Towards EU Accession

Towards EU Accession - Romani in South-Eastern Europe (Real Participants in the Process of Romani Inclusion)

The project Towards EU Accession - Romani in South-Eastern Europe (Real Participants in the Process of Romani Inclusion) is being carried out by the European Roma Information Office (ERIO) together with the Amapalie Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance. The geographical target of the project is Bulgaria. The project's objectives are:

1. To create a successful model for Roma monitoring of the implementation of the Framework Programme for Equal Integration of Roma in Bulgarian society;
2. To develop a proposal for amelioration of the Framework Programme implementation on the basis of the monitoring results;
3. To collect data about Romani authorities in Bulgaria and their position concerning Roma inclusion;
4. To establish a relationship with Bulgarian institutions working on issues related to Roma integration, as well as with important political parties, media sources and EU institutions;
5. To contact Romani leaders from neighbouring countries.

ERIO has participated in the last activity mentioned above, contacting Romani leaders from neighbouring countries such as Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania and Moldova . This will contribute to an exchange of knowledge and experiences as well as build mutual support between these countries concerning Roma emancipation and Roma participation in the EU accession process in the following years of the project. It is aimed at creating a network of Romani leaders/experts working for Roma emancipation from these countries for joint actions in front of international/EU institutions.

The main outcome of this activity is to set up of a database of Romani leaders and experts. It is also intended to gather and evaluate information on the problems faced by Romani communities in these countries.