Resolution on National Roma Integration Strategies adopted by the European Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a Resolution on The Implementation of National Roma Integration Strategies, on the 17th of September 2020. The Resolution is based on a report prepared by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and it puts forward recommendations for the post-2020 Roma inclusion strategy.

It is important to note that the resolution calls on the Commission to submit a legislative proposal for the Equality, Inclusion, Participation of Romani People and Combating Antigypsyism. The proposal should include „specific, comparable, achievable, binding and time-bound objectives to protect and improve the inclusion of Romani people, including those belonging to groups facing multiple discrimination, such as youth, women and girls, LGBTI persons and people with disabilities (…)”.

Of major importance is the fact that the resolution highlights the importance of acknowledging intersectional discrimination, so that „the EU and Member States should take action regarding the situation and the rights of individuals at the intersections of discrimination grounds in the EU, in particular women, LGBTI people, people with disabilities”.

This article is written as a part of the Intersect Voices project. The project was coordinated by the Deaconess Foundation with three other partner organizations: Asociatia E-Romnja and Asociatia Centrul Pentru Legislatie Nonprofit from Romania and Romni Onlus from Italy. The goal of the project was to combat the discrimination faced by Roma women by improving the understanding of the diverse experiences of multiple and intersectional discrimination and by supporting the mobilisation of its victims.

Intersect Voices project was funded by the European Union’s Fundamental Rights, Equality and Citizenship (REC) funding program.