Participation 2020 – 2030 includes as one of its four sectoral objectives “Improve Roma health and increase effective equal access to quality healthcare and social services”, while the Council Recommendation on Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation features a comprehensive section on “Health and access to quality healthcare and social services”, calling on Member States to “ensure equal access without barriers to quality healthcare and social services, especially for those groups that are most at risk or those living in marginalised or remote localities.” Ensuring access to health and long-term care is also extensively covered by the European Pillar of Social Rights, the compass for Europe’s recovery, while it is also supported by Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

During 2022, ERGO Network conducted in-depth national case studies in six countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain), looking at the main determinants of Roma health as well as at the key barriers the Roma face when trying to access healthcare and long-term care services in these countries. The main findings and recommendations were brought together in an EU synthesis report, launched today in the framework of the above-mentioned event.

Key messages:

1. In all 6 countries, social determinants greatly influence a poor Roma state of health.

Tackle unsanitary dwellings and living conditions, exposure to environmental hazards, lack of adequate nutrition, dire poverty and material deprivation, and unhealthy working conditions.

2. High costs of healthcare and long-term care and gaps in health insurance coverage are significant deterrents for the Roma to seek care.

Support access to universal health insurance for all including the Roma and make healthcare and long-term care free or affordable at the point of use, including specialist care.

3. Limited healthcare and long-term care infrastructure and staff shortages are prevalent in rural and remote Roma communities.

Invest in an adequate supply of medical and care facilities, as well as qualified personnel, making healthcare and long-term care available to people where they live.

4. Roma health mediators play a key positive role which deserves better support.

Health mediators must be Roma themselves, anchored in the communities they serve but formally employed by the national health system with adequate pay, ongoing training, and due recognition.

5. The Roma continue to face widespread antigypsyism in healthcare and long-term care.

Combat prejudices and stereotypes within medical services and care facilities, ending segregation and ensuring anti-bias training and compliance with anti-discrimination legislation.

6. Roma communities and their civil society organisations must be involved in a bid to build trust and improve take-up.

Policy-makers, as well as healthcare and long-term care professionals, must cooperate closely with Roma stakeholders and their representatives, to ensure evidence-based solutions.

With this research, we aim to kick-start a debate with policy makers on how to improve the availability, accessibility, affordability, quality, inclusiveness, and take-up of healthcare and long-term care services by Europe’s Roma, including in the framework of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the European Care Strategy, and the announced European initiative on Mental Health in 2023, among others.

For more information about ERGO Network’s work on Roma access to healthcare and long-term care, as well as on the European Care Strategy and related fields, please contact Senior Policy Adviser Amana Ferro.

Council Recommendation on Minimum Income – What’s in it for Europe’s Roma?

Council Recommendation on Minimum Income – What’s in it for Europe’s Roma?

On 28 September 2022, the European Commission proposed a Council Recommendation on Adequate Minimum Income, aimed at making minimum income schemes more effective at lifting people out of poverty, while promoting the labour market integration of those who can work. It is accompanied by a Communication on better assessing the distributional impact of Member States’ policies and providing guidance on how these can be better targeted to address existing inequalities.

ERGO Network has closely engaged with the run-up to these initiatives. In 2021, we prepared a comprehensive research report on Roma access to adequate minimum income schemes in five countries. In 2022, we responded to the European Commission call for evidence on this Council Recommendation. We equally provided input to the similar call for evidence on distributional impact assessments. We have subsequently reviewed the proposed Council Recommendation on Minimum Income and accompanying Communication on distributional impact in light of the key messages of our own positions.

  • Read our full response here!

Overall, we welcome the Council Recommendation as a significant step forward in strengthening the adequacy, availability, coverage, and take-up of minimum income schemes in the European Union. Thirty years after the previous Council Recommendation of 1992 on sufficient resources for a life in dignity for all EU citizens (which the current proposal replaces), it was high-time that the coordinated access was undertaken by Member States to address existing gaps in provision and access inequalities and to ensure dignified lives and wellbeing for all.

We equally welcome the accompanying Communication and efforts to conduct more and better impact assessments of distributional policies, both by Member States and the European Commission, in order to capture the impact of reforms and investments on the income levels of the population, particularly the most disadvantaged. The document acknowledges that income inequalities undermine European values as well as endanger economic growth, echoing concerns expressed by over 80% Europeans even before the pandemic.

We further appreciate that the Council Recommendation includes explicit references to Europe’s Roma and the multiple disadvantages they face when trying to access their minimum income entitlements, as well as puts forward positive proposals to combat them. Additionally, the document makes the link to the EU Roma Framework on Equality, Inclusion and Participation and the related Council Recommendation. Disappointingly, the same does not hold true for the accompanying Communication.

ERGO Network had called for an explicit end to the culture of blaming benefit claimants as abusers of the welfare state, as well as for widespread antigypsyism to be combatted in all aspects of daily life. Sadly, this call was insufficiently heeded by the Council Recommendation, and we find it a missed opportunity that discrimination (on all and any grounds) is not listed as one of the main challenges described. There is nothing about discrimination in the Communication, and no mentions of racism or antigypsyism or the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan in either of the two documents.

ERGO Network expresses its hope that these gaps will be remedied through implementation, lest Europe’s Roma be left behind once more, and stands ready to support these efforts at both EU and national level.

For more information about our work on minimum income, please contact Amana Ferro (a.ferro@ergonetwork.org), Senior Policy Adviser with the ERGO Network staff team.

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European Pillar of Social Rights – ERGO Network

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