image

Pathways to Progress? The European Union and Roma Inclusion in the Western Balkans

Date:
April 2010
Source:
Open Society Foundations
Author:
Stephan Müller & Zeljko Jovanovic

The countries of the Western Balkans—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia—all aspire to membership in the European Union and have the status of "candidate country" or "potential candidate country" in the EU accession process. The process has opened opportunities for the EU and governments to address the situation of Roma, the region's most disadvantaged ethnic group.

The European Union should increase funding and monitor its impact on Roma inclusion, and it increase opportunities for Roma to participate in the policy process. The EU also must hold prospective member states to account if they fail in their commitments and obligations to their most vulnerable, deprived and excluded citizens. These are the broad conclusions of Pathways to Progress? The European Union and Roma Inclusion in the Western Balkans, a report commissioned by OSI Roma Initiatives.

Pathways to Progress? analyzes the approaches to Roma inclusion of the European Union and the Western Balkans countries, and provides an overview of Roma political representation and participation by Roma in policymaking. The report concludes with recommendations regarding policy development, reporting and measuring progress, and participation by Roma in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of initiatives that target Roma populations.

back to the top of the page
Related Information

What Facebook Tells Us About Far-Right Populism in Hungary
Jamie Bartlett and Kreko Peter
February 9, 2012
blog BLOG  
The ease with which the Hungarian populist party Jobbik has exploited wider societal worries is an indictment of how polarized Hungarian society has become, but also suggests the potential for its supporters to be brought back into mainstream politics.

Finding My True Identity
Ivan Dimitrov
January 5, 2012
blog BLOG  
Growing up, I was never sure of my identity. As the adopted son of ethnically Bulgarian parents, I was afraid of what others might think if I told them I was Roma. Attending Barvalipe helped me understand who I was.

Barvalipe: Identity, Pride, Commitment
December 6, 2011
video VIDEO  
This video features images and excerpts from interviews with young Roma participants at Barvalipe, the first-ever Roma pride summer camp.

About  |  Initiatives  |  Grants, Scholarships & Fellowships  |  Resource Center  |  Newsroom  |  Site Map  |  Legal  |  Contact


Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative License.
©2012 Open Society Foundations. Some rights reserved.