Within the Roma Civil Monitor pilot’s third cycle, more than 90 civil society organisations and experts from 27 EU Member States have analysed the relevant public policies (or lack thereof) and reported on their “blind spots” with respect to the integration of Roma. This final monitoring cycle follows two cycles spent investigating governance issues and enforcement of antidiscrimination, investigating how antigypsyism is being combated, and investigating aspects of Roma access to education, employment, healthcare and housing. During the third phase of the monitoring, gender-related issues, youth inclusion and political participation were some of the “blind spots” reviewed.

The Synthesis Report reveals that antigypsyism has not been sufficiently tackled by the Member States’ public policies due to the weak institutional protections in place against it, creating the societal backdrop against which many other problems develop with respect to including Roma. Much more effective awareness-raising and education of the public about Roma is needed, including the promotion of Roma culture and including such material in mainstream educational curricula.

While marginalised Roma across the EU are frequently disproportionately unable to access public services for various reasons, improving that access is not a straightforward proposition. Many of the country monitoring reports have appealed for more Roma-targeted policies or service delivery, but that approach runs the risk of separate services being created that will be either inferior or delivered in a paternalistic way. The ongoing lack of data disaggregated by ethnicity makes it all but impossible to develop such targeted policies and service delivery. Disaggregated data collection about Roma and Travellers, effective monitoring of policy delivery, and impact assessments of inclusion policy are all needed.

In the rare instances where it does exist, participation and representation in politics by Roma citizens is a local phenomenon, frequently restricted to segregated communities, according to the Synthesis Report. Roma youth are said to have few avenues for participating in decision-making and making their voices heard.

The report found that in some Member States there has been a decline in traditional Roma economic activity, and antigypsyism in the labour market means Roma employment remains limited. Educational segregation of Roma is reportedly increasing, not decreasing; the ban on segregation must therefore be strictly enforced and sanctioned, and desegregation of schools should become a condition of access to public financing, especially the EU funding. More robust monitoring of the patterns of such segregation is necessary, including independent oversight, and ethnically diverse, inclusive environments in the schools must be required. More financial aid and other kinds of support are needed so that more Roma in the EU can access either higher education or vocational training.

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